[Sticky] --> Share things you've learned about guitar

Hey, Mike, I was 45 when I started. I figure we might compensate by possessing greater discipline in our 40s than I know I had in my teens or 20s. It works out, I hope!
Tim

Hey Mike, I fully believe in that. Your fingers are thanking your for putting down that extra cash already. I think I actually learned that lesson many years back. I got a scholarship to play college tennis when I was 20, broke, and naive so I was still using the cheapo racket I had in high school. A couple of guys on the team joked with me about the sub-par racket I was using. :oops: It worked for me but I did not realize how disadvantaged I made myself based on equipment. I'd use the rackets of other guys on the team and rock much more. So I sold some stuff to buy a nice racket and that really helped my natural ability come out. I played better. Sad, but true.

Corbind, absolutley great thread here - Thank You!!

I saw this list, could you explain it a little more, what are the items for, why? Although some are obvious I'm curious as to the rest.
* Have everything you may need when you need it. Get your graphite pencil, string winder, string cutter, peg puller, cotton cloth, extra picks, extra (full packs) of strings, a toothbrush, toothpicks and other accessories in a small plastic container. Bring it whenever you go jam with others so you can fix things if you break strings or something goes wrong.

All of the above tips are great here are a few that I find helpfull.

* I find it handy to play a warm up piece, something that you are familiar with, like a finger jogging exercise, just to get the movement going before practicing.

* Plec's - now I'm not a big user of them I prefer to finger pick, but it is worth while buying a selection of them to find out what sound a particular one gives you and which one you feel comfortable using.

* And I absolutly agree with Tom here, learn to read notation, it looks scarey, but it will suddenly fall into place and make sence, you have a whole world of music to get stuck into, so I think it is a must not just for guitar players but for any musician.

* Finger nails, sorry girls but they have to go, at least on your fretting hand, try and keep them at a reasonable length, usually just below your finger tip is ok.

* Also practice standing up, invest in good comfortable strap and a stand for your sheet music and or books, and be able to play your favourite tunes sitting or standing with equal amount dexterity.

ok I'm done.

Okay, now the truth comes out. Where ever I go to play guitar I bring my multieffects processor in a 2'x16”x6” RokSak (read: giant male purse). It's a nice, padded black bag with zippered pockets and such. I put my cables, tuner, processor, music book, picks, on and on...

I've always carried my

string winder (quicker to change a string)
pliers (to clip the ego of the lead guitarist or my strings)
strings (always two extra sealed packs and two extra high e strings)
pencil (rub the graphite in the nut grooves and on the bridge to make strings glide)
toothbrush (in case I see a beautiful lady when playing, uh, no, that's right, when changing strings to get funk off fretboard)
toothpicks (to scrape crud on the left side of frets where fingers have been. And to poke the lead guitar player when he plays too loud)
soft cotton cloth (put under strings when stretching them and tuning)
extra picks (tons of them, mostly for kids who want to try to play I'll give ‘em a pick when they are done. It might inspire them).
capo (yea, I seldom use it but sometimes needed when playing with smart musicians)
pen and paper (write stuff you may learn when playing with others)
I stopped bringing an extra 6-outlet power strip because usually people have them.

I keep all that in a plastic container with a rubberband around it. It's like a survival kit if I need something. I can't tell you how many time the lead guitar player has broken strings (at his own house) and asks for mine. Ridiculous. Doesn't think ahead and is cheap. Finally I now make him buy my whole set of strings even if he breaks just one. I need to bring more toothpicks to poke him….

* Note I'm only kidding about one specific lead guitar guy. The one I deal with each Tuesday night. Maybe it's just wishful thinking. For the rest of you lead players out there you are exempt (unless found guilty after-the-fact).

Thanx for that Corbind with you, Nick and Twisty I can't go wrong.

All you need to play guitar is 9 coronas, Lighter Fluid and Tooth picks - Ok I think I've got that.

Now to find me a lead guitarist to poke.

