Playing Guitar

[EvilDan]

Ok, no one had any recommendations on a thread, so I'll just create this, and the mods can do as they will.

I was going to call this "Learning Guitar", but it seemed too limiting. So I figure we can have equipment, accessories, all things related to playing guitar here.

My first contribution is my initial review of Rocksmith. This doesn't really fit under "game", as it seems like more of a learning tool. I plan on updating this review, as necessary. See below for more.

First, the way this is written really bugs me, but I'm too lazy to rewrite it, and many probably will not even notice what irks me. It would be more fun to translate it into "Toki Wartooth". And as much text as it is, I actually edited the shit out of it to make it shorter.

Background - I've been playing guitar for a while. I would not consider myself good, but I can play thrash pretty well. I'm just not a lead guitar player. Wish I was. I was far better when I practiced 10 hours a day in high school, but for many years, I just kinda played whenever I felt like it, which was pretty rare. I can still play a lot of things, but I've lost a lot of knowledge, speed, and general ability. Like anything, you lose it when you don't use it.

How I've been playing it - Okay, so I've actually just been going through the game using "Rocksmith Recommends", so I've been playing a song, playing the technique challenges, playing the events, etc. You have to play a song (rehearse) and score well enough to qualify for an event. Once you qualify one song, you go to the next one. (Or you can continue to play the same song.) Once you have scored well enough on all the songs in a setlist, then you open up an Event, where you play all those songs, and if you perform well enough, you may get to do an encore, which is a new song. The first event is 2-3 songs, the next is 3-4 songs, etc.

So, I've learned HOW to play, and played, a bunch of songs, but I haven't LEARNED any of the songs yet. The reason I've been playing this way, kind of gets into the next section.

Tones/Presets/Boxes - So generally you start with a default tone that fits the song. While you do have (I think 3) "tone banks" where you can setup your own tone, it follows a game "formula" where you have to unlock the amps, cabinets, and boxes. So I've basically just been running through everything as quickly as possible to unlock as much as possible. However, you can spend $5 and get the "Tone Designer Time Saver Pack" DLC that gives you all of it. (Probably worth it, especially if you have a tone in mind.) I haven't really designed a tone yet, but I think you map them to buttons on your controller, so that you can choose the tone bank you want to use during a song. (I should read the in-game manual. I'm a hacker by nature, so I haven't bothered.)

It's interesting that they seem to ask you to hook up through analog connections rather than HDMI. I'm not running my sound through HDMI, but Optical, and there seems to be a very slight delay, which throws some of my playing off. (Seems to make more of a difference during Technique Challenges, rather than during songs and events.) I'll let you know how it works with headphones soon. (Waiting on them to be delivered.) I also need to see if I can change the volumes, since sometimes I can only hear what I'm playing, and not the drums, so I get off-beat. Other times, I can't hear if I'm hitting the right notes. However, these have been really rare and minor situations. I think the headphones will really help, since I'll be able to jack up the volume enough to hear everything without shaking the neighborhood.

The Technique Challenges are really interesting. Each challenge has a different accompaniment associated with it that fits with what you're playing. So it's not just "play slides", but it fits into the stucture of a "song", so it's a little more intuitive and instructive on their uses. You play for Points (Leaderboards), Bronze, Silver, and Gold medals, which unlock additional rewards (boxes). The Challenges are Sustains, Shifting, Hammer-ons & Pull-offs, Slides, Bends, Harmonics, Palm Mute, Tremolo, Chord, Double Stop, Power Chord, and Barre Chord. You can access them at any time, but "Rocksmith Recommends" also let's you know when it's a good time to learn the technique.

The Guitarcade is a bunch of "games" to help learn different things. Ducks/Super Ducks is basically like Space Invaders or Plants vs. Zombies. Hit the right note to shoot the ducks before they reach the end. Slider/SuperSlider is a "Tetris"-type game where you move blocks by sliding the note to where you want to put it. Big Swing Baseball where you have to hit the right note at the right time to hit the ball, added difficulty are bends. (I guess they represent curve balls?) The games I haven't unlocked are Scale Runner (play the right note to power your runner through the scale tunnel), Quick Pick Dash (pick the strings as fast as you can to make the Space Ostrich sprint down the track, switching strings to avoid obstacles), Dawn of the Chordead (play the right chord or join the ranks of the Dead), Harmonically Challenged (use harmonics to defuse bombs).

