Oh how I wish I could play guitar better

[chosta]

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.

this summer, i will take time off from drinking and working to do that. i hope. god i'm so lazy.

[Dancing Ants]

improve your ear. the more things you listen to, the more you learn to hear things through your guitar. some people it takes a LONG time to develop the ear, others can catch it within weeks or months of becoming serious on the guitar. I am fairly good with my ear. If I hear something, I can play it in some form. Probably not the right way the artist/band plays it, but I can *usually* find it on the fret board. I would suggest these steps to develop the ear more:

1) try to play everything you hear...mimick it, whatever you have to do.

2) learn if something goes higher or lower. this will help on improvisation. If you just want to bust something out, you have to know which way to go, right?

3) technically speaking, there are no "wrong" notes in music. it's music. express yourself how you want to. if you want to write something that goes from a bunch of whole notes to whole/half/whole/half/whole whole whole, do it. You can usually find a rythmn pattern that you like, and that makes it sound cool/nice/pretty/whatever.

4) Play stuff other than guitar music on your guitar. If you're a DMB fan, try to pick out some of Roi's lead lines, or Boyd's lead lines, play some of Fonzi's bass riffs, etc etc. Same goes with any other band. If you like Phish, try to play some of Page's piano stuff on the guitar. It's hard, but helps alot in the long run. I'm still working pretty hard at this...

5) write write write. if you don't have any or very little theory knowledge, learn the basics, and refer to point number 3.

6) have fun. taking the guitar, or music in general, *too* seriously makes you think you can't do it. you can. given, you won't be the next Hendrix, Tim Reynolds, Trey Anastasio, Jerry Garcia, Jimmy Page, etc etc, but you will be yourself, and that's what you're looking for, isn't it? develop. your. own. sound. . . and do it well. happy hunting, playing, whatever it is you do.

[Dilbert]

There is a lot of really good advice in the other posts.

I have been playing for over 25 years and really found myself in a rut, not wanting to practice or play. I joined a new band where the other musicians were of a higher standard to me and I have had to raise my game to keep up with them. We are also trying more challenging peices, which again is a challenge. So if you can play with musicians of a higher standard than you, this will help you improve and as you can see, it doesn't matter if you have been playing 2 months or 20 years, you can always improve. I am testimony to that.

On the practice front, I found I was not doing at at all regularly as my guitar was always out of reach, or in a differnt room, or still in its case. My wife re-arranged our lounge to give more room and I now have my guitar out all the time, a chair to sit on and a music stand set up. I now play a little every day and seem to have my enthusiasm back.

Set yourself a goal. It may be to learn an entire song or just a section of a song, such as the opening riff to Satelite. Make this part of your practice session about 15 minutes long then play something you know well so you do not get demorolised. I would say little and often is better than a mega practice binge once a week.

Most of all, enjoy your guitar and your playing.

[Dancing Ants]

Set yourself a goal. It may be to learn an entire song or just a section of a song, such as the opening riff to Satelite. Make this part of your practice session about 15 minutes long then play something you know well so you do not get demorolised. I would say little and often is better than a mega practice binge once a week.

Most of all, enjoy your guitar and your playing.

That's what I do. I really just learn to play as much as possible. I am learning to solo now, and at first, solos from other people scared me (hendrix, trey, etc..), but once you sit down, get comfortable with them, you can work them up into something nice.

[Jer1400]

I'd recommend getting into classic rock from the '60s and '70s. It seems a very large portion of the more popular rock songs from that era have guitar solos and as well as basic chord progressions to learn from. They come in all skill levels, too. Try Hendix's solos & fills in his All Along The Watch Tower cover. Stairway To Heaven also has a wonderful solo in it at about the same skill level.

Make sure to always enjoy it, though. If you've grown tired of learning one song or playing the guitar all together, don't be discouraged, just take a break and play something new or go do some other activity for as long as you need to.

ps.

Be sure to learn & practice the scales as well. :)