What are your favorite awful, repetitive exercises that made you a better guitarist despite yourself?

I'd be a much better guitarist if I had enough discipline to do awful, repetitive exercises. Instead I've been spinning my wheels for the past 5 years. Ugh!

I started off with the open chord scales, like E, A, C, D, G, and maybe F and B. Just going low to high, then high to low. No more than 3 notes per string, keeping as close to the nut as possible. It did 2 things for me: got my fingers going to the right spot quicker, and got me familiar enough with the scales so that I don't have to think about it when I'm running around in the major keys. Just keep doing it and build it up faster and faster.

Then when that gets unbearably boring (i.e. you can just fly through them all very quickly and cleanly) you mix it up by changing the order of the notes, like this...

Say you're playing a G scale. Start at the top, on the thinner E string. Play the scale going 8 9 7 8 6 7 5 6 4 5 3 4 2 3 1 2 7 1. In other words, go up one, then down 2, up one, down 2, up one, etc., all the way through the scale. (Frets for that in G would be 3, 5, 2, 3, open, 2 etc). It forces you to actually think 2 steps ahead, which is harder. It will go really slow at first for each scale, but then you'll get really fast at it too. And it looks harder here than it is.

Thanks, cap'n!

C'mon guys, I know there are more players out there who have put themselves through this.

One word: Kegel

Radcliffe, I don't have time for philosophy - I want to learn guitar!

Kegel's guitar exercises. Step 1:

[img][200:275]http://us.penguingroup.com/static/packages/us/yr-microsites/guitargirl/images/girlwguitar.jpg[/img]

scales in broken thirds, and broken sixths. Scales in scalar thirds. scales in diatonic triads.

W= whole step (equivalent to 2 frets), H = half step (equivalent to one fret)

Major scale = W, W, H, W, W W, H

C D E F G A B C
W W H W W W H

C being scale degree one, D is scale degree two, etc...

broken thirds are the following scale degrees 1,3,2,4,3,5,4,6,5,7,6,1,7,2,1 going up, 1,6,7,5,6,4,5,3,4,2,3,1,2,7,1 going down.

scalar thirds are 123,234,345,456,567,671,712,1 going up, 176,765,654,543,432,321,217,1 going down

sixths are blah blah blah... you can figure it out, you're bright.

Apply those whole and half step patterns to any root, and you've got a major scale. Flat (lower by a half step) the third and seventh and you've got a natural minor scale. Sharp (raise by a half step) the flatted 7th in a natural minor scale and you've got the harmonic minor (think Hava Nagila sounding). Take the natural minor scale and sharp the 6th and 7th going up, but lower both coming down and you have the melodic minor.

Blah blah blah.

Listen to epa... he will NOT steer you wrong. Just listen to him play - he's a motherfucker!

I'm not so good, but I do think that I have a good FEEL for the instrument. I pretty much taught myself and I HIGHLY recommend:
playing along with your favorite records.

You don't have to know the chord changes.
You don;t have to know the licks,
That;s the point.

Just play along and get your OWN feel for how the music works, and how you can fit YOUR playing in with the rest of the band. Become resourceful.

And, trying to figure out a couple of the licks/riffs they're playing doesn't hurt either. One record that is great for this (at least for a 14-year-old me it was):
Santana - Abraxas
Especially "Oye Como Va?" and "Black Magic Woman"

<--- is anxiously awaiting step 2

You know what'd help, is to know how good you are at present. In other words, did EPA's suggestion:

A. Make no sense whatsoever
B. Make some sense, but probably won't ever attempt it
C. Make sense, could visualize the whole thing w/o guitar in-hand
D. Couldn't concentrate, cuz phil's macho cartoon avatar is just so damn sexy

etc. How far along are ya?

I want to say I understand Phil's post because I know he thinks I do, but I don't. I'm extremely weak on theory. I was doing ok until he said:



Care to expectorate on this (sorry Phil, I appreciate your unfounded faith in my ability to comprehend)?