Speaking of chords, I've run into some in the middle of songs, but don't know where to begin because it's too much for me to handle visually, and physically, fast enough. However, I noticed that many of these will have their names next to them. So maybe I'll actually learn the name of chords, their positions on the fretboard, etc. (Dawn of the Chordead will probably really help.) I've never bothered to learn any of that. I just play what sounds good. I can read music (easier for me on piano), but it takes me a long time to translate it to guitar. So this could work well for teaching me more. (Just don't try to teach me theory.)

There are additional DLC songs. I'll probably end up getting the Megadeth pack (Hangar 18, Symphony of Destruction, Public Enemy #1), but it's probably a bit advanced for me at the moment. I'll wait until I can recognize the string colors. However, they also just had a free DLC of xmas songs, which are pretty cool. One is a very Gary Hoey tubular bells kinda thing. Another is a really cool, bluesy thing. Shit I can't remember. I just remember thinking that it would be really cool to be able to play them. They were cool arrangements, and I could immediately think of how I'd like to take things differently once I'd learned them, with a live band.

You can just free-play (Amp mode) using the tone banks you've created, and you can make you own setlists. You can also choose songs to play, where you can choose a single note arrangement, chord arrangement, or combo. You can rehearse, perform, or do Riff Repeater, which is a practice mode for "mastering individual sections of songs".

I haven't really played the songs more than in the events. (So once or twice each.) However, I've gotten to the point where I'll unlock a "phrase upgrade" that makes the riff harder, and I'm at a loss because it's going too fast, or the shift in frets and strings just throws me for a loop. I'm really solid on the top 2 strings (I'm a rhythm player), but I really haven't learned the colors of the other strings yet (I would have chosen different colors and placement.), so when they get incorporated, I have to look at the fretboard and strings to figure out where to go, miss a bunch of notes, etc. I imagine the Guitarcade really helps with this. So to truly learn the song, some rehearsal and practice (riff repeater) is definitely necessary. For example, one specific riff, I couldn't figure out. I could nail the first part of it, but then I couldn't figure out what the next part of it was. So I'd fumble my way through it, or play it similar to the first part, which was wrong, so I'll have to go to Riff Repeater to figure out what I'm actually supposed to be doing there.

I'm really impressed so far at its ability to properly recognize what you're playing, if it's correct, and actually provide helpful visual indicators on how to correct it, if it's not. And I adapted to this far quicker than I did as a guitar player trying to figure out how to play Guitar Hero or Rock Band.

So it really does seem to help people learn to play guitar. It does really help you learn the songs. (A Master event is playing setlists without any visual cues.) And I'm looking forward to my experiment with a brand new player. I think the pace would allow for learning the strings at an easier pace, whereas for me, as a poor player, I can jam out on the rhythms, but when it comes to the other parts of the songs, I'm just not sure what string to play.

Another really nice thing, is that because I'm watching the screen to see what's coming up, and I don't know the songs, I can't look at the fretboard. So it's forcing me to concentrate on the "feel" of the guitar to figure out where I am, how to shift, etc. I always stare at my hands, and I've always wanted to play without looking more, so this should really help with that. I love when I can jam out without opening my eyes, when you're just in tune with the song, the groove, the feel of playing it. I rarely get that because I'm not good enough to not look at what I'm "trying" to do, instead of just doing what I "want" to do.

I would have made some different choices in the game I wanted to design in 2007, but they seem to have done really well with the note recognition. That's probably where all the technology had to be poured in the last 4 years since I did my HLD/FR. (To get a little industry-specific, I think EA/Harmonix shit the bed here, and let Ubisoft leap-frog them. They came out with a quality product first. It's going to be hard to unseat, what seems to me to be, a high-quality product.) However, I understand why they made some of their decisions.

