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Makers Finders Lessons Charts Contact
How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, practice, practice.
It's an old joke [it sucks!], but it points up an important fact. It takes practice to get good. There's no way to avoid it. However, everyone has this view of practice as being something very boring and it doesn't have to be that way at all. Instead of doing lifeless scalar exercises, you can get the same benefit by practising things that sound good, things that you want to play. All the exercises on this site were chosen for their musical appeal.
The exercises presented are pieces of the finished product you are trying to achieve. In other words, all the riffs in the lesson pages are actually parts of larger riffs that can be combined in an infinite number of ways to form full phrases and solos. By learning the bits and pieces first, you'll find you are able to create your own musical ideas much sooner.
Most important: You must understand the concepts behind the riffs, the ideas that make them happen. Experiment with them on your own. If you are familiar with the concepts, you'll have no trouble advancing to melodies and full solos, and imitating what you hear on the radio will be easy because you'll be able to break it down to its basics.
All the best players have their own style. You can definitely identify your favorite guitarists as soon as you hear them play. The reason for this is that they each employ many of the same ideas over and over. I'm not trying to say that these well-paid, successful professionals are just doing the same thing all the time. On the contrary, the real trick in playing well is being able to make the most of the ideas that you have -- even if it is just a few ideas.
Most beginners waste time trying to learn too many different things and never get to master any of it. So as you practice these ideas, try to personalize them to your own liking as much as you can. You should also give more attention to the riffs and chords that catch your fancy. I'm not saying to ignore the rest of the exercises, you should play through them for the ideas and experience, but if you don't care for them as much then you might not get as much from them.
The things that spark your creativity and imagination are the things that will get into your ears and your head and your fingers most deeply. Those are the things that will stay with you and become part of your own personal style.
Remember: It is your attitude and how you approach the guitar that makes all the difference. Someone with a lot of talent and a poor attitude will not go as far as someone who is less talented but has a great attitude.
Your attitude will make the difference!
One more thing: If you're not having fun, you're probably doing something wrong.