Great video, Rhett! One thing , I personally would add, to this list. Is LEARN FULL SONGS. So many of us guitar players either always noodle on the instrument or just focus on soloing and sections of songs. But if you can play a full song top to bottom and build a repertoire of your favorite songs. You will see vast improvement! It doesn't have to a virtuoso songs, but learn songs by The Beatles for example! Your harmony and chords knowledge will be much better in the long run!
Agree, it helps a lot and gives you motivation plus an excuse to play in front of your friends. It helps also to add backing tracks when performing your repertoire. From there, I try to understand the theory behind each part of these songs. Basically, you kind of prepare for "busking" while expanding your theory knowledge.
I’m 14 and I have been playing guitar half of my life. For years all I could do was chords but since I was 11 I’ve been obsessed with everything guitar. Your videos have helped me a lot with my improvement.
Hi Rhett, great video. First a bit of background: I'm 81, and I've been playing guitar since about age 19, which makes over 60 years. Yeah, really. Most of that time I'd been playing cowboy chords on my old acoustic. Along the way I learned some good things such as Travis picking or open tunings, which are good. But most of that time was also spent woodshedding, alone. Woodshedding is useful, but the "alone" part is not necessarily so good, particularly when I developed a fear of performing in front of people. Several years ago I finally went electric, starting with an Epiphone Les Paul model and a cheap SS amp. Later I gave that to my son and bought a PRS hollow body and a serious amp after I started playing rhythm in a local big band. I love big band jazz, from the time when I was a teenager playing trumpet in my HS jazz band. Playing rhythm in a group with other musicians has been extremely challenging, and it has expanded my abilities exponentially. It also informs several comments and suggestions I'd like to offer in response to your video: First, you didn't mention the importance of PLAYING WITH OTHER PEOPLE. Just the act of making yourself vulnerable to others who often are more accomplished, and communicating musically within the group is invaluable. Next, and this is related to your comment about limiting one's use of tab notation, LEARN TO SIGHT READ STANDARD MUSICAL NOTATION. This might not be universally important, depending upon the genre of music you're playing. But for a guitar player, as with any stringed instrument, sight reading is more difficult than with other instruments because you have several choices as to where to play any given note. Mastery will include knowing the fretboard well enough to develop a sense of how best to play a set of notes within the context of the piece you're playing. That's called "voicing". Perhaps you've heard the old joke: Q: How do you make a guitarist play softly? A: Put sheet music in front of him. That was me until I realized it was up to me finally to learn how to sight read on the guitar. It's a struggle, although I'm getting better at it. And I recently realized that the tab notation I'd been using was becoming a crutch that was getting in my way of playing with fluidity. Finally, your comments about learning new things out of your comfort zone is right on. Learning guitar is a journey, not a destination. Don't sweat the rocks in the path along the way.
Thanks for the ideas, I think after 37 years of playing I’ve learnt to just be okay with where you’re at. Sometimes just hanging out playing songs you know isn’t a bad thing. Ive definitely returned to stuff I was trying to learn regularly after putting it away for a while and it seems way easier than it did when I put it away. It’s not a race it’s just your journey and getting your head space out the way also helps.
Great advice - I also recommend playing with a metronome. Pitches / tones are only 1/2 of the equation. Playing with good timing is so important, especially if you’re hoping to play along with other musicians!
This is huge! The amount of players with great chops or harmonic knowledge that can’t play to a click is astounding. In terms of harmonic knowledge though, learning modes (at least the most common ones) can take your playing to another level
The only issue with playing with a metronome is that while it's good to start, eventually you want to start practicing to an actual drum track, potentially a full backing track. If you ever intend to play with others, you need to get used to hearing the entire band behind you, and being able to follow the rhythm based on what you can hear. There's not always going to be an in-ear monitor, and you're not always going to be fed a click track, even when there is one.
that's great because they are complete nonsense to me as they are upside down. Im aware the high e is the "top" string but my brain wont let me use them. Only way is if i redraw them rightside up.
I don't need tabs but I will say this. The majority of guitar players have no intention of trying to be a pro or even very good. A lot of players out there will never be in a band. They just want to play the songs of their favorite artists.
Agreed, knowing chord tones and how your ear leads you is liberating and makes playing a lot more fun in general. Its a good reference point for unique licks.
I don’t recall how many times I sweat to transcribe songs and thought I was doing ok, till I opened a tab and understood how hard I had done it for myself and how simple that actually was. This trial&error eventually helped me understand & find the proper position on the neck to play things, recognize by the sound nuances what strings are used … and also find out at a glance how lousy so many tabs are ! 😅
I feel like it's been a while since we've seen this Novo guitar on the channel. I remember your story about it, and I'm glad you still enjoy playing it :)
Practicing to a metronome, especially scales, technique etc. And learn horizontally and diagonally, not just vertically on the neck, they're both the fastest ways to create speed and accuracy as well a linking the whole thing together. Once you see it, you can't un-see it, and you'll see it everywhere, chords, triads, scales, arpeggio's are all linked all over the neck, everywhere. Make yourself 5 little 3 minute exercises each week and do those daily for 15 minutes to a metronome increasing the speed each day. You'll be amazed how quickly you progress.
Everything I learn I tab out. I figure the stuff out by ear and then write it down. I also use tools to slow things down, loop phrases. I watch videos and listen to live recordings. But I started writing out tab because I’m only as good as my current handful of songs I’m working on. Because I take the time to figure out the all the nuances of a classic song, I always have my notes to refresh my memory or relearn the cut. I use tabs to practice not when I play. Am I less fluent and creative because of it? Sure. But it’s my way of figuring out the riddle of a song. I’d love to be a jamming kind of player that understands all the rules of music but I’m just not. But I developed my transcribing skills along the way and it keeps me centered when I practice.
It doesn’t seem like your use of tab is a way that causes problems. You did learn the music by ear first, so you’re in the clear. If you can’t read or write standard notation, that’s fine, you’re using tab to document what you’ve learned by ear.
I love the advice in this video. I have a lot of all of that I could be doing more of. One thing I picked up from an interview with Richard Thompson many years ago was to learn from musicians who play instruments other than your own. For example, if you're a guitarist, steal from a sax player. So much of the phrasing and melodic form of an instrument comes from its native mechanics, and you can break out of old habits and clichés more easily this way. Keep the great videos coming, Rhett!
Yeah, move the needle...move the needle...move the needle...move the needle...move the needle...move the needle... good times. I don't do tab, slows me down!
Small short practice sessions are more effective than long practice sessions. Even when you stop practicing your brain keeps working on it in the background. Then when you come back, it’s easier to play what you were practicing before.
I play guitar for almost 20 years, and just now I got to study musical theory, and I've gotta say, it blown my mind when I understood and when I am improvising. It's a complete new world!
This point about using ear has been incredible for me. I've recently started doing this over random songs. It has opened up my mind to the entire instrument in a way ive never seen it. 🎉
Thanks, Rhett. Great tips! I agree with all you said. I started playing in about 1977, all by ear, the occasional magazine article and asking friends. I still play in covers bands and can learn a new song in a few minutes, solos can take longer especially if it’s Schenker or Gary Moore :)) I use YT vids or tabs just to find the annoying elusive chord (there’s always one) or riff that I need. Learning something new also helps to develop your playing eg. stop using a pick, try finger style, slide, open tunings etc. I’ve been in open D on my reso for a few months and now when I go back to the electric I find I play with better tone and vibrato (and faster). I wish I had had the patience when I was younger, but there you go! Cheers ✌️
Maybe for some, but I enjoy reading notation and tabs. The art of taking written music and transforming to great music is very popular with my students too.
