Oh how I wish I could play guitar better

Trippin · Unread post by **Trippin** » Sun Apr 11, 2004 9:42 pm

I have a couple of questions. Wondering what you guys do to get better a picking/soloing? Wordering what I can do to get better. What are some easy solos by Dave to learn. And what are some easy songs by Dave to sing and play at the same time. I guess that was more than 2 questions. Whatever. Peace
Steve

DMBFan63 · Unread post by **DMBFan63** » Sun Apr 11, 2004 10:18 pm

dave doesn't solo, so there are no solos to play that are by dave

Brock · Unread post by **Brock** » Sun Apr 11, 2004 10:39 pm

He has that one solo in Jimi Thing

DMBFan63 · Unread post by **DMBFan63** » Sun Apr 11, 2004 11:19 pm

TrippnBill686 wrote:He has that one solo in Jimi Thing

That isn't really a solo.. more of a jam.. but eh, whatever.. call it a solo or not, it's not something that'd help you learn to solo better

Brock · Unread post by **Brock** » Sun Apr 11, 2004 11:38 pm

It was a joke... hence the

DMBFan63 · Unread post by **DMBFan63** » Mon Apr 12, 2004 12:09 am

TrippnBill686 wrote:It was a joke... hence the

I got yah

2StepGranny · Unread post by **2StepGranny** » Mon Apr 12, 2004 3:49 am

I would almost consider Rhythm & Reason a solo, almost! But that's not the easiest song to play and sing at the same time, I definitely can't do it as of yet. But yes, Dave doesn't do any kind of solo work, it's all rhythm ;-)

riffduster01 · Unread post by **riffduster01** » Mon Apr 12, 2004 5:10 pm

On the live in Boulder, CO.DVD, during the jam after Angel I thought I saw Dave do a little solo. After the "lovely ladies" said something like "and the man on the guitar......"
I dont have it right know so i cant watch it to tell you exactly what they say but that really doesnt matter.

Did anyone else notice that?

charliemike · Unread post by **charliemike** » Mon Apr 12, 2004 7:34 pm

As someone who's been playing for 13 years off-and-on and still ain't all that good, I can only offer the advice to play every day. Even if you play for 30 mins a day, I assure you that like compounding interest, after a while you'll be much better.

Someone here advised to practice like you'd play and that makes sense. Practice sloppy and you play sloppy. Take a song, play it slow and clean and then slowly begin to play it faster and faster and eventually you'll be playing it like Dave. Then after that, you'll be good enough at finger positions, muting, etc that it will be just a matter of learning the new songs chord progressions.

I guarantee that if you play every day, that in a year you'll rock out compared to right now. If you listen to Dave's playing and singing on "Remember Two Things" and then listen to the band's Central Park concert the difference is astounding. That comes from them playing every day and playing hundreds of concerts over the last few years.

Not being preachy, but as a 32-year old guy, I've been playing long enough to know what I didn't do right

dmb_tatertot · Unread post by **dmb_tatertot** » Tue Apr 13, 2004 12:25 am

charliemike wrote:As someone who's been playing for 13 years off-and-on and still ain't all that good, I can only offer the advice to play every day. Even if you play for 30 mins a day, I assure you that like compounding interest, after a while you'll be much better.

Someone here advised to practice like you'd play and that makes sense. Practice sloppy and you play sloppy. Take a song, play it slow and clean and then slowly begin to play it faster and faster and eventually you'll be playing it like Dave. Then after that, you'll be good enough at finger positions, muting, etc that it will be just a matter of learning the new songs chord progressions.

I guarantee that if you play every day, that in a year you'll rock out compared to right now. If you listen to Dave's playing and singing on "Remember Two Things" and then listen to the band's Central Park concert the difference is astounding. That comes from them playing every day and playing hundreds of concerts over the last few years.

Not being preachy, but as a 32-year old guy, I've been playing long enough to know what I didn't do right

couldnt agree with you more and nice little metaphor there!

c_tietze · Unread post by **c_tietze** » Tue Apr 13, 2004 10:11 am

If you play slow with no tempo you'll learn how to play fast. Like the veteran player above, if you play fast and f*ck up constantly, you'll always f*ck up.

Practice slowly, without worrying about rhythm or beats or anything and then work your way up to speed.

Works for me.

Peace,

CJT

Ry_ · Unread post by **Ry_** » Tue Apr 20, 2004 10:36 pm

Well, considering DM dosen't do alot of soloing, I suggest listening to some other guitar players too!! Some of the best solo players are blues guys like Buddy Guy or Eric Clapton. I myself prefer John Mayer. His solo's are completely pop with some influences from blues. And his solos are very harmonic and easy to play, which makes it very easy to learn from!! If I had to suggest a song I would suggest the song "Wheel" by John Mayer which has some really nice and easy solos.

On a seperate note, another really important thing is to develop your own style of soloing. Try to play what really comes from yourself, and not just what you've learnt from others. It's the only way you'll really enjoy soloing!!

dmbvideos · Unread post by **dmbvideos** » Wed Apr 21, 2004 7:32 am

All you need is timing and the ability to change the chords well. The rest comes with lots of slow practice. Hell, I know of people that have tons of guitars, all kinds of money to buy new shit, and yet they still suck. It's far better to be good with bad equipment than the other way around. </deep shit>

ShawnRT · Unread post by **ShawnRT** » Wed Apr 21, 2004 10:26 am

I've found, after about 6 years of guitar playing, that there are three keys to success:

1. Practice: This one is obvious. Practice whenever you can, but not to such an excess that you burnout on it. Also, practice with a metronome! You'll get used to playing in time which is the downfall of many self taught guitar players. Practice different aspects of guitar; scales, chords, strumming rhythms, etc. This leads to key #2...

2. Learn some music theory. Playing guitar is like talking. Music theory is like learning to read. There is a reason that we all learned to read, it helps us communicate! Music theory and notation lets you easily communicate your ideas to other musicians. Studying music theory also expands your ability to solo in a creative manner within the constraints of a song, i.e. key, chord progression and time signature. When someone shouts out to take a solo in 'A' in a jam situation, you'll know what to do and actually be able to choose between several soloing patterns to express yourself the way YOU want in a jam. Dont just stick with the Pentatonics, there's a whole wide world of modes and scales out there to play around with.

3. Play with other people. Nothing helps your get better faster than playing with other musicians. You get used to playing in time and learn how to fit your particular talents and style into a group. Nothing is worse than playing with someone who turns it up to 10, plays way to f'ing fast and doesnt pay attention to the other band members. Those guys get the boot really quick.

Those three are pretty much cliches, but they are for a reason...they work! Just stick with it and absorb as much as you can from as many people as you can and remember that the ultimate goal is to (much like Dave) be able to express yourself through the instrument! Good luck!

timisinsane · Unread post by **timisinsane** » Wed May 05, 2004 7:48 pm

^ nailed it my friend

My two cents that has helped me a lot if just putting in a cd (usually Live at Luther College or a Jack Johson where you know the keys and chords being played) and just trying to jam with that and figuring out what sounds good. also practicing and playing with other people is extremely key

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Oh how I wish I could play guitar better

Oh how I wish I could play guitar better

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