Question for serious shredders:

[jaycbrf4]

Question for serious shredders:

I took guitar lessons as a kid (over 20 yrs ago) and my teacher's method was for me to bring in a tape of a song I liked and the following week he'd teach me to play it. I was taught power chords. I never learned to read music, never learned the notes on the neck, scales, chords, just a list of various songs minus the solos. I got real good at playing riffs from most Metallica songs.


My fiance passed away last month suddenly and I lost my job so I have plenty of time on my hands right now. I decided to get a new guitar and learn to play again.

My problem is I don't know where to start. When I was a kid there was no YouTube. Now there are so many "Learn to Play" websites that offer various teaching methods. I feel overwhelmed with information but do not know how to approach learning it again.


What goals should I set? I want to be able to pick up my guitar and just play, I want to learn to solo and shred not just play a few riffs from Master of Puppets.


Do I start with reading standard notation, notes on the neck, scales, chords? What is the best way to practice? What should I practice and how often?

Thanks in advance for any input you can provide me - \m/

[pianoguyy]

Tablature - it puts your fingers on the strings at the frets you're to use.
It will help you play quick and easy. But, if you use it the right way, it can also help you read music. Because you can associate 5th string 7th fret with E which is written at a particular place on the staff.

As far as playing 'riffs' vs being able to play...
Everything is a learning process. You gotta start somewhere. If you can play an E chord for Master of Puppets, then you can play an E chord for Paranoid. You may not realize at first, but all of the notes/chords you play are all the same just put together in different orders to make different songs.

It is just a matter of learning to transition from one chord to the next chord, instead of a chord of a song to the next chord of a song.
Eventually, after the monotony of the same repetitive non-sense --- a light bulb will click in your head, and you will understand it.
At that point, it is not about learning songs, it is about increasing skill levels.

[jaycbrf4]

I am a bit more advanced than that. I can read tab with no problem. As I said in my post I can play most Metallica songs as well as Paranoid. I am looking to taking my playing to the next level where I can sit and shred off the top of my head instead of only knowing song riffs.

Thanks though-

[Catharpin]

I was very similar to you except I never took lessons. Just learned what chords and riffs I could from friends and tabs back in the 80's.
About 18 months ago I got a program called rocksmith and it got me back into playing. It comes with a cord you plug between the guitar and a USB on your computer. They also have it for consoles.
There are guitar lessons, skill building games, songs to learn, and a session mode where you can play with a virtual band. I have learned so much in a short time from this program that it is amazing. It's not just notes and techniques either, you learn about your signal chain, what effects your tone, scales, beats, alternate tuning etc. If you've been out the game for a while it is just an amazing resource. Check it out.

[paranoid]

Improvising is a mixture of theory and feeling even if you do not learn to read notation a little knowledge of theory would go a long way. if jamming with some one and they say hay lets jam in A, it really helps to know what scales and chords will fit in that key. the feeling part comes with experience.

[Boxcar Willie 84]

Dude, very sorry to read about your fiancée and job...I can't imagine what that must be like. There's a great book by Guthrie Govan called Creative Guitar, it has helped me out a lot with making sense of the basics. Good luck!

[artonsafari]

Stumbled on JustinGuitar.com looking for picking exercises. Mostly aimed at beginner to intermediate players, but there's a lot of stuff. I learned riffs and faked through songs with power chords and skipping solos. I went back and finally started learning the pentatonic scale. Then a bunch of blues and rock licks followed by some theory with Justin's Practical Theory for Guitar. Most of the stuff is free, pentatonic lessons and blues licks. The theory course (book)was $27. Still piecing some stuff together but all that foundation work has been paying off. I'm a long way from a shredder but my lead playing has come miles from where it was 3-4 years ago.

sorry about the fiancé and job. Good luck on your quest!