I think that’s fine but if you audition for a band and I have to do a gig in two days, I mean, I don’t think that that will help you there. I think you just gotta be able to jump in and like grab the cords understand the cycles and just like feel the intervals and you get that through, transcribing by ear just feeling the interval jumps between the notes that you’re at and where you need to get. I never learned anything like that from notation or anything and plus you’re not gonna be able to use that at all when you play live so then you have that added skill of having to kind of I guess like memorize it or something? Can you do that for 25 songs, I don’t know I can’t. I’ve also sat in an open mic and live gigs and jam sessions, and you never get any paper for that stuff.
I started with reading music. I had already been playing piano, trumpet and French horn so learning to read on guitar was fairly easy. Made it easier to learn theory when trying to learn jazz. Still learned some things by ear.
I have a library of tab books going back nearly 30 years - maybe that’s why I’ve not really improved in this millennium! Having said that, through Billy Strings and channels like Lessons With Marcel, I’ve also found that Doc Watson and other bluegrass is a great way to step out from blues & rock and really try to develop a cleaner (and faster) technique - it really helps when I then go back and try to apply it to playing Page/Clapton/ABB stuff.
Two words: LEARN PIANO 🎹 it may sound cliche-obvious to some and really strange to others but ever since I started studying classical piano, as a hobby, it skyrocketed my guitar playing/knowledge to new heights. Firstly classical piano forced me to learn how to read music (there’s no way to learn classical piano without it) and as a consequence it forced me to learn theory (Intervals, chord voicing, inversions, scales, scale degrees etc). Secondly, listening and analysing classical compositions brought a new level of understanding where many Melodie’s and harmonies come from in popular music (on any instrument) and turned me more to a musician than a ‘guitar player’ which in turn changed my approach of playing (to what u prefer). Finally all the theory and analysis habits of the piano creeped into my guitar and allowed me to expand more on techniques and skill territories that I was aware I wanted to in the past yet never got down to it. Drawback: after 30 years of passionate guitar playing I have fallen in love with the piano and I rediscover myself, a side of musicianship I never thought I had thus pushing slightly the guitar on the side. 😢 But I won’t give it up.
That's usually how I learn and transcribe a song. My brain can process the linear layout of a keyboard a lot better than the fretboard, even though I can locate all the notes on the fretboard. So I'll get it worked out on the piano first, jot it down, and then work it out on the fretboard.
@@perniciousreaper4393 there’s a reason why the piano is the king of all instruments and is primarily used for compositions. In classical music no matter what instrument you choose to follow you also need to learn the piano up to a certain level. All maestros compose on the piano or use the piano to visualise a composition, theme for an orchestra etc. Frequency wise it covers all instrumental bandwidths and as you pointed out it is ridiculously easy to visualise everything (chords, Melodies, scales, intervals etc).
Wow, fantastic video. Everything you said has resonated with me. I played finger picking blues guitar for years, but had a 20+ year hiatus until about a month ago when I picked up the guitar again. And, apart from the total train wreck my playing had become, I realised I was a guitar operator. I was not a guitar player. All I could do is read tab So I started learning music theory, learning the fretboard, playing by ear, trying different styles. All the things you mention. I hadn't thought of recording myself on the phone - great idea. Your video has shown me that I'm going in the right direction. Thanks, mate.
Get out there and play with a band of course. If you don't know anyone. Go do an open mic they are sprouting up everywhere. Some with full bands some just individual. But this will take you out of your comfort zone when, your ready. The amount of preparation you'll have to do will make you a better musucian and if you screw up so be it it's part of the learning process. You'll really learn how you sound and you can make adjustments from there.
Truth! At 54 a regret of mine is not learning the notes (not too late!). I’d imagine #6 and 7 being learning the major scale in all five positions vertically AND horizontally as well as begin building a repertoire of licks. Then circle of 5ths/chord progressions… add “ear training” videos… chord mapping…. Effective practice routines… strumming hand dexterity… I can easily overwhelm myself with the skills I wish I had learned 30 years ago!
I'm a faithful sub! Been away from guitar playing altogether for a while, and I lay down my guitar for the day, it seems this video comes at the right time to get me going again!
Very useful tips ! At some point anyone of us guitar players can find to play repetitive and feel stuck. Any or all of the 5 methods you describe are great. Just find something new to learn is always rewarding. Thanks !
Another thing that helped me tremendously with regard to learning the notes on the fret board was learning how to play bass guitar. Using that "octave mapping" technique also opens up the bass to newer players as well. At least that was something I found really useful to my guitar playing and moved me along much more quickly than tabs ever did.
I started learning songs by ear this year, because of a band that I got really emotionally attached to. And there is pretty much no tabs for their songs (partially cause their music is quite hard and complicated), so I had to figure it out myself. I really struggled in the beginning, spending half an hour trying to find the specific chord that is being played, spending a month to write down my own tabs just for one song. But in the end, the satisfaction you feel after finishing a song, worth all the struggle.
Great advice! Personally, I don’t think in terms of „ear is better than notes/tabs“, since I need both. For communication in the band, I find it super helpful to know the notes and be able to sightread a new piece. And for my improvisation, especially in call an response pieces, I find in invaluable to pick up melody lines by ear and play them on the fly. In other words, learn and exercise both! 😀
Would also personally include playing with other people, I've played guitar since I was 14 but only recently started playing with other people (I'm in my 40s now btw) and my guitar playing moved on more in the last year then at pretty anytime before. Doesn't have to be full band settings, even playing with another guitar player is incredibly useful!. Great video Rhett!
Great video. Lots of advice in this video I haven't followed, BUT triads is something I have learned. Has given me the biggest improvement since it also has some great side effects: makes learning all notes on the fretboard easy, much easier to understand how chords and scales fit together, improved improvisation.
I bought a mini tripod for my iPhone and I also bought a Roland mixer. After practicing something new for a few days, once I got it I’ll video record myself. I’ll notice where I’m rushing or dragging or if I’m still clunky on a particular transition. Also memorizing the structure of a song has been helpful, makes you realize most popular music isn’t as magical as one thinks 😆😆
Big yes to recording yourself, voice memos is really clutch when spur of the moment stuff happens in your head and you need to get it out. To your point on doing stuff outside your comfort zone, I really love doing that. Some days I’m listening to some Tom Quayle and wanna work on my legato (which is horrid) but other days I want to work on my bluesy feels and watch people like Julian Lage dance with his tele. Great video man
I think something that will help beginners and intermediate players is to break the fear of alternate tunings. Understanding that string players change their tunings to make their life easier, not harder, should be the first step in breaking a fear of alternate tunings. I currently play an acoustic bass guitar which I tune up a half-step to F standard. I use this tuning to play Bb and Eb. While it may seem a little odd to tune a bass higher in pitch to F, doing so I can play in the those keys using the same patterns and techniques I use to play A/D in (E) Standard tuning. Bb and Eb are great keys to play rock/blues, and while many will tune down to Eb standard, tuning to F standard adds tension to the strings giving the notes a snappier, punchier sound than I'd get from reducing the tension. Also, my open strings are the 5ths of the I and IV chords ;)
Recording myself has been a big one. Yes it allows me to be critical but often times I’ll surprise myself with something pretty good and it’s a confidence boost.
