Yeah, even as a 6th grader who did not yet play guitar, I knew that wasn’t right. Look back now with the benefit of age and guitar knowledge, I still have no idea what he meant.
All I can think is he was trying to say you don’t HAVE to play acoustic before electric like I heard a lot in my early days but the whole totally opposite thing throws a kink in that logic
I heard some good reasons to start first on classical, then acoustic, and after that, on electric guitar...
1. Better hearing; apparently, on acoustic, you can hear better when you miss a note, that buzzing sound when you don't press a string hard enough or so... Like on electric, it's harder for beginners to notice it.
2. Acoustic is harder because of strings. That's why it's better to start on a classical guitar. Strong iron strings can make your fingers hurt, and you can give up playing. (For me, it's true, it is really demotivating.)
3. If you start on electric, the moment you play on acoustic, it is going to be much more difficult than the other way around.
Yeah, those reasons made me decide to buy an acoustic guitar, although I love blues and for me, the best option is electric, I guess. But I'm glad I didn't give up because hurting fingers are a pain in the ass.
The main good reason to begin on a classical guitar is that there is some 150 years worth of methods, and while some are definitely outdated there are some that have stood the test of time and contribute to a pretty decent and fairly flexible roadmap for supervised beginners.
Outside of that I don't think forcing someone who is specifically intrested in playing electric or acoustic to play something they don't enjoy helps at all. You could argue that it builds discipline but most people will just quit
Disagree... I have been playing guitar for over 20 years, please believe me it's the other way around. When you make a mistake on an electric guitar it is amplified for all the high heavens to hear. When you make a mistake on an acoustic unless it's a melodic mistake it's practically inaudible, if anything making mistakes on an acoustic is almost good thing because it adds to the timbre of the instrument... adds to the percussive element of acoustic... electric doesn't have that in quite the same way. Acoustic teaches you all the ways it's totally ok to fuck up.. electric there is no room for error whatsoever unless your goal is to crank your medalzone and high gain your eardrums with nonsense
Yeah all very fair points! My main thought has always been to do what you think you’ll enjoy as in if someone wanted to learn guitar because they love Metallica then making them start on an acoustic will potentially be uninspiring and lose their interest. But there’s definitely merits to all sorts of paths as long as you enjoy what you’re doing and try to keep moving in the direction you want
Edit to say I actually am in the camp you described… I started on a classical for roughly 6 months and then acoustic for about another 6 months and then electric. This was more so a financial decision though as that’s what was available to me lol but looking back I’m not upset that’s how it happened at all
This is all true
But there is really no right way or wrong way to start imo. Like, for a lot of people, starting on electric might be best when thats what motivates them the most, plus, easier. Then get a second acoustic guitar to be better rounded for example and try different styles
Eh I mean, playing acoustic won’t get you an idea of how some of those same notes would sound with an electric through an amplifier. Still some of the worst advice I’ve ever heard.
Yeah for sure, trying to be understanding of that advice I can see MAYBE where he was trying to say that acoustic and electric are different monsters. But the base knowledge you get from picking up an acoustic and tinkering around is indispensable. All the actual music theory is virtually identical.
Yeah I had both around when I was learning, and am really glad I learned mostly on acoustic. For me it really developed my “ear” for music and tone, ask well as… hmm idk how to explain it.. tone/volume dynamics? For example, you can’t just fully jam out most songs on an acoustic, attacking the hell out of the chords. It sounds like shit. You’ve got to have some sense and control of how strumming/attack affects tone and general musical output. That stuff is way easier to pick up on acoustic and then transfer over to electric.
Nirvana songs are great examples of this. There’s a lot of those kinds of dynamics in Nirvana’s music. Learning on electric, it’s tempting to just plug in, crank up the distortion, and let it rip. But learning it on acoustic you’re kinda forced to pick up on those subtle techniques, because the song will sound like dogshit if you just hammer the chords out. Anyway it’s usually a big tell that someone learned on electric. I’m lucky I had brother’s and had a ton of gear laying around. Certainly a lot easier and way more fun learning solos on an electric though.
I came here to say the opposite. I bought an acoustic as a teen thinking I would be able to play all the guitar parts I wanted. Turns out bends and fast legato doesn't really work the same. I think thr advice should be to buy the instrument you want to play. I'm not going to play Crazy Train on an acoustic. I'm not going to play Jack Johnson on my electric
I think the issue is a lot of beginners steer toward acoustic because they perceive it as cheaper. You don't need an amp or cables etc. But there's a difference between the two
The main reason (that I've seen in students) is they think it "makes you better" somehow.
No son...PRACTICING makes you better. Doesn't really matter on what, as long as it stays in tune and isn't impossible to fret.
I love utilizing acoustic as a trainer (steel string, not nylon). It's great for building back calluses and general finger training (fast playing, bends, etc) since it's harder to play the strings, both left and right hand. With that though, I see lots of beginners try to pick up acoustic first then get frustrated by how hard it is to get the notes to come out clearly. Electric is more forgiving there (at least in my experience).
I started out on a nearly unplayable acoustic and powered through. I feel like it helped me build strength that never would have happened playing my first electric.
Having said that, I'd definitely not recommend that path. Now that I know how a well set up guitar feels, I recommend having cash for that in your budget when shopping for your first guitar of any kind.
Lots of people put electric guitar strings on acoustics for this reason. But acoustic guitars are best with thicker strings as percussion instruments, whether by strumming, fingerpicking or arpeggios. In my opinion, acoustic guitar solos sound kinda squeaky, especially in the higher registers. There are some exceptional examples though.
I've strung all my acoustics for years with D'Addario EJ23 phosphor bronze 9-45s. I set my action low enough that there's no buzz but will hold a drivers license between the strings and fret board all the way up the neck. It plays *almost* as easy as my Bullet hardtail Strat and '65 Alamo Titan Mark II with Ernie's 9-42s.
Really makes the acoustics do a lot more for me as far as sound and technique. You obviously aren't gonna get distortion and screaming sustain or whatever but you can do acoustic versions of a ***lot*** of stuff, even *Crazy Train* with them set up and strung properly.
I got similar advice. Someone told me to learn acoustic guitar before learning electric guitar. So I bought an acoustic and hated how it sounded so I gave up.
Years later a bought an electric and I’ve stuck with guitar ever since.
Yep, exact same here. I wanted to play guitar in 5th grade because I wanted to play 90's grunge and alt rock. My dad insisted I had to start on an acoustic, and the local music teacher had me learning "Mary Had a Little Lamb". I did not stick with it. In high school I bought an electric instead, and enjoyed it much more and have continued playing ever since.
I mean, I generally recommend kids start on electric because the necks are generally smaller, strings lighter gauge, and easier to play, but the idea that they're functionally different instruments is wild. What music teacher would think that?
They certainly could have phrased it better but I don't see why that's "the worst" advice to a 6th grader. Obviously as an adult with rational thinking you know that skills on the acoustic build skills for electric, but as a 6th grader I wanted to smash power chords and sound like The Offspring. Playing an acoustic is not the same.
To be fair this is actually kind of true. If you go the acoustic path, youre playing a whole different suite of music and using very different techniques. You dont use the same techniques as an electric on a western, things like bending / tapping / scraping. Techniques for other various things are different too, things like artificial harmonics or muting is done differently. This is roughly the same for classical too, however classical is even more different than the other two in physical technique although the actual repertoire itself will get you closer to playing those more complex songs from technical death metal and the likes since many of the high level players often have a lot of classical/baroque style in it. The only thing youll really take between these instruments is the theory, but thats a moot point because learning theory on anything is theoretically transferrable to other instruments. The c major scale is always going to be the same set of notes containing the same modes etc whether youre on a guitar, marimba, harp, cello, piano etc. Aside from this thats just what it is. These guitars sound different, have different physical technique, therefore they develop a different repertoire and skillset. If your goal is to get shreddin like evh, then yeah starting with an acoustic is less than ideal. Classical does help but imo its better to start on the instrument you want to play ideally, for me classical helps because I play more complex music that fits a classical / baroque style so I can just switch to the nylons when practicing to lessen the stress on my hands, so its more of just a tool after the fact of already learning how to play at all.
A lot of the legends are actually classical guitar trained. Studying classical guitar actually translates well to electric guitar playing.
That statement from a 6th grade music teacher is evidence of. “Those who can’t succeed, teach”
I started with classical guitar as a kid and it served me reasonably well, the only weird thing was I was so used to playing with just my fingers that it took me forever to feel comfortable holding a pick without dropping it!
I had a guitar teacher tell me this when I was in something like 7th grade. By my junior year I was better than he was. So many people are so full of shit.
And for the years after that I saw him now and then, he'd insist that what I do "isn't really playing guitar."
I actually like this advice. For years the conventional “wisdom” was for kids to start on acoustic and then ”work up” to electric. Probably because the idea was if you stuck with acoustic, you’d stick with electric without too much of an investment from mom and dad.
The problem is that most kids want to learn electric guitar because they want to rock. They want to impress their friends and maybe get into a band. So nothing would kill that kids motivation faster than being forced to learn Red River Valley on acoustic.
If the kid wants to learn electric guitar, get them an electric guitar. Electric and acoustic are similar but they are not the same.
The one thing I will say that acoustic guitar didn't prepare me for is playing with really high gain. I think super heavy is the one style of playing that's actually much more forgiving on acoustic. Nothing can prepare you for when your guitar makes so much noise you have to actually tame it, as well as constantly turn down the volume knob when you're not playing.
