I got my guitar last X-Mas and have pretty much played along to Metallica, Ozzy, and Zakk Wylde DVD's. All good and fun but I didn't know what I was playing and certain things I did sounded good but then again what was I doing. So for the quest for knowledge began and a I went to the Internet and became dum founded more and more I searched for info. Their is so much! I then picked up July's Guitar World (Zakk Wylde's Guitar Boot Camp Edition) I learned some chromatic exercises and the A minor pentatonic scale. Well, my chops are very good now (I can use all four fingers with ease and can alternate pic like a mad motherFucker) Well good for me...but then I ran into the same problem...What was I playing? I didn't understand the lettering system nor how to apply it. I'm frustrated about not understanding the logic of the fretboard. So I go to the local Guitar Center and pic up "Fretboard Logic SE I & II." It's a good book for resorting but I still felt confused after reading it; and what made me even madder is that the book has testimonials of how good it is.


So this is what I'm stuck with:

1.) I have good hands, "Chops" (I know because I was part of the guitar Club when I was in High School and I could out finger everyone including the teacher)

2.) I have only parts of info...Like pieces of a puzzle...A big complicated puzzle.

3.) I have no idea what I'm doing or going. I just wish there were one path I could go down that lead to being the Shred Master.


God Dam this guitar that I love so much

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When you say you dont know what your playing do you mean what techniques you are using in these acts or shreds e.g hammer-ons pull-offs, divebombs etc?

Half of the crap you get in Guitar books is too hard to follow without any guidence from someome with a vast musical background. Ive played guitar for about 7 years and my "theory" is less than great but i look in the same books and think to myself "i only just just get what there saying what chance does a beginner have?" so i suggest instructural tapes. I had one of a bloke called "Vinnie Moore" and his video i found was vast in knowledge of shredding and getting to know your guitar. So dont stress, try and take in everything you can and with the knowledge you accumulate apply to your own style. In other words use this "scattered" information and mould it into your own style of playing.

i hope this helps you a bit and dont let this worry you because your always going to be lost!!! Trust me!

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Everything that anyone knows about gutar is just bits here and there. No one knows everything about guitar so don't believe that there is such a person. The path to becoming a master is made by you alone via practice. When you practice always try something new and different, even if you feel it beyond you. Learn from everything you can and do it as best you can. Before you know it you will feel as though you will never learn everything and will never get better, but also unknown to you is the fact that you will have already becaome a Master shred machine.

Sounds like dumb Zin shit but its true.

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Dude. Ian. You rule. You have the same name as me! ROCK!

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Dude get some scales and chord books, also when you play do you play 100% accurately IE do you just shred like a dumb fuck and cant play the same thing twice like Kerry King? Also try taking lessons...

Shredding at its best is all about following a scalar pattern and not going totally chromatic, chances are you are doing alot of chromatic stuff if you "outshred" your teacher or whatever, he probably plays more accurately, so i suggest working on 100% accuracy

What's wrong with not playing the same thing twice? That's variety in my book. If you learn theory in too much depth, you'll just end up repeating the same old patterns that you've learnt, for example descending/ascending patterns. This is partly why I've shunned theory and any sort of formal tutilage - I'll stick to my own style thanks.

Just learn the scales you want to learn and then improvise - this way you wont sound like the ten-a-penny shredders out there. The perfect example is Jon Levasseur of Cryptopsy, his sweeping style and the way he phrases his sweeps is pretty much unique because he doesn't obey the standard rules. Sure he has a theory grounding, any guitarist of his skill will have, but what I'm saying is that theory will only get you so far - good playing comes from the heart, not the textbook.

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It's like trying to learn a second language


Since I'm out of school I have plenty of time to practice. I usually warm up with finger exercises and then play along to my Zakk Wylde DVD for 30 min. Then I stop with that and start playing what ever I want for that day. Overall it's about a 3 hour or longer practice session.

