Guitar Questions

[poorme]

I know there are several guitar players out there. I have a couple of questions (at least to start).

1. C-chord. put the pinky finger on the low E or not?

2. D-chord. wrap the thumb around to deaden the low E? puts you in bad position to hit the next chord....

[VNV Nation]

assume you're referring to open chords

1. you can just play the A-through-B strings or play A through E or both Es..

A string, third fret with ring finger (C)
D string, second fret with middle finger (E)
G string, open (G)
B string, first fret, index finger (C)

you can add the open strings if you'd like, or you can add another fifth by fretting the G note on either string. i guess it's personal preference but the above is probably the easiest

2. you could mute the low E with your thumb but it's not necessary. you're only playing the four high strings anyway.

it won't be awkward after you play it several thousand times, but the positioning does lend itself to D-Dsus4-G, an oft-heard chord progression. Dsus4 is just like open D except your pinky frets the G note on the high E string, instead of your ring finger fretting the F#.

[poorme]

well, I've been torturing this poor instrument for about a year now. I'm just getting to the point where i can (almost) change chords fast enough to keep up with a song. I learned the C chord the way you mentioned. then I saw in a chord book you should play the low G note with your pinky. I played it that way and I have to admit, it sounds better to me. just curious what you guys do.

on the D chord, if you deaden the low E, you can be a little sloppier with your strumming. right now I probably don't hit the A string most of the time for fear of hitting the E on accident.

next question: open B chord...physically possible?

my index finger is bend in toward my middle finger. I cannot barre all 6 strings. not sure what to do about that little problem...

[VNV Nation]

barre chords are a bear when you first learn them. it should get easier over time. but people like jimmy page and B.B. King have never played barre chords

[poorme]

Originally posted by VNV Nation
barre chords are a bear when you first learn them. it should get easier over time. but people like jimmy page and B.B. King have never played barre chords

well, that makes me feel better..:)

I still have to figure out a way to play a B chord though. :(

i kind of think learning to play an instrument is like learning a language. you can do it as an adult, but it's 50 times more difficult.

[VNV Nation]

open B is awkward. can you fret three strings with your ring finger?

Play A-string, second fret, with index finger (B)
then barre F# (D string, fourth fret), B (G string, fourth fret) and D# (B string, fourth fret). or you can finger those three notes on the D, G and B strings with three fingers, as you would an open-A chord, just don't play any of the open strings.

[poorme]

Originally posted by VNV Nation
open B is awkward. can you fret three strings with your ring finger?

i dunno. i'll try it when i get home.

:rockon:

yet another question: to capo or no?

[VNV Nation]

i have never used capos personally. i've fooled around on guitars with capos and they're cool. from the sounds of things right now you don't need to worry about that stuff. you need to get the basics down and wheel your way around the neck until you feel comfortable. then you can develop a playing style and go whatever way suits you.

for the most part i think the people who use cappos are folksie singer-songwriter types who like open chords and like to fool around in different keys. it does open things up to wholly different chords. but for the most part they do this (i believe) so that they can play in a key that better suits their voice.

[poorme]

play much nowadays?

[VNV Nation]

no, like never

one thing i would encourage you to do is to learn how to pick with all of your fingers. play little arpeggios by plucking each string of a chord separately, using a different finger for each.

[poorme]

Originally posted by VNV Nation
no, like never

one thing i would encourage you to do is to learn how to pick with all of your fingers. play little arpeggios by plucking each string of a chord separately, using a different finger for each.

funny you mention that. I was working on that the other day. I don't think that will be that big of a hurdle. knowing like 30 chords and hitting them instantaneously is the problem....

actually I'm starting to get better. for me it was a loooooong time before I could play any chords at all. i'm practicing more now that I can hear the progress. it was so frustrating at the beginning.

[spitball]

Hey something I know about.
poorme. The C is one of the hardest chords to get down . You can let the low E ring if you want but if you hit it to hard it's not cool. For the D ...if you want you can put your thumb on the 2nd fret(F#) and it sounds nice.
I'm a capo guy. I like to use a capo for a different sound sometimes. Especially if I'm in a multiple guitar situation. Everyone strumming the same voicings can be a bit dense.
And remember...the drunker you get the better you sound.

[poorme]

if C is hard, B is the Devil Itself.

I was printing off TABs off the net and playing the chords. so my dog eats the papers of about 10 songs I have been playing. no problem I think. so I go back to the net and they're not there! I think the record industry must have cracked down on that stuff. I can probably still find them somewhere - maybe on foreign websites, but I can't mess around with my 28k modem at home.

I was singing a song the other day to my wife - anybody going to san antone- and her response was, "you really have problems with that one note, huh?"

thanks, Honey!

[spitball]

Originally posted by poorme
if C is hard, B is the Devil Itself.

