Can you learn to play what ever you want to play?

[G the wildman]

Just like yours , I can play rhythm ok .. but lead runs I tend to struggle and trip over things

I think you are a bit better than me. But our enthusiasm is similar.

G

 

[Mitchell Pearrow]

I think you are a bit better than me. But our enthusiasm is similar.

G

That is where we need to be to progress..
And thank you for the compliment

 

[TXOldRedRocker]

She had to have notation all written out. She could not simply play a Cmaj, or an Amin chord & improvise a little w/ it, within the context of the whole score.

She would marvel at the likes of me, who was very competent at that, but not a fluent reader, like she was, nor, was I very schooled like her.

As I'm sure you know, the reason most top chefs are men. For whatever genetic reason, most women follow recipes to the letter. Excellent male cooks create food. A generalization for sure, but one that's true.

 

[G the wildman]

As I'm sure you know, the reason most top chefs are men. For whatever genetic reason, most women follow recipes to the letter. Excellent male cooks create food. A generalization for sure, but one that's true.

Risky

 

[RCM 800]

Every four or five years or so I break out the music and try to learn Eruption. I give it a week or two, realize its beyond my dexterity/headspace, and go back to my normal blues licks lol. Ive never been a note for note player but I try to steal the bits of songs I find interesting and incorporate them into the tool box. Like I think I first learned the blue note from Ed on the clean/blues part of hot for teacher and that has stuck with me for pretty much my whole life. Ive gotten to the point where I can throw any blues based rock song (cream, stones, CCR, FW Mac, ZZtop etc.) and just be able to play along by ear without any prior experimantation with what Im playing. Led Zep, Hendrix, Allmans use more interesting chord variations typically and tend to make me work harder for it, rewinding and playing it over and over until I finally hit it or have to give in and find tab or a lesson online. Anyways we all learn in different ways. Sometimes its hard to find what works for you but in the end thats what makes us unique and hopefully creative individuals.

 

[ToneWitch]

I was reading a print of an interview with John Fruscianti. In it he talks about conflicts that he had. I presume he meant frustrations, until he reached a point where he knew he could learn to play what ever he wanted to learn.

My playing although still riddled with mistakes is approaching a point, not where I can learn whatever I want, but where I spend far less time learning what I am able to. It is a fabulous position to be in. I still rely a lot on chord sheets and cannot learn by ear but it is a eureka moment or at least close to. This has taken 8 long years. Yup I know some of you guys do it in 2. But I am not gifted. I did not pick an instrument up until I was 56 years young.

I am better at rhythm than I am lead but lead is my goal. As an example: I can play the rhythm to Highway to Hell, Sultans of Swing and things like that. But lead is not so developed. I can get by with my Idea of say the lead on Black Magic Woman, Comfortably Numb is on its way - bla bla.

Anyway what can you do?

What was your journey like?

I started young (12 years old)

I have been playing for over 20 years now and I learn songs the same way I always have. I play to the songs themselves. Back when I started I had a record player and an old parlor acoustic and I would sit in front of that record player spinning Lynyard Skynard - Second Helping, moving the needle back for specific parts until I learned the album in its entirety: hours, days, weeks on end. I did nothing but play guitar after school and all the way through the night into the early AM. I did eventually learn to read music. However, I hate tablature and I can almost never learn a song straight from tabs as it doesn't represent the phrasing of the piece well. The best possible way to get a song dialed is listening to it in my experience. However, it is hard if you don't have the experience to know where to play the shapes. But that's where being open minded comes in. Just jam around on the frets until you figure it out.

When honing in on lead playing this probably took me the longest and is still an ongoing project. It wasn't until recently I decided to ditch only alternate picking. I have begun the journey into directional/economy picking because I became obsessed with Cliffs of Dover and had to learn how to play it. The way I practice now may seem very dull to some people but I play a lick with a metronome and move the metronome only after I have mastered the speed to the point I can no longer make any mistakes. Doing this very methodically has cleaned my playing up immensely and sync'd my fretting and picking hands together like they are a single unit.