I think I'll have to give periodic reviews, to see how I'm progressing, as I unlock new features, get exposed to solos, etc.

And holy hell my guitar is heavy. 3 songs with it hanging on my shoulder and I was done. How did I ever carry this fucking thing onstage?

[mooyagi]

Did that just set a record for longest post on the forum?

I have nothing of value to add since I don't play. Would love to pick it up at some point though.

[Stained Class]

Did that just set a record for longest post on the forum?

I have nothing of value to add since I don't play. Would love to pick it up at some point though.

Nope, some of the "our story" posts were much longer. Speaking of which, someone should go necro that thread. But before this gets derailed in record time, I fully plan on reading that wall of text at some point since I do play guitar. I'll probably spend the evening and tomorrow playing/recording stuff. Somewhere in there I'll get my read on and contribute something productive.

[junkhead13]

Great review EvilDan.

I got Rocksmith on a whim a few weeks after it came out. I played it for about 3 hours the night I got it, but haven't touched it since. Don't get me wrong, I love the game but things have been too crazy around here and I haven't even touched my guitar since that night. (Honestly, I have been lazy and playing Uncharted 3 and Assassins Creed Revelations. )

But back to the topic, I have been messing with a guitar for a long time now but I am not very good at all.... I just run through the same old riffs all of the time. I bought this figuring it would get me out of a practicing rut that I have been in and it seems like it will accomplish that if I can stop making excuses and set aside regular time for it. I definitely think it is worth the money.

I have my PS3 hooked up via HDMI to my receiver which passes thru to the TV and the lag is pretty bad. But I deal with it because I have such a mess of wires behind my tv stand that it would be too big of a hassle to mess with every time I want to play that particular game.

To be honest, I didn't even know they had released DLC for it yet. I will definitely have to check out that Megadeth one. Thanks for the heads up!

[ShoreSlayer]

Great review. Great concept. Anything that encourages more and less is a big win in my books.

[EvilDan]

Did that just set a record for longest post on the forum?

I have nothing of value to add since I don't play. Would love to pick it up at some point though.

Yeah, it's kinda long. The take-away for you would be that Rocksmith might be a good tool for you to learn how to play.

[mooyagi]

Did that just set a record for longest post on the forum?

I have nothing of value to add since I don't play. Would love to pick it up at some point though.

Yeah, it's kinda long. The take-away for you would be that Rocksmith might be a good tool for you to learn how to play.

Something I may have to look into once I get an income again.

[Stained Class]

Ok so I read it and I thought you were going to talk about guitar in general not just Rocksmith haha. Rocksmith sounds like a really good idea but I think I'm at the point where I would only hurt myself by playing that game because I would get too accustomed to having that there. I should give it a try one of these days though as it does sound like fun. Good luck!

[EvilDan]

Ok so I read it and I thought you were going to talk about guitar in general not just Rocksmith haha. Rocksmith sounds like a really good idea but I think I'm at the point where I would only hurt myself by playing that game because I would get too accustomed to having that there. I should give it a try one of these days though as it does sound like fun. Good luck!

Interesting. I hadn't heard that before. Do you hurt yourself by reading tab?

I should probably list the songs in the game.

[ShoreSlayer]

Ok so I read it and I thought you were going to talk about guitar in general not just Rocksmith haha. Rocksmith sounds like a really good idea but I think I'm at the point where I would only hurt myself by playing that game because I would get too accustomed to having that there. I should give it a try one of these days though as it does sound like fun. Good luck!

Interesting. I hadn't heard that before. Do you hurt yourself by reading tab?

I should probably list the songs in the game.

Yeah Joey, I was a little confused by this too. I'm really impressed by all those mini-games as, much like the rest of the game, they just seem like such a cool, fun way to further fill out a wide array of guitar skills. No way it could take the place of a great teacher, focused 'normal' practice, writing, performance and study but I just can't see it 'hurting' unless you let it interfere with those other things.

