New Fender Strat - Any advice for a newb?

[marcspaz]

Some of you guys made me jealous. Between all the chat out here, plus some friends of mine who are pros, I really got a bug to play. So, I went out and bought a Fender Starcaster.

I really wanted an Ibanez RGA series with double humbucker pick-ups compaired to the Strats singles. I know the Ibanez will give me that deep grunge sound for playing Metal vs. the Strat has more of a classic, blues type sound to it. However, I do want to be sure I stick with it before I part with $500... LOL

So, I am watching the video that came with the start-up kit from Fender, but I am looking for advice on how to do this right. How do I go about learning correctly? My goal is, within 2 years, I would like to be able to jam in the rec-room with my budies on a Suturday night without looking like a total rookie. So, do I get leasons? Learn 1:1 with a friend who plays?

What do you guys think.

Spaz

 

[alloy6ix]

Honest to God, I can jam with just about anyone on bass guitar, regular guitar and keyboard ONLY because about 5 years ago I bought a book that showed me chords, chord progressions, and bass runs that would allow me to know my guitar like the back of my hand, and then if someone told me to play something, I know I could without a problem as long as it was in the same key. Get to know you're guitar man, I'm having to relearn everything as I just got my girlfriend a keyboard and I'm having to transpose from guitar to keyboard so she can learn. Enjoy what you have man, most of us started out with something much more shitty than what you have chosen. haha. If you need any help or guidance I know roper and myself (amongst many others) are guitar players and could show you to some good lessons and advice. Feel free to ask me in this thread or even in PM. I'll be happy to help, I have a (proverbial) hard on for music.

I think you should get one of those popular wall posters of chords and learn those, then learn power chords, and find a list of songs you like. More often than not, most songs are simple chords that can be learned in a few hours but when it comes to solo's, you're on your own. haha. give it a shot man, music is fucking cool, especially when you know how to play your favorite songs. I've been playing bass for like 5 years and guitar for about 3. In that time, I've become pretty good considering for the past year and a half I've been getting drunk and playing the same songs over and over again. but keep at it man and put up pics of your baby in Ropers Git-Box thread!!!!

 

[alloy6ix]

Oh, and now that I think about it, I haven't even posted pics of my own Git Box!!! HAHA!!! But all 4 of my guitars are low level stuff, no fenders here, but nonetheless, I learned well and I'm substantially better than those kids whose parents bought them a fender right off the bat and didn't learn shit from it over the course of 10+ years. LOL!!! don't be afraid man, I used to be worried about playing in front of people who worked for music stores, then I realized, they're virgins...

 

[Boss281]

Been playing rock and blues since my teens, Marc. Give me a call one of these evenings and we can talk about a plan. Lessons are a must NOW so you don't start any bad habits, but I can help you customize a plan so you have a mix of theory and fun.

My former music palace. Two Strats, a Godin and PRS:

At the corporate xmas party, the house band played a few sets, then I stepped on stage (no suit) and freaked everyone out. May have been the tattoos, I don't know. But we rocked the house with Red House and Johnny B Goode:

 

[Croft]

^^^^Yummy

 

[marcspaz]

Oh, and now that I think about it, I haven't even posted pics of my own Git Box!!! HAHA!!! But all 4 of my guitars are low level stuff, no fenders here, but nonetheless, I learned well and I'm substantially better than those kids whose parents bought them a fender right off the bat and didn't learn shit from it over the course of 10+ years. LOL!!! don't be afraid man, I used to be worried about playing in front of people who worked for music stores, then I realized, they're virgins...

LOL! That's funny... thanks for the feed back. I'll have to look into the poster.

Been playing rock and blues since my teens, Marc. Give me a call one of these evenings and we can talk about a plan. Lessons are a must NOW so you don't start any bad habits, but I can help you customize a plan so you have a mix of theory and fun.

My former music palace. Two Strats, a Godin and PRS:


At the corporate xmas party, the house band played a few sets, then I stepped on stage (no suit) and freaked everyone out. May have been the tattoos, I don't know. But we rocked the house with Red House and Johnny B Goode:

John, that would be awesome! When I came by your old place and saw that setup, I was thinking "this guy's got it right". I would really appreciate any help.

I was going to start calling around about leason pricing after Jan 4th. Should I try to find a classical instructor (more ridged?) or are leasons from a place like Picker's or some other music store ok? Do you have any recommendations of teachers in our area?

^^^^Yummy

Stop licking the monitor... you could get zapped! LOL

 

[Boss281]

Lessons need to be tuned to what you want to accomplish and how fast (there's no magic bullet but practice, but you want to practice the right things). Do you want to be able read sheet music ("c, Bflat, F" etc) or site read (play music in your head while you read it), or read tab (the guitar specific music "shortcut")? What type of music do you want to play? Do you want to do singalong stuff and get your rhythm chops down, or be a lead guitar god?

