I've had a guitar for more than 30 years and spent most of that time trying to teach myself and not really getting anywhere. I learned the basic chords and snatches of songs and a few riffs but to be truthful if anyone said "OK then, give us a song" I'd be embarrassed! The thing is I just played the same old stuff and whilst I got pretty good at the few things I knew, I wasn't getting anywhere. A few things have helped move me on:
- I learned the difference between practising and playing. I found a great web site by Justin Sandercoe and I've been following his courses and setting aside time to practise scales, chords, do proper finger exercises, learn some music theory and practise licks with the help of his excellent videos. I'm into the blues and so I bought a couple of his DVDs. Sometimes I just jam but others I do proper practice and I it's starting to really make a difference. If you do the same as you've always done you'll get what you've always got, as the saying goes. I find it is important to actually set aside time (pretend it's a music lesson) and do real practice rather than just pick up the guitar when I feel like it, it somehow makes me take it a bit more seriously. I avoided music theory like the plague for years but it has helped with building solos and all sorts and it will help you progress.
- I've found some people to play with. It's amazing how the discipline of playing a dozen songs or so concentrates the mind and trains your fingers! The really great thing is that it's fun and there's nothing like fun to help you learn. You can do this on any level you like, whether at home or in public but I found it really helped my motivation. This site is great for finding songs and building a repertoire of songs that you know properly rather than snatches can do wonders for your confidence.
- I got myself a decent guitar. I have a lovely Simon & Patrick mini-jumbo that gives me a real buzz playing. I use Elixir strings which are expensive but make it really sing and I get a lot of pleasure from playing. It sounds daft but just thinking about my lovely guitar makes me want to pick it up. (Motivation again).
Hope this helps.
Have fun.
Owen
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