1-1 help

[Dan Shipway]

Hey guys ( I know what you are thinking "f**king hell, a new thread", apologies) over the past few months, despite using lots of different sources of information, I am really struggling with basic picking and hand placement. I have sunk loads into online courses and its always the cycle of:

Ask a question, get advice, the advice doesnt help solve the question but im to shy to say that.

I was wondering if anyone would be so kind as to take some time to hop on a video call whether it be on Discord or elsewhere to be able to offer assistance and put me on the right path? Thanks!

 

[Chris Johnston]

Hey man! I may be in a different time zone (Scotland) but hit me up if you need any advice & If I'm available I'll be more than happy to help

 

[Forgetabull]

What is your timezone mate ?

 

[TheRedMageGuitarist]

Dude are you kidding me? During this site's inception I posted like 15 times a day it's how I got where I am!

There is NO SHAME in how many times you post or ask for help. It's what we're here for! I would offer my help, but @Chris Johnston is more skilled at teaching proper technique. He's a master, so you're in good hands with him!

 

[Chris Johnston]

Dude are you kidding me? During this site's inception I posted like 15 times a day it's how I got where I am!

There is NO SHAME in how many times you post or ask for help. It's what we're here for! I would offer my help, but @Chris Johnston is more skilled at teaching proper technique. He's a master, so you're in good hands with him!

If only the master part were true haha, But thanks for the mention Jak!

What's said here is also a good point - feel free to annoy everyone until you feel as if you've got a better understanding. It's how we all learn and everyone here loves guitar, so explaining it over and over is actually something I personally love doing

 

[Dan Shipway]

Hey guys, you are honestly the best! I am definitely one to feel self concious a hell of a lot.

I am currently in the uk so my time zone is GMT. Unfortunately though due to university commitments I am usually only free on weekends.

 

[Dan Shipway]

I have been trying to get more comfortable with improv and delving into using different positions of the major scale but im noticing a few things and I was hoping for some possible advice.

Mainly its about tempo and phrasing. I find that I split everything into blocks because I struggle to transition in and out of passages. For example I could have a fast scalic section followed by a slow melodic section and there is no entwinement between the two.

Phrasing wise, I find that my passages seem to never end, its just this one big phrase with random staccato bits thrown in randomly. I think this is more to do with the fact that I am playing here ever possible and not letting the song breathe which is a bit tough to do in all honesty.

The last thing I wondered if anyone could help with is getting comfortable or finding creative ways to use new scales? I have been playing the pentatonic scale primarily for my whole time playing guitar so I find myself meandering around not really having a strong idea of what im playing.

As always, any feedback is appreciated!

 

[Forgetabull]

Tempo/Phrasing:

Try to keep an ear out for the rhythm, sometimes you can just follow the rhythm rather than adding fills.

Phrasing/Passage Wise:

Let there be some air in it. Think of it as there should be a pause when you take a breath. This gives the listener time to absorb what you've just played without feeling like they've been hit with a wall of notes. Just like when you are talking, you will naturally stop in places and take a breath - your solos should do the same thing.

Scale Wise:

I'm not entirely sure what scales I use, I know I use the blue scale a bit, the dorian scale a bit and I also do some chromatic walking around the place. I think knowing where my root note is and aiming for it, it doesn't overly matter which scale (or parts of) I use.. ie. if we look at the middle of the A minor pentatonic (position 1), on the G string (normally fret 5 and 7 for the pentatonic scale), i'll often go to the 4th fret (dorian) and in the same phrase, go to the 8th fret (blues) before eventually resolving to the 7th fret D string. Sometimes you can mash parts of scales together and it works.

I'm not very good though, you will probably want someone who knows what they're doing

 

[Dan Shipway]

Thanks man, I have heard a lot of people talk about it as if its a vocal line so I will try and see what I come up with when I hum out a melody or rhythm etc

 

[Flower Hands]

The last thing I wondered if anyone could help with is getting comfortable or finding creative ways to use new scales? I have been playing the pentatonic scale primarily for my whole time playing guitar so I find myself meandering around not really having a strong idea of what im playing.

I have a little exercise I use, first you get a rhythm going, like da.da.dadadada.dada, then play whatever notes you want, but keep the rhythm.
Rhythm is sorta important
check it out, the first bars is the rhythm, then I find other notes and play them following the estabilished rhythm

example 2:

so the rhythm is this 6 note pattern in the beginning, then every line I play follows it; they're all 6 note lines....the actual notes dont really matter much for this exercise, just keep the rhythm and it will sound alright most of the time .

and in general playin, keep in mind the safe places to hang on, so if there's a C chord happening, the notes of the triad (C-E-G).
thats the amateur tips, .. yr mileage may vary

 

[Mauro FILHO]

Hey guys ( I know what you are thinking "f**king hell, a new thread", apologies) over the past few months, despite using lots of different sources of information, I am really struggling with basic picking and hand placement. I have sunk loads into online courses and its always the cycle of:

Ask a question, get advice, the advice doesnt help solve the question but im to shy to say that.

I was wondering if anyone would be so kind as to take some time to hop on a video call whether it be on Discord or elsewhere to be able to offer assistance and put me on the right path? Thanks!

I used Skype, if you like to share a time

 

[Dan Shipway]

Hey man, I will be fairly busy soon but I will definitely contact you when I have time if I have any troubles! Thank you

Golem, those tips are really useful! I will try and come up with some stuff and share it when I can.