My bad aaron. If you can sing Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Ti Do, and then back down again, Do Ti La Sol Fa Mi Re Do, that sounds like a major scale. Using those same notes, sing 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 and then 8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1.

The reason using scale degree numbers is super helpful, especially to a math whiz like you, is because the names of intervals now have meaning. If you were told to start on C, and sing a Major third, all you'd have to do is sing 1, 3, or C, E. When I teach kids how to sing intervals, so they can sight sing, I tell them to sing the first note, mentally sing through the scale without vocalizing, and then sing the last note, and then check themselves on the piano. Eventually I let them know my tricks for each interval, like an ascending perfect fourth sounds like here comes the bride, ascending major sixth sounds like the first two notes of My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean, but an ascending minor sixth sounds like the first two notes of Somewhere from West Side Story.

So the numbers aren't frets, they're the actual notes. Another reason that's helpful is with triads. Like C Major. What the hell IS a C Major chord? Well any triad is made of thirds, so in the scale of C Major, it's 1,3,5. Or C, E, G. D minor is D, F, A, or 2,4,6. Does that help? I'm here all day, except when I'm at rehearsal at 10:00 a.m.

smooches.

-Phil

p.s. Squirrgles lesson is good shit.

This was actually the only part I didn't get. 1,6,2,7,3,1?

Thanks, Phil. Never had a lesson. Well, one, but the guy said "you ever gonna take another lesson?" no. "Well, then let's make the most of this... here's what a pentatonic scale is. (demo) Now, move it down 3 frest, and it's major! Wanna learn any songs?"

But I did play trombone in band through highschool, and had some choir work as a lad too, so I at least know the verbiage. I just remember having a day where I thought "shouldn't I be able to apply something from band to get over this learning hump on the guitar?" And then I started doing scales.

scales are great, now get that book of Bach Chorales, and a beginning college theory text, and settle in for some harmonic analysis. It's more addicting than crack, more fun than crosswords, and it will unlock the mysteries of the Beatles songwriting prowess. Seriously. But go figure, George Martin was a trained classical clarinetist with a serious hard-on J.S. Bach.

I might be coming up to Madison with a couple buddies to go to that great acoustic guitar shop, if you want I'll go to the college bookstore and tell you a few titles to get, and then sit down with you and show you how analysis works, standard analytical notation, etc. It'll add another dimension to your playing and your thought process.

-Phil

p.s. Todd's suggestion is also pure gold. Do it without tab. Use those ears, I know you're a picky bastard who can tell in tune from out of tune, aaron.

Oh hey I'd go to that axe bootcamp.

Drop and give me fifty.

dude I'd take you up on this in a SECOND! I've been so lazy with trying to learn scales and stuff cause I met Cap'N right after I started playing, so I never needed to learn anything like that, cause he's always around. But I'd love to sit down with you and talk about this kind of thing if you get up here. and I know the Cap'N would too. Let us know when you think this might be going down. Thanks

haq

try this one:



when you can move an entire stage like that, you're ready for the next lesson.

finger tapping and pitch harmonics. that's really all you need. I mean, look at Steve Vai and/or Joe Satriani!

phil knows what he's talking about

Phil, thats Gold, Baby!

Got anything to help a man with developing a consistent rhythm?

Didn't work for me, but my buddy who recommended it said that he got better than he ever dreamed. He only wanted to be good enough to be able to play songs he liked (Sisters of Mercy, The Mission, etc.), and surprised himself when he went way beyond that.

My problem is that I'm lazy. I keep starting, giving up, and going back to the keytar.

i wish i could tell you how i got from having no rhythm to playing with lots of rhythm.

but a few non guitar things to do:

ALWAYS pay attention to the rhythm when listening to music, focus on the bass player and drummer. drum along with your hands. You may already to do this, but do it more.

play along to james brown.
play simple guitar parts over and over hypnoticly like the Velvet Underground.