After perusing the forums again, I can't help but feel there are a large number of young chaps missing the point. I've read a few threads saying things like " I've spent the last year learning to play chromatic patterns at 900bpm and I rule at that, but my soloing sucks." Well duh! Just because Mr Petrucci does a warm up exercise on a video doesn't mean it's essential. It's about music, the guitar last time I checked was a MUSICAL INSTRUMENT for making music on. Here's some facts... for all Paul Gilbert's shredding his pinnacle of achievement was "To be with you". That was the tune that touched the majority as opposed to the incestuous world of shred heads. Nuno.... More than Words. EVH .. Jump or Beat it... short sharp solo's with very little guitar elsewhere. Can you see a pattern yet? It's about having good tunes not how fast you can play it. By all means develop technique... it's very useful.. I have tons. But I also have a repeatoire of hundreds and hundreds of tunes and gig 2-3 times a week to large audiences. Up there is where you learn your craft.
The other thread I saw... "I'm going to become a guitar teacher... what shall I teach?" You clearly are not ready to teach as you do not know what to impart to someone let alone HOW to impart it. Guitar teachers like this do more damage than good. I know.. I've taught thousands of people and those that have been to other teachers of this kind before, regularly tell me that the other style of teacher had put them off and they nearly gave up. Teaching shouldn't be entered in as way to make some quick money. The people paying you are expecting a service. How would you feel if you paid for something and you were getting a thrown together service? You'd be peed off. Go to the RGT website.. Look at the teaching diplomas available. Study one. read the books. get educated and then see if you want to help others rather than make a fast buck
When I learnt to play the guitar nearly 30 years ago, there weren't the resources there are today. Instantly available TAB of whatever tune you wanted? I wish! I bought 1 book and set about devouring it. If I wanted to learn a tune, I sat there and worked it out, If I couldn't work it out I was lucky enough to have a few friends who were better than me that maybe had worked it out and could give me a hint. I lived in a small village with no guitar teacher, so for 10 years, I taught myself. I got pretty good too. Jump to today. I teach fulltime and have done for nearly 20 years. I have seen a change in students. Now I'm not saying that resources aren't good, quiet the opposite, I love the amount of stuff available. But students are jumping on to youtube, looking for online lessons and trying to bypass the basics in the attempt to be Steve Vai next week, ( cos you can on Guitar Hero...that bloody game grrr)in doing so they get all the terms and none of the foundations.
You have to play the guitar, you have to live with it, have fun with it. The most important thing is PLAYING it. Play means have fun, not work. Get with other people and play things. Learn by interaction.
Get to feel what music is like. Feel the emotion, the dynamics, the essence of music. There are many guitarists who can play along with GP5 like demons but have completely missed Vibrato, bending and tone out. Lots of demi-semi-quavers does not a good guitarist make. Now I know most of you on here will be annoyed by my comments. Sorry but that is the way I see it. You fill your heads with "advanced" theory as you see it, most of it is pretty basic, and then try to reproduce a Dream Theater Epic, and wonder why you sound crap. Petrucci, not my favourite guitarist, has taken decades to get where he is and be able to do what he does. You are trying to replicate it after a month... get real! The rest get caught up in this guitar snobbery and don't think they will be taken seriously unless the can play erotomania with their bellends. Just ignore the cliques and crowd and play what you like and can do and let yourself progress at your pace.
There is more to this rant, but I'm guessing no one will read it anyway
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RichieJovie's blogs, last updated : August 8, 2008