I can't tell you how many time the lead guitar player has broken strings (at his own house) and asks for mine.

That's why you don't let anyone know what's in you bag of tricks.

I would also like to add...

* That I found it handy to write anything that I picked up down in a note book, like chord charts and things, basics of reading notation, I think that writing them out helps it to sink in, well it helped me anyway and if I do lapse in memory on occasions its there in the book to jog my memory.

Izzy wrote something about "teach someone else to play something" - right on, Izzy. The easiest way to learn something is to break it down into its component parts......which you have to do to show someone else. Since my daughter started playing, she constantly asks me for advice so I actually have to think about what I'm doing rather than just doing it mechanically.

A point I'll add - seems obvious, but no-one has mentioned it yet - when practising, work on your weak points as much as what you can already do. I tend sometimes to think "Oh I'll try such and such a thing today", do a few exercises to warm up and get carried away playing something else and forget what I was originally going to do - so self-discipline is important.

And like Pet said, always carry a note-book - you never know when you'll come across something you'll need later....

And most importantly, set aside a time for practise and hang that "DO NOT DISTURB" sign in plain view..........

Also a good tip for beginners who are having lessons I'd to read topics up before your lessons, I found it a great help to learn basic chords and string names before I walked into my first lesson, it gives you that slight advantage, even if you dont fully understand something you read, your teacher should make it fall in to place, I find I spend less time working something out and more time practicing it this way, after all i'm paying for the time I might as well use it well right? If you read up about whats going to be covered in your next lesson then when it comes time to learn it, you will find it easier, and if you have a weakness it can be worked on in that lesson because you made the time to learn it before hand.

Im still very much a beginner with only a tear but a few thngs I have learned:

Realize it doesnt happen overnight
Play with others
Listen to every genre of music you can find
pick it up everyday
The more you play, the more you will want to play.

Great thread

* Try to make it happen overnight :)

* It will come in time DON'T rush it.

I've always carried my

string winder (quicker to change a string)
pliers (to clip the ego of the lead guitarist or my strings)
strings (always two extra seal packs and two sets of extra high e's)
pencil (rub the graphite in the nut grooves and on the bridge to make strings glide)
toothbrush (in case I see a beautiful lady when playing, uh, no, that's right, when changing strings to get funk off fretboard)
toothpicks (to scrap crud on the left side of frets where fingers have been. And to poke the lead guitar player when he plays too loud)
soft cotton cloth (put under strings when stretching them and tuning)
extra picks (tons of them, mostly for kids who want to try to play I'll give ‘em a pick when they are done. It might inspire them).
capo (yea, I seldom use it but sometimes needed when playing with smart musicians)
pen and paper (write stuff you may learn when playing with others)
I stopped bringing an extra 6-outlet power strip because usually people have them.

my survival kit would add a screwdriver to that list.

Also in my gig bag, but not in the "survival kit":

Shure SM-57 & SM-58
Two battered Electro-Harmonix cardidoid mikes
Oktava MK-219 LDC mic
Six mic cables
Four 6 foot guitar cords
Four 12 foot guitar cords
Two 25 foot guitar cords
Twenty-five foot heavy-duty extension cord
Zoom GFX-707 (backup for the Tonelab)
Two fresh 9 volt batteries
Power supply for the GFX-707

The Vox tonelab has its own bag...

Moonrider, 10 Guitar cords?

It might be just me but, could you explain why so many guitar cords.

I figure we might compensate by possessing greater discipline in our 40s than I know I had in my teens or 20s.
Tim

Hey, I resemble that remark! Really, it is true for me. I acvtually did try to learn when I was in my 20's but didn't stick with it. Nowadays, I'm much better at sticking to a practice schedule, not getting frustrated about how much time it seems to take to learn things, etc., etc. and it'sstarting to pay off; I really feel in only a month and a half I've made some decent progress.

Question about playing with others- how much do you need to have under your belt to undertake this? And where can you find others who might be willing to let a greenhorn play, and what experience level should they be? I'd like really do this when I am ready.