I think you are over thinking here a bit. A much simpler way for me was to practice by just using common chord progressions.
For example, using I, IV, V progression start with a 6th string root and play it down the neck. Then switch keys and do it again. you could then try playing the same progression up the neck. From there, practice with the I on string 6 and the IV and V on string 5. And so on.
From there just pick another progression such as I vi IV V so you can add in a minor shape.
If youāre unfamiliar with chord progressions thereās lots of info here in the community.
Yeah, sounds like you need to come up with a solid practice schedule and be realistic with your self and your goals. Alot of these things can take years to master correctly. A good teacher will surely help. A slower pace is always a better option till you get perfect slowly. Practice perfectly, because practice makes permanent. Oh and of course practice, practice, practice, play songs play songs and play more songs TO YOUR ABILITY. Make it fun! So hard to get this one right. Still practice those other harder ones. But way smaller sessions till you get the basics down packed. Those other songs will become easier the more of a solid foundation and muscle to brain memory you have. I swear itās true!
Learning how to dial in tones with your amp and your guitar is important. But itās important to realise that you will never sound exactly like Clapton (or any other artist) for a range of reasons.
āGearā is one of them. I put gear in quotes because itās not just about the amp and the guitar (although they are important). Thereās a whole lot going on as well: microphones, preamps, and the room they record in for a start.
Consider that any studio recording is often being recorded on valve amps costing thousands of dollars with speaker cabs the size of a piece of furniture, in a large, specially designed and treated room. Itās recorded through expensive microphones that have been carefully placed by expert sound technicians, and then recorded through expensive pre-amps.
Also, recorded tones sound very different from the amp in the room: the microphone and pre-amps will colour the sound a lot. Many guitar players will record their parts in the control room for this reason, as they hear the recorded tone from the microphones, rather than in the room with the amp.
Exactly this!
And this!
Thereās a whole load of post-production that goes into a track and, if you strip back a recorded track to its constituent parts in isolation, the guitar tone is often quite surprisingly different from what we perceive when mixed with other instruments. Some guitar tones can sound quite bad in isolation, as part of the skill of mixing is to make the guitar sound good in context with other instruments, which involves stripping out frequencies that overlap.
I would focus on how to get nice tones from your gear, rather than trying to sound like someone else. Learning how to do that is important, but trying to replicate an artistās tone from a record is a bit of a foolās errand IMO.
It would not be lost ā good players invest in their playing. Iāve purchased Justinās courseware and songbooks, as well as TrueFire and other subscriptions. Playing guitar is not that expensive compared to a bunch of other hobbies.
I have used a mixture of private teachers and Justinās online course. I think it helps to work backwards from what you want to achieve as a musician or guitarist. I found Justinās guitar courses good for theory and explaining the why we do certain things. I found face to face lessons good for learning songs and areaās that I donāt have time to research. I really enjoy playing guitar but sometimes there just isnāt enough hours in the day to read books or google around for answers, and that is where a face-to-face teacher come into their own. A good teacher will also spot bad habits and correct them before they become permanent and hard to reverse out.
Would you do in person lessons at like a local guitar store, or through an online website somewhere?
I am just not sure my local guitar center with the younger guys would be the way to go as beginnerish I still am in the journey. I agree memorizing and researching songs within correlation to where I am in the journey is the tough part for me.
I donāt think that the local guitar shop is a good idea, they most likely have zero teaching experience and probably are those who want to teach you just songs you want to play rather than teach you to play guitar. If you learn to play guitar properly you will be able to play anything you like within your skill set Donāt try to put the chicken before the egg, it requires patience and diligence to achieve what you want.
I think itās already been mentioned, the teachers on here are seasoned musicians who have been through all of the facets of Justinās course and if thereās anything they havenāt will be happy to sort it out for you. In the time youāve spent here you should have a feel for the standard of knowledge, put it simply youāve got nothing to loose giving it a trial and everything to gain if it works for you.
This has not been my experience. My teachers always had relevant tertiary degrees in music, Australian Music Examination Board (AMEB) qualifications and in many cases played multiple instruments.
If you use swimming as another example. Sure, you can head down to the pool and splash around and try to learn out of books or off the Internet, but having someone trained in teaching the correct technique and critiquing you along the way is only going to assist.
I have found Justin explanation around the theory and having everything written down and in videos very beneficial and believe using Justin with a private tutor an excellent option.
Thatās great Simon. Sounds like you were fortunate enough to find someone who was not only a qualified musician but also a great teacher. I wish Iād been that lucky.
Hey Toby,
This is GREAT adviceā¦ Iām struggling with getting power chords to ring out cleanly every timeā¦ itās hit & miss for sure. I donāt know if @judi saw your reply to Josh but I think anyone struggling with the actual playing of these chords should listen to you!
Thanks!