I'm sure some people have been in the same boat. I need advice!

fredzeppelin

I'm wondering if anyone can help me. I've been playing guitar for about 6 years and i can't play one full song through just me singing and playing guitar. I used to teach myself from all these sites like ultimate guitar and guitar magazines but i never got anywhere. I've only realised now though that it's because i never used to practice with a metronome and instead of depending on tabs i should of been working out songs by ear. They are the two most important things any beginner to guitar should do!

I've started from the very beginning again. My head is full of theory (know the basic chords and scales) but i'm only learing strumming patterns and how to keep rthymn with just the guitar now! I'm learing via the web again. I've found a great site www.justinguitar.com. Recommend it to everyone. It's not enough though i want someone 'physically' to tell what i'm doing right/wrong. Someone with the same style and methods of teaching as justin would be ideal!

I used to play classic rock (Lynard Skynard, Metallica etc.) and all that in a cover band but I was never any good at keeping time - probably due to not practising with records or a metronome? I can't stress to people taking up guitar how important this is!

I've moved on from that stuff now though. My influences at the moment mainly are:
Bob Dylan,Ryan Adams,Jeff Buckley,Johnny Cash,Paddy Casey,The Rolling Stones,Rory Gallagher,John Mayer, Badly Drawn Boy,Mark Geary,Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers,Van Morrison,Damien Rice, Radiohead, Nick Drake, Fionn Regan

So . . . what i'm looking for is the name of a good guitar teacher for about an hour a week? Preferably around stillorgan and the surrounding area but i would be willing to travel into town. How much should i be lookin' to pay?

Any advice would be great guys. Thanks for reading.

feylya

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055302458

I'm gonna leave this thread open on the condition that no lessons are offered.

Red Sleeping Beauty

If you've any friends that you can play with that may be more beneficial than lessons.
If you already know the theory what do you think a teacher will help you with ?

Dive into your CD collection and just try to play whatever you like the sound of

Thomas from Presence

feylya wrote: »

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055302458

I'm gonna leave this thread open on the condition that no lessons are offered.

I understand this rule but I have to ask why is it enforced on recommendations? If someone asks for the best place for x anywhere in this entire community recommendations for professional services filter through unmolested. Whats the hang up on someone saying x does a great course?

I don't hesitate to support the need to limit direct pitches but the rest of it is a bit odd and unfair to the informing of posters as much as the business of proper teachers.

feylya

If you wish to question a moderator's decision, do not do it on thread as this will drag the thread off topic.

Thomas from Presence

feylya wrote: »

If you wish to question a moderator's decision, do not do it on thread as this will drag the thread off topic.

Sorry Feylya, it seems I've alread done that, delete as you need to. Is there a place to discuss this. I do feel it's an area of imbalance that deserves reconsidering as I've plenty of students that were disappointed by poor teaching. The ability to discuss their merits and demerits is a service in the spirit of Boards.

feylya

Help Desk, Feedback or PM.

Now, back on topic please.

Thomas from Presence

alan dunne 27 wrote: »

If you've any friends that you can play with that may be more beneficial than lessons.
If you already know the theory what do you think a teacher will help you with ?

Dive into your CD collection and just try to play whatever you like the sound of

A good teacher would show him the application of the theory which is clearly the issue here. Probably by using the examples of how it is implemented into music the poster listens to and then by instructing and guiding composition. I suspect that there may be a theory-playing hand gap here that instruction could certainly help with.

OP
If you know your theory try see if you can see how it is living in the music of your influences. If you can't then there are definitely gaps in your knowledge that a teacher or even a poster here can fix.

Is there a song that you can't get the grip off? Maybe a Rory lick that doesn't make sense? I don't mean the playing of them now, just do you understand why that music works other than the obvious "I like it" answer?!

fredzeppelin

Thomas from Presence wrote: »

A good teacher would show him the application of the theory which is clearly the issue here. Probably by using the examples of how it is implemented into music the poster listens to and then by instructing and guiding composition. I suspect that there may be a theory-playing hand gap here that instruction could certainly help with.

OP
If you know your theory try see if you can see how it is living in the music of your influences. If you can't then there are definitely gaps in your knowledge that a teacher or even a poster here can fix.

Is there a song that you can't get the grip off? Maybe a Rory lick that doesn't make sense? I don't mean the playing of them now, just do you understand why that music works other than the obvious "I like it" answer?!

I definitely agree with the theory and playing gap. I think discipline is a big part of it to. If i was being taught and paying for it i would make more of an effort!:)

When you say do you understand why that music work do you mean do you understand why let's say a A D and E are in the same song? Because they're in the same key. Music is all about rhythm and keys right?

It's the rhythm that i'm failing on!:(

adox

fredzeppelin wrote: »

It's the rhythm that i'm failing on!:(

As mentioned before, metronome and playing along to songs are invaluable in teaching you to keep time.

Also tap your foot in time to a song. It sounds silly but it will help you no end in keeping time.

-=al=-

i remember starting off i could never tap my foot and play, second nature now, a little metronome work is essential after a few years, keeping timing and rhythm's in genereally easy


just it can tend to be a little tedious and boring now but its a good workout from time to time

shanejunkin

fredzeppelin wrote: »

I'm wondering if anyone can help me. I've been playing guitar for about 6 years and i can't play one full song through just me singing and playing guitar. I used to teach myself from all these sites like ultimate guitar and guitar magazines but i never got anywhere. I've only realised now though that it's because i never used to practice with a metronome and instead of depending on tabs i should of been working out songs by ear. They are the two most important things any beginner to guitar should do!