I was printing off TABs off the net and playing the chords. so my dog eats the papers of about 10 songs I have been playing. no problem I think. so I go back to the net and they're not there! I think the record industry must have cracked down on that stuff. I can probably still find them somewhere - maybe on foreign websites, but I can't mess around with my 28k modem at home.

I was singing a song the other day to my wife - anybody going to san antone- and her response was, "you really have problems with that one note, huh?"

thanks, Honey!
Leave it to the one you love to stick in the dagger man.:rolleyes:
Now about this open B....are you refering to a B7.
Because unless you're doing partial chords a B is a bar chord.
What kind of capo do you own? And what kind of guitbox ya playin' there Mr Troubador?

[poorme]

yeah, B. the one where you're supposed to barre the first fret and put down 234 on the 3rd. Yeah right! B7 I can do.

i don't own a capo. did andres segovia have a capo?


it's a steel string acoustic - fender.

[VNV Nation]

Segovia would recoil in horror if you asked him about capos.


Just as with fingerpicking, I highly recommend learning some classical stuff. there's nothing better if you want to learn some theory and technique at the same time.

unless you want to be a real classical guitarist, don't sweat the actual picking so much...as long as you're using all your fingers and getting the notes, it works.

[spitball]

Originally posted by VNV Nation
Segovia would recoil in horror if you asked him about capos.


Just as with fingerpicking, I highly recommend learning some classical stuff. there's nothing better if you want to learn some theory and technique at the same time.

unless you want to be a real classical guitarist, don't sweat the actual picking so much...as long as you're using all your fingers and getting the notes, it works.
Or watch that guy on PBS with the ascot and hoity toity English accent.
That has to be one of the longest running shows in history.

[chrisfostermusi]

Wow a subject I can chime in on.

Poor me,

I recommend a "Shubb" capot. I personally like them a lot better than the Keiser brand, although a lot of players do like the Keiser.

Shubb makes capots for acoustic and classical guitars. They make one that will allow your guitar to automatically be tuned to a different tuning... you might have heard of the DAGDAD tuning.

When exploring music, don't let traditional thinking deter your exploration. (Segovia be damned) Their have been a lot of innovations with the guitar in the last 20-30 years. Guys who have broken the traditional molds and enhanced the art. Michael Hedges, and Adrian Legg are two that come to mind. There is another guitar player that plays the guitar almost like a piano named Stanley Jordan. His guitar teacher would have flipped had he tried that in lessons.

Traditional thinking is good for learning but don't get locked into it and limit yourself longterm. Try capots, try alternate tunings. Try different kinds of guitars... This is what makes music a fun and an engageing hobby. It stirs your creativity.

What kind of guitar do you have?

[poorme]

Originally posted by chrisfostermusi
What kind of guitar do you have?

just an off the rack fender steel string. one up from the "basic" model. can't remember the model number.

I still have a ways to go before I start experimenting. I wouldn't know what to experiment with. Right now, I can probably play 10-15 chords. mind you I can't do them all cleanly on the fly...

i would like to get an electric guitar. wife has put the kibosh on that so far. I have a telecaster in mind..

[chrisfostermusi]

Originally posted by poorme


i would like to get an electric guitar. wife has put the kibosh on that so far. I have a telecaster in mind..

You will become a real musician when you purchase your prize possession in secret and 6 months later when your wife realizes it say "oh I have had that for a long time! What? you haven't noticed?"

Now I just run everything through my business account and explain it all off as necessary for the gig!:D

[spitball]

Originally posted by poorme
just an off the rack fender steel string. one up from the "basic" model. can't remember the model number.

I still have a ways to go before I start experimenting. I wouldn't know what to experiment with. Right now, I can probably play 10-15 chords. mind you I can't do them all cleanly on the fly...

i would like to get an electric guitar. wife has put the kibosh on that so far. I have a telecaster in mind..
My main guitar is a telecaster.
They're very comfortable. Here's a shot of it I took this morning.
I love my guitar.

[poorme]

It's a beauty. Love that color. My guitar is red too. I think they discountinued it or something and I got a good deal on it.

Here's a question: can you plug the guitar into a stereo amp? I don't need much power...

[spitball]

If you have the right jacks, yes.
Be gentle though. Don't crank too loud or you'll have to recone or replace your speakers.

[VNV Nation]

I'm a Strat guy. i had one with a rosewood fretboard, too, but i always wanted maple.

Stanley Jordan -- that guy is amazing but his career has been a disappointment, no?

[spitball]

Originally posted by VNV Nation
I'm a Strat guy. i had one with a rosewood fretboard, too, but i always wanted maple.