Apologies, this got a bit long and disjointed but I think there’s a point and lesson to be learned somewhere in here lol… Yeah, I’ve been playing since 94/95, been playing in bands pretty much since then, other then my dad showing me the open chords I’ve never taken a lesson. I didn’t have a computer with the internet until 1998 so those first few years was mostly me learning by playing along and learning by ear to bands like the Beatles, green day and nirvana then the Beatles, Tool and Deftones then AIC, PJ, Metallica, the Beatles and Pantera. I did buy the odd guitar magazine in those early years but found their tabs only helped me with some of the chords and some more simple leads, and even then I could tell many were not accurate. As when I would try to use them to learn more intricate parts like Van Halen or Pantera solos, (probably because I couldn’t figure out the Rhythm of the notes as I never paid attention or practiced in band class when learning trumpet. Lol I would just wait to hear how it went and copy the guy next to me) basically I was wondering how to fit all the notes in the the end run in the crazy train solo into one bar! Anyways I ended up just figuring out my own close but not always note-for-note versions. Then once I did have access to tab sites and guitar mag subscriptions I rarely used them and if other people and musicians reaction to my playing was any indication, I was doing fine. That being said. A couple years ago I found myself waking up from a two week coma to learn my wife had not. Since then while not working and to keep my mind occupied in a positive way i did a couple things, I built about 125 pedals as one does, and I went back to relearn every Panera Solo note for note. as I already had many of them quite close but none perfect, this time I used the technology of today to my advantage, a combination of Songsterr tabs and RUclips playing the original album versions, as well any isolated guitar tracks that were real, as there were some that were either very well faked or perhaps real but was found on a cutting room floor somewhere. I also used RUclips to slow the solos down and fine tune and catch every note, hammer-on and pulling, which is where I found parts in many of the tabs that were still quite incorrect. Also when there was conflicting tabs, and other RUclipsrs lessons I could always find several live videos to see how he at least did it live. Also what was really cool is that I would get into this zone where my mind would lock in and pick up all the little inconsistencies, over bends, and even some mistakes in the original solo. I found many of these things I never noticed at full speed are what give the solos the mojo, and are possibly the reasons they are the takes that got used. Since I’ve done this, I started noticing improvements all over the neck. I’ve been playing all kinds of licks that I never would have before, I find myself spontaneously reaching for chords, diads and triads in voicings I never would have just played on the fly before. So this made a huge improvement on my overall playing, and my friend who I’ve been jamming with since high school even noticed immediately. The look on his face said it all when we were doing our usual blues riff, trading off solos warmup we normally start with. So I’m summery, I suggest figuring out as much as you can by ear, even if it takes a year. Then start using a combination of all the available tools as a method of fine tuning. As well jam with as many people as possible, and write your own songs even if you have no plans to show anyone. I have always been able so sit down and join in a jam, campfire or on stage, and be able to come up with parts while playing along to songs I never knew, but also I think tabs do have a place, maybe don’t rely on them solely. In the past year due to that note for note Dimebag Darrell solo rabbit hole, at 40 years old, I’m playing by far best I’ve ever played and still improving every day, which makes me happy enough to not just give up and end my life. 😉
Tabs are ok if you can’t quite figure something out by ear but I’ve noticed that they seem to impede you from actually learning to play the song without the tab. I can use tab to play something and the next time I try to run through it without the tab I’m drawing serious blanks. Great tips Rhett!
I've been playing about as long as you, Rhett (started in 2000). I really agree with a lot of this advice, but for the visual learners out there, I strongly recommend starting with sheet music. It also helps immensely with learning all the notes on the fretboard. "Crap, this piece needs an A in 5th position. Where the heck is that!? Oh, HERE." Satch's "find the note" game also helped immensely. I can figure things out by ear now, but that was crazy impossible when I was coming up. I just couldn't fathom how it all worked without a visual guide.
Thanks for the advice , I have a collage note book folder for songs 🎵 I know how to play.. 50 or so campfire songs .. I love. Say I haven't played old man in 2 years it's just like a favourite brownie recipe , helps a lot as I'll forget some songs totally if I don't play them anyway.. thanks !
Agree huge on recording yourself. Also, record yourself playing along other tracks, and with your band members at a practice session if you're in a band. It helps you identify not only timing and general music stuff, but also how your sound balances out with others.
Great advice mate, I'd add don't be afraid of sucking at learning a new skill .with time and patience people will improve. As purely a rhythm player for the past 15 years I've just started learning to solo. Good things come to those who wait. Keep on ticking Rhett
I use tab mainly to expedite figuring out where to be or finding the right key. Also for some riffs. I am in mid 40s and just cant hear well enough to pick out notes accurately, especially on bass. Once i know where i am, then i can figure out whats right and wrong.
Recording yourself is a big one. Very often you hear yourself playing something and you think you're nailing it, then you hear it on a recording and it sounds so different. I also found that learning to use a looper and singing while you play were incredibly beneficial for me - they improved my rhythm playing immeasurably.
Another great video! I have been playing for over 50 years, and I agree with every point. I have to admit...I hate tabs. I have never used them, never will. Learn the chord shapes, and learn to train your ear. WAY more important!
Practicing isolated parts slowly in front of a mirror has helped me greatly to develop economy of motion in my playing. This is a tip I picked up from a Steve Vai video.
Awesome video Rhett, I totally agree ,and I would also recommend buying a looping pedal to practice and help to develop song ideas. Take the time to learn the pedal and its functions. You can create a complete arrangent with bass sounds, percussive sounds, chord progression, hooks. And then you can use that arrangement to practice scales, triads, improvise over a progression, create harmonies, on and on. Just seriously eat some $hite and learn how to use the pedal and Guarantee it will show uour strenghths and weakness. Especially timing. And using a metrenome with it to start your loop does help Sorry for the novella. Keep rockin Rhettt, this channel is righteous brother. -J
I'm just a lousy "bedroom player" and I'm really really terrible at it too. Still, there's a small trick I accidentally picked up that goes in line with what you said about recording yourself. That is getting a looper, possibly a very simple one. I was recording myself long before that and yet, I noticed I'm still not really hearing that many mistakes and deficiencies because I'm too focused on the recording process itself and all the cool things I can do in DAW. But then I got myself a looper. Oh boy... that was eye opening experience. Trying to record even a simple phrase and then to play alongside myself - that really really is a whole different world.
Try Jamzone -- they have a ton of songs covered by a professional band with individual tracks for each instrument. You can adjust the volume with a slider or mute. Learn your part by isolating your instrument and then mute the instrument and you have a backing track. You can also adjust speed without the nasty digital drag and you can adjust the pitch! It's a little expensive, but worth it.
Learn to read standard notation. This will help immensely with learning pretty much everything related to playing, and make you a more versatile, and valuable guitarist. Learn the intervals in every chord you play and the surrounding intervals. As you learn music theory this will eliminate the need for chord charts/dictionaries. Being able to figure out a different voicing for a chord or how to play a chord you don't already know is a huge asset. It will also help with figuring out different ways to play scales and arpeggios.