[EvilDan]

Okay, after playing Rocksmith a little more, new things. The headset seems to help with the lag, even though it's still through an optical cable (Turtle Beach EarForce DPX21). Added benefit that I hadn't thought of is that because it has a mic, it seemed to think I was singing. So this could be a very useful tool for someone trying to learn to play and sing at the same time. Something I've never been able to do.

I'm getting better at the higher strings, transitioning, etc. Still messy, but it's just going to take a little time to learn the colors, and move accordingly. Once I do, so much more will be opened for me. Chords definitely throw me for a loop, as it's so much information showing up suddenly. However, the names of the chords are next to it, so I'm finding it easier to reference this, even though I've never known what the chord names are. I think this will definitely help me when talking/jamming with others, as I'm getting a much more thorough understanding of where things are and what they're called. Unlocked some new techniques and games, but I haven't played them yet, as my fingers were shredded. Just need to work up those callouses I used to have.

It's definitely helping with the "feel" of where the notes are, so that I don't have to watch my hands constantly to make sure they're in the right position. And I'll eventually have to fully learn the songs, since a Master Event has you play a setlist without any visual indicators.

Damn. I thought I had more to say.

[Stained Class]

Ok so I read it and I thought you were going to talk about guitar in general not just Rocksmith haha. Rocksmith sounds like a really good idea but I think I'm at the point where I would only hurt myself by playing that game because I would get too accustomed to having that there. I should give it a try one of these days though as it does sound like fun. Good luck!

Interesting. I hadn't heard that before. Do you hurt yourself by reading tab?

I should probably list the songs in the game.

Yeah Joey, I was a little confused by this too. I'm really impressed by all those mini-games as, much like the rest of the game, they just seem like such a cool, fun way to further fill out a wide array of guitar skills. No way it could take the place of a great teacher, focused 'normal' practice, writing, performance and study but I just can't see it 'hurting' unless you let it interfere with those other things.

Well, I guess I'm not certain it would happen but my gut tells me that if I played rocksmith too much I would build a reliance on having the tab right in front of me there because of how smooth it is with telling you what to play and exactly when to play it. The mini games do sound like a cool way to build up your dexterity though. I might just be talking out my ass here so just go ahead and ignore me

[ShoreSlayer]

I might just be talking out my ass here so just go ahead and ignore me

You say something?

[tmcasper]

forget guitar, play drums

[EvilDan]

More on Rocksmith...

As I get more familiar with some of the songs, I know what's coming up, and I'll look at the fretboard when it's fairly tricky. However, sometimes the manner in which Rocksmith adds notes can be counter-intuitive. Some of the songs I would be able to pick up and play fairly quickly, if I was given the straight tab, so sometimes the "learning" function of Rocksmith can go a little too slow or fast. However, for actually learning the songs, rather than just playing the game, I would expect this is where Riff Repeater comes in handy. (I haven't messed around with it yet.) Also, in certain songs, I was able to get a "feel" for where the song was going, how it was supposed to be played, and rather than play only the notes on the screen, I would add these notes and pieces, as I naturally figured them out. Then, Rocksmith would figure out that I was playing more of the phrase and would start showing those notes also. (Phrase upgrade.) I've also adapted some of the songs to fit my hand, rather than play it the way they show it. (I do this a lot with other songs I learn.) Nicely, it still recognizes that the notes are correct.

So I would expect, if you really want to learn how to play many of the songs, rather than just play the game, you're still going to practice outside of the game, especially if you want to do a Master Event, where they don't show any of the notes. I finally made a list of the 55 songs in the game. Not much in the way of Metal, but if people are interested I can post the list.

Ok, so the Scale Runner game... You first choose a scale (Major, Minor, Minor Pentatonic, Major Pentatonic, Blues, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Harmonic Minor, Phrygian Dominant), then you choose any of the 12 Keys to play in. As you're choosing this, it shows the pattern on the strings. As far as I can tell, it's only 2-octave scales, but that might change later in the "game". The game itself is running up and down the scale that you choose. It seems like it won't only teach you the patterns, but also the sound of each scale, as you don't necessarily do the entire scale, but you do seem to stick to adjacent notes within the scale. I didn't get too far, but it definitely speeds up as you do better, and it's very interesting.