There are many roads to get there. I don't believe in pure talent. It is practice and the amount of time practicing correctly that makes all the difference. My wife thinks I have autism because of how much i focus on small little details.

 

[Rokinroller]

Back in the 70's , it was easy to get great real fast on guitar . Smoke lots of dope , listen to Hendrix , and overnight we became great players .

One of the best advice I got was to play with timing . Always use a timing device . I always found a metronome very boring . So I would put records on , like Johnny Winter live . Later on , always used beat boxes . Timing gets you in the pocket .

 

[ToneWitch]

Back in the 70's , it was easy to get great real fast on guitar . Smoke lots of dope , listen to Hendrix , and overnight we became great players .

One of the best advice I got was to play with timing . Always use a timing device . I always found a metronome very boring . So I would put records on , like Johnny Winter live . Later on , always used beat boxes . Timing gets you in the pocket .

I think it was easy because there was less distractions, video games, computer screens, etc, I was always kind of a loner because all I ever wanted to do was play guitar. I literally carried one on my back until my early 20's. I played my first electric so much that it became inadvertently scalloped kept playing it until the frets were flush to the remaining fret board.

 

[mirrorman]

My journey still continues after playing on and off for close to 50 years. There have been some long hiatuses during this time, mostly from hitting a plateau and not knowing where to go from there. One thing that really helped me get back into playing is to start playing styles I was unfamiliar with such as jazz, Latin, etc. What really opened my eyes was working with a teacher. There was so much I didn't know because I didn't know that I didn't know, if you know what I mean.
At any rate, to answer your question, at 60 years old I play better than I ever have, but probably do not have the dexterity any more to play super shred on guitar. So yes, I believe I could learn to play anything, just maybe not at the tempo it was meant to be played at.

 

[ToneWitch]

My journey still continues after playing on and off for close to 50 years. There have been some long hiatuses during this time, mostly from hitting a plateau and not knowing where to go from there. One thing that really helped me get back into playing is to start playing styles I was unfamiliar with such as jazz, Latin, etc. What really opened my eyes was working with a teacher. There was so much I didn't know because I didn't know that I didn't know, if you know what I mean.
At any rate, to answer your question, at 60 years old I play better than I ever have, but probably do not have the dexterity any more to play super shred on guitar. So yes, I believe I could learn to play anything, just maybe not at the tempo it was meant to be played at.

I hit a plateau recently and it was a rut of about 2 years where my playing just wouldnt progress. It really bummed me out whats worse is it gets you to not want to practice more when in reality thats whats needed to breakthrough.

 

[ToneWitch]

I also suffered a major hand injury where my fretting hand nearly needed to be amputated from a welding accident. That really set me back. I almost gave it up completely. My index finger had the nerve severed and an infection called for emergency surgery. They basically said I’ll have a 20% chance of playing guitar ever again. I was mortifyingly devastated. Basically had to relearn to play guitar. It sucked big time was (and still is sometimes) incredibly painful to play. I wasn’t able to barre any longer. Which meant I couldn’t roll either with my index finger for fast leads. It took me back 18 years of playing. But I kept at it, went to physical therapy and now I am much—much better than I was before that accident. Almost like going back to the basics helped hone in on some small mistakes I hadn’t noticed before.

 

[Torren61]

Absolutely. Unfortunately, I must only want to play like Lil Wayne.

 

[kinleyd]

I also suffered a major hand injury where my fretting hand nearly needed to be amputated from a welding accident. That really set me back. I almost gave it up completely. My index finger had the nerve severed and an infection called for emergency surgery. They basically said I’ll have a 20% chance of playing guitar ever again. I was mortifyingly devastated. Basically had to relearn to play guitar. It sucked big time was (and still is sometimes) incredibly painful to play. I wasn’t able to barre any longer. Which meant I couldn’t roll either with my index finger for fast leads. It took me back 18 years of playing. But I kept at it, went to physical therapy and now I am much—much better than I was before that accident. Almost like going back to the basics helped hone in on some small mistakes I hadn’t noticed before.

