You are not logged in. Please login or register.
Guitar chord forum - chordie → Acoustic → what next???
So I know quite a few chords. Not all, but I can play most songs. What do I learn now? I know a lot of people will say to learn scales, so I've been working on that, but I can't see a huge point... Anyway, any advice appreciated. 
Write.
Hi auxi
How about learning some finger style stuff. Like Cassical Gas etc. Where you use the the guitar as a stand alone instrument...
ark
what interests you?
Lap and slide, what fun
badeye 
from chords to fills and runs. whatever style you prefer there is a wealth of info on line , u tube and from the local music store.
from rock to country to folk/bluegrass, to blues. and so many of the fills, riffs, licks can be tweaked to fit amost any style. most are simple and partial scales. using simple scales in the major keys will open up the melodic side of playing and running the chromatic scale from low e to high e is a good waqrmup and will help in pick to string coordination and lead to crosspicking. also experimenting in nonstandard tunings can open up a new world of sound for you. simply dropping the low e to d changes the way the instrument sounds. and with other nonstandard tunings one can play more complex patterns without the big stretch of the hand. each step seems to get harder but any journey that is worth anything is never easy. welcome to the magical world of making your own music.....
Keep playing scales until you see the point.
And write.
Keep playing scales until you see the point.
And write.
There is some wonderful wisdom in that statement.
I don't mean to knock you Auxi, but really????? You've conquered guitar and now don't see the point in playing? Don't know how long you've been playing but you can play most songs? Either you are a prodigy, have been playing for 60+ years or you're leaving something out.
There have been some great suggestions about other styles to learn already mentioned. I'll add the blues. It's all about scales.
I agree with Jerome (although I have not yet taken his advice).
Hey Guys,
Thanks so much for the advice. I'll start putting it to use. I guess I have to keep it up with those wonderful scales... *thumbs down* Haha! Oh, well. If it helps. I've been playing for 1.5 years, Zguitar, so no I'm no pro. (I hope my first post didn't sound like I thought I was great or something...) I really love playing all types of music. Especially enjoy fingerstyle, Arkady. Love to listen and play Country. Also would like to learn more Blues.
So with scales, am I learning the neck, or is there more to it? I know my questions are elementary... sorry.
Zurf, Jerome, Ben and Amy: What do I write? Like songs? Cause I'm not that good yet...
If you're not that good yet, write anyway. Paul Simon didn't start out that good either.
Hi Auxi
Playing guitar and learning different styles will all come with more time put into it. It really is a love affair. I wish I learned scales when I was starting out cause it would have advanced my playing tremendously. As for styles to play it's up to you. Check out Youtube "tutorials" or "lessons" for a song or style that you want. You'd be surprised what is out there.
As for writing songs it is the same way, it's a love affair and it must come from the heart. Keep a portable recording device with you cause when the melody magically pops into your head you can record it. It doesn't have to be a good recording, just enough so you can remember it and put lyrics to it when the lyrics come to you. Try not to pressure yourself to write lyrics cause that will advance the writers block. Let the lyrics come when they come.
I hope this helps and the best of luck.
Cheers
Kenny
P.S. No such a thing as a silly question.We learn til the day we die.
I always thought every time you pick up a guitar you are still learning.No matter how long you have played.
If you're not that good yet, write anyway. Paul Simon didn't start out that good either.
What Zurf said. One of the best things you'll learn from writing is that most songs are pretty simple.
Zurf wrote:If you're not that good yet, write anyway. Paul Simon didn't start out that good either.
What Zurf said. One of the best things you'll learn from writing is that most songs are pretty simple.
And the value of scales.
P.S. No such a thing as a silly question.We learn til the day we die.
Haha, Thanks Kenny!
Okay, so next step equals:
Write music and Learn neck via scales
Sounds simple.
One more question: How important is learning theory? And will some of it just come naturally the more I play?
Thanks so much!
Theory is very difficult to understand without an understanding of scales.
It is both unimportant and critically important to learn theory. Many artists don't know any theory whatever. Some rely on it completely. If you want to know which chord follows what other chord in which key to get the sound you want, theory is the way to go. But it can be learned from experience, and some lucky folks just 'get it.'
Most artists who improvise have an absolute mastery of scales (scales practice) and know how to string them together (theory). If you are at all interested in creating new things and improvising, you'll have a much easier time of it with scales practice and rudiments of theory.
Thanks Zurf. So probably I should run my scales and then (if I feel like it ... ) learn theory.
My take on it. Scales and music theory are important and very helpful to learning guitar, however, learning them is not mandatory to be a good guitarist. As Zurf said, many top musicians don't know theory well. Bottom line: Learning them will make chords and lead runs make sense, as opposed to just playing them without the knowledge of why you are playing that specific chord at a specific time.
I'm surprised that no one has addressed the importance of arpeggios and vertical thinking to develop theory knowledge. So....do that too. 
I'm surprised that no one has addressed the importance of arpeggios and vertical thinking to develop theory knowledge. So....do that too.
Haha! I don't even know what arpeggios are... but willing to learn.
Baldguitardude wrote:I'm surprised that no one has addressed the importance of arpeggios and vertical thinking to develop theory knowledge. So....do that too.
Haha! I don't even know what arpeggios are... but willing to learn.
Arpeggios are just chords played one note at a time, in order going up or down the chromatic scale. Sometimes you'll also hear the word inversions. Inversions are just arpeggios played out of order. So there's your first lesson in theory. We sound smarter when we use Italian.
Forgot to mention - arpeggios and inversions are absolutely invaluable to putting together a good sounding bass line.
Hey Guys,
....
Zurf, Jerome, Ben and Amy: What do I write? Like songs? Cause I'm not that good yet...
Auxi... write what you're feeling. Sometimes I just get a thought in my head that's driving me nuts... I start writing like a crazy lady, making some rhymes and some just random thoughts, then I might get a though in my head for a melody line, mess around with the words more till it makes some sort of sense and figure out what chords will go with that melody... and there you have a song. I've only been playing 2 years myself, but I've written three songs. I wouldn't say they're great, or "that good", but they're from me, my heart, and they mean something to me and it feels pretty good to put something out there that's mine. Just go with it, there's lots of really horrible stuff, so you can't be worse than the worst. Bonus... you might just accidentally learn a tiny bit of theory in the process on accident, I did, even though I keep fighting it on purpose. LOL!
Guitar chord forum - chordie → Acoustic → what next???