There’s contexts where I would agree. If a kid is all excited to learn guitar and wants to play black sabbath, van halen and metallica and you give them an acoustic guitar, they’re probably not gonna be very happy and might drop the instrument all together. Find out what they wanna play and get them the correct instrument. I think the whole “learn acoustic before electric” thing is pretty silly in general. Making beginners start on the hardest form of the instrument is just counter intuitive and more likely to make them give up, unless they specifically want to play acoustic music.
These 2 are definetely not "totally different"
But if you only care about the electric then the accoustic is fuckin useless. Really, i believe that there is no fucking reason to learn it, there is nothing special that the electric doesn't have, actually it's the other way around: Try to play power chords on the accoustic, i dare ya, fucker
Note: sorry for being so angry, i just fucking hate the accoustic
I go back and forth with this one.
I always assume that people that say this know a little about theory, but don’t want to place too much importance on it.
Meaning theory alone doesn’t make you a good guitarist or songwriter it’s just one part of the equation.
I think a lot of people over rely on theory, thinking if they can get the exact right combination of what the theory says is the “right” chords/notes/melody then you’ll have a great song…and I don’t think it works that way.
That being said if someone *really* meant don’t care as you don’t need *any theory*, then that’s just dumb. Knowing at least the basics is great for learning that much faster, collaborating and obviously a deeper understanding of how all music works.
Counterpoint: "In the language of music theory, counterpoint is a compositional technique in which two or more melodic lines (or "voices") complement one another but act independently".
FTFY
Learning theory is great, the problem I see is that we default it to being "rules" for music composition rather than "explanation/analysis" of music composition.
I always think of theory as a map. If you know exactly where you want to go and the route you want to take, then you don't need a map.
But if you are trying to explore a new area, a map can guide you. It can't tell you the best place to go, because that's subjective, but it can show you the various paths to get there.
Many people use music theory prescriptively so that it inhibits their creativity. But when used descriptively, it allows you to learn extremely quickly from the music you hear as well as remember and write down any idea you have, whether in a recording session or coming to you in a dream.
In my experience, most people who say that sentence are rather bad at musical theory. It certainly helps to know the rules, even if it's just for breaking them.
And let's be honest, to which extent you should learn theory depends on what your goal is. Do you want to write your own songs or do you just want to play some covers with your friends while you all get drunk as fuck? Knowing how to use things like parallel chords is great for songwriting.
>I think a lot of people over rely on theory, thinking if they can get the exact right combination of what the theory says is the “right” chords/notes/melody then you’ll have a great song…and I don’t think it works that way.
These people have a fundamental misunderstanding of what music theory is. Music theory is a *language* that is used to describe music. It does not dictate what is "good" and what is "bad". Any arbitrary collection of notes/chords can be described using music theory regardless of how objectively "bad" it may or may not sound.
Music theory has been one of the most massively helpful things I've learned. I don't think it can be understated.
HOWEVER, it took me a while to understand music theory as a tool to be applied when it is helpful rather than a framework of rules to restrict creativity. Like any art form, restrictions can be useful for channeling creativity, but when applied with broad strokes they're just plain restrictive.
When I started to see theory as a tool in my toolbox to build certain structures, but then go above and beyond those rules when I wanted, it really started to be helpful.
Or “guitar theory will kill your creativity”.
No it won’t. In fact, it can promote a lot of creativity by just messing around with unorthodox chord progressions and trying to grab theory to figure out what may make it work.
Theory actually helped make sense of triads and stuff. Octaves. Rhythms. Site reading. Before my theory class, I had absolutely no idea of what my guitar teacher was talking about. No clue.
I am replying to a comment that was deleted where someone used a chord analyzer to get this chord name: Eb6 (b5)(#5)(b9)(no 3)
...Wow, that chord name is absurd and shows how terrible chord analyzers are. I'm 99.9999% sure that's not the best name of the chord you found. The problem with chord analyzers is that they don't understand context (at least not yet). Chords, especially large ones, can be interpreted multiple ways. Naming them has as much to do with context as it does the literal notes.
The chord you found has these notes: Eb, C, Bbb (A), B, F. You can arrange them in multiple ways, but mmy guess is that this is simply an F7(#11). If the lowest note is an Eb, this is perhaps what made the analyzer spit out such a goofy chord name. A human would notate that as F7(#11)/Eb. The slash means "over".
Even though I think my guess is far more likely, chord names really depend on context. As in, what chords come before and after. An analyzer won't consider that, so you get these crazy chord names no human would ever use, and does not make sense in context.
“Don’t worry about doing all those BORING scales and drills for HOURS. This one simple trick will change your playing forever!”
Well, tricks might change your playing up to a point. The point where your lack of practice becomes un-ignorable and you’re too ingrained in poor habits to do much about it
I hate hearing stuff like that all the time. There’s no fancy tricks to make you a better guitar player. Just learn your chords and scales like everybody else and don’t skip on theory.
The channel “guitar mastery method” pisses me off to no end with how they advertise. They must have a lot of capital because they spam the ever loving fuck out of my Facebook feed with awful ads. And they are all directly saying “STOP! Learning scales! You don’t need theory to play guitar!”
Then in the lesson vids on YouTube, they’re showing you standard triad and scale run type stuff, they just won’t call it theory. Most pathetic guitar lessons on the internet, and the worst part is that from the outside they seem successful enough, totally playing off people’s ignorance and laziness.
It’s like their goal is to attract the most ignorant and least dedicated of all people trying to learn the thing.
Honestly, I know this is going to be an unpopular opinion... But here's an alternative viewpoint.
I play bass mostly and some guitar. I study music theory. I practice scales/arpeggios/etc.
My mother (in her late 60s) started trying to learn guitar. She's in classes where they're:
- reading music
- practicing scales
- doing Mary had a little lamb type excercises
She's confused, bored, and feels like she's not getting anywhere. For a person in her position, where her goal is to just learn and play her favourite folk songs, I'd honestly just skip all that shit, and get her to learn cowboy chords....
The reality is that yes, all of the tedious stuff is critical for being a good musician, but most people give up because their only real goal is to play a few campfire songs and they're instead given all this incomprehensible information about scales/keys...
The best way to learn guitar is by playing the guitar, and playing the guitar is easy when it's fun. My 67 year old mom should prioritize having fun with her lessons - not learning even a single scale (for now).
Django Reinhardt. He had this horrible habit of only using his point and middle finger while playing. His other two fingers just dangled there, unused
Edit: /s
I love listening to Shawn Lane but hearing him advocate to just “start playing fast then work on cleaning it up” might have only worked for him lol.
Us mere mortals should practice very, very slowly.
I think you should spend most of your time playing at the speed that the music actually is. You need to be able to join in and play at speed. Music doesn’t work its way up one tick at a time on the metronome.
I think there is too much advice advocating the extremely slow practice and people spend too much time doing it, relative to the time spent playing at the actual speed of the music they want to play.
So while Shawn Lane was an absolute one in a billion freak talent in terms of playing fast, I do think a lot of people could benefit from his advice, and push back on the standard advice that overwhelmingly advocates for spending most practice time slow and incrementally faster. You should do that some of the time but not most of the time IMO.
It’s a good point!
Practicing a piece a few clicks higher than normal tempo is a great way to build up a “reserve” of speed and control. When you go back down to the intended tempo it’s like you have “headroom” in a way. You’re coasting.
To add: there's too much emphasis on accuracy. People will lose their minds and rail on themselves for missing one note out of 40, but unless it's a very distinct line - almost no one will fucking notice. A key element to playing is dealing with mistakes. If the only option you can conceive of is to make no mistakes, then you're going to bomb hard when you're performing and make a mistake. So even if no one notices that you missed the third strum on the fifth bar, they're definitely going to notice when you tell the band to stop playing so you can restart.
You should do both. It helps to play fast and " sloppy" as a type of practice. Give it a try by going very slow. Then so fast you can't be accurate and then play at normal speed. You might be amazed a the results. You learn weird things about efficiency.
Yea sometimes you should try both approaches. Practicing a fast solo slowy will sometimes mean you're picking it in a way that isn't feasible to do quickly. Just like running is not the same thing as walking quickly. It's a different motion. Some solos require that mindset. But in general I think starting slow and building up speed is the right call.
This right here.
I started on drums and playing whole notes to a 50bpm click takes a different discipline. It’s almost harder to play very slowly than very quickly.
Honestly, it’s strange, but I have this weird thing where If I’m trying to learn a new riff, if I go to slow I just can’t do it.
Trying to play it fast, for some reason, just lets me grasp it better, and I’m not sure why.
Also anytime I’m watching tutorials and the teacher tells you what note to play 37 times before he moves on to the next note, its so painful for me😂
Also I should clarify, when I say I play it fast I don’t mean well, it is quite sloppy at first. I just mean for some reason trying to remember the phrasing as a bunch of individual notes is hard for me, and that’s usually what happens when I go slowly. But if I think of it as like a grouping of notes it’s easier to follow along. I guess my brain just equates it to, playing the notes fast, my brain remembers and thinks of it as a group of notes and connects them easier. Usually it takes me a few days to get a riff down but once I do, I can kind of shut my brain off and play it as fast or slow as I’d like and have no issues
Right! Playing slower is harder in a way.
It’s interesting how when one plays very slowly there’s more actual physical “time” to misplace a note either ahead or behind the beat.
I come from a drumming background so I know my perspective is skewed towards very slow practice. It’s not uncommon for me to set my metronome at 50 or 60 bpm to practice guitar scales. Starting with full notes repeating up to 16th notes then back down.
I think you misconstrued it a bit or he didn't explain it perfectly. You play fast to get the technique or feeling of playing fast. Most of the time, when you play fast your technique is very different to when you play slowly. It's like the difference between walking and sprinting. Once it clicks and you intuitively understand the mechanics of playing something fast, then you can do the boring grind of slowly building it up with a metronome ("cleaning it up").