That was a great video. It's interesting, all those things you said, i figured out like after 4 years of playing... good experiences. and one thing to get better is feeling all the tensions (in strings, fingers, hand, elbow... even amp and all those things). Guitar seems easy to play because if you pluck a string it would sound kinda decent (not very much), but to master that attack is what makes a guitarist sound great no matter how you play or what you play... i think everyone should work hard on that like a violinist tries to get a good sound out of a violin...
i am now playing for 15 weeks or so.. in my first 3 weeks i almost vould play anything i can play still now only it getting easier and smoother, and maybe some better technique.. but the first 3 weeks i learned more then in the other 12 i start doing what you say a little bit.. but small. i try to tune my guitars, by using open chords, E A D C and G.. to know exactly how they should sound all loose from one another, and look if i can tune it correctly.. (i am sometimes a bit off) but getting closer.. while in my first weeks i could not even hear if it was an d or an e at the moment.. but that gets better and better.. after watching this, i think that tuning still is a good thing to do, and i going to try what you said also with loose notes and then bends and so on..(i am still unable for this, but i now can sometimes find things if i cant follow videos by just trying somewhere in the erea they play and find it that way, so it gets closer everyy time)
Awesome video Rhett!. I don't consider myself a guitarist, more a copycat. As a working mother my favorite thing to do to unwind is learn a song using tabs or RUclips & I'm perfectly fine with it. I've zero interest in knowing where the notes & chords are. Have mad respect though for those that put a lot of time & effort into guitar ❤
For me Truefire with tabs and decent instructor made myself a much much better player. Tabs also helped me to write my ideas down fast so I can replicate them if I want to. Sure all the things you named are valid but some sort of written music language, notes or tabs , made it so much more practically for me. Nowadays I've learned how to read notes and in a studio this a real advantage. They give me a piece of sheet music that I've to play in one or two takes. Job done, money in the pocket.
Fantastic video and some great tips I do have to try - considering I'm currently on a big plateau. HOWEVER - I'm going to disagree (and agree) with the Tabs point. Trying to figure things out by ear might work for easier songs. Once you try to get into territory like Archspire, Alterbeast or Ulcerate this becomes almost impossible unless you're already insanely advanced. So yes - learning by ear is a great tool to figure out the fretboard as long as you're not trying to figure out the high-complexity riffing. Once you use tabs for these kinds of bands they become an incredibly useful tool to understand how to apply techniques to achieve seriously complex music.
Learning the notes on the fretboard (after refusing to do so for 28 years of playing) has made a massive difference in my ability to improve. Kicking myself for not doing this decades ago.
A couple that have been very helpful for me: get a looper. There's nothing like laying down a basic structure (the bass notes), adding chords on top, and then soloing while following those chords. Bonus if the looper has a metronome or even better, drums built-in. Learning to play in time is so important when you eventually play with a drummer. You're going to need those skills, and without a metronome or drum loops, you likely don't have them.
I completely agree with your views on tabs. When I'm trying to life a solo, I start first with my ear, then a video of the artist playing it, then somebody else playing it. And slowing the videos down if I need to. Only if all those methods have failed me, will I turn to tabs. Figuring things out by ear or eye embeds them deeper in the memory than reading tabs.
Trying to learn finger style has really helped my playing. I literally quit guitar for almost 3 years because I was so sick and tired of my playing. I would pick up the guitar and do the same crap every time. When I tried to learn new stuff, I would have no idea how to use it this increasing my frustration. Now I start on acoustic and finger picking and reward myself with playing with a pick and shredding afterwards!
I also think trying to get good at some alternative tunings really can show you a lot about the notes you need because at that point they’re all in different positions so you have to kind of know what notes you want and why they’re there and what cords you’re trying to build and then you can really create any alternative tuning and get those same cords just some more easily reachable so once I put in like two or three different tunings like it just kind of like popped out to my to my mind, and I saw a standard tuning is basically like a big piano, and you’re kind of shifting where the keys are
A lot of rock players might not like this one, but one of the things that helped me to learn the fret-board the most was reading music notation. This kind of goes hand in hand with the "getting away from tabs" thing. If you're reading music, it forces you to have to know what the notes are and not just put your finger where the page says. This tip might also go along with the "play other styles" tip if you're a rock player. Learning some classical or jazz will help because those genres typically rely far more on notated music, and you'll be amazed at how quickly you can learn the fingerboard when you're having to read notes.
I was coming here to say the exact same thing. Once you know all the notes on the fingerboard, it's really not that hard. Children learn to read music every day! Sure it takes a little time and effort. But when you can pick up a piece of Bach/Beethoven or whatever else appeals to you and sight-read it, something that very very few guitarists can do - it's really rewarding!! Music is a language at the end of the day - might as well learn how to read it 👍
let me start with i love your channel, understanding or { learning } music theory is no different then learning or { understanding } Quantum physics. it takes a certain type of person who's minds works differently then most people . i'm very simple minded and i except that. I love my tabs and enjoy playing simple songs and riffs. trying to process music theory just blows my mind like the thought of trying to understand the universe.
I’ve found that improvising/jamming with others has massively improved my abilities. Improvising forced me to not just learn triads, but learn how to use them to create bass lines that link with the chord changes and are more than just boring root notes. Playing with others also improves timing and is most importantly FUN.
When I started in the 80s I learned everything first by ear. What surprised me was that after I found books, I was pretty close. I remember getting a chord book and learned how to play the major and minor chords in the other positions beside the open cowboy chords (CAGE) system. Then I tried to play songs in other positions. That seemed to work for me.
Begin with a Metronome.. and use a Looper with an integrated Drum , and look that the Drum patterns can be adjusted by +/- 1 Bpm. So you can do a lot of the things Rhett shows here in a good way with a lot of fun.
Sound advice. I encourage beginners to NOT learn theory but to just try and write your own songs. I think this really helps to cultivate your own unique style. Imo, interesting music comes from breaking the rules. It’s easier to break them when you don’t know there are any. Learn theory later.
Learning by ear is easily the hardest thing for me. For example that deep river blues there. I have absolutely no chance of learning any of it by ear. I can do the most basic stuff and every now and then I run into something I recognise while noodling and can figure out how to play the real thing, but that's it. It has been like this for years now 😵💫 I am way better with learning some concrete rules and that kind of stuff...
Learning the notes on the neck is extremely easy, especially if you do it in a way that overlaps with other knowledge. For me the best way was just learning the notes on the E string. Where it differs is in standard tuning one direction moves in 4ths the other 5ths exactly the same as the circle of 5ths so given (F C G D A E B). I can go to any note on high or low E and know the 2 notes directly above and below. So from D on low E, the notes below are G and C (reverse direction for D on high E) etc... When I started playing 7 and 8 string i immediately knew all the notes.
Jamming in the minor pentatonic has always been a 'go to' for soloing. It doesn't really work in major keys for obvious reasons. I had been playing for decades not knowing that just moving three frets down from the major key you're playing in and using the minor pentatonic shapes works like a charm. Then expanding up the fretboard from there into an aeolian scale opens up a third of the neck for your major key soloing.
I've been doing all this. My rhythm guitar has improved but i feel like neglecting my lead and have been for 10 years now. I grt tired playing crazy train which i used to be able to play at 17.
Great video as always, thank you ! Maybe a tip : go play live with friends, at church, in a bar gig or a jam... the more you do it the more comfidence you get on the instrument. And also you learn to listen to the other musicians.
I understood learn all notes in an other way. I was used to know all major scale notes but the in between notes I couldn’t hear because I never used them. So learn to use and listen to all notes is a good advice ;)
The 50 % off was my takeaway from this video😎 One of the best tips I ever got is: You (almost) always have five minutes to play. That will most often turn into twenty minutes or more and maybe the beginning of a new song. ✌✌
Great video, Rhett! One thing , I personally would add, to this list. Is LEARN FULL SONGS. So many of us guitar players either always noodle on the instrument or just focus on soloing and sections of songs. But if you can play a full song top to bottom and build a repertoire of your favorite songs. You will see vast improvement! It doesn't have to a virtuoso songs, but learn songs by The Beatles for example! Your harmony and chords knowledge will be much better in the long run!
Great suggestion! So important!
The bonus is when non-musical friends ask you to play a song, you can actually do that.
Agree, it helps a lot and gives you motivation plus an excuse to play in front of your friends. It helps also to add backing tracks when performing your repertoire. From there, I try to understand the theory behind each part of these songs. Basically, you kind of prepare for "busking" while expanding your theory knowledge.
