Hi everyone, I just joined GMC.
I been playing the guitar on and off for 3 years never really getting anywhere, and now I've decided to really get into it but im not sure about what to practice.
I've learnt the minor pentatonic boxes and now moving them about and linking them, but where do I go from here?
Whenever I try and improvise over a backing track all my playing sounds the same, and I don't really understand what to play over certain chords, what can i do about this?
Go through some of Andrew's theory and also learn the major scale which is another key scale to know.
Also record a progression and keep playing over it until you're happy with it. Don't be afraid to drift out of the boxes from time to time. Try to hear the notes before you play them and this can help with writing a nice melody
Hi there
Welcome to GMC !! Ok so as I understand it, youve been playing for a few years with no real direction? If you understand how to shift between the pentatonic boxes, but you feel your playings a little flat then a good course of action would be to learn some more pentatonic licks. We have dozens of lessons here that uses licks in the pentatonic scale, Gabriels Blues licks come to mind, Ivans done some cool ones and also David Walliman. Once youve mastered some of these lessons you can apply the licks to your own improvisations!
With regards to general direction in terms of daily practicing. You need to ask yourself what kind of techniques you wish to use in your playing. Alternate picking is a key skill to have in you guitar arsenal, so check out any lessons that build this technique up !! The general idea with GMC is to practice lessons with the skills you wish to build upon.
If you have any more questions just ask !:)
I think you will benefit the most if you go and check out theory lessons from Andrew, because you can then know what to practice in order to get somewhere, and that is your goal right? You can make a system of workouts, like chords, triads, arpeggios, tapping, or whatever, and practice that through a daily routine.
Welcome! It's nice to have another female aboard the good ship GMC
Just to add to all the great suggestions, I'd like to mention the wonderful lesson planner on the main page. It allows you to pick your level of ability (beginner, intermediate etc) and also the style to which you want (acoustic, rock, metal etc) and suggests lessons for you to practice. You can arrange the suggested lessons in any order you want and save it. You can also bookmark lessons for easier access...and to store your favourites
It's a great feature as there are so many great lessons here at GMC and this gives you a starting off point. Also helps put a bit of structure to your practice sessions. I hope you have fun here at GMC and don't hesitate to ask questions. Everyone here is always eager to help out.
rok
I'm in the same boat you are, but I've noticed huge gains in my speed and accuracy by practicing everything to a metronome.
I would recommend Muris's Legato Lesson for accuracy, Pavel's alternate picking lessons for AP technique, Marcus's Vibrato lessons for bending, and Kris's 101 lessons for the basics.
Practice everything to a metronome and you will never go wrong!
hey rokchik and fatsrat, sorry for not replying i didnt realise you'd posted.
I'll have a look at that lesson planner and those lessons you've suggested fatstrat. Thing is I keep looking at different lessons but what I need is structure, maybe I could do 1.5 hrs on technique, .5 on learning a song and maybe another half an hour on improv.
do you think that sounds like a decent plan?
I already wrote that you need a system of exercises. GO through ANdrew's theory board and read a little about building scales and such. You must first learn major scale and everything else that goes with it and that is modes and chords. Just make a regular daily plan of exercises and stick with it.
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