Dave Guitar in General

[olkskoolpik]

Whats up guys im a new member and i would first like to thank kanter for this kick ass site it is the best i have found on the net. I have been messing with the guitar for around a year and all i ever want to learn to play is Dave, but i always seem to run into the same problems. I can usually get the beginning or the main riff down but I can never put together a whole song, i dont know if its my strumming or my fingering, or what, but it just doesnt sound right. Is this just something that comes with more time or are there tips that you more experienced players can give me. All i want is to be able to play some dave for my friends and at this point for myself too its kind of discouraging .[/b]

[gravedigger]

Well, the best way to start is to start with some easier Dave songs and work your way up to the harder ones. There are some big stretches with a lot of Dave's chords so that comes with time. Dave mutes strings a lot, so that'll come with time. there are videos on how to play the songs up on the tabs, so that can help. check out the 'Dave guitar lessons' on this site, that can help too.

[madtadder]

Whats up guys im a new member and i would first like to thank kanter for this kick ass site it is the best i have found on the net. I have been messing with the guitar for around a year and all i ever want to learn to play is Dave, but i always seem to run into the same problems. I can usually get the beginning or the main riff down but I can never put together a whole song, i dont know if its my strumming or my fingering, or what, but it just doesnt sound right. Is this just something that comes with more time or are there tips that you more experienced players can give me. All i want is to be able to play some dave for my friends and at this point for myself too its kind of discouraging .[/b]

i had the same problem for like the first year and a half i played guitar. i would only learn pieces of songs. dont worry about it, just keep learning the pieces and keep at it, eventually you will have all the pieces down.

[MattyTrane]

digger put it perfectly, the muting comes in the time and so do the streches, unless you have freakishly short fingers or something. so just try easy stuff, and experiment with different types of songs, including other artists. Theres my 2 cents

[Xoosh]

no thanks for me? i mean i kinda designed it and stuff... oh well

as for your stuff.... learnt he songs very slowly... as in tempo wise... then speed up as you get the transitions better. if i can help you with this let me know... i can record some of the songs you want to learn at a very slow tempo for you to play along with.

you can IM me: Aguitarguy02

/x

[dbernard]

first and foremost you should go to http://www.slowgold.com and download their program. It will help immensely on songs like satellite and the stone.

[lordmelt]

i agree that it is just time that will get you there, i was at your stage not too long ago when i just new parts, and couldnt put anything together, now i try to learn all the little fills and everything, so its authentic, the more you work with davs style the more common it will seem, and being his songs mostly all use similar chords, the more you play one song, the easier it makes it to play another, i suggest just learning the riffs, playing them slow a bunch of times, make sure they are perfect, then put them in with the music, give a little time to a song, and when you get it down pat, move on, and by going on this process, it will get easier everytime, just practice and patience will get you there, although sometimes it is a bitch, for songs to start out with, i would recommend, ants and satellite, two step, wwys, big eyed fish, grey street, and then move into some more complicated stuff, such as billies or the raven, lie in our graves, and #41, some of these you wont be able to get right away, but with time they will all flow together when you get very comfortable with the style of chords dave uses, good luck, and just remember to keep it up and you will get there, even dave sucked one time

[olkskoolpik]

thanks for the feedback guys it just gets discouraging sometimes when u cant hav ebeen playing for a while and u still cant put together a whole song. how long did it take u guys who have been playing a while to master a dave song and was it just like one day something happened and u could play it because i feel every once in a while like i make a breakthrough and things just flow.

[lordmelt]

i believe it took me around a few solid months of dinking with dave tunes to really get there, you master one, then another, and after this happens they start flowing faster and faster and you get more in tune with the style of chords, and of course the rhythm, rhythm is a thing i think that you develop without realization, it almost seems like one day its just there, and as for other things, mastering the finger stretches, odder chords and there progressions, is just time, and dedication, work with one song and get it down, then work with another, master something where you can feel its right, and then move on to another song and do the same, eventually after a few weeks, things will start flowing really well. You will feel more and more breakthroughs and then it all flows much more freely and of course, faster.

[Levi]

thanks for the feedback guys it just gets discouraging sometimes when u cant hav ebeen playing for a while and u still cant put together a whole song. how long did it take u guys who have been playing a while to master a dave song and was it just like one day something happened and u could play it because i feel every once in a while like i make a breakthrough and things just flow.

The first song that I learned all the way through was One Sweet World, I had probably been playing about a month and a half or so before I got the whole thing down. I would just learn how to parts of songs, too, but eventually I went back and learned entire songs. I can play about 2/3 of all the Dave songs now. And it's not something that just happens one day. I usually just sit down, play the song, and I'll make mistakes and it will be slow and it will sound like crap, but I just keep doing it over and over again until you're not making mistakes and you have the tempo right and I can usually have the song down in about 15 minutes.

[MattyTrane]

i did it a bit differently, i kinda dabbled in everything then went back later and finished off what i could which is kinda frustrating i dont recommend doing what i did.

[waffle_house_jam]

everybody's really saying the right thing, i used to watch videos and other people and just pick up bits and pieces of Dave songs. i kindof incorporated his style into my playing to the point that it was my most major influence, so if you just practice bits and pieces youll be able to mute and play in that percussive manner that Dave's songs require. eventually youll pick up the rest of the songs. id just find stuff you can play and stuff to work on and jam out.

[MattyTrane]

well put waffle.