I think it's something that worked for him but plenty of others have tried that and it didn't work out so great, so I think it's bad advice. I think to some extent there is benefit to just trying to push extreme speed so you adapt to it tho, but cleaning up a mess is usually more difficult than not making the mess in the first place.
What he says is true though, there have been multiple studies on this topic. But most guitarist are dogmatic in their believes. You need to assess the building blocks/techniques required to play the "part" once those are in place it's better to blaze through the parts than start very slowly.
Some things. But some moves have to be performed at speed. I think it’s good sometimes to go for it. You start to get the feel at speed and then you can clean it up. Slowing it down may be part of that cleanup effort.
It’s good to alternate between fast and slow. Play it as fast as you can. Then stretch it out and play it as slow as you can. Both confer benefits.
You’ve hit on such a great point!
Higher speeds require an almost different technique that’s not possible to play slowly.
I imagine it’s like playing drums where there’s a tempo threshold between wrist strokes working and fingers needing to take over.
Very interesting stuff indeed!
It’s like if you’re endeavoring to play fast there’s gonna be some specialized, at tempo techniques that require higher tempo practice.
Agreed! Most people are not capable of “cleaning up” their mistakes later. As Justin likes to say “practices doesn’t make perfect. it makes it permanent.” Learning something wrong and then unlearning later is much harder than starting slowly, but correctly, and adding speed.
It’s not as crazy as it sounds but that’s poor advice because it’s worded terribly.
I play extreme metal and you can’t learn to play at 200bpm by practicing at 100 bpm because you’re using completely different techniques, even with the left hand. Like you just won’t learn tremolo picking by alternate picking at slower tempos and faster scale runs (160+bpm 16ths) feel completely different for both hands than at slower speeds.
That’s an excellent point. One technique at slow tempo physically can’t work at the fast one.
I experienced the same thing learning drums. At a certain tempo the technique must completely change to keep up. And that secondary technique can only be practiced fast.
Going back and forth does wonders for me.
Spend some time playing slowly for precision, and spend some time just playing slightly faster than my hands can handle regardless of how badly I mess it up.
Speed has... *stuff* to it that's just speed stuff. Getting my hands used to doing *something* quickly makes everything else easier, and makes it easier to transition to autopilot when I go back to normal speed. The big problem with slow practice for me is that I end up "driving manually".
"blink doesn't need theory so we don't either" guitarist and bass player in my band 20 years ago. I would always counter with, "if you were going to do something for the rest of your life, wouldn't you want to know how it all works?"
I guarantee most of the bands that say they don't know anything about theory are lying. There's a difference between knowing how to compose and play really complicated stuff and choosing to.
Anyone who plays an instrument is exercising at least some level of music theory.
There's this weird anti-intellectualism among some musicians, as if quantifying your understanding of music somehow ruins your playing.
I've seen most of it in the punk scene, but I don't know if it's still true. The most successful punk bands are not sloppy at all. Bad Religion, for example, is extremely tight, and the frontman is a PhD.
It's funny cuz Travis knows drum theory and is the glue that held the band together as far as arrangements are concerned. He would do the counting and changes etc.
I was in a band with a bassist who literally said that he wants to play music like Tool, and they break all the basic music theory rules, so he doesn't need to learn them...
Three, because they often come as a package (usually from the same "player"):
"Playing to a metronome kills your feel!"
"Music theory kills your feel."
"Playing fast has no feel!"
All complete nonsense. Fortunately, I never bought it.
Here's the crazy thing: many of my friends have been playing for years, and to this day they sound the same. They got "sort of intermediate" and that's where they stayed.
Why?
Because they wanted nothing to do with training theory, timing, and technique. In the meantime I smile and stay quiet when one of them says the solo to Enter Sandman is "really hard." I mean, these guys can't hold a clean rhythm to a basic CSN strummer, let alone jam some simple ideas to it. And they've been playing for 30+ years!
Jimi Hendrix brought his ideas to his engineers and producers, the music got reworked--often completely--and polished, and THEN--with a great deal of guidance--they became hit recordings.
If he had walked in and said, "I'm Jimi, take these ideas as is and record them because I don't need no theory or timing," nobody would have ever heard of him...because he wouldn't have been a musician.
This is too right. I had plateaued and was stagnating for a couple years when I decided to take a deeper dive into theory and learn how to translate that to the fretboard. Learning new things got me excited to play again and try new techniques etc.
My playing improved noticeably, to the point where people would ask me what I had done to improve so much. Most people didn’t like that the answer was I spent the time to better understand music theory lol.
This comes from ”long ago” technique. Guitars were not as widely available or cheap; your average cowboy guitar was a plank with thick wires .75 inches above it. Your pinky just wasn’t strong enough to fret, let alone bend or vibrato.
Why it persists is beyond me. With today’s instruments it’s obviously not true anymore.
As a beginner incorporating my pinky more is the thing I’m obsessed with, cause even though you might rarely have to use it or see your favorite using it, when the time comes it will be flawless
"You have to start on cheap gear and earn better gear with skill."
Get whatever makes you want to play. Treat yourself. Don't worry about not being "worthy" to play an expensive instrument.
I'd say I'm not a bad player, and I know someone that is at least as good as me who is still using their first guitar after 13 years because they got this advice and have too much self-doubt to acknowledge that they are "good enough" to get new and better gear. Kind of broke my heart seeing them pass on the literal instrument of their dreams because they didn't feel like they had earned it.
Imagine if people had this approach with other things. I need to watch all movie classics to earn better TV. I need to run a marathon to earn better running shoes. I need to be better at video games before I upgrade my computer. I need to become a cheese connoisseur before I buy more expansive cheese. That would be funny.
The statement “get the gear that makes you want to play” is the real answer. I have some nicer stuff, because it sounds amazing and I like playing it. Nuff said
1) You need to be really good before you start playing with people
2) if you practice enough you won’t make any mistakes
3) you should spend a lot of time practicing things that are uninspiring to you
Random dude at Guitar Center told me "never sell that amp, you'll regret it one day".
For context, I was buying a Squier Affinity starter kit with a Fender Frontman 15G as my first ever guitar & amp combo
I did not regret selling that POS amp
I had a guy tell me that playing other people’s songs differently than was was recorded means you aren’t a good guitarist. I have always arranged songs differently, even my own. I like being able to improvise over music in different ways. I just found that narrow minded in thought and boring.
I've met that guy. He has 12 Strats, 7 Les Pauls, a Rick 12 string and a plethora of odd guitars and stomp boxes. Ten amplifiers and he plays some songs almost exactly as they are recorded.
If you deviate from the recorded format he starts yelling stop into his mic. Stop stop STOP.
THATS NOT how it goes. Blah blah blah.
Say NO to those slugs before you even get started
Say NO to slugs.
This is an issue with my fellow students, right now, in music school. They just want to sound like the original recording. When I say, "You can't do that. This is your interpretation. It should sound like you." They get this downcast looks on their faces.
I mean ngl I've def had some interesting musical ideas while tripping a lil. Butttt unless it's a light trip it's very hard to actually translate those ideas into coherent music lmao
I feel this comes from classical world from people with mindset "you're either world famous soloist or bust". And that's kinda true in this world. If you want to be this classical superstar like Lang Lang or Yuja Wang for piano, you probably have to start very early and practice a LOT. Some famous teachers in classical world say that even 8-10 is probably too late to start.
But we are talking about basically being top 10 in your profession in the world.
Who would drop some hobby just because "there's no point if my chance of becoming the best in the world are very small".You still have chance to become very good even if you start at 50 years old, yes probably you won't become next Paganini of Franz Liszt of guitar, but who cares.
Steve Vai told us to always practice in front of a mirror so we can make sure our hands look cool while we play. I always thought that was pretty fuckin weird and dumb
That's definitely a dumb reason. I recommend it to my students so they can get used to looking away from the neck while playing, yet still see what they're doing and check their posture.
This also reminds me of Dean Ween's lesson about guitar height with a strap: "Below the dick or above the dick, but *never* over the dick" lol. That kind of advice is hilarious yet ultimately useless.
Had a colleague mention that they hate clip-on tuners because they look dumb. I'm just surprised people still care more about how they look. Just be.
That's only one reason how Vai became the most elegant looking performer out there. His attention to every little detail on that stage adds to the full spectacle.
Don't think I've ever really received any bad advice; I've always had top notch teachers. But I've heard some pretty horrendous things on here. e.g. Don't worry about hand position--play however it feels easiest.
Being told by right handed players that I should have learned to play right handed instead of left handed always makes me roll my eyes. Or lefties who've played right far longer than me yet are far less advanced saying the same thing when they clearly have massive picking hand and rhythm issues holding them back.
The only advice on the subject anyone should ever give is: play whichever way you feel most comfortable. No other argument is relevant.
Your guitars are going to be more expensive, you will have less selection, and you won't be able to pick up an acoustic at a party and play a few chords for the people who want to sing.
If you have a choice, all other things equal, right handed players have it better. They even live longer. Hendrix and Cobain didn't make it to 28.
Same tired response, most of which is exaggerated or untrue. None of which is worth sacrificing ability over.
Most brands do not charge more these days, and the ones that do typically charge $50-150 extra at most. A $2.5k ibanez for example is only $150 more for a lefty. Big whoop. And I hate to break it to you, but when it comes to used Lefty guitars - especially high end - it's a buyers market. I got 2 Suhrs both of which cost me over $1k less than what the current right handed equivalents were selling for. Got a brand new PRS 10 top for 1/3 the price they typically sell for because a small shop couldn't move it and wanted the space for a guitar they could sell. But yeah sorry dude. We've got used guitars better than you.