Couldn't agree more! 👍
Do you have any song recommendation to learn?
I’m 14 and I have been playing guitar half of my life. For years all I could do was chords but since I was 11 I’ve been obsessed with everything guitar. Your videos have helped me a lot with my improvement.
good stuff dude, keep shredding!
Keep it up bud. Us older folks who never kept up with a discipline for an extended amount of time definitely regret it!
Hi Rhett, great video. First a bit of background: I'm 81, and I've been playing guitar since about age 19, which makes over 60 years. Yeah, really. Most of that time I'd been playing cowboy chords on my old acoustic. Along the way I learned some good things such as Travis picking or open tunings, which are good. But most of that time was also spent woodshedding, alone. Woodshedding is useful, but the "alone" part is not necessarily so good, particularly when I developed a fear of performing in front of people. Several years ago I finally went electric, starting with an Epiphone Les Paul model and a cheap SS amp. Later I gave that to my son and bought a PRS hollow body and a serious amp after I started playing rhythm in a local big band. I love big band jazz, from the time when I was a teenager playing trumpet in my HS jazz band. Playing rhythm in a group with other musicians has been extremely challenging, and it has expanded my abilities exponentially. It also informs several comments and suggestions I'd like to offer in response to your video: First, you didn't mention the importance of PLAYING WITH OTHER PEOPLE. Just the act of making yourself vulnerable to others who often are more accomplished, and communicating musically within the group is invaluable. Next, and this is related to your comment about limiting one's use of tab notation, LEARN TO SIGHT READ STANDARD MUSICAL NOTATION. This might not be universally important, depending upon the genre of music you're playing. But for a guitar player, as with any stringed instrument, sight reading is more difficult than with other instruments because you have several choices as to where to play any given note. Mastery will include knowing the fretboard well enough to develop a sense of how best to play a set of notes within the context of the piece you're playing. That's called "voicing". Perhaps you've heard the old joke: Q: How do you make a guitarist play softly? A: Put sheet music in front of him. That was me until I realized it was up to me finally to learn how to sight read on the guitar. It's a struggle, although I'm getting better at it. And I recently realized that the tab notation I'd been using was becoming a crutch that was getting in my way of playing with fluidity. Finally, your comments about learning new things out of your comfort zone is right on. Learning guitar is a journey, not a destination. Don't sweat the rocks in the path along the way.
Thanks for the ideas, I think after 37 years of playing I’ve learnt to just be okay with where you’re at. Sometimes just hanging out playing songs you know isn’t a bad thing. Ive definitely returned to stuff I was trying to learn regularly after putting it away for a while and it seems way easier than it did when I put it away. It’s not a race it’s just your journey and getting your head space out the way also helps.
Great advice - I also recommend playing with a metronome. Pitches / tones are only 1/2 of the equation. Playing with good timing is so important, especially if you’re hoping to play along with other musicians!
This is huge! The amount of players with great chops or harmonic knowledge that can’t play to a click is astounding. In terms of harmonic knowledge though, learning modes (at least the most common ones) can take your playing to another level
Timing is the most important! With great timing, you can get away with playing almost anything.
Music is melody, harmony and rhythm, after all.
The only issue with playing with a metronome is that while it's good to start, eventually you want to start practicing to an actual drum track, potentially a full backing track. If you ever intend to play with others, you need to get used to hearing the entire band behind you, and being able to follow the rhythm based on what you can hear. There's not always going to be an in-ear monitor, and you're not always going to be fed a click track, even when there is one.
Yes! Getting off of tabs and developing your ear will completely transform your trajectory on the instrument.
that's great because they are complete nonsense to me as they are upside down. Im aware the high e is the "top" string but my brain wont let me use them. Only way is if i redraw them rightside up.
I don't need tabs but I will say this. The majority of guitar players have no intention of trying to be a pro or even very good. A lot of players out there will never be in a band. They just want to play the songs of their favorite artists.
Agreed, knowing chord tones and how your ear leads you is liberating and makes playing a lot more fun in general. Its a good reference point for unique licks.
@@zzCaptHowdyI’m left handed so they are upside down and backwards to me.
I don’t recall how many times I sweat to transcribe songs and thought I was doing ok, till I opened a tab and understood how hard I had done it for myself and how simple that actually was.
This trial&error eventually helped me understand & find the proper position on the neck to play things, recognize by the sound nuances what strings are used … and also find out at a glance how lousy so many tabs are ! 😅
I feel like it's been a while since we've seen this Novo guitar on the channel. I remember your story about it, and I'm glad you still enjoy playing it :)
Practicing to a metronome, especially scales, technique etc. And learn horizontally and diagonally, not just vertically on the neck, they're both the fastest ways to create speed and accuracy as well a linking the whole thing together.
Once you see it, you can't un-see it, and you'll see it everywhere, chords, triads, scales, arpeggio's are all linked all over the neck, everywhere.
Make yourself 5 little 3 minute exercises each week and do those daily for 15 minutes to a metronome increasing the speed each day. You'll be amazed how quickly you progress.
Great advice.
Everything I learn I tab out. I figure the stuff out by ear and then write it down. I also use tools to slow things down, loop phrases. I watch videos and listen to live recordings. But I started writing out tab because I’m only as good as my current handful of songs I’m working on. Because I take the time to figure out the all the nuances of a classic song, I always have my notes to refresh my memory or relearn the cut. I use tabs to practice not when I play. Am I less fluent and creative because of it? Sure. But it’s my way of figuring out the riddle of a song. I’d love to be a jamming kind of player that understands all the rules of music but I’m just not. But I developed my transcribing skills along the way and it keeps me centered when I practice.
It doesn’t seem like your use of tab is a way that causes problems. You did learn the music by ear first, so you’re in the clear. If you can’t read or write standard notation, that’s fine, you’re using tab to document what you’ve learned by ear.
I love the advice in this video. I have a lot of all of that I could be doing more of.
One thing I picked up from an interview with Richard Thompson many years ago was to learn from musicians who play instruments other than your own. For example, if you're a guitarist, steal from a sax player. So much of the phrasing and melodic form of an instrument comes from its native mechanics, and you can break out of old habits and clichés more easily this way.
Keep the great videos coming, Rhett!
When I started really getting into guitar as a teenager...in the late 70's...I learned by ear, because that's all there was.
Yeah, move the needle...move the needle...move the needle...move the needle...move the needle...move the needle... good times. I don't do tab, slows me down!
@@TheGospelGuitarist Makes us old guys really appreciate the modern DAW and the loop function!
Great message Rhett!!!
I love Traids. 6:45
Plaid traids?
Yes, learn a new style - learn to spell? LOL 🤣🤣🤣🤣
@@guydouglas6094 He said "learn the fretboard," not the "keyboard!"
I grew up with Traids back here in Colorado
Small short practice sessions are more effective than long practice sessions. Even when you stop practicing your brain keeps working on it in the background. Then when you come back, it’s easier to play what you were practicing before.
It’s like magic!
I play guitar for almost 20 years, and just now I got to study musical theory, and I've gotta say, it blown my mind when I understood and when I am improvising. It's a complete new world!
This point about using ear has been incredible for me. I've recently started doing this over random songs. It has opened up my mind to the entire instrument in a way ive never seen it. 🎉
Thanks, Rhett. Great tips! I agree with all you said.
I started playing in about 1977, all by ear, the occasional magazine article and asking friends. I still play in covers bands and can learn a new song in a few minutes, solos can take longer especially if it’s Schenker or Gary Moore :)) I use YT vids or tabs just to find the annoying elusive chord (there’s always one) or riff that I need.