I was referring to the, A-B-C-D-E-F-G's, in scales. I don't understand the process of it. Once I start playing A minor do I have to go to B minor and so on? Or can I go from A minor to D minor? Do I always have to start at the Root Note? What's with the box patterns?...I already learned the A minor why is their a A minor and then a A minor pentatonic box pattern?

This sounds like I'm complaining a lot...And I am, but to a certain degree. I just want some information, clear information, none of this shady stuff websites offer. I could hire a guitar teacher but I don't have the money; plus, I know that I can do this.

If there is a website that any of you know that has good solid information, please let me know. Also, if there're any good books you would like to recommend, please do. Lets make this thread useful to all of use.

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I've seen a book called The Guitar Grimoire (or something similar to that) being recommended by other folk around here so that might be a good starting point.

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Holy shit I all most bought that book!!! I didn't because it looked to complicated for me at the time. But I'll take a second look the next time I'm in Guitar Center.

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Books can do only so much. I'd suggest getting a good guitar teacher.

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In the little girl CC voice, *Me mea me ma me! M'd muggest mitting ma mood muitar meacter*

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Holy Shit

...I just answered my own questions and made my life so much easier. I took the advice from Zakk Wylde and learned the Fretboard Diagram and now I understand the A-B-C-D-E-F-G's, the scales, box patterns, root note, ext.
I'm so excited, I stayed up all night trying to solve my questions...And I did Man I feel like a million bucks; everything just got simpler.

Thanks for your guy's help though

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No problem, dude. It always feels good when you learn sonething new and useful. Go check out the scales and sweeps thread too. Theres some good stuff in there to practice with.

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Wow, The Guitar Grimoire is kinda overkill for a newbie. I suggest The Bead Method of Fretboard Mastery. It will teach you the fundamentals and you'll come out of it knowing where stuff is.

Manx

You're over a year late. Sorry, but you missed the bus.

Damn,


another revived from the dead. Maybe close it out to kill the stir??

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you know people get flamed for starting new threads and not looking at old ones, and then people are flamed for reviving old ones. i can understand looking at old ones for information, but what if you still have a question. isnt it better to ask in a related thread than to start a new one for a simple question. i guess you could just do like i do and ask a random question in any thread.

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That's why you look through old threads to find the answers you seek, and if you are still without a solution, you ask it in a new thread. Simple enough?

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Well, now that the thread is hopelessly revived, I guess it won't hurt to talk about mastering the guitar now, will it


Basically what I'm working on right now is memorizing EVERY note on the fretboard. Of course I do know where every note is, but I want to look at the guitar as if it were a piano, knowing every note under my fingertips as I play, and comprehending it all in real-time ( my theory is that it will enable me to thoroughly assess 'interval algorythms', my word for 'scales', in real-time and finally understand the instrument as the greats do ). I don't know about you, but its proving quite a challenge for me.

Yeah I know how you mean... Many times I begin learning I'm faced with the dilema of to learn or not to learn? I contemplate learning where the notes are on my guitar (i.e. fret 0+12 on 'E' would be C#) so I KNOW the sound of that nmote... But then I think about learning it all in standard. I don't really play in standard; I don't like the sound of it nor the feel of it, simply because my 'main guitar' has never been in E for a long period of time. But if I learn the fretboard as E... I'm gunna be fucked with thinking about the note's sounds...

Simple solution is to learn EVERYTHING! But while I have grass, it ain't gunna fuckin happen.

Amen, brother

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Sorry all when I "rezerected this thread." I'm a newbie at this stuff and didn't know the difference when I was reading through the threads.

John, The book I was mentioning has a free introduction... Follow the method in the introduction and you will know all the notes by site within a week or two. Here's a link to the introduction. You can download it to your computer and print it out for reference...

BEAD Guitar

Good luck with the notes...

Manx

I'm sorry, but this is just rude. Did the teacher get arrested?

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