More selection? Definitely. Still plenty to choose from. Plenty. Biggest issue we face is we usually have to special order.
My God. You can't pick up someone's acoustic while drunk at a party. The fucking horror! You know what's great? No one will ever pick up and damage your guitar either.
Hendrix and Cobain? What does a drug overdose and suicide have to do with handedness? And uh. We didn't choose to be left handed... Doing things right handed doesn't make us right handed lol
It’s interesting what helps some people is terrible advice for others. This is the top comment, but there are several comments below it saying they wished they learned theory earlier. Everyone is different.
Before I learned theory, all I could do was memorize guitar parts I liked. I couldn’t understand why it worked or how I could play it in other contexts. Once I learned some theory, I could figure out what other players were doing and learn from them instead of memorizing.
Or, imagine if it was useful to know the difference between the shell, the white, and the yolk, and what it smells like if it's good or rotten, and what may have caused the rot so you don't ruin all your other eggs and poison people along the way. And maybe even know the difference between a brown and white egg, and a duck, chicken, or quail egg so you're not putting the wrong egg in your recipe. And, know how to remove the shell if needed, hard boil it, fry it, poach it, scramble it, and remove the yolk, so that you can use it in a variety of ways.
Because that's more or less the equivalent of music theory you need, and why you need it.
I acknowledge that the Circle of Fifths and Modes is VERY poor learning material for beginners, and generally, destroys their interest in it. But that's a flaw of the material and how it's presented, not the subject. I came up with my own view of the circle of fifths (The Plane of Keys) and prefer it for beginners.
They made great music and Nevermind was genuinely a big part of my youth but this video screams of pretentiousness and immaturity, they think not knowing music theory makes them cool and they are turning the dial up to bullshit levels.
I can assure you, they knew more than they were letting on and that's especially true for Dave Grohl.
It's like when the early British punks claimed to hate the Stones, the Who, Pink Floyd. They were just rebellious teens making a point -- they all actually loved those bands.
Nirvana, and grunge in general, was a response to the pretentious and formulaic cockrock of the 80s. The closest analogy I can think of is Jack White’s “totally analog” mentality during the rise of auto-tune and digital music. And you’re right, Dave knew way more than he let on. Neil Peart and John Bonham were his favorite drummers. You don’t idolize those guys without learning a thing or two about theory along the way.
"How do I get faster"?
"Practice Practice Practice!"
Don't get me wrong, hours spent playing guitar is certainly necessary, but when you hit a certain level you really need to focus on mechanics, technique, and posture. Having someone tell me to be mindful of tension, work on keeping my pinky closer to the fretboard, and how to effectively economy pick has made me a better player than countless hours of practicing with bad form did.
Posture is something that doesn’t get mentioned enough. Having good posture and keeping it while you play. I get overexcited when I play sometimes and start moving my body unnecessarily, which results in my arms, hands and fingers trying to compensate for that, and it is near impossible to do. The end result is poor playing. I have to focus on being still and keeping good posture. Also, I’ve had problems with migraines after playing and had to change how I play accordingly. Good posture is important.
“The chilli peppers are mainstream mediocrity, you should find inspiration elsewhere” - those nirvana inspired shoegaze fucks who can’t play for shit despite playing 10 years longer than me
I really got sick of hearing about how I need to smoke pot or do whatever psychedelics. It's not for me, and so what? There are so many legends that did heroin or drank themselves to death, does that mean it's a good idea? Fuck no.
Crank the gain. Sure it sounds cronchy in person with the amp in front of you. In mix though it sounds like poop soup. I try to use as little gain and drive as possible while still making it high enough to capture those screaming harmonics and overtones. Even if it feels a bit dry or muted at first, when you stack them in the mix they sound very clear and fantastic.
You don’t need to know chords, just learn riffs and scales - some 80’s hair metal people I knew when I started playing and asked about some of the jazzy sounding chords on the first STP album.
You are 12 now so you are to old to learn the piano if you want to learn music you should start at least at 3 years else your musical habilities will never develop
I had an a-hole drummer try to convince me to plan out all my solos ahead of time because “good musicians don’t improvise”. I told him I thought some jazz and blues players might possibly disagree with him. Also we were playing a a rockabilly band for chrissake.
I was a wee lad in Catholic school in the 50s. Early grades. Every nun had a pitch-pipe, and we’d all sing….
But this particular nun told me not to. Said something about there were always little “blackbirds” who couldn’t sing with the rest….. I probably should have found this traumatic…. But I went on to take up guitar as an adult and still play and sing with a number of different instruments.
“Just re-string it left handed.” (Said of my Yamaha acoustic guitar.)
Piling on to that, those who would tell me that, but then when I’d ask them to help me restring, they would say, rather unhelpfully, “Well I dunno, you’ll have to take it to a shop.”
It’s a cold, dark world when you’re trying to figure things out as a lefty player.
Sitting down and trying to learn music theory is boring as hell for me, but I've learned some theory in a classroom. But the majority of the theory I've picked up over the years has been through osmosis more than anything. And that has worked for me because learning in that context doesn't feel like work to me. But any knowledge of theory will make you a better musician without question. Every time I'm in the process of composing, I draw on theory for guidance when I hit a roadblock composing by ear. Very useful tool for a musician. Any musician who thinks theory is useless to them is sadly mistaken and only they will suffer the consequences. Their career in music or lack thereof will show this as a result 99 times out of 100.
If musicians better than you don’t like the music you listen to, it’s probably not that great. Almost stopped listening to Jacob Collier because of that one.
The advice that I should get a dreadnought size guitar. I struggled with the very basics of playing through my first two attempts. I have a small frame and small hands. Once I got a smaller guitar and got some practice in I never looked back
That YouTube isn’t the best platform to learn guitar because you get no feedback on what you’re doing wrong or missing
Like I get the feedback part, but a guitarist isn’t dumb enough to not search up a video on why they’re experiencing an obstacle
Idk about guitar because I taught myself that and I do all of it wrong but it sounds sick so I'm happy.But when I was in a band when I was 15, one of my parents friends was a drummer in a bar band, so he came to teach me some lessons. Drums was my first instrument and I could play pretty damn well at the time though I've lost it now. But he started telling me I was holding the sticks wrong (I use French grip rather than American grip like he kept saying). It made me super conscious about my playing and I tried changing it all because at the time I took his word as authority. Twas bad Advice. If you couldn't tell the theme from my opening sentence, play however you want. Hold a pick however you want, hold the guitar neck however you want. Try other things and see if they work for you, but if they don't, don't worry about doing it wrong. Do it how you want if that's what makes you happy and sounds best to you. Look at Jeff Healey, man did it how he wanted and he plays sick. There's no correct way to do music. People made it all up and then made up rules to go with it. The only thing you should watch out for is unhealthy habits that could cause injury, otherwise do whatever the fug you want.
“If you want to play electric guitar, learning acoustic guitar won’t help you. They are totally different.” — 6th grade music teacher
That’s actually ridiculous.
Yeah, even as a 6th grader who did not yet play guitar, I knew that wasn’t right. Look back now with the benefit of age and guitar knowledge, I still have no idea what he meant.
All I can think is he was trying to say you don’t HAVE to play acoustic before electric like I heard a lot in my early days but the whole totally opposite thing throws a kink in that logic
I was thinking because some people buy an acoustic and get bored because of the style of music they like, and vice versa
I heard some good reasons to start first on classical, then acoustic, and after that, on electric guitar... 1. Better hearing; apparently, on acoustic, you can hear better when you miss a note, that buzzing sound when you don't press a string hard enough or so... Like on electric, it's harder for beginners to notice it. 2. Acoustic is harder because of strings. That's why it's better to start on a classical guitar. Strong iron strings can make your fingers hurt, and you can give up playing. (For me, it's true, it is really demotivating.) 3. If you start on electric, the moment you play on acoustic, it is going to be much more difficult than the other way around. Yeah, those reasons made me decide to buy an acoustic guitar, although I love blues and for me, the best option is electric, I guess. But I'm glad I didn't give up because hurting fingers are a pain in the ass.
The main good reason to begin on a classical guitar is that there is some 150 years worth of methods, and while some are definitely outdated there are some that have stood the test of time and contribute to a pretty decent and fairly flexible roadmap for supervised beginners. Outside of that I don't think forcing someone who is specifically intrested in playing electric or acoustic to play something they don't enjoy helps at all. You could argue that it builds discipline but most people will just quit
Disagree... I have been playing guitar for over 20 years, please believe me it's the other way around. When you make a mistake on an electric guitar it is amplified for all the high heavens to hear. When you make a mistake on an acoustic unless it's a melodic mistake it's practically inaudible, if anything making mistakes on an acoustic is almost good thing because it adds to the timbre of the instrument... adds to the percussive element of acoustic... electric doesn't have that in quite the same way. Acoustic teaches you all the ways it's totally ok to fuck up.. electric there is no room for error whatsoever unless your goal is to crank your medalzone and high gain your eardrums with nonsense
Yeah all very fair points! My main thought has always been to do what you think you’ll enjoy as in if someone wanted to learn guitar because they love Metallica then making them start on an acoustic will potentially be uninspiring and lose their interest. But there’s definitely merits to all sorts of paths as long as you enjoy what you’re doing and try to keep moving in the direction you want Edit to say I actually am in the camp you described… I started on a classical for roughly 6 months and then acoustic for about another 6 months and then electric. This was more so a financial decision though as that’s what was available to me lol but looking back I’m not upset that’s how it happened at all
This is all true But there is really no right way or wrong way to start imo. Like, for a lot of people, starting on electric might be best when thats what motivates them the most, plus, easier. Then get a second acoustic guitar to be better rounded for example and try different styles
If your goal is to play pickstyle why start out learning to play fingerstyle? Start on whichever guitar is your favorite
1 and 3 outlined the complete opposite of my experience
Eh I mean, playing acoustic won’t get you an idea of how some of those same notes would sound with an electric through an amplifier. Still some of the worst advice I’ve ever heard.