Learning something new also helps to develop your playing eg. stop using a pick, try finger style, slide, open tunings etc. I’ve been in open D on my reso for a few months and now when I go back to the electric I find I play with better tone and vibrato (and faster). I wish I had had the patience when I was younger, but there you go! Cheers ✌️
*Triads
You got anything against traids?
Lol I was just wondering who else noticed that
I'm wondering if the misspelling was intentional to see if we're paying attention.
That is just dislexia
@@maxturgeon89no matter how hard I try, I just can’t learn Traids lol
Maybe for some, but I enjoy reading notation and tabs. The art of taking written music and transforming to great music is very popular with my students too.
I think that’s fine but if you audition for a band and I have to do a gig in two days, I mean, I don’t think that that will help you there. I think you just gotta be able to jump in and like grab the cords understand the cycles and just like feel the intervals and you get that through, transcribing by ear just feeling the interval jumps between the notes that you’re at and where you need to get. I never learned anything like that from notation or anything and plus you’re not gonna be able to use that at all when you play live so then you have that added skill of having to kind of I guess like memorize it or something? Can you do that for 25 songs, I don’t know I can’t. I’ve also sat in an open mic and live gigs and jam sessions, and you never get any paper for that stuff.
I started with reading music. I had already been playing piano, trumpet and French horn so learning to read on guitar was fairly easy. Made it easier to learn theory when trying to learn jazz. Still learned some things by ear.
I have a library of tab books going back nearly 30 years - maybe that’s why I’ve not really improved in this millennium!
Having said that, through Billy Strings and channels like Lessons With Marcel, I’ve also found that Doc Watson and other bluegrass is a great way to step out from blues & rock and really try to develop a cleaner (and faster) technique - it really helps when I then go back and try to apply it to playing Page/Clapton/ABB stuff.
Two words: LEARN PIANO 🎹
it may sound cliche-obvious to some and really strange to others but ever since I started studying classical piano, as a hobby, it skyrocketed my guitar playing/knowledge to new heights.
Firstly classical piano forced me to learn how to read music (there’s no way to learn classical piano without it) and as a consequence it forced me to learn theory (Intervals, chord voicing, inversions, scales, scale degrees etc). Secondly, listening and analysing classical compositions brought a new level of understanding where many Melodie’s and harmonies come from in popular music (on any instrument) and turned me more to a musician than a ‘guitar player’ which in turn changed my approach of playing (to what u prefer). Finally all the theory and analysis habits of the piano creeped into my guitar and allowed me to expand more on techniques and skill territories that I was aware I wanted to in the past yet never got down to it.
Drawback: after 30 years of passionate guitar playing I have fallen in love with the piano and I rediscover myself, a side of musicianship I never thought I had thus pushing slightly the guitar on the side. 😢 But I won’t give it up.
I agree! Same story here.
That's usually how I learn and transcribe a song. My brain can process the linear layout of a keyboard a lot better than the fretboard, even though I can locate all the notes on the fretboard. So I'll get it worked out on the piano first, jot it down, and then work it out on the fretboard.
@@perniciousreaper4393 there’s a reason why the piano is the king of all instruments and is primarily used for compositions. In classical music no matter what instrument you choose to follow you also need to learn the piano up to a certain level. All maestros compose on the piano or use the piano to visualise a composition, theme for an orchestra etc. Frequency wise it covers all instrumental bandwidths and as you pointed out it is ridiculously easy to visualise everything (chords, Melodies, scales, intervals etc).
Wow, fantastic video. Everything you said has resonated with me. I played finger picking blues guitar for years, but had a 20+ year hiatus until about a month ago when I picked up the guitar again. And, apart from the total train wreck my playing had become, I realised I was a guitar operator. I was not a guitar player. All I could do is read tab So I started learning music theory, learning the fretboard, playing by ear, trying different styles. All the things you mention. I hadn't thought of recording myself on the phone - great idea. Your video has shown me that I'm going in the right direction. Thanks, mate.
Get out there and play with a band of course. If you don't know anyone. Go do an open mic they are sprouting up everywhere. Some with full bands some just individual. But this will take you out of your comfort zone when, your ready. The amount of preparation you'll have to do will make you a better musucian and if you screw up so be it it's part of the learning process. You'll really learn how you sound and you can make adjustments from there.
Truth! At 54 a regret of mine is not learning the notes (not too late!). I’d imagine #6 and 7 being learning the major scale in all five positions vertically AND horizontally as well as begin building a repertoire of licks. Then circle of 5ths/chord progressions… add “ear training” videos… chord mapping…. Effective practice routines… strumming hand dexterity… I can easily overwhelm myself with the skills I wish I had learned 30 years ago!
Godsmack - I Stand Alone.
Cream - Sunshine of your Love.
0-3-5, of course. (Smoke on the Water)
Disturbed - Down with the Sickness.
🎶🤓
I would add learn layering. It opens your mind a lot
I'm a faithful sub! Been away from guitar playing altogether for a while, and I lay down my guitar for the day, it seems this video comes at the right time to get me going again!
Sometimes a break can be refreshing and reinvigorate your playing when you pick it up again.
Very useful tips ! At some point anyone of us guitar players can find to play repetitive and feel stuck. Any or all of the 5 methods you describe are great. Just find something new to learn is always rewarding. Thanks !
Another thing that helped me tremendously with regard to learning the notes on the fret board was learning how to play bass guitar. Using that "octave mapping" technique also opens up the bass to newer players as well. At least that was something I found really useful to my guitar playing and moved me along much more quickly than tabs ever did.
I started learning songs by ear this year, because of a band that I got really emotionally attached to. And there is pretty much no tabs for their songs (partially cause their music is quite hard and complicated), so I had to figure it out myself.
I really struggled in the beginning, spending half an hour trying to find the specific chord that is being played, spending a month to write down my own tabs just for one song. But in the end, the satisfaction you feel after finishing a song, worth all the struggle.
Great advice!
Personally, I don’t think in terms of „ear is better than notes/tabs“, since I need both.
For communication in the band, I find it super helpful to know the notes and be able to sightread a new piece. And for my improvisation, especially in call an response pieces, I find in invaluable to pick up melody lines by ear and play them on the fly.
In other words, learn and exercise both! 😀
#3 so underrated. Great shout.
Would also personally include playing with other people, I've played guitar since I was 14 but only recently started playing with other people (I'm in my 40s now btw) and my guitar playing moved on more in the last year then at pretty anytime before. Doesn't have to be full band settings, even playing with another guitar player is incredibly useful!. Great video Rhett!
Great video. Lots of advice in this video I haven't followed, BUT triads is something I have learned. Has given me the biggest improvement since it also has some great side effects: makes learning all notes on the fretboard easy, much easier to understand how chords and scales fit together, improved improvisation.
I bought a mini tripod for my iPhone and I also bought a Roland mixer. After practicing something new for a few days, once I got it I’ll video record myself. I’ll notice where I’m rushing or dragging or if I’m still clunky on a particular transition. Also memorizing the structure of a song has been helpful, makes you realize most popular music isn’t as magical as one thinks 😆😆
I've been all about walking base lines and the style where you play the 5th before the root on alternating bars
Big yes to recording yourself, voice memos is really clutch when spur of the moment stuff happens in your head and you need to get it out.
To your point on doing stuff outside your comfort zone, I really love doing that. Some days I’m listening to some Tom Quayle and wanna work on my legato (which is horrid) but other days I want to work on my bluesy feels and watch people like Julian Lage dance with his tele. Great video man
Thank you, Rhett. I appreciate you posting this and sharing your knowledge.