If I was as familiar with the guitar as I am with typing on a keyboard, I could fucking shred!

It's also weird, since I've had that nerve pinch that certain things I could do very easily on guitar, I can't do anymore. Well, I can, just not as well. And some patterns that I was really good at before have changed into slightly different patterns. (Different fingers, ascending runs vs. descending runs, etc.) I feel like I've had to start over, especially in regards to my endurance. It took quite some time before I could even finish my very brief warm-up.

[last_candle]

what happened with the experiment with your sister playing a song?
( I can't remember where you wrote about it)

[ShoreSlayer]

Please do post the song list Dan and keep the reviews coming. Very enjoyable and I'm definitely buying this game after the cruise.

[EvilDan]

what happened with the experiment with your sister playing a song?
( I can't remember where you wrote about it)

Unfortunately, we didn't get to do it. We ended up postponing a couple of days, then it was New Year's Eve and drinks and self-consciousness got in the way. Hope to try it soon.

I think in many ways, it might be better suited for new players. I think that the inclusion of new strings would follow more easily, as they are still learning. So by the time they're really playing, they've got the string colors down. Whereas for me, I'm jamming along, then new strings show up, and everything just stops while I try to figure out where to go. By the time I figure it out, we're back in my comfort zone.

Many of the songs I don't know, but the ones I've encountered are relatively fun to play. Hopefully, they add more Metal DLC.

Song List (55 songs, including 3 holiday songs from the free DLC)
(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction - Rolling Stones
A More Perfect Union - Titus Andronicus
Angela - Jarvis Cocker
Are You Gonna Go My Way - Lenny Kravitz
Between The Lines - Stone Temple Pilots
Boys Don't Cry - The Cure
Breed - Nirvana
Burnished - White Denim
California Brain - RapScallions
Carol of the Bells - Seth Chapla
Chimney - Yellow Moon Band
Do You Remember - The Horrors
Go With The Flow - Queens of the Stone Age
Gobbledigook - Sigur Ros
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen - Brian Adam McCune
Good Enough - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
High And Dry - Radiohead
Higher Ground - Red Hot Chili Peppers
House of the Rising Sun - The Animals
I Can't Hear You - The Dead Weather
I Got Mine - The Black Keys
I Miss You - Incubus
I Want Some More - Dan Auerbach
Icky Thump - The White Stripes
In Bloom - Nirvana
Islands - The xx
Me And The Bean - Spoon
Mean Bitch - Taddy Porter
Next Girl - The Black Keys
Number Thirteen - Red Fang
Outshined - Soundgarden
Panic Switch - Silversun Pickups
Play With Fire - Rolling Stones
Plug In Baby - Muse
Rebel Rebel - David Bowie
Run Back To Your Side - Eric Clapton
Slither - Velvet Revolver
Slow Hands - Interpol
Song 2 - Blur
Space Ostrich - Disonaur
The Spider And The Fly - Rolling Stones
Step Out of the Car - The Boxer Rebellion
Sunshine of Your Love - Cream
Surf Hell - Little Barrie
Sweet Home Alabama - Lynyrd Skynyrd
Take Me Out - Franz Ferdinand
Under Cover of Darkness - The Strokes
Unnatural Selection - Muse
Use Somebody - Kings of Leon
Vasoline - Stone Temple Pilots
We Share The Same Skies - The Cribs
We Three Kings - Versus Them
Well OK Honey - Jenny O.
When I'm With You - Best Coast
Where Is My Mind - Pixies

[last_candle]

what happened with the experiment with your sister playing a song?
( I can't remember where you wrote about it)

Unfortunately, we didn't get to do it. We ended up postponing a couple of days, then it was New Year's Eve and drinks and self-consciousness got in the way. Hope to try it soon.