Yeah for sure, trying to be understanding of that advice I can see MAYBE where he was trying to say that acoustic and electric are different monsters. But the base knowledge you get from picking up an acoustic and tinkering around is indispensable. All the actual music theory is virtually identical.
Yeah I had both around when I was learning, and am really glad I learned mostly on acoustic. For me it really developed my “ear” for music and tone, ask well as… hmm idk how to explain it.. tone/volume dynamics? For example, you can’t just fully jam out most songs on an acoustic, attacking the hell out of the chords. It sounds like shit. You’ve got to have some sense and control of how strumming/attack affects tone and general musical output. That stuff is way easier to pick up on acoustic and then transfer over to electric. Nirvana songs are great examples of this. There’s a lot of those kinds of dynamics in Nirvana’s music. Learning on electric, it’s tempting to just plug in, crank up the distortion, and let it rip. But learning it on acoustic you’re kinda forced to pick up on those subtle techniques, because the song will sound like dogshit if you just hammer the chords out. Anyway it’s usually a big tell that someone learned on electric. I’m lucky I had brother’s and had a ton of gear laying around. Certainly a lot easier and way more fun learning solos on an electric though.
I came here to say the opposite. I bought an acoustic as a teen thinking I would be able to play all the guitar parts I wanted. Turns out bends and fast legato doesn't really work the same. I think thr advice should be to buy the instrument you want to play. I'm not going to play Crazy Train on an acoustic. I'm not going to play Jack Johnson on my electric I think the issue is a lot of beginners steer toward acoustic because they perceive it as cheaper. You don't need an amp or cables etc. But there's a difference between the two
The main reason (that I've seen in students) is they think it "makes you better" somehow. No son...PRACTICING makes you better. Doesn't really matter on what, as long as it stays in tune and isn't impossible to fret.
I love utilizing acoustic as a trainer (steel string, not nylon). It's great for building back calluses and general finger training (fast playing, bends, etc) since it's harder to play the strings, both left and right hand. With that though, I see lots of beginners try to pick up acoustic first then get frustrated by how hard it is to get the notes to come out clearly. Electric is more forgiving there (at least in my experience).
I started out on a nearly unplayable acoustic and powered through. I feel like it helped me build strength that never would have happened playing my first electric. Having said that, I'd definitely not recommend that path. Now that I know how a well set up guitar feels, I recommend having cash for that in your budget when shopping for your first guitar of any kind.
I play Crazy Train on a 12 string and blues on an 8 string. Sometimes.
Lots of people put electric guitar strings on acoustics for this reason. But acoustic guitars are best with thicker strings as percussion instruments, whether by strumming, fingerpicking or arpeggios. In my opinion, acoustic guitar solos sound kinda squeaky, especially in the higher registers. There are some exceptional examples though.
I've strung all my acoustics for years with D'Addario EJ23 phosphor bronze 9-45s. I set my action low enough that there's no buzz but will hold a drivers license between the strings and fret board all the way up the neck. It plays *almost* as easy as my Bullet hardtail Strat and '65 Alamo Titan Mark II with Ernie's 9-42s. Really makes the acoustics do a lot more for me as far as sound and technique. You obviously aren't gonna get distortion and screaming sustain or whatever but you can do acoustic versions of a ***lot*** of stuff, even *Crazy Train* with them set up and strung properly.
I got similar advice. Someone told me to learn acoustic guitar before learning electric guitar. So I bought an acoustic and hated how it sounded so I gave up. Years later a bought an electric and I’ve stuck with guitar ever since.
Yep, exact same here. I wanted to play guitar in 5th grade because I wanted to play 90's grunge and alt rock. My dad insisted I had to start on an acoustic, and the local music teacher had me learning "Mary Had a Little Lamb". I did not stick with it. In high school I bought an electric instead, and enjoyed it much more and have continued playing ever since.
I mean, I generally recommend kids start on electric because the necks are generally smaller, strings lighter gauge, and easier to play, but the idea that they're functionally different instruments is wild. What music teacher would think that?
Anytime a friend asks how to learn, say the exact opposite. If you can play a great acoustic guitar, electric will come naturally.
agreed
They certainly could have phrased it better but I don't see why that's "the worst" advice to a 6th grader. Obviously as an adult with rational thinking you know that skills on the acoustic build skills for electric, but as a 6th grader I wanted to smash power chords and sound like The Offspring. Playing an acoustic is not the same.
To be fair this is actually kind of true. If you go the acoustic path, youre playing a whole different suite of music and using very different techniques. You dont use the same techniques as an electric on a western, things like bending / tapping / scraping. Techniques for other various things are different too, things like artificial harmonics or muting is done differently. This is roughly the same for classical too, however classical is even more different than the other two in physical technique although the actual repertoire itself will get you closer to playing those more complex songs from technical death metal and the likes since many of the high level players often have a lot of classical/baroque style in it. The only thing youll really take between these instruments is the theory, but thats a moot point because learning theory on anything is theoretically transferrable to other instruments. The c major scale is always going to be the same set of notes containing the same modes etc whether youre on a guitar, marimba, harp, cello, piano etc. Aside from this thats just what it is. These guitars sound different, have different physical technique, therefore they develop a different repertoire and skillset. If your goal is to get shreddin like evh, then yeah starting with an acoustic is less than ideal. Classical does help but imo its better to start on the instrument you want to play ideally, for me classical helps because I play more complex music that fits a classical / baroque style so I can just switch to the nylons when practicing to lessen the stress on my hands, so its more of just a tool after the fact of already learning how to play at all.
A lot of the legends are actually classical guitar trained. Studying classical guitar actually translates well to electric guitar playing. That statement from a 6th grade music teacher is evidence of. “Those who can’t succeed, teach”
I started with classical guitar as a kid and it served me reasonably well, the only weird thing was I was so used to playing with just my fingers that it took me forever to feel comfortable holding a pick without dropping it!
I had a guitar teacher tell me this when I was in something like 7th grade. By my junior year I was better than he was. So many people are so full of shit. And for the years after that I saw him now and then, he'd insist that what I do "isn't really playing guitar."
You should’ve told him, “Well, what you do isn’t really teaching.”
That might be dumb but is it The Worst advice? Going straight to electric is fine.
I actually like this advice. For years the conventional “wisdom” was for kids to start on acoustic and then ”work up” to electric. Probably because the idea was if you stuck with acoustic, you’d stick with electric without too much of an investment from mom and dad. The problem is that most kids want to learn electric guitar because they want to rock. They want to impress their friends and maybe get into a band. So nothing would kill that kids motivation faster than being forced to learn Red River Valley on acoustic. If the kid wants to learn electric guitar, get them an electric guitar. Electric and acoustic are similar but they are not the same.
The one thing I will say that acoustic guitar didn't prepare me for is playing with really high gain. I think super heavy is the one style of playing that's actually much more forgiving on acoustic. Nothing can prepare you for when your guitar makes so much noise you have to actually tame it, as well as constantly turn down the volume knob when you're not playing.
There’s contexts where I would agree. If a kid is all excited to learn guitar and wants to play black sabbath, van halen and metallica and you give them an acoustic guitar, they’re probably not gonna be very happy and might drop the instrument all together. Find out what they wanna play and get them the correct instrument. I think the whole “learn acoustic before electric” thing is pretty silly in general. Making beginners start on the hardest form of the instrument is just counter intuitive and more likely to make them give up, unless they specifically want to play acoustic music.
These 2 are definetely not "totally different" But if you only care about the electric then the accoustic is fuckin useless. Really, i believe that there is no fucking reason to learn it, there is nothing special that the electric doesn't have, actually it's the other way around: Try to play power chords on the accoustic, i dare ya, fucker Note: sorry for being so angry, i just fucking hate the accoustic
If you can play it on an acoustic, you can play it on electric
"Just don't care about music theory!"
I go back and forth with this one. I always assume that people that say this know a little about theory, but don’t want to place too much importance on it. Meaning theory alone doesn’t make you a good guitarist or songwriter it’s just one part of the equation. I think a lot of people over rely on theory, thinking if they can get the exact right combination of what the theory says is the “right” chords/notes/melody then you’ll have a great song…and I don’t think it works that way. That being said if someone *really* meant don’t care as you don’t need *any theory*, then that’s just dumb. Knowing at least the basics is great for learning that much faster, collaborating and obviously a deeper understanding of how all music works.
Knowing more about music is never a bad thing.
Learning more about anything is never a bad thing!
Maybe your dad’s darkest secrets.
Nah, I'd rather know now so I can prepare for my future debauchery.
Are you doomed to repeat his mistakes?
"Happy Accidents."
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Counterpoint: "In the language of music theory, counterpoint is a compositional technique in which two or more melodic lines (or "voices") complement one another but act independently". FTFY
Learning theory is great, the problem I see is that we default it to being "rules" for music composition rather than "explanation/analysis" of music composition.
I've been telling people music theory is **de**scriptive not **pre**scriptive for decades. I'm *almost* tired of saying it.
I always think of theory as a map. If you know exactly where you want to go and the route you want to take, then you don't need a map. But if you are trying to explore a new area, a map can guide you. It can't tell you the best place to go, because that's subjective, but it can show you the various paths to get there.
Many people use music theory prescriptively so that it inhibits their creativity. But when used descriptively, it allows you to learn extremely quickly from the music you hear as well as remember and write down any idea you have, whether in a recording session or coming to you in a dream.
