Dad3353

14 minutes ago, fingers1 said:

Guthrie trapp - playing over 1-4-5 chord changes, trying to understand it.

I'm looking at it now, and I'm having trouble following along. I've been playing guitar for well over a half-century. Maybe it's not you, but the video that's not too clear..? I'd suggest looking at a few other tutors do it, and come back to this one now and again. The penny will drop, but not by crushing your head against his lack of clarity. It's Good Stuff, but not well presented, and especially not for novices. 

12 minutes ago, fingers1 said:

Does it matter that the song is a blues in G?

Again, an odd question, to me. You'll be using the chords G, C and D7 quite a lot; the remark concerning the 'D7' is appropriate here, the '7th' concerned being 'C', not 'C#". Have a look at this tutorial video for some ideas, maybe..?

10 minutes ago, fingers1 said:

Thanks for that. When would you choose a minor scale?

The notion of Major or minor would be a function of the composition, and not really a choice made by the Player. It's possible to play minor scales over a piece composed as Major, but that would be a specific musical choice. Why the question..? What is it that you're wanting to play..? A piece you've composed, or a well-known song..? Your question seems odd to me.  

2 minutes ago, fingers1 said:

To determine 1 4 5 chords of a blues in G should I use the 1 4 5 degrees of the G major scale

Yes. The '1' is 'G' (obviously..?), the '4' is 'C', the '5' is 'D'. This same reasoning is used for all keys; simply counting up from the root note of the scale in question. It works for minor scales in the same way.

Beware of the trap, using this simple system, when working out chords, as the '7' for a G7 chord is the 7, flattened (so 'F', and not 'F#'...). This is for convention reasons, rather than pure logic or maths; the G7 chord is not, strictly speaking, in the key of 'G', but is from the key of 'D', and is referred to as a Dominant 7th, leading the ear back to the key of 'G'.

Just sayin'.  

2 hours ago, Woodinblack said:

...just an epiphone EB0 ...

... with no embossed serial number, so almost certainly a copy. It may well play well enough as a bass, but it's not an Epiphone, I think. 

4 minutes ago, Bunny said:

I'd have to have friends and the ability to socialise to do that also frustratingly I can't drive which limits my location options a bit. 

This is something that makes me want to find people I can play with, support, encouragement, and some accountability to keep practising when I want to give up. I think that is something that would really help me.

This gives me pause for thought. I do have a few physical restrictions that I've taken into account, but keep thinking I might be able to overcome to a degree. I've never really thought about not trying to play in every style. I kinda felt that in order to be good and happy with what I can do, I'd have to be good at every style and know all techniques, etc and not just a few. 

 

 

 @Dad3353 I'm having weekly lessons and he is a good tutor, teaches in schools, which probably helps him deal with me as I have the intelligence of a small child. He has played professionally in the past. The last two lessons I've bought up that I'm getting worse and struggling more and he had noticed so we went through some different bands that I like to find songs that I may enjoy learning and I was given the tab for them to practice. I've also download yousician in the hope it will give me a bit more structure to my practice.

 

Thank you for the help and for taking the time to read through my post. I really do appreciate it.

It sounds to me that you're in Good Hands with a suitable tutor, and that your own, personal, needs are being catered for. It's not a race, so 'softly, softly catchee monkey' applies here, as in other endeavours. Follow what he says, diligently, and you'll be as best as you can be, at every stage of your journey. Regular little and often practice of whatever he gives you will see you through. Keep us posted as to progress from time to time, please..? 

1 hour ago, Bunny said:

... I started lessons just over a year ago...

Lessons, eh..? With a decent tutor..? Do you still attend these lessons..? What did/does your tutor say about your progress..? What practice routine did he/she give you..? What medium (method book, song sheets, exercise sheets etc...) did you get for these lessons..?
One year is not a Long Time when learning stuff. Some folk pick things up easily, others plod along a bit longer. Your pace is your pace, there is no point in comparing with others in this respect. Persistence will overcome every obstacle, more especially when guided by a competent tutor. On one's own it's a great deal more of a rocky road (no pun intended...).