...and I thought I missed the review :)
(and thanks for posting the song list)

[EvilDan]

what happened with the experiment with your sister playing a song?
( I can't remember where you wrote about it)

Unfortunately, we didn't get to do it. We ended up postponing a couple of days, then it was New Year's Eve and drinks and self-consciousness got in the way. Hope to try it soon.

...and I thought I missed the review :)
(and thanks for posting the song list)

Definitely still hoping to do it before we sail.

[ShoreSlayer]

Thanks for posting the list Dan. I'll have to look into the DLC to see what others are available. Only a handful or 2 there I'd be very into learning but still really interested in all those mini-games

[EvilDan]

So I need to update my review of Rocksmith, but I haven't played in a long time. It seems as though Metal doesn't translate as well, since it's so fast. Hard to see what notes are coming, and they really should have used a tab format rather than trying to stick to the Guitar Hero format. Many times, I like to have the tab to work on specific sections. Perhaps Riff Repeater helps, but I haven't messed with that either. More Metal DLC does appear to be showing up.

And I still haven't gotten my sister to mess with it.

[Stained Class]

Thanks for reviving this thread.

I've been finding lately my playing has become to calculated. My mind keeps going like "yeah, play in phrygian, bitches love phrygian" and I'm having a hard time playing anything that sounds good/has feeling. I got advice from a few musicians I know and I think my solution is I need to have a band to play with. I've been trying out different jam tracks and even just jamming over the solo sections in my own songs and it's been getting better. I've been trying really hard to push those thoughts to the back of my mind and just play but it's pretty hard to rewire your mind like that. I've found knowing a lot (too much?) theory to actually be really helpful when it comes to writing songs but I need to learn how to let go of it when it's time to lay down some leads/solos. Or I could be like Jon Schaffer and get a hired gun to do my solos and I'll just stick to writing

[WizardBeast]

My mind keeps going like "yeah, play in phrygian, bitches love phrygian"

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

JOOOEEEYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!



this bitch does love her some phrygian.

[Stained Class]

My mind keeps going like "yeah, play in phrygian, bitches love phrygian"

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

JOOOEEEYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!



this bitch does love her some phrygian.

Oh good, maybe I'll just keep doing what I'm doing then!

[WizardBeast]

My mind keeps going like "yeah, play in phrygian, bitches love phrygian"

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

JOOOEEEYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!



this bitch does love her some phrygian.

Oh good, maybe I'll just keep doing what I'm doing then!

i think so! and there's nothing more mind-expanding and brain re-wiring than jamming with other musicians! doesn't need to be a full band even just one other person!

[Stained Class]

i think so! and there's nothing more mind-expanding and brain re-wiring than jamming with other musicians! doesn't need to be a full band even just one other person!

Oh, that actually helps a lot then! I was worried that I was turning into a robot but maybe it won't be as hard as I thought it would be to turn into an actually good guitar player. Hopefully SOON.

[EvilDan]

My mind keeps going like "yeah, play in phrygian, bitches love phrygian"

Somehow, I used this phrase in a dream last night. Weird.

[Stained Class]

My mind keeps going like "yeah, play in phrygian, bitches love phrygian"

Somehow, I used this phrase in a dream last night. Weird.

Hah! Must have been a good dream.

[EvilDan]

Basically, I haven't done a whole lot with Rocksmith since I last said anything. However, I've tried to go back in and try some stuff.

Sometimes it works out well, and it can be cool. However, the real problem is that I don't know the colors of the strings, so many times, especially with Metal, I need the tab. When notes are coming at me Rock Band-style, I can't see everything that's coming. I can't connect with it, especially in solos. The notes don't necessarily give you an idea of the structure of what's going on. And they can come at you so fast, it's hard to even know what to do. If I was teaching someone the song, I would choose different notes to get the feel, rather than what at times feels like random notes within a phrase. And many times, when you first start a song, you start with a hand position for the notes, but then after a couple of phrase upgrades, you need power chords or something that has a completely different hand position and movement.