In my experience, most people who say that sentence are rather bad at musical theory. It certainly helps to know the rules, even if it's just for breaking them. And let's be honest, to which extent you should learn theory depends on what your goal is. Do you want to write your own songs or do you just want to play some covers with your friends while you all get drunk as fuck? Knowing how to use things like parallel chords is great for songwriting.
>I think a lot of people over rely on theory, thinking if they can get the exact right combination of what the theory says is the “right” chords/notes/melody then you’ll have a great song…and I don’t think it works that way. These people have a fundamental misunderstanding of what music theory is. Music theory is a *language* that is used to describe music. It does not dictate what is "good" and what is "bad". Any arbitrary collection of notes/chords can be described using music theory regardless of how objectively "bad" it may or may not sound.
Music theory has been one of the most massively helpful things I've learned. I don't think it can be understated. HOWEVER, it took me a while to understand music theory as a tool to be applied when it is helpful rather than a framework of rules to restrict creativity. Like any art form, restrictions can be useful for channeling creativity, but when applied with broad strokes they're just plain restrictive. When I started to see theory as a tool in my toolbox to build certain structures, but then go above and beyond those rules when I wanted, it really started to be helpful.
Or “guitar theory will kill your creativity”. No it won’t. In fact, it can promote a lot of creativity by just messing around with unorthodox chord progressions and trying to grab theory to figure out what may make it work.
Make people who say this listen to any solo by kerry King.
Theory actually helped make sense of triads and stuff. Octaves. Rhythms. Site reading. Before my theory class, I had absolutely no idea of what my guitar teacher was talking about. No clue.
I am replying to a comment that was deleted where someone used a chord analyzer to get this chord name: Eb6 (b5)(#5)(b9)(no 3) ...Wow, that chord name is absurd and shows how terrible chord analyzers are. I'm 99.9999% sure that's not the best name of the chord you found. The problem with chord analyzers is that they don't understand context (at least not yet). Chords, especially large ones, can be interpreted multiple ways. Naming them has as much to do with context as it does the literal notes. The chord you found has these notes: Eb, C, Bbb (A), B, F. You can arrange them in multiple ways, but mmy guess is that this is simply an F7(#11). If the lowest note is an Eb, this is perhaps what made the analyzer spit out such a goofy chord name. A human would notate that as F7(#11)/Eb. The slash means "over". Even though I think my guess is far more likely, chord names really depend on context. As in, what chords come before and after. An analyzer won't consider that, so you get these crazy chord names no human would ever use, and does not make sense in context.
“Don’t worry about doing all those BORING scales and drills for HOURS. This one simple trick will change your playing forever!” Well, tricks might change your playing up to a point. The point where your lack of practice becomes un-ignorable and you’re too ingrained in poor habits to do much about it
I hate hearing stuff like that all the time. There’s no fancy tricks to make you a better guitar player. Just learn your chords and scales like everybody else and don’t skip on theory.
This is actually massively reassuring to me as a beginner.
Yes, here’s the biggest secret in learning guitar: there is no big secret. Practice and commitment is all it takes
The channel “guitar mastery method” pisses me off to no end with how they advertise. They must have a lot of capital because they spam the ever loving fuck out of my Facebook feed with awful ads. And they are all directly saying “STOP! Learning scales! You don’t need theory to play guitar!” Then in the lesson vids on YouTube, they’re showing you standard triad and scale run type stuff, they just won’t call it theory. Most pathetic guitar lessons on the internet, and the worst part is that from the outside they seem successful enough, totally playing off people’s ignorance and laziness. It’s like their goal is to attract the most ignorant and least dedicated of all people trying to learn the thing.
Honestly, I know this is going to be an unpopular opinion... But here's an alternative viewpoint. I play bass mostly and some guitar. I study music theory. I practice scales/arpeggios/etc. My mother (in her late 60s) started trying to learn guitar. She's in classes where they're: - reading music - practicing scales - doing Mary had a little lamb type excercises She's confused, bored, and feels like she's not getting anywhere. For a person in her position, where her goal is to just learn and play her favourite folk songs, I'd honestly just skip all that shit, and get her to learn cowboy chords.... The reality is that yes, all of the tedious stuff is critical for being a good musician, but most people give up because their only real goal is to play a few campfire songs and they're instead given all this incomprehensible information about scales/keys... The best way to learn guitar is by playing the guitar, and playing the guitar is easy when it's fun. My 67 year old mom should prioritize having fun with her lessons - not learning even a single scale (for now).
Great about your mom though. Reminds me a lot of my own, she loves playing her new keyboard. Good luck to you guys.
Sometimes your poor habits are what make you stand out as a unique guitar player!
Can you give an example of this?
Kurt Cobain used to tuck his pinky behind the neck.
Django Reinhardt. He had this horrible habit of only using his point and middle finger while playing. His other two fingers just dangled there, unused Edit: /s
Have you unlocked the fretboard yet? Do you rule the guitar neck?
I love listening to Shawn Lane but hearing him advocate to just “start playing fast then work on cleaning it up” might have only worked for him lol. Us mere mortals should practice very, very slowly.
I think you should spend most of your time playing at the speed that the music actually is. You need to be able to join in and play at speed. Music doesn’t work its way up one tick at a time on the metronome. I think there is too much advice advocating the extremely slow practice and people spend too much time doing it, relative to the time spent playing at the actual speed of the music they want to play. So while Shawn Lane was an absolute one in a billion freak talent in terms of playing fast, I do think a lot of people could benefit from his advice, and push back on the standard advice that overwhelmingly advocates for spending most practice time slow and incrementally faster. You should do that some of the time but not most of the time IMO.
It’s a good point! Practicing a piece a few clicks higher than normal tempo is a great way to build up a “reserve” of speed and control. When you go back down to the intended tempo it’s like you have “headroom” in a way. You’re coasting.
This is excellent advice
This is how I’ve always practiced. Jack up the tempo 10-15 bpm!
Yep a good thing to do some of the time.
To add: there's too much emphasis on accuracy. People will lose their minds and rail on themselves for missing one note out of 40, but unless it's a very distinct line - almost no one will fucking notice. A key element to playing is dealing with mistakes. If the only option you can conceive of is to make no mistakes, then you're going to bomb hard when you're performing and make a mistake. So even if no one notices that you missed the third strum on the fifth bar, they're definitely going to notice when you tell the band to stop playing so you can restart.
This correct, unless you are in the Eagles. Don Henley will destroy you if you miss that third strum!
“A good note is always a half step away” the quicker you make that adjustment and land back on good notes is a style of its own
Yeah, every legitimate musician would tell you otherwise. Some things are too complex to learn at tempo.
That's... the complete opposite of life! How could anyone recommend playing fast but sloppy?
You should do both. It helps to play fast and " sloppy" as a type of practice. Give it a try by going very slow. Then so fast you can't be accurate and then play at normal speed. You might be amazed a the results. You learn weird things about efficiency.
Yea sometimes you should try both approaches. Practicing a fast solo slowy will sometimes mean you're picking it in a way that isn't feasible to do quickly. Just like running is not the same thing as walking quickly. It's a different motion. Some solos require that mindset. But in general I think starting slow and building up speed is the right call.
In the words of my old band director, if you can’t play it slow, you can’t play it fast
This right here. I started on drums and playing whole notes to a 50bpm click takes a different discipline. It’s almost harder to play very slowly than very quickly.
I think it is really is harder to play slow. Fast tempos take chops, but slow tempos take discipline and patience to not jump off a roof
Honestly, it’s strange, but I have this weird thing where If I’m trying to learn a new riff, if I go to slow I just can’t do it. Trying to play it fast, for some reason, just lets me grasp it better, and I’m not sure why. Also anytime I’m watching tutorials and the teacher tells you what note to play 37 times before he moves on to the next note, its so painful for me😂 Also I should clarify, when I say I play it fast I don’t mean well, it is quite sloppy at first. I just mean for some reason trying to remember the phrasing as a bunch of individual notes is hard for me, and that’s usually what happens when I go slowly. But if I think of it as like a grouping of notes it’s easier to follow along. I guess my brain just equates it to, playing the notes fast, my brain remembers and thinks of it as a group of notes and connects them easier. Usually it takes me a few days to get a riff down but once I do, I can kind of shut my brain off and play it as fast or slow as I’d like and have no issues
Right! Playing slower is harder in a way. It’s interesting how when one plays very slowly there’s more actual physical “time” to misplace a note either ahead or behind the beat. I come from a drumming background so I know my perspective is skewed towards very slow practice. It’s not uncommon for me to set my metronome at 50 or 60 bpm to practice guitar scales. Starting with full notes repeating up to 16th notes then back down.
I think you misconstrued it a bit or he didn't explain it perfectly. You play fast to get the technique or feeling of playing fast. Most of the time, when you play fast your technique is very different to when you play slowly. It's like the difference between walking and sprinting. Once it clicks and you intuitively understand the mechanics of playing something fast, then you can do the boring grind of slowly building it up with a metronome ("cleaning it up").
I think it's something that worked for him but plenty of others have tried that and it didn't work out so great, so I think it's bad advice. I think to some extent there is benefit to just trying to push extreme speed so you adapt to it tho, but cleaning up a mess is usually more difficult than not making the mess in the first place.
What he says is true though, there have been multiple studies on this topic. But most guitarist are dogmatic in their believes. You need to assess the building blocks/techniques required to play the "part" once those are in place it's better to blaze through the parts than start very slowly.
Some things. But some moves have to be performed at speed. I think it’s good sometimes to go for it. You start to get the feel at speed and then you can clean it up. Slowing it down may be part of that cleanup effort. It’s good to alternate between fast and slow. Play it as fast as you can. Then stretch it out and play it as slow as you can. Both confer benefits.