Wow, what an awesome story. Hats off to you!
About the autism part - I never thought of it myself but it only occurred to me when my daughter pointed it out, based on my behavior when crouched over my guitar.

 

[Lo-Tek]

Of course there is also a difference between learning something and really playing it.
I could learn a bunch of blues songs but how long would it take to really know the genre properly? That might take a lifetime.
Seems like many genres are similar. One could learn a bluegrass song but still not be able to hold their own in a bluegrass jam.

I'm actually surprised Fruscante said he can learn anything. I've never been a Peppers fan but I'm not a stranger to their music either; obviously he's very talented but I don't really see him as a top tier guy.
I've heard some of their fans say Hillel was the best RCHP guitarist.

 

[G the wildman]

I also suffered a major hand injury where my fretting hand nearly needed to be amputated from a welding accident. That really set me back. I almost gave it up completely. My index finger had the nerve severed and an infection called for emergency surgery. They basically said I’ll have a 20% chance of playing guitar ever again. I was mortifyingly devastated. Basically had to relearn to play guitar. It sucked big time was (and still is sometimes) incredibly painful to play. I wasn’t able to barre any longer. Which meant I couldn’t roll either with my index finger for fast leads. It took me back 18 years of playing. But I kept at it, went to physical therapy and now I am much—much better than I was before that accident. Almost like going back to the basics helped hone in on some small mistakes I hadn’t noticed before.

Interesting! I had a lesson today and my tutor gave me the most basic of exercises to do this week. But he said he wants me to do it really well so that it permeates my general play. So yes he thinks going back to basics is the route forward . So do I.

Glad you made it back sounds like an unpleasant journey back though.

Well done you!

G

 

[10kDA]

I also suffered a major hand injury where my fretting hand nearly needed to be amputated from a welding accident. That really set me back. I almost gave it up completely. My index finger had the nerve severed and an infection called for emergency surgery. They basically said I’ll have a 20% chance of playing guitar ever again. I was mortifyingly devastated. Basically had to relearn to play guitar. It sucked big time was (and still is sometimes) incredibly painful to play. I wasn’t able to barre any longer. Which meant I couldn’t roll either with my index finger for fast leads. It took me back 18 years of playing. But I kept at it, went to physical therapy and now I am much—much better than I was before that accident. Almost like going back to the basics helped hone in on some small mistakes I hadn’t noticed before.

Well done! Been there, done that, but I got back only about 75%-80% of what I had before my own nerve injury. But it made me a better player because I got a lot more musical with my approach as opposed to technical. And, yes, I have an Asperger's-ish thing going on as well. In many ways it's been a feature, not a bug, when it comes to music.

 

[Bull Rock]

Interesting! I had a lesson today and my tutor gave me the most basic of exercises to do this week. But he said he wants me to do it really well so that it permeates my general play. So yes he thinks going back to basics is the route forward . So do I.

Glad you made it back sounds like an unpleasant journey back though.

Well done you!

G

Just curious...how basic did he go?

 

[10kDA]

Absolutely. Unfortunately, I must only want to play like Lil Wayne.

Gimme that thing before you hurt yourself.

 

[G the wildman]

Just curious...how basic did he go?

Right back to chromatic picking up and down the neck. 4 notes and move.

But alternate picking only, Firm picking.

Fretting hand, only one finger in contact at a time.

The aim being fluency and slowly build up speed.

So very basic.

But it has highlighted weaknesses. So I have two weeks to cure them.

 

[10kDA]

Right back to chromatic picking up and down the neck. 4 notes and move.

But alternate picking only, Firm picking.

Fretting hand, only one finger in contact at a time.

The aim being fluency and slowly build up speed.

So very basic.

But it has highlighted weaknesses. So I have two weeks to cure them.

That's what I do for warming up, along with hammer-on trils and vibrato on various strings at various frets. It's become a habit.