However, I was finally able to do an experiment with a friend who had never played guitar, loves good guitar playing, and is actually quite afraid of the instrument. He had a lot of difficulty with finger positions initially because he'd never stretched his fingers like guitar players take for granted. However, after 30 minutes, I could see a LOT of improvement. He could basically play some really simple riffs, enjoyed playing some of the songs, and kept getting better. Obviously, he couldn't play long because the strings were cutting into his non-calloused fingers.

So from what I can tell, it's better for people who don't know how to play. It looks to be more structured for the beginner, since it does some "teaching". For more experienced players, it can sometimes struggle to find a good combination of difficulty and the song.

Again, while I may be "experienced", I would consider myself a poor player in most respects. So better players may work well with it. I can't say. I can kill certain songs, but then I'm at a complete loss during Hangar 18, unless I go to the tab. Then, I can learn it faster and better. And I can connect better with what is going on because I have a better sense of scale (or scope). I may use it more over the coming weeks to really check out some of the "games" and "techniques". Plus, when I'm in the mood, some of the songs I'm unfamiliar with are fun to play. And, since I can't play guitar worth a fuck after just one beer, perhaps I can work on my "state-dependent learning".

[Stained Class]

Cool, thanks for the well thought out review Dan. It's best, I think, to hear these things from the perspective of a musician.

I've found (and you may find as well) the best way to improve my playing right now (and avoid becoming a robot) is just throw a riff on repeat and jam over it, and when that gets boring find a new riff. I always use riffs that I wrote and recorded but you don't have to.

[EvilDan]

Cool, thanks for the well thought out review Dan. It's best, I think, to hear these things from the perspective of a musician.

I've found (and you may find as well) the best way to improve my playing right now (and avoid becoming a robot) is just throw a riff on repeat and jam over it, and when that gets boring find a new riff. I always use riffs that I wrote and recorded but you don't have to.

Thanks! It was interesting to watch. Another consideration is that my guitar is VERY heavy, and that had an impact on his endurance. He probably would have played a little longer with a Strat or something light.

I don't actually have anything to record with at this time. Lately, I've been just having fun. I find a difficult riff, learn to play it, then move to the next, never really retaining any of them. One of these days I'll have to learn a full song, or at least try to remember the riffs.

[last_candle]

hey Dan, thanks for the review - quite an interesting insight, even for a non-musician like me!

the way you described it, I'm pretty sure I'd have troubles "reading the signs" (but I'm definitely better at listening to music than playing music )

[doc]

It is all nice, descriptive and so on here, however it seems to me that the main point is missing here: improving your guitar skills is related to hard (often boring) work. You won't improve your accuracy and speed much, if you wont get along with your old good friend called METRONOME and get your lazy game-new-mojo-filled-ass into practicing various scales for hours.
Good start is to take major scale (EFGABCD) and ride it along the fret board in 5 superpositions (define sounds on your fret board - they have 5 different cross-wise patterns which repeat longwise every 12 frets). It's something like that http://www.gramnagitarze.pl/art/artykul ... gram01.jpg (that's just one of 5)
Then metronome on, and EFGA-FGAB-GABC... and so on and then back down. Many times, I said MANY TIMES. Treat it like a gym for your fingers and picking.
Start slow, be accurate, increase speed only when you are good and precise at current level.
You can do it also in 3-sounds elevations like EFG-FGA-GAB-ABC.. you'll get the feeling of Dimebag soloing a bit then
Do it daily, at leasts an hour, you'll notice how much you'll improve your fun-playing after two weeks :)
Then move on towards other scales, or even chromatic excercises - combinations are endless and limited only by your imagination

[Stained Class]

It is all nice, descriptive and so on here, however it seems to me that the main point is missing here: improving your guitar skills is related to hard (often boring) work. You won't improve your accuracy and speed much, if you wont get along with your old good friend called METRONOME and get your lazy game-new-mojo-filled-ass into practicing various scales for hours.
Good start is to take major scale (EFGABCD) and ride it along the fret board in 5 superpositions (define sounds on your fret board - they have 5 different cross-wise patterns which repeat longwise every 12 frets). It's something like that http://www.gramnagitarze.pl/art/artykul ... gram01.jpg (that's just one of 5)
Then metronome on, and EFGA-FGAB-GABC... and so on and then back down. Many times, I said MANY TIMES. Treat it like a gym for your fingers and picking.
Start slow, be accurate, increase speed only when you are good and precise at current level.
You can do it also in 3-sounds elevations like EFG-FGA-GAB-ABC.. you'll get the feeling of Dimebag soloing a bit then
Do it daily, at leasts an hour, you'll notice how much you'll improve your fun-playing after two weeks :)
Then move on towards other scales, or even chromatic excercises - combinations are endless and limited only by your imagination

This.