Oh, and did I mention Patience..? In some situations it pays to be stubborn; carry on, in the light of what your tutor tells you, and will some of the helpful hints here, and it'll work out just fine. As I wrote, we've all been there, and felt exactly the same, at times. 

19 minutes ago, Bunny said:

Lately, despite practicing more, I've gotten much worse at playing. I'm getting finger placements wrong, missing strings, can't keep time etc. It feels like I'm starting from the beginning again. I'm still having regular lessons and I've downloaded an app which has only highlighted the little to no progress I've been making.

Does anyone have any ideas as to where I've gone wrong? Any advice or links to resources I could try to get me back on  track would be really appreciated.

You give no inkling as to time scale here; are we talking days, weeks, months, years..? 'Plateauing' is a well-known phenomena in the learning process (not just instruments; it occurs in many other fields...). How to avoid it..? Difficult. What to do..? Work through it. For how long..? No idea, as it varies even for oneself. One or two tips, however...

1 - Practice little and often, rather than super-long sessions. Two bouts of fifteen minutes each, per day, are worth more than any two-hour stint.

2 - Little..? Did I say 'little'..? OK, but regularly. This is key; every day, with no exceptions.

3 - Start again: Pick up your very first method book, or first lesson notes, or whatever you started out with. Go through it, from the beginning, as if you're starting again. Do the exercises diligently (no cheating..!); it'll get you back, rapidly, to where you are now plus a bit more.

4 - Pick up your instrument as a 'leftie' (or 'rightie', if you play 'leftie'...); that how it felt when you began, and shows that progress has, indeed, been made.

5 - A bit more difficult, but essential... Arm yourself with a big bucket of Patience; all players, at all levels, need this, and need to fill it up regularly. Learning is a Long Game, and never finished. Just when you think you know it all, you realise that you don't. This is Normal.

6 - Set yourself achievable goals (targets...). A song to learn, a technique to attempt, a genre to bring on board... Give yourself a decent time scale for it, and add it to your practice schedule. Go through the basics, go through your next lessons, then have a go towards this target. Every day in short sessions, going back now and again over older stuff. It'll work; we've all been there. 

Now for my tried and tested 'words of encouragement'...

'It's the first forty years that are the hardest, after which things sometimes tend to get slightly better.' 

There is no serial number embossed into the back of the headstock, which indicates, to me, that it's an unofficial copy of the EB-0. It may well play well, but would have next to no resell value. The illisible signatures add nothing to that, I'd suggest. 

15 minutes ago, Johnners1234 said:

...what is he doing with his pinky.

Nothing, I would say. It's just floating around, not used. 

51 minutes ago, Johnners1234 said:

I'm not familiar with this chord can someone help.

It's basically an 'E', played at the seventh fret on the 'A' string, and using the 'pinky' for the 'hook' note bending. He's muted the 'E' string with the wrap-around thumb. Not all the strings are played. You could just play any 'E' chord; t'will fit, but at that position he can get that bend in. Hope this helps. 

Good morning, @ciderman, and ...

... Plenty to read and amuse you here, and lots to learn and share. 

Good afternoon, @Ray1974, and ...

... Plenty to read and amuse you here, and lots to learn and share. We all, without exception, started out as 'total newbies', so you are far from alone. 

2 hours ago, gravity boy said:

it's the oblique lines that I've scrolled the internet to find, not found them anywhere.  Do they just mean  'repeat the previous chord again and again?

Yes, using the timing indicated by the horizontal bars, or parallel lines, below. No bar..? It's a crochet. One bar..? It's a quaver. Two bars..? It's a semi-quaver. Is that enough information, or do you need more..? 

It's equivalent to these ...

