QUOTE (MFC)
Should I do more scales, arpeggios. I mean, how did most of you learn to play. Probably not by just playing scales I guess ;-). I know that I could be better just playing the solos but I feel that I need to get up to a certain level before advance to the real stuff.
Heya,
I think that this is probably the biggest stumbling block for guitarists moving into the intermediate group. Andreas Segovia said that learning scales covers the greatest number of technical challenges in the shortest time. So they are definately worth sticking at. There was a post on the old forum a while back on learning the modes in scale form (I outlined a system for doing it), I don't know if it still exists.
But how do you progress once you've got a scale down pat in all positions to writing something, rather than just widdling up and down the scale? And how do you write, when you sit at a guitar and no melody comes to you?
One idea is to develop some patterns and then apply them up and down the scale. So stick to maybe 4 or 5 notes, across two strings. Try as many combinations of finger patterns on the notes as you can find. So for instance, using your pentatonic (with one note added)
Play the notes on the 8th fret with your third finger. For the note on the 10th fret, stretch your little finger up. Repeat each bar for a couple of minutes to get it under your fingers, then play the next. Start putting them together, then play them out of sequence.
CODE
E-------5--8--5--|------5--8--10--8--5---|------10--5--8--5-------5--------
B----8-----------|--8---------------------|--8-----------------8-----
G----------------|------------------------|-------------------------
D----------------|------------------------|---------------------------
A----------------|------------------------|--------------------------
E----------------|------------------------|---------------------------
You should be able to make up loads more using just these notes. Now the thing is, that when you do make up some more, you are writing original material (for you). It's very likely that if you use just the pentatonic in this way, that someone else has written it before you, but that's not what matters. It can be really encouraging to noodle away, and suddenly think "Hang on! That's off a Metallica song".
Use this type of approach in all your scales, all positions, and you will soon come up with some interesting stuff, regardless of your skill level
Regards,
/Tank
P.S. Nice to be back
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