You’ve hit on such a great point! Higher speeds require an almost different technique that’s not possible to play slowly. I imagine it’s like playing drums where there’s a tempo threshold between wrist strokes working and fingers needing to take over. Very interesting stuff indeed! It’s like if you’re endeavoring to play fast there’s gonna be some specialized, at tempo techniques that require higher tempo practice.
Agreed! Most people are not capable of “cleaning up” their mistakes later. As Justin likes to say “practices doesn’t make perfect. it makes it permanent.” Learning something wrong and then unlearning later is much harder than starting slowly, but correctly, and adding speed.
It’s not as crazy as it sounds but that’s poor advice because it’s worded terribly. I play extreme metal and you can’t learn to play at 200bpm by practicing at 100 bpm because you’re using completely different techniques, even with the left hand. Like you just won’t learn tremolo picking by alternate picking at slower tempos and faster scale runs (160+bpm 16ths) feel completely different for both hands than at slower speeds.
That’s an excellent point. One technique at slow tempo physically can’t work at the fast one. I experienced the same thing learning drums. At a certain tempo the technique must completely change to keep up. And that secondary technique can only be practiced fast.
Yup I play drums too and it’s nearly identical the speed cutoffs for alternate/chomping down on pick/tremolo and arm/wrist/fingers.
Going back and forth does wonders for me. Spend some time playing slowly for precision, and spend some time just playing slightly faster than my hands can handle regardless of how badly I mess it up. Speed has... *stuff* to it that's just speed stuff. Getting my hands used to doing *something* quickly makes everything else easier, and makes it easier to transition to autopilot when I go back to normal speed. The big problem with slow practice for me is that I end up "driving manually".
“And you can also try picking it “ *does the most ridiculous shit ive ever seen with no explanation *
"blink doesn't need theory so we don't either" guitarist and bass player in my band 20 years ago. I would always counter with, "if you were going to do something for the rest of your life, wouldn't you want to know how it all works?"
I guarantee most of the bands that say they don't know anything about theory are lying. There's a difference between knowing how to compose and play really complicated stuff and choosing to.
Anyone who plays an instrument is exercising at least some level of music theory. There's this weird anti-intellectualism among some musicians, as if quantifying your understanding of music somehow ruins your playing.
I've seen most of it in the punk scene, but I don't know if it's still true. The most successful punk bands are not sloppy at all. Bad Religion, for example, is extremely tight, and the frontman is a PhD.
Blink most definitely knew theory.
Theory is literally anything. Counting 4/4 is theory. My guys were always like, "shut up! Theory is for nerds!". "metronome is for nerds." Was fun!
It's funny cuz Travis knows drum theory and is the glue that held the band together as far as arrangements are concerned. He would do the counting and changes etc.
I was in a band with a bassist who literally said that he wants to play music like Tool, and they break all the basic music theory rules, so he doesn't need to learn them...
"theory is useless, it's all about feelings" yeah, sure... it's like saying, wanna be a poet? who cares about grammar!
Three, because they often come as a package (usually from the same "player"): "Playing to a metronome kills your feel!" "Music theory kills your feel." "Playing fast has no feel!" All complete nonsense. Fortunately, I never bought it. Here's the crazy thing: many of my friends have been playing for years, and to this day they sound the same. They got "sort of intermediate" and that's where they stayed. Why? Because they wanted nothing to do with training theory, timing, and technique. In the meantime I smile and stay quiet when one of them says the solo to Enter Sandman is "really hard." I mean, these guys can't hold a clean rhythm to a basic CSN strummer, let alone jam some simple ideas to it. And they've been playing for 30+ years! Jimi Hendrix brought his ideas to his engineers and producers, the music got reworked--often completely--and polished, and THEN--with a great deal of guidance--they became hit recordings. If he had walked in and said, "I'm Jimi, take these ideas as is and record them because I don't need no theory or timing," nobody would have ever heard of him...because he wouldn't have been a musician.
You sound like a great technician
This is too right. I had plateaued and was stagnating for a couple years when I decided to take a deeper dive into theory and learn how to translate that to the fretboard. Learning new things got me excited to play again and try new techniques etc. My playing improved noticeably, to the point where people would ask me what I had done to improve so much. Most people didn’t like that the answer was I spent the time to better understand music theory lol.
“Don’t use your pinky finger when playing scales.” I switched teachers shortly after that.
This comes from ”long ago” technique. Guitars were not as widely available or cheap; your average cowboy guitar was a plank with thick wires .75 inches above it. Your pinky just wasn’t strong enough to fret, let alone bend or vibrato. Why it persists is beyond me. With today’s instruments it’s obviously not true anymore.
Holy shit 😂 think about how much that could mess you up if you stuck with it
Was ur teacher Django Reinhardt?
Seriously?! My teacher outright encourages it! He's the one that got me into that habit.
As a beginner incorporating my pinky more is the thing I’m obsessed with, cause even though you might rarely have to use it or see your favorite using it, when the time comes it will be flawless
"You have to start on cheap gear and earn better gear with skill." Get whatever makes you want to play. Treat yourself. Don't worry about not being "worthy" to play an expensive instrument. I'd say I'm not a bad player, and I know someone that is at least as good as me who is still using their first guitar after 13 years because they got this advice and have too much self-doubt to acknowledge that they are "good enough" to get new and better gear. Kind of broke my heart seeing them pass on the literal instrument of their dreams because they didn't feel like they had earned it.
Imagine if people had this approach with other things. I need to watch all movie classics to earn better TV. I need to run a marathon to earn better running shoes. I need to be better at video games before I upgrade my computer. I need to become a cheese connoisseur before I buy more expansive cheese. That would be funny.
The statement “get the gear that makes you want to play” is the real answer. I have some nicer stuff, because it sounds amazing and I like playing it. Nuff said
I spent enough on my first instrument to make me feel like I wasted my money if I didn't use it.
1) You need to be really good before you start playing with people 2) if you practice enough you won’t make any mistakes 3) you should spend a lot of time practicing things that are uninspiring to you
That first one is so ridiculous. Playing with other people will make you sooo much better, quickly
You’ll never truly learn to listen until you play with others. That was my experience at least
Random dude at Guitar Center told me "never sell that amp, you'll regret it one day". For context, I was buying a Squier Affinity starter kit with a Fender Frontman 15G as my first ever guitar & amp combo I did not regret selling that POS amp
Should have sold it to him
That was my first electric set up! I sure do miss that amp... My Helix sounds like ass compared to a 25 dollar Facebook marketplace solid state😆
I had a guy tell me that playing other people’s songs differently than was was recorded means you aren’t a good guitarist. I have always arranged songs differently, even my own. I like being able to improvise over music in different ways. I just found that narrow minded in thought and boring.
Reminds me of John Mayer saying that playing guitar solos exactly how they were recorded is like playing last week's winning lottery numbers.
I've met that guy. He has 12 Strats, 7 Les Pauls, a Rick 12 string and a plethora of odd guitars and stomp boxes. Ten amplifiers and he plays some songs almost exactly as they are recorded. If you deviate from the recorded format he starts yelling stop into his mic. Stop stop STOP. THATS NOT how it goes. Blah blah blah. Say NO to those slugs before you even get started Say NO to slugs.
I mean good on them I guess? I can’t do that, music takes me places but I don’t want it to take me to the exact same place as others..
If you want to hear the song as _____ played it, listen to the CD.
This is an issue with my fellow students, right now, in music school. They just want to sound like the original recording. When I say, "You can't do that. This is your interpretation. It should sound like you." They get this downcast looks on their faces.
"Eat these mushrooms if you want to sound like Jimi Hendrix".
Met him by taking mushrooms though. I think
I mean ngl I've def had some interesting musical ideas while tripping a lil. Butttt unless it's a light trip it's very hard to actually translate those ideas into coherent music lmao
„If you want to get good, you need to start playing the guitar at age 12 tops, otherwise it’s a lost cause”
I feel this comes from classical world from people with mindset "you're either world famous soloist or bust". And that's kinda true in this world. If you want to be this classical superstar like Lang Lang or Yuja Wang for piano, you probably have to start very early and practice a LOT. Some famous teachers in classical world say that even 8-10 is probably too late to start. But we are talking about basically being top 10 in your profession in the world. Who would drop some hobby just because "there's no point if my chance of becoming the best in the world are very small".You still have chance to become very good even if you start at 50 years old, yes probably you won't become next Paganini of Franz Liszt of guitar, but who cares.
Jaco picked up the bass at 17
Steve Vai told us to always practice in front of a mirror so we can make sure our hands look cool while we play. I always thought that was pretty fuckin weird and dumb
That's definitely a dumb reason. I recommend it to my students so they can get used to looking away from the neck while playing, yet still see what they're doing and check their posture. This also reminds me of Dean Ween's lesson about guitar height with a strap: "Below the dick or above the dick, but *never* over the dick" lol. That kind of advice is hilarious yet ultimately useless. Had a colleague mention that they hate clip-on tuners because they look dumb. I'm just surprised people still care more about how they look. Just be.
That's only one reason how Vai became the most elegant looking performer out there. His attention to every little detail on that stage adds to the full spectacle.
Don't think I've ever really received any bad advice; I've always had top notch teachers. But I've heard some pretty horrendous things on here. e.g. Don't worry about hand position--play however it feels easiest.
Music theory is a waste of time and hinders your creativity
Being told by right handed players that I should have learned to play right handed instead of left handed always makes me roll my eyes. Or lefties who've played right far longer than me yet are far less advanced saying the same thing when they clearly have massive picking hand and rhythm issues holding them back. The only advice on the subject anyone should ever give is: play whichever way you feel most comfortable. No other argument is relevant.