EFGABCD is Phrygian btw, but I get exactly what you mean by playing in C major up and down the board in all the different modes/positions
Actually, I was told when I started out to take one or 2 scales and try to master those, and the skills will be transferable very easily. Stick to C (Am) and G (Em) since 90% of metal on standard tuning guitars is written in those keys.

[EvilDan]

Looks like Rocksmith added bass and bass-emulation through a guitar. Haven't tried it yet, though.

I also ran across a group of songs that I could not play well enough to qualify for the next event. A bunch of non-rock, non-melodic, anti-rhythm songs that just make no fucking sense in my head, so I can't progress in the game anymore. Usually the songs, while unknown to me, are quick to pick up and fun to play. So it's kept me from even playing the game again. My mind works better with tab anyway. I can gain a better perspective of what to do, what's coming, and how it all connects. (I usually modify it to fit my style, but it's a better starting point for me.)

[Element0s]

I struggle with string-bending in my guitar playing. The issue I have is that when I go for a big, juicy bend (a whole step or bigger) the lower strings always seem to get stuck under the fingers I'm bending with, and I always get unwanted extra noise during or after I release the bend. I get big issues with noise during vibrato-bends. I've been fiddling with how I hold my bending fingers and I've trying to mute the other strings with my picking hand but I can't seem to nail anything down. Any tips?

[ShoreSlayer]

I struggle with string-bending in my guitar playing. The issue I have is that when I go for a big, juicy bend (a whole step or bigger) the lower strings always seem to get stuck under the fingers I'm bending with, and I always get unwanted extra noise during or after I release the bend. I get big issues with noise during vibrato-bends. I've been fiddling with how I hold my bending fingers and I've trying to mute the other strings with my picking hand but I can't seem to nail anything down. Any tips?

A teacher I was seeing in the spring here had me using my ring or middle finger for the actual bends while using my index (and/or middle) finger to both assist in the bend AND contribute to the muting of unplayed strings along with any muting I may already have been doing with my picking hand. I'm sure others here can offer more tips as well.

Hope that helps

[Stained Class]

I struggle with string-bending in my guitar playing. The issue I have is that when I go for a big, juicy bend (a whole step or bigger) the lower strings always seem to get stuck under the fingers I'm bending with, and I always get unwanted extra noise during or after I release the bend. I get big issues with noise during vibrato-bends. I've been fiddling with how I hold my bending fingers and I've trying to mute the other strings with my picking hand but I can't seem to nail anything down. Any tips?

A teacher I was seeing in the spring here had me using my ring or middle finger for the actual bends while using my index (and/or middle) finger to both assist in the bend AND contribute to the muting of unplayed strings along with any muting I may already have been doing with my picking hand. I'm sure others here can offer more tips as well.

Hope that helps

Yeah this. Using multiple fingers for the bend itself gives you more strength and therefore control, and gives you some more options for muting. I'm usually using the ring finger for big juicy bends like that.

[Element0s]

See, I've always been doing that. I always bend with the ring finger with middle finger (and usually index) to assist; sometimes I lay the index finger across the strings to mute the lower ones but to be that is rendered useless when I try any vibrato.

What happens specifically, is that I'll go for the bend and the first string (and often the second) below the the bent string gets caught under my fingers. When I release the bend, those extra strings get pulled on as they in turn get released and it sounds like I picked the damn things. Sometimes I'll nail the bend with no extra noise, but I can't figure out why or how that happens and I haven't found any technique that gets it consistent