I think something that will help beginners and intermediate players is to break the fear of alternate tunings. Understanding that string players change their tunings to make their life easier, not harder, should be the first step in breaking a fear of alternate tunings. I currently play an acoustic bass guitar which I tune up a half-step to F standard. I use this tuning to play Bb and Eb. While it may seem a little odd to tune a bass higher in pitch to F, doing so I can play in the those keys using the same patterns and techniques I use to play A/D in (E) Standard tuning. Bb and Eb are great keys to play rock/blues, and while many will tune down to Eb standard, tuning to F standard adds tension to the strings giving the notes a snappier, punchier sound than I'd get from reducing the tension. Also, my open strings are the 5ths of the I and IV chords ;)
Recording myself has been a big one. Yes it allows me to be critical but often times I’ll surprise myself with something pretty good and it’s a confidence boost.
I love the octave approach! It quickly helped me navigate the fretboard in a fairly mind-blowing way.
Apologies, this got a bit long and disjointed but I think there’s a point and lesson to be learned somewhere in here lol…
Yeah, I’ve been playing since 94/95, been playing in bands pretty much since then, other then my dad showing me the open chords I’ve never taken a lesson. I didn’t have a computer with the internet until 1998 so those first few years was mostly me learning by playing along and learning by ear to bands like the Beatles, green day and nirvana then the Beatles, Tool and Deftones then AIC, PJ, Metallica, the Beatles and Pantera. I did buy the odd guitar magazine in those early years but found their tabs only helped me with some of the chords and some more simple leads, and even then I could tell many were not accurate. As when I would try to use them to learn more intricate parts like Van Halen or Pantera solos, (probably because I couldn’t figure out the Rhythm of the notes as I never paid attention or practiced in band class when learning trumpet. Lol I would just wait to hear how it went and copy the guy next to me) basically I was wondering how to fit all the notes in the the end run in the crazy train solo into one bar! Anyways I ended up just figuring out my own close but not always note-for-note versions. Then once I did have access to tab sites and guitar mag subscriptions I rarely used them and if other people and musicians reaction to my playing was any indication, I was doing fine.
That being said. A couple years ago I found myself waking up from a two week coma to learn my wife had not. Since then while not working and to keep my mind occupied in a positive way i did a couple things, I built about 125 pedals as one does, and I went back to relearn every Panera Solo note for note. as I already had many of them quite close but none perfect, this time I used the technology of today to my advantage, a combination of Songsterr tabs and RUclips playing the original album versions, as well any isolated guitar tracks that were real, as there were some that were either very well faked or perhaps real but was found on a cutting room floor somewhere. I also used RUclips to slow the solos down and fine tune and catch every note, hammer-on and pulling, which is where I found parts in many of the tabs that were still quite incorrect. Also when there was conflicting tabs, and other RUclipsrs lessons I could always find several live videos to see how he at least did it live. Also what was really cool is that I would get into this zone where my mind would lock in and pick up all the little inconsistencies, over bends, and even some mistakes in the original solo. I found many of these things I never noticed at full speed are what give the solos the mojo, and are possibly the reasons they are the takes that got used. Since I’ve done this, I started noticing improvements all over the neck. I’ve been playing all kinds of licks that I never would have before, I find myself spontaneously reaching for chords, diads and triads in voicings I never would have just played on the fly before. So this made a huge improvement on my overall playing, and my friend who I’ve been jamming with since high school even noticed immediately. The look on his face said it all when we were doing our usual blues riff, trading off solos warmup we normally start with.
So I’m summery, I suggest figuring out as much as you can by ear, even if it takes a year. Then start using a combination of all the available tools as a method of fine tuning. As well jam with as many people as possible, and write your own songs even if you have no plans to show anyone. I have always been able so sit down and join in a jam, campfire or on stage, and be able to come up with parts while playing along to songs I never knew, but also I think tabs do have a place, maybe don’t rely on them solely. In the past year due to that note for note Dimebag Darrell solo rabbit hole, at 40 years old, I’m playing by far best I’ve ever played and still improving every day, which makes me happy enough to not just give up and end my life. 😉
Tabs are ok if you can’t quite figure something out by ear but I’ve noticed that they seem to impede you from actually learning to play the song without the tab. I can use tab to play something and the next time I try to run through it without the tab I’m drawing serious blanks. Great tips Rhett!
I've been playing about as long as you, Rhett (started in 2000). I really agree with a lot of this advice, but for the visual learners out there, I strongly recommend starting with sheet music. It also helps immensely with learning all the notes on the fretboard. "Crap, this piece needs an A in 5th position. Where the heck is that!? Oh, HERE." Satch's "find the note" game also helped immensely.
I can figure things out by ear now, but that was crazy impossible when I was coming up. I just couldn't fathom how it all worked without a visual guide.
I never had the vision to mess with tabs. Which might be a blessing. Makes it more enjoyable and relaxing instead of becoming stressful.
Thanks for the advice , I have a collage note book folder for songs 🎵 I know how to play.. 50 or so campfire songs .. I love. Say I haven't played old man in 2 years it's just like a favourite brownie recipe , helps a lot as I'll forget some songs totally if I don't play them anyway.. thanks !
Agree huge on recording yourself. Also, record yourself playing along other tracks, and with your band members at a practice session if you're in a band. It helps you identify not only timing and general music stuff, but also how your sound balances out with others.
Great advice mate, I'd add don't be afraid of sucking at learning a new skill
.with time and patience people will improve.
As purely a rhythm player for the past 15 years I've just started learning to solo.
Good things come to those who wait.
Keep on ticking Rhett
I use tab mainly to expedite figuring out where to be or finding the right key. Also for some riffs. I am in mid 40s and just cant hear well enough to pick out notes accurately, especially on bass. Once i know where i am, then i can figure out whats right and wrong.
Recording yourself is a big one. Very often you hear yourself playing something and you think you're nailing it, then you hear it on a recording and it sounds so different. I also found that learning to use a looper and singing while you play were incredibly beneficial for me - they improved my rhythm playing immeasurably.
Another great video! I have been playing for over 50 years, and I agree with every point. I have to admit...I hate tabs. I have never used them, never will. Learn the chord shapes, and learn to train your ear. WAY more important!
Practicing isolated parts slowly in front of a mirror has helped me greatly to develop economy of motion in my playing. This is a tip I picked up from a Steve Vai video.
Awesome video Rhett, I totally agree ,and I would also recommend buying a looping pedal to practice and help to develop song ideas. Take the time to learn the pedal and its functions. You can create a complete arrangent with bass sounds, percussive sounds, chord progression, hooks. And then you can use that arrangement to practice scales, triads, improvise over a progression, create harmonies, on and on. Just seriously eat some $hite and learn how to use the pedal and Guarantee it will show uour strenghths and weakness. Especially timing. And using a metrenome with it to start your loop does help
Sorry for the novella. Keep rockin Rhettt, this channel is righteous brother. -J
Hi Rhett, really appreciate your work , I would add just one thing and that is to play with others
I'm just a lousy "bedroom player" and I'm really really terrible at it too. Still, there's a small trick I accidentally picked up that goes in line with what you said about recording yourself. That is getting a looper, possibly a very simple one. I was recording myself long before that and yet, I noticed I'm still not really hearing that many mistakes and deficiencies because I'm too focused on the recording process itself and all the cool things I can do in DAW. But then I got myself a looper. Oh boy... that was eye opening experience. Trying to record even a simple phrase and then to play alongside myself - that really really is a whole different world.