[ian86]

I'm new here but thought I would chime in, so sorry to hear about your loss. The thing that really took my playing to the next level was when I actually learned my way around the fretboard and learned how different notes and scales related to each other instead of just trying to shred some lick as fast as possibe. Remember the fast stuff is just the slow stuff played VERY FAST. There are some old books that helped me out alot, I'm sure there still real effective even by todays standards. Check out "fretboard roadmaps" from fred sokalaw, "The Heavy Guitar Bible" by Richard Daniels or anything from the "Troy Stetina Series" Like I said old old stuff but really informative I think.

[ian86]

Also, especially if you want to play the shred type stuff its a good habbit to get in to always practice with a metronome. Gotta keep in time ya know

[RR2772]

First of all sorry about your life setbacks as they are. Just not let it get you down and take over your thoughts in a negative direction forever.

You need to figure out what you want to play and develop new habits. Then just play that until you got it.

For any type of shred/fast playing you will need the skills to so and they are tought in the brilliant must have book Speed Mechanics by Troy Stetina. I can tell you that doing that as daily practise with a metronome is going to do wonders to your skills if you stick with it. The best and fast way is to practise anything to a metronome as it is steady repeating motions that forms the habit.

Then it is a matter of adding the music as skills alone is not going to much so you can any scales and what not but actual guitar songs you like.

Practice the way you want to and works with you. How long does take for you to get down new lick/music and then get it to natural level (habit formed level)? That is basically what is different to each player in the world. You can be totally lazy or 10-12 hours drilling stuff down. It is all up to you.

But new stuff everyday equals 365 days later 365 new bits of guitar knowledge.

Playing guitar in general is nothing but habits that you can pull on when you need to. If playing Metallica copies is all there is then it might get a bit boring.

So make new habits that matters to your goals. You want to solo/shred then develop the skills. Ad different songs and move what you got around. Always move it around. That is how you keep it fresh!

Always work on the weak side too that is the best advice.

[horns666]

Just start. You'll find your way again. Play, play, play and play and play some more!

Don't copy stuff note for note. Learn basic chords ect. Mel Bay book one ...the rest is up to you.

Do what Eddie Van Halen did...right your own book. Tablature was created so others can copy/understand his style. Write your book, find your style. You want to play. That's the most important part.

I never took lessons. Music is from inside you. Nobody knows what's inside you..right?

[Jackson8090s]

I was very similar to you except I never took lessons. Just learned what chords and riffs I could from friends and tabs back in the 80's.
About 18 months ago I got a program called rocksmith and it got me back into playing. It comes with a cord you plug between the guitar and a USB on your computer. They also have it for consoles.
There are guitar lessons, skill building games, songs to learn, and a session mode where you can play with a virtual band. I have learned so much in a short time from this program that it is amazing. It's not just notes and techniques either, you learn about your signal chain, what effects your tone, scales, beats, alternate tuning etc. If you've been out the game for a while it is just an amazing resource. Check it out.

I had bought that for my son when it very first came out... he learned a few Def-Leppard songs , Ratt - Round & Round , all the way though. He said he learned a lot from that game and passed it off to a friend. To me it looked like Guitar Hero or Rockband... I may take another look at it once I get my arm/neck fixed up as I am rusty as hell and have forgotten more than I remember. Thanks Catharpin.

[RR2772]

And you did not even have the skills developed right before hand!

What you need is direction on what route to take right?

For the shred stuff get a book that works for that and focus on that one for only a few months daily.

You hands needs to be in sync and your fingers respond to your mind. That book will do it. That's the old bible of the stuff and even for me being 41 it works every time I do it.

[horns666]

Do you want to be a musician or a cover band guitarist?

[pianoguyy]

I am not going to fault anyone for being in an original band or in a cover band, or even a tribute band.
But, I just want to point something out ----

We don't call Kanye West a cover artist even though he doesn't right his own stuff.
We don't call Nita Strauss a Tribute Artist even though she is on a stage doing the same Alice Cooper stage routine that has been done for twenty years.

I know that when we think of 'cover band' we think of the local guys in the dive bar every weekend. But the truth is, most of what is heard on the radio is a cover band in the sense that they aren't writing it. I mean, even Jimi Hendrix played just as many covers as he did originals right up until his death. They aren't all bad.