Like the car, you need a plan, need to set aside time, and practice. The key is practicing the right stuff...and playing the music YOU love...

 

[marcspaz]

Yea, I hear you on all of that. I don't want bad habbits and I expect it to take some time.

As far as goals go, short term, I would like to read tab sheets (which looks pretty easy). The music I would like to play would range from Rock to Metal (say things like "Tuesday's Gone" to "Cowboys From Hell"). I think rhythm and moving between cords/notes would be very important as far as playing with a group, but let's face it... string plucking solo stuff is where the fun's at.

As far as how fast I want to learn, I would rather take my time and learn the rudiments fully, to the point where I can perform chord/note changes without looking or thinking about it. I would assume, like a house, I need a good foundation to build on.

I used to play piano when I was a kid. I don't remember much about sheet music, but I think because I did it for a few years, it might come back quickly. So I am not too concerned about a focus on that.

I'll give you a buzz some time after Jan 8... maybe we can get together for lunch/dinner that weekend, catch up a bit and chat about this some more. Some Billiards and beer always works too. Let me know if you might be up for something.

 

[Boss281]

Works for me Marc...

 

[Beerhunter]

Lots of good free lessons on YouTube. Just have a browse around.

 

[TorchedGT]

i have the hendrix experience pedal and i love it with my fender classic players strat... theres tons of guitar how-to videos on youtube. it can be your friend at times when trying to learn certain songs..

 

[marcspaz]

Well, it's nothing great... but she's mine ;-)

 

[marcspaz]

...put up pics of your baby in Ropers Git-Box thread!!!!

I can't find it... Got a link by any chance?

 

[terry5357]

Marc, Listen to what I am saying because this makes the difference between a good player or mediocre...............PRACTICE OR REAK!!!!!!!! I am not kidding one bit. I played in all kinds of bands from the time I was 18 til I was 41. road bands ( I was young and had a blast), house gigs (turned into a job then it wasn't fun anymore), weekend warrior ( this is where I had the most fun of all). I also played all kinds of music, house gig top forty country, road band R & B and the weekend warrior band was variety of top 20 country and classic rock and blues.

THe most important thing is to decide "what" kind of music, find an artist that you like that plays that kind of music and listen and learn from that person. It is a must to know your chords and the different scales. Also alternate picking is where you will pick up speed if you want to be something other than a "slow hand", which is not bad, it teaches taste. But when you can add a little speed to that it will make a huge difference.

When it comes to taste, one of the famous pickers (can't remember if it was B.B. King or Billey Gibons said silence in the right place can be better than the best lick you can play.

hope this helps

This was my most favorite guitar '62 reissue I think this is 1985 or there abouts

 

[marcspaz]

Thanks for the guidance. Sounds like good, solid advice. Nice Guitar too! Great picture.

 

[TorchedGT]

heres my fender... i love it..its the best fender ive ever laid my hands on. its sporting custom shop '69 pickups and a saweet neck... scored it for half of what the musicians friend price is and its in mint condition

 

[marcspaz]

Awesome... I love the color scheme that Terry's and yours has. I wonder how easy it ould be to tear it apart and put some custom paint on it...

 

[07torchgt]

my biggest suggestion is don't be one of those people who pick up tab and play the daylights out of it. They learn a lot of other peoples music and learn it pretty well... If you do that you will never really "learn" how to play guitar... You should get your basics down and not just power chords... learn to play rythme with full chords first and get the foundation like you were talking about.. learn what chords belong to what keys.. learn all your flats, sharps,7ths, augments, etc, ect... there is a shit ton and i mean a shit ton... just learn to let your fingers walk

if you do that you won't be left in the dark when one of your buddies says, "hey, i made this song up... follow me in the key of E minor"...

everyone learns differently so take all advice in stride and do what helps you the most...

for me, my stepdad taught me C, G, D, E flat... i learned those very well and went from there on my own...

to me those were the base of everything i know now... i tried arranging them in defferent ways and strummed in different tempos to see what i could do... then i taught myself a piece at a time...

now i've been playing for 15 years.... I was 12 when i first picked it up and that fret board looked fucking huge then...

 

[Boss281]

When it comes to taste, one of the famous pickers (can't remember if it was B.B. King or Billey Gibons said silence in the right place can be better than the best lick you can play.

BB King probably gets the credit first for saying this, but white space in a solo can be more impressive than all the fretboard gymnastics you want to throw down. God, on a slow blues that pregnant pause can build so much tension before you hit that first solid note...

 

[andyman]

I think it's best to learn on an acoustic but this dvd is awesome, use it until you can play along with everything no problem and you're on your way

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0..._m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1NP91KDA6QZ5B512ZTNH



Keep working on effortless hand and finger rythm and focus on continuity and fluidity of notes. Learn whatever you're learning until you have it down, then try it again in a day or two and see the improvement

and PLAY WITH YOUR FINGERS. You won't always have a pick!!!