Stanley Jordan -- that guy is amazing but his career has been a disappointment, no? I don't like maple necks for some reason. Rosewood feels smoother to me. But then VNV, you're a hesher dude. You like dive bombs and "look at me" solos.
Songs about witches and dark mountains, etc. Right?
Stanley Jordan is a one trick pony. Once the novelty wears off of seeing him play . You're eventually left asking," Where are the songs?" Remember Jeff Healy?
By the way, a look at me solo is as follows:
Repeat rapidly
lookatme
lookatme
lookatme
lookatme

[VNV Nation]

oh, come on. I'm going back to find my issues of Guitar Player from 1986. I'm sure you'll be there in the profiles section in the back, with Spandex and bleached hair: "My influences are Wally Joyner, Paganini, Goethe and George Lynch."

I wasn't exactly the rthythm-guitarist type. but my solos were more on the Buddy Guy/Jeff Beck line. only inept and sloppy. like Jimmy Page, I guess.

as for the neo-classical stuff, I was more "Mood for a Day" than Tony McAlpine/Yngwie.

[spitball]

I was never there man. I was at my mom's house watching TV.
No, I don't remember what I was watching. It was a long time ago.
By the way. My hair was dyed jet black and was too heavy to poof up. I could use 10 cans of hairspray and all I'd get was stiff hair and burning eyes from the mixture of sweat and spray.
Those were the days.
lookatme
lookatme
lookatme
lookatmenow!

[VNV Nation]

did you go through a big Rush/Yes phase? I did.

[spitball]

Originally posted by VNV Nation
did you go through a big Rush/Yes phase? I did.
Liked Yes in the early 70's. Never, ever like Rush.
Geddy Lee's voice is so annoying.
Rush and bands of that ilk are one of the reasons I turned to punk and other alternatives.
Oh...I forgot to mention earlier. I never wore spandex. Strictly Levi's and steel toes. Just like now with the occasional pro-keds thrown in. I'm not fem enough to wear spandex.
In the 80's Quiet Riot were auditioning bass players. I gave them a call. Kevin asked me how tall I was and how much I weighed.
I told him I was 6' and 155. He asked me if I could lose some weight.
True.

[VNV Nation]

i turned to punk and other alternatives because of bands like Quiet Riot.

[spitball]

Originally posted by VNV Nation
i turned to punk and other alternatives because of bands like Quiet Riot. I hated the lot . But it would have beat working.

[poorme]

I went through the Rush/Yes phase in college. That lasted for about a year until I realized they werent' very good. Actually saw rush in concert. You've never seen a bigger collection of dorks.

True story: Until I went to college I didn't know there was any music but the stuff you heard on the radio. I figured only the "best" music made it to the radio, so why bother with anything else? It wasn't until I picked up a Rolling Stone record guide that I started to discover some other stuff.

back to guitars: the best guitar solos are like 15 seconds long and simple enough that I can play them. think merle haggard.

[poorme]

Originally posted by spitball
I hated the lot . But it would have beat working.

can you imagine all the (insert crude reference to loose women here) you'd have to deal with?

[chrisfostermusi]

Here is a link to view the guitars my wife designed for me.

http://shawngarland.com/index_files/page0001.htm

[chrisfostermusi]

I always was a Charlie Byrd, Luis Bonfa, fan. Love the Nylon man!

Chet Atkins was great as is Guy Van Duser, Carlos Barbosa Lima and Doyle Dykes.

Also was turned on by the Windham hill stuff. Alex De Grassi in particular.

Chris

[moose]

Originally posted by spitball
Geddy Lee's voice is so annoying.
and that's it right there - the truest statement in the entire universe.

[spitball]

Originally posted by poorme
can you imagine all the (insert crude reference to loose women here) you'd have to deal with? In those days it wasn't a problem.... rock was good that way
no brag, just fact

[poorme]

the guy who was in the King Cole Trio - oscar moore? he was great. otherwise not a big fan of jazz guitar. I don't think a guitar is best suited to be a solo instrument. that's just my preference. unless you're andres segovia.

guy who bugs me: john mclaughlin. why play one note when you can play 100?

[VNV Nation]

I liked Mahavishnu. I know what you mean about McLaughlin but there are guys in that genre who are infinitely worse (al dimeola)

[spitball]

Originally posted by VNV Nation
I liked Mahavishnu. I know what you mean about McLaughlin but there are guys in that genre who are infinitely worse (al dimeola) al di meola is satan

[poorme]

too many of these jazz guys get caught up in impressing other musicians I think. It's like in all those many hours of practice, they've turned off their sense of what makes a good composition.

really surprises me that miles davis was a fan of mclaughlin's, considering that Davis was just the opposite: not much of a technician, but a real composer.

[spitball]

McLaughlins' actually a good straight jazz guitarist. I don't consider fusion jazz really.

[VNV Nation]

it's jazz in the same sense that (early) Led Zeppelin and Cream were blues bands.