Guitar nerds unite!

[joestrummer]

With golf season winding down, less daylight, and cold weather around the corner, it's officially guitar season. Don't get me wrong, I play year round but it seems like Winter is when I actually try, with varying degrees of success, to improve as a guitar player. I picked up a new acoustic a few weeks back and, although I'm still in the honeymoon stage, I'm confident it's the best playing and sounding acoustic I own. Goals for the Winter:

1. Acoustic fingerpicking - I can jack around with some easy patterns (Dust in the Wind, Can't Find My Way Home, simple banjo rolls, alternating bass, etc) but I'm a flat picker at heart. I need to get to the point where fingerpicking isn't rote and I don't have to think super hard about doing it.

2. Major scale electric solos - I always fall back on minor pentatonic, blues scale, and mixolydian. It starts sounding really redundant after a while. Any time I try to work major scales into the mix it sounds forced and robotic. I need to channel my inner Dickey Betts.

3. Right hand, right hand, right hand - I've been too focused on my left hand for decades. I'm pretty good at keeping time and staying in the pocket with my right but I need to work on string skipping and the intricacies of playing accurate faster single note runs.

I know there are a couple other guitar guys on the board. Anything you're trying to bone up on?

 

[ColoREDo]

That guy from Poison is pretty good.

 

[HUSKER HOT SAUCE]

That guy from Poison is pretty good.

 

[HUSKER HOT SAUCE]

Sadly, I have allowed my acoustic to sit idly by for most of this year. In fact, I broke a string around the end of June on it, and haven't gotten around to replacing them. I have been concentrating on my G & L exclusively since. It's quite funny to me, that you say you are a flat picker, as I am most definitely a flat picker, but do a lot of finger picking also. I have tried to use finger picks, but never felt very comfortable with that. As far as working on any one or two things, just what ever the mood I'm in on a particular evening.

 

[Red Dead Redemption]

With golf season winding down, less daylight, and cold weather around the corner, it's officially guitar season. Don't get me wrong, I play year round but it seems like Winter is when I actually try, with varying degrees of success, to improve as a guitar player. I picked up a new acoustic a few weeks back and, although I'm still in the honeymoon stage, I'm confident it's the best playing and sounding acoustic I own. Goals for the Winter:

1. Acoustic fingerpicking - I can jack around with some easy patterns (Dust in the Wind, Can't Find My Way Home, simple banjo rolls, alternating bass, etc) but I'm a flat picker at heart. I need to get to the point where fingerpicking isn't rote and I don't have to think super hard about doing it.

2. Major scale electric solos - I always fall back on minor pentatonic, blues scale, and mixolydian. It starts sounding really redundant after a while. Any time I try to work major scales into the mix it sounds forced and robotic. I need to channel my inner Dickey Betts.

3. Right hand, right hand, right hand - I've been too focused on my left hand for decades. I'm pretty good at keeping time and staying in the pocket with my right but I need to work on string skipping and the intricacies of playing accurate faster single note runs.

I know there are a couple other guitar guys on the board. Anything you're trying to bone up on?

"Sorry."

 

[joestrummer]

Finger picks suck. I played banjo in a band in college (not your typical banjo band/weird instrumentation) and, while fingerpicks were a must for even volume, they are horrible for feel. Don't get me wrong, I fingerpick a lot, but it always sounds aimless (just going through arpeggios, simple alternating bass stuff). I do a lot of sitting and playing whatever it is I'm in the mood for. My problem with that is, I typically fall back on stuff I'm comfortable with and don't challenge myself.

Sadly, I have allowed my acoustic to sit idly by for most of this year. In fact, I broke a string around the end of June on it, and haven't gotten around to replacing them. I have been concentrating on my G & L exclusively since. It's quite funny to me, that you say you are a flat picker, as I am most definitely a flat picker, but do a lot of finger picking also. I have tried to use finger picks, but never felt very comfortable with that. As far as working on any one or two things, just what ever the mood I'm in on a particular evening.

 

[HUSKER HOT SAUCE]

Finger picks suck. I played banjo in a band in college (not your typical banjo band/weird instrumentation) and, while fingerpicks were a must for even volume, they are horrible for feel. Don't get me wrong, I fingerpick a lot, but it always sounds aimless (just going through arpeggios, simple alternating bass stuff). I do a lot of sitting and playing whatever it is I'm in the mood for. My problem with that is, I typically fall back on stuff I'm comfortable with and don't challenge myself.

I'd say that is one of my bigger problems also. I still enjoy it of course, but I could branch out at least a little more than what I do, but find myself going right back to my comfort zone.

 

[Red Dead Redemption]

I played banjo in a band in college

 

[joestrummer]

 

[HUSKER HOT SAUCE]

I think that that is an actual pic of RDR Joe....

 

[Suhperman]

Just saw this thread! I can't play a lick of lead but know a million songs. Especially love playing in alternate tunings. Learned a beautiful song this morning - Anyhow by Tedeschi Trucks Band - Open E, key of C#m.

I'm the opposite of you, Joe. I'm better at finger picking than flat picking, but have been getting better.

Speaking of Open E, I actually tune to Open D and use a capo because I don't like the string tension of tuning up to Open E. Also allows me to switch to Open D, D modal, or Open G tuning if I want.

 

[joestrummer]

Just saw this thread! I can't play a lick of lead but know a million songs. Especially love playing in alternate tunings. Learned a beautiful song this morning - Anyhow by Tedeschi Trucks Band - Open E, key of C#m.

I'm the opposite of you, Joe. I'm better at finger picking than flat picking, but have been getting better.

Speaking of Open E, I actually tune to Open D and use a capo because I don't like the string tension of tuning up to Open E. Also allows me to switch to Open D, D modal, or Open G tuning if I want.

For bottleneck stuff, I think open E is by far the best tuning. The tension makes it easy to not clank frets and I like the open high E tonic that slides up to the octave on 12. But, yeah, I don't like leaving guitars in open E because it's so hard on necks. I like open G for Stones-y/Crowes-y riffs but it's too slack for my heavy touch with a slide. I've been messing around with DADGAD quite a bit lately. It's a perfect acoustic tuning but I also like it on electric for weird drone-y stuff. I got the aforementioned small bodied, 12 fret acoustic a few months ago with an engelmann top and it's been an inspiration for working on my finger picking. The top is so soft and the notes just jump off with all sorts of harmonic overtones.

 

[joestrummer]

This is an example of the DADGAD drone-y stuff I dig:



I'm pretty sure this one is DADGAD as well:



Needless to say, Kozelek is my favorite DADGAD guitarist

 

[joestrummer]

Another thing I've been working on, not being so heavy handed. I'd kill for a light touch but I'm more of a mangler. I'm not a giant fan of jazz guitar (although I think they're some of the most talented players around) but I saw this video the other day from Julian Lage (prodigy/supremely skilled in many genres/etc) and his soft touch blew my mind. I mean, he's barely even fretting the notes.

 

[Suhperman]

This is an example of the DADGAD drone-y stuff I dig:



I'm pretty sure this one is DADGAD as well:



Needless to say, Kozelek is my favorite DADGAD guitarist

Good stuff, thanks for sharing. The only DADGAD songs I know are by Zeppelin...Kashmir, No Quarter (Page/Plant '94) and a very poor attempt at Black Mountain Side. I love the tuning because it's like playing Sitar without taking 15 years to learn how to play it.