I've started from the very beginning again. My head is full of theory (know the basic chords and scales) but i'm only learing strumming patterns and how to keep rthymn with just the guitar now! I'm learing via the web again. I've found a great site www.justinguitar.com. Recommend it to everyone. It's not enough though i want someone 'physically' to tell what i'm doing right/wrong. Someone with the same style and methods of teaching as justin would be ideal!

I used to play classic rock (Lynard Skynard, Metallica etc.) and all that in a cover band but I was never any good at keeping time - probably due to not practising with records or a metronome? I can't stress to people taking up guitar how important this is!

I've moved on from that stuff now though. My influences at the moment mainly are:
Bob Dylan,Ryan Adams,Jeff Buckley,Johnny Cash,Paddy Casey,The Rolling Stones,Rory Gallagher,John Mayer, Badly Drawn Boy,Mark Geary,Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers,Van Morrison,Damien Rice, Radiohead, Nick Drake, Fionn Regan

So . . . what i'm looking for is the name of a good guitar teacher for about an hour a week? Preferably around stillorgan and the surrounding area but i would be willing to travel into town. How much should i be lookin' to pay?

Any advice would be great guys. Thanks for reading.

I've had the very same problem with my guitar playing. I started playing when I was fifteen and ended up playing in cover bands. However, we were all self taught and ended up focussing on tablature. I was unable to read music and so unaware of different beats essentially. Basically, I studyed guitar as a pattern and sequence orietated subject from tablature. I eventually ended up in an original band in college and was doing okay. I began to notice my weakness as I found it hard to keep time. Our other guitarist had excellent rhythm and I found it hard to mimic him. Ultimately, I quit the guitar. I went back to it a few years later, back to basics, and developed a better style. I improved my ear a lot which was another weakness of mine. However, I never quite attained good rhythm. Recently, I've got a better understanding of time signatures, quarter notes, eigth notes and the practical abilities to miss strums with down strokes and work out the up and down strumming sequences for rhythm. However, I've still a long way to go, I find it hard to hear the essence of a fast (or not that fast) rhythm.

I can't emphasise enough to beginners how important it is to play along to a CD or to a metronome.

I recommend GuitarPro 5 software, you can download a demo for free. You can load in songs you like, highlight specific guitar tracks you want to hear and slow down the track to a pace that's easy to hear. It also has the correct sheet music so you can start to associate a strumming sound with a sequence of eigths and sixteenths etc. That's what I have been working on very recently and I think that it will help me.

Does anyone know of a good song, or a few, to learn that requires excellent rhythm and timing to pull off correctly? Maybe one in an alternate time signature?

johnboy8

its amazing i am in the same boat as well,the internet is great but it can be too much as well.i went into my favorites a few weeks back and found about 20 sites that i used,i cut most of them away.utube i find is great,just type in the song you want and you will find someone doing a decent version of it and learn from them.i was struggling with a song 'no expectation'from the rolling stones for ages i could not get the timing and pattern right,then i went to utube and there was a young fellow of about 13/14 years of age doing a fantastic version compleatly nailed it.

johnboy8

shanejunkin wrote: »

I've had the very same problem with my guitar playing. I started playing when I was fifteen and ended up playing in cover bands. However, we were all self taught and ended up focussing on tablature. I was unable to read music and so unaware of different beats essentially. Basically, I studyed guitar as a pattern and sequence orietated subject from tablature. I eventually ended up in an original band in college and was doing okay. I began to notice my weakness as I found it hard to keep time. Our other guitarist had excellent rhythm and I found it hard to mimic him. Ultimately, I quit the guitar. I went back to it a few years later, back to basics, and developed a better style. I improved my ear a lot which was another weakness of mine. However, I never quite attained good rhythm. Recently, I've got a better understanding of time signatures, quarter notes, eigth notes and the practical abilities to miss strums with down strokes and work out the up and down strumming sequences for rhythm. However, I've still a long way to go, I find it hard to hear the essence of a fast (or not that fast) rhythm.

I can't emphasise enough to beginners how important it is to play along to a CD or to a metronome.

I recommend GuitarPro 5 software, you can download a demo for free. You can load in songs you like, highlight specific guitar tracks you want to hear and slow down the track to a pace that's easy to hear. It also has the correct sheet music so you can start to associate a strumming sound with a sequence of eigths and sixteenths etc. That's what I have been working on very recently and I think that it will help me.

Does anyone know of a good song, or a few, to learn that requires excellent rhythm and timing to pull off correctly? Maybe one in an alternate time signature?

me and julio down by the schoolyard.i am working on that at the momentand its great for timing.

shanejunkin

johnboy8 wrote: »

me and julio down by the schoolyard.i am working on that at the momentand its great for timing.

Thanks, I'll have a look at that one.

fasty

johnboy8 wrote: »

me and julio down by the schoolyard.i am working on that at the momentand its great for timing.

Aye, this one's great for getting rhythm right and a lot of fun to play. It helps that it's only very simple chords, too, lets you focus on strumming.