25-10-2016, 05:45
I am old-school (in my mid fifties) so books work better for me. I am sure you can learn things by watching YT videos but books explain the theory better and most YT videos are short. The 'monkey see monkey do' approach just does not work for me. Anyway, whatever method you decide to use, there is one thing you MUST learn. Most people who are learning to play guitar try memorising chords and they simply stop at that point and do not progress any further. If you take time to learn scales on the fretboard it will unlock the true potential of the instrument for you. It will allow you to improvise over a piece of music instantly - effectively making up a melody pattern intuitively as the music is playing because your fingers will just know which way to go to achieve a desired effect. Learn the rules first - then you can make and break the rules as you want.
I started by learning chords and playing songs from guitar songbooks etc. Then one day I started reading up about scales in the book I mentioned. So I would put on a piece of instrumental music and slowly but surely I would play along to the melody - at first trying to copy it and then eventually when I understood how the scales worked on the fretboard and what key I was in, I was able to improvise over the melody or invent little bits between what was originally recorded. It also made the instrument a lot more fun to play. And that eventually lead to composing my own stuff many years later and moving on to other instruments. (keyboards, mandolin etc.) - Good luck, but above all else have fun. You are at the start of an incredible journey that does not end.
I started by learning chords and playing songs from guitar songbooks etc. Then one day I started reading up about scales in the book I mentioned. So I would put on a piece of instrumental music and slowly but surely I would play along to the melody - at first trying to copy it and then eventually when I understood how the scales worked on the fretboard and what key I was in, I was able to improvise over the melody or invent little bits between what was originally recorded. It also made the instrument a lot more fun to play. And that eventually lead to composing my own stuff many years later and moving on to other instruments. (keyboards, mandolin etc.) - Good luck, but above all else have fun. You are at the start of an incredible journey that does not end.
'The purpose of life is a life of purpose' - Athena Orchard.