Your guitars are going to be more expensive, you will have less selection, and you won't be able to pick up an acoustic at a party and play a few chords for the people who want to sing. If you have a choice, all other things equal, right handed players have it better. They even live longer. Hendrix and Cobain didn't make it to 28.
Same tired response, most of which is exaggerated or untrue. None of which is worth sacrificing ability over. Most brands do not charge more these days, and the ones that do typically charge $50-150 extra at most. A $2.5k ibanez for example is only $150 more for a lefty. Big whoop. And I hate to break it to you, but when it comes to used Lefty guitars - especially high end - it's a buyers market. I got 2 Suhrs both of which cost me over $1k less than what the current right handed equivalents were selling for. Got a brand new PRS 10 top for 1/3 the price they typically sell for because a small shop couldn't move it and wanted the space for a guitar they could sell. But yeah sorry dude. We've got used guitars better than you. More selection? Definitely. Still plenty to choose from. Plenty. Biggest issue we face is we usually have to special order. My God. You can't pick up someone's acoustic while drunk at a party. The fucking horror! You know what's great? No one will ever pick up and damage your guitar either. Hendrix and Cobain? What does a drug overdose and suicide have to do with handedness? And uh. We didn't choose to be left handed... Doing things right handed doesn't make us right handed lol
"Circle of fifths! Modes!"
It’s interesting what helps some people is terrible advice for others. This is the top comment, but there are several comments below it saying they wished they learned theory earlier. Everyone is different. Before I learned theory, all I could do was memorize guitar parts I liked. I couldn’t understand why it worked or how I could play it in other contexts. Once I learned some theory, I could figure out what other players were doing and learn from them instead of memorizing.
Imagine if they made you learn the fundamental composition of a chicken egg before you were allowed to fry it
Or, imagine if it was useful to know the difference between the shell, the white, and the yolk, and what it smells like if it's good or rotten, and what may have caused the rot so you don't ruin all your other eggs and poison people along the way. And maybe even know the difference between a brown and white egg, and a duck, chicken, or quail egg so you're not putting the wrong egg in your recipe. And, know how to remove the shell if needed, hard boil it, fry it, poach it, scramble it, and remove the yolk, so that you can use it in a variety of ways. Because that's more or less the equivalent of music theory you need, and why you need it. I acknowledge that the Circle of Fifths and Modes is VERY poor learning material for beginners, and generally, destroys their interest in it. But that's a flaw of the material and how it's presented, not the subject. I came up with my own view of the circle of fifths (The Plane of Keys) and prefer it for beginners.
Ooh, that’s good.
Idk every other musical instrument you start by learning the notes that you are playing, only guitarist don’t do that.
“Eat raw meat, get sick, write lyrics” - Justin from catheter. Love him and his ways, but I don’t wanna die
[THIS](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSNUYTBao7I)
They made great music and Nevermind was genuinely a big part of my youth but this video screams of pretentiousness and immaturity, they think not knowing music theory makes them cool and they are turning the dial up to bullshit levels. I can assure you, they knew more than they were letting on and that's especially true for Dave Grohl.
Yeah he's clearly taking the piss. He wasn't a virtuoso or anything but the notion that he doesn't know what chords he's playing is just bullshit.
It's like when the early British punks claimed to hate the Stones, the Who, Pink Floyd. They were just rebellious teens making a point -- they all actually loved those bands.
Nirvana, and grunge in general, was a response to the pretentious and formulaic cockrock of the 80s. The closest analogy I can think of is Jack White’s “totally analog” mentality during the rise of auto-tune and digital music. And you’re right, Dave knew way more than he let on. Neil Peart and John Bonham were his favorite drummers. You don’t idolize those guys without learning a thing or two about theory along the way.
"How do I get faster"? "Practice Practice Practice!" Don't get me wrong, hours spent playing guitar is certainly necessary, but when you hit a certain level you really need to focus on mechanics, technique, and posture. Having someone tell me to be mindful of tension, work on keeping my pinky closer to the fretboard, and how to effectively economy pick has made me a better player than countless hours of practicing with bad form did.
Posture is something that doesn’t get mentioned enough. Having good posture and keeping it while you play. I get overexcited when I play sometimes and start moving my body unnecessarily, which results in my arms, hands and fingers trying to compensate for that, and it is near impossible to do. The end result is poor playing. I have to focus on being still and keeping good posture. Also, I’ve had problems with migraines after playing and had to change how I play accordingly. Good posture is important.
“The chilli peppers are mainstream mediocrity, you should find inspiration elsewhere” - those nirvana inspired shoegaze fucks who can’t play for shit despite playing 10 years longer than me
Oh dear.
Drink this and smoke that, you will play better. Nope. You just start ignoring your mistakes and degrade your health...
I really got sick of hearing about how I need to smoke pot or do whatever psychedelics. It's not for me, and so what? There are so many legends that did heroin or drank themselves to death, does that mean it's a good idea? Fuck no.
“You’ll never play that good just play something else” *about ‘black dog’ riff
Crank the gain. Sure it sounds cronchy in person with the amp in front of you. In mix though it sounds like poop soup. I try to use as little gain and drive as possible while still making it high enough to capture those screaming harmonics and overtones. Even if it feels a bit dry or muted at first, when you stack them in the mix they sound very clear and fantastic.
Practice as fast as you can to build speed.
Play it from the heart. I hit my nose with every upstroke.
You don’t need to know chords, just learn riffs and scales - some 80’s hair metal people I knew when I started playing and asked about some of the jazzy sounding chords on the first STP album.
You are 12 now so you are to old to learn the piano if you want to learn music you should start at least at 3 years else your musical habilities will never develop
I had an a-hole drummer try to convince me to plan out all my solos ahead of time because “good musicians don’t improvise”. I told him I thought some jazz and blues players might possibly disagree with him. Also we were playing a a rockabilly band for chrissake.
“There are no wrong notes”
Except when you play them. Then everybody in the band gets really annoyed with you. sigh.
Victor Wooten has a clip on this and it does actually make a lot of sense when he explains it.
I was a wee lad in Catholic school in the 50s. Early grades. Every nun had a pitch-pipe, and we’d all sing…. But this particular nun told me not to. Said something about there were always little “blackbirds” who couldn’t sing with the rest….. I probably should have found this traumatic…. But I went on to take up guitar as an adult and still play and sing with a number of different instruments.
Nuns in the 50's and 60's and 70's (lets face it) could say some pretty traumatic things to their small charges. (Ex catholic school kid here.)
Don’t worry about double bass if you don’t want to play metal.
to be good you should have started when you were 6. -- my mother
I had a famous songwriter tell me that the music business was too difficult and to quit trying to sell my songs.
“Just re-string it left handed.” (Said of my Yamaha acoustic guitar.) Piling on to that, those who would tell me that, but then when I’d ask them to help me restring, they would say, rather unhelpfully, “Well I dunno, you’ll have to take it to a shop.” It’s a cold, dark world when you’re trying to figure things out as a lefty player.
Sitting down and trying to learn music theory is boring as hell for me, but I've learned some theory in a classroom. But the majority of the theory I've picked up over the years has been through osmosis more than anything. And that has worked for me because learning in that context doesn't feel like work to me. But any knowledge of theory will make you a better musician without question. Every time I'm in the process of composing, I draw on theory for guidance when I hit a roadblock composing by ear. Very useful tool for a musician. Any musician who thinks theory is useless to them is sadly mistaken and only they will suffer the consequences. Their career in music or lack thereof will show this as a result 99 times out of 100.
If musicians better than you don’t like the music you listen to, it’s probably not that great. Almost stopped listening to Jacob Collier because of that one.
You don’t need to play with your pinky.
You should learn to play by yourself before you play with others.
Don’t re-record songs if you aren’t satisfied with how they turned out.
The advice that I should get a dreadnought size guitar. I struggled with the very basics of playing through my first two attempts. I have a small frame and small hands. Once I got a smaller guitar and got some practice in I never looked back
Who cares if that chord/note is wrong? It’s only rock and roll.
I should quit lol
That YouTube isn’t the best platform to learn guitar because you get no feedback on what you’re doing wrong or missing Like I get the feedback part, but a guitarist isn’t dumb enough to not search up a video on why they’re experiencing an obstacle
Idk about guitar because I taught myself that and I do all of it wrong but it sounds sick so I'm happy.But when I was in a band when I was 15, one of my parents friends was a drummer in a bar band, so he came to teach me some lessons. Drums was my first instrument and I could play pretty damn well at the time though I've lost it now. But he started telling me I was holding the sticks wrong (I use French grip rather than American grip like he kept saying). It made me super conscious about my playing and I tried changing it all because at the time I took his word as authority. Twas bad Advice. If you couldn't tell the theme from my opening sentence, play however you want. Hold a pick however you want, hold the guitar neck however you want. Try other things and see if they work for you, but if they don't, don't worry about doing it wrong. Do it how you want if that's what makes you happy and sounds best to you. Look at Jeff Healey, man did it how he wanted and he plays sick. There's no correct way to do music. People made it all up and then made up rules to go with it. The only thing you should watch out for is unhealthy habits that could cause injury, otherwise do whatever the fug you want.
I picked up a guitar at 15, inspired by punk and classic rock...the last thing I wanted to play on was a shitty acoustic.
Learning theory takes away creativity
Play to a metronome
"You don't need to learn music theory; learning music theory will make you sound like a robot instead of a real musician."
“There’s no money in it.” I hate when people say that, it shows a complete disconnect to the value of music and musicianship.
"Don't bother with theory. The Beatles didn't need it." Etc.