I see nothing untoward in what's written there. What is it that puzzles you..? The numbers are the fret positions for each string, the oblique lines are the strokes to be played, for the duration indicated by the horizontal bars joining the notes. The 'dot' indicates that the length of the note is to be 50% longer than normal. The 'mf' means quite loud, the 'p' means piano, so softly, the 12/8 is the time signature (rather like 3/4 waltz time, but faster, like jigs and reels...). That's it, really. What have you not encountered before..? ('Bohemian Rhapsody' is not really a 'beginner' piece; it has its complexities...).

Hope this helps, if not clarify your concerns..? 

Good evening, @Matt81, and ...

... Plenty to read and amuse you here, and lots to learn and share. 

Part 11..? I've been away from this Forum for longer than I thought..! 

(... and I still don't 'Instagram', soooooo  ...) 

Luckily for me, I don't 'do' Instagram' or whatever, but looked up the answer, and now have no regrets about not 'doing' Instagram or whatever. Not my style, at all. 

5 minutes ago, repoman said:

A barred G would sound a G note on the 12th fret.  I'm trying to avoid that...

The barring finger doesn't have to hold down the 'G' octave. It can just as easily just touch it, as a 'mute', to prevent it ringing out. 

You can do a lot with a Thinline Tele Deluxe, but for compact, it's hard to beat the Hofner Shorty guitars. Everything that full-sized will do, for much less than £200. It ticks all the boxes you need, I think. Worth a look..?

Thomann : Hofner Shorty Deluxe ...

Suspect things to check would be...

Plug a set of headphones in; does the amp sound normal through them..? If so, it could be that the internal switching in that socket has been dislodged, cutting off the speaker. See about replacing it..?

Any and all the connecters, to be (carefully...) removed and put back exactly as they should be (unplug the amp from the mains first, of course...). The fall may have unseated one or several; removing and putting them back may correct the issue.

It's possible, but unlikely, that the speaker itself has been jolted enough to prevent the voice coil from moving, so no, or very little, sound. Gently push the speaker cone forward (from the back...), just a little, to see if it has free movement, with no 'rasping' sound indicating that it's rubbing on something. The ultimate test for that would be to connect the speaker terminals to another, known 'good', speaker.

Hope this helps. 

45 minutes ago, Jonrh98 said:

...with my guitar, modeller, mic and stand plus cables...

Why do you need a neck p/u if you have a modeller..? 

44 minutes ago, repoman said:

...How would you keep it clean?...

I don't know the song concerned (and I'm a drummer, so...), but I tried this and barre the 12fret 'G' and 'B' strings, so never get an open 'G'. I used only upstrokes (no pick; I never knew how to use 'em...), and use the Ring finger to alternate between the B-15 and the G-14. I can't get stupid fast (did I say that I'm a drummer..?, but it sounds clean to me. Not sure if this helps at all. 

2 hours ago, randythoades said:

I have no experience of any of those specific options, but not sure why it needs to be quite so compact if you are playing at home or in a regular duo where you are already taking acoustic, PA etc.

 

The ergonomics of a compact guitar are definitely a compromise and generally make it less easy to play and certainly less comfortable. The Ibanez is just standard electric sizing, so something like a Squier Strat might be a better option for clean and jazz style playing. I don't think you would need to upgrade to locking tuners for that sort of material.

 

If it needs to be compact for the sake of transportability (I ride a motorcycle so really appreciate the ease of transporting a smaller instrument), ones I have tried are the Blackstar Carry-On and the Traveller Ultra Light. Both seem more compact than the Donner. Both were good and quite a bit less £. Very acceptable sounds and fine to play standing up but I found uncomfortable to play seated as the shape just didn't feel natural, particularly on the Blackstar.

 

I had both and sold both and just went back to a standard guitar size as I now have use of a car too, but if I had to choose one to keep it would be the Blackstar. Much easier to carry with a gig bag on a bike with cables and preamp etc in top box. Felt more 'guitar like' and doesn't look as space age as the Traveller / Donner style

I'd echo the above ^^. 

43 minutes ago, randythoades said:

... a tele with humbuckers ...

A Thinline Tele Deluxe is a fine beast indeed. Well worth considering, I'd say.