Try Jamzone -- they have a ton of songs covered by a professional band with individual tracks for each instrument. You can adjust the volume with a slider or mute. Learn your part by isolating your instrument and then mute the instrument and you have a backing track. You can also adjust speed without the nasty digital drag and you can adjust the pitch! It's a little expensive, but worth it.
Learn to read standard notation. This will help immensely with learning pretty much everything related to playing, and make you a more versatile, and valuable guitarist.
Learn the intervals in every chord you play and the surrounding intervals. As you learn music theory this will eliminate the need for chord charts/dictionaries. Being able to figure out a different voicing for a chord or how to play a chord you don't already know is a huge asset. It will also help with figuring out different ways to play scales and arpeggios.
That was a great video. It's interesting, all those things you said, i figured out like after 4 years of playing... good experiences. and one thing to get better is feeling all the tensions (in strings, fingers, hand, elbow... even amp and all those things). Guitar seems easy to play because if you pluck a string it would sound kinda decent (not very much), but to master that attack is what makes a guitarist sound great no matter how you play or what you play... i think everyone should work hard on that like a violinist tries to get a good sound out of a violin...
Blackbird is a good one to start the alternate picking work. Its beautiful and makes it rewarding to play. Learn on songs that u love to listen to.
Thanks for this video, Rhett. It validates my philosophy in my approach to guitar learning.
i am now playing for 15 weeks or so.. in my first 3 weeks i almost vould play anything i can play still now only it getting easier and smoother, and maybe some better technique.. but the first 3 weeks i learned more then in the other 12
i start doing what you say a little bit.. but small. i try to tune my guitars, by using open chords, E A D C and G.. to know exactly how they should sound all loose from one another, and look if i can tune it correctly.. (i am sometimes a bit off) but getting closer..
while in my first weeks i could not even hear if it was an d or an e at the moment.. but that gets better and better..
after watching this, i think that tuning still is a good thing to do, and i going to try what you said also with loose notes and then bends and so on..(i am still unable for this, but i now can sometimes find things if i cant follow videos by just trying somewhere in the erea they play and find it that way, so it gets closer everyy time)
Awesome video Rhett!. I don't consider myself a guitarist, more a copycat. As a working mother my favorite thing to do to unwind is learn a song using tabs or RUclips & I'm perfectly fine with it. I've zero interest in knowing where the notes & chords are. Have mad respect though for those that put a lot of time & effort into guitar ❤
For me Truefire with tabs and decent instructor made myself a much much better player. Tabs also helped me to write my ideas down fast so I can replicate them if I want to. Sure all the things you named are valid but some sort of written music language, notes or tabs , made it so much more practically for me. Nowadays I've learned how to read notes and in a studio this a real advantage. They give me a piece of sheet music that I've to play in one or two takes. Job done, money in the pocket.
Fantastic video and some great tips I do have to try - considering I'm currently on a big plateau.
HOWEVER - I'm going to disagree (and agree) with the Tabs point. Trying to figure things out by ear might work for easier songs. Once you try to get into territory like Archspire, Alterbeast or Ulcerate this becomes almost impossible unless you're already insanely advanced. So yes - learning by ear is a great tool to figure out the fretboard as long as you're not trying to figure out the high-complexity riffing. Once you use tabs for these kinds of bands they become an incredibly useful tool to understand how to apply techniques to achieve seriously complex music.
These are true! Apparently I’ve been on the right track for years. Never let yourself get down or in an absolute rut, folks. Enjoy the guitar.
Learning the notes on the fretboard (after refusing to do so for 28 years of playing) has made a massive difference in my ability to improve. Kicking myself for not doing this decades ago.
in my 40 years of playing i learned a lot from learning songs note for note from tabs
A couple that have been very helpful for me: get a looper. There's nothing like laying down a basic structure (the bass notes), adding chords on top, and then soloing while following those chords. Bonus if the looper has a metronome or even better, drums built-in. Learning to play in time is so important when you eventually play with a drummer. You're going to need those skills, and without a metronome or drum loops, you likely don't have them.
What has helped me improve the most is jamming with others. It makes you accountable, which makes you want to get things right.
I completely agree with your views on tabs. When I'm trying to life a solo, I start first with my ear, then a video of the artist playing it, then somebody else playing it. And slowing the videos down if I need to. Only if all those methods have failed me, will I turn to tabs. Figuring things out by ear or eye embeds them deeper in the memory than reading tabs.
Rhett can we expect another video update on your studio or did you finish. The live performance videos are great by the way.
Trying to learn finger style has really helped my playing. I literally quit guitar for almost 3 years because I was so sick and tired of my playing. I would pick up the guitar and do the same crap every time. When I tried to learn new stuff, I would have no idea how to use it this increasing my frustration. Now I start on acoustic and finger picking and reward myself with playing with a pick and shredding afterwards!
I also think trying to get good at some alternative tunings really can show you a lot about the notes you need because at that point they’re all in different positions so you have to kind of know what notes you want and why they’re there and what cords you’re trying to build and then you can really create any alternative tuning and get those same cords just some more easily reachable so once I put in like two or three different tunings like it just kind of like popped out to my to my mind, and I saw a standard tuning is basically like a big piano, and you’re kind of shifting where the keys are
A lot of rock players might not like this one, but one of the things that helped me to learn the fret-board the most was reading music notation. This kind of goes hand in hand with the "getting away from tabs" thing. If you're reading music, it forces you to have to know what the notes are and not just put your finger where the page says. This tip might also go along with the "play other styles" tip if you're a rock player. Learning some classical or jazz will help because those genres typically rely far more on notated music, and you'll be amazed at how quickly you can learn the fingerboard when you're having to read notes.
I was coming here to say the exact same thing. Once you know all the notes on the fingerboard, it's really not that hard. Children learn to read music every day! Sure it takes a little time and effort. But when you can pick up a piece of Bach/Beethoven or whatever else appeals to you and sight-read it, something that very very few guitarists can do - it's really rewarding!! Music is a language at the end of the day - might as well learn how to read it 👍
My answer is "NO WAY" i´ll keep using it! 😄
Preach it, bro! Love this idea.
let me start with i love your channel, understanding or { learning } music theory is no different then learning or { understanding } Quantum physics. it takes a certain type of person who's minds works differently then most people . i'm very simple minded and i except that. I love my tabs and enjoy playing simple songs and riffs. trying to process music theory just blows my mind like the thought of trying to understand the universe.
Some great tips here Rhett! Ive recently started taking guitar lessons and ive realized how little i challenged myself on my own.
I’ve found that improvising/jamming with others has massively improved my abilities. Improvising forced me to not just learn triads, but learn how to use them to create bass lines that link with the chord changes and are more than just boring root notes. Playing with others also improves timing and is most importantly FUN.
great video, you rock
WELL DONE !! Great wisdom simple and true
When I started in the 80s I learned everything first by ear. What surprised me was that after I found books, I was pretty close. I remember getting a chord book and learned how to play the major and minor chords in the other positions beside the open cowboy chords (CAGE) system. Then I tried to play songs in other positions. That seemed to work for me.
Begin with a Metronome.. and use a Looper with an integrated Drum , and look that the Drum patterns can be adjusted by +/- 1 Bpm. So you can do a lot of the things Rhett shows here in a good way with a lot of fun.
Sound advice. I encourage beginners to NOT learn theory but to just try and write your own songs. I think this really helps to cultivate your own unique style. Imo, interesting music comes from breaking the rules. It’s easier to break them when you don’t know there are any. Learn theory later.
Learning by ear is easily the hardest thing for me. For example that deep river blues there. I have absolutely no chance of learning any of it by ear. I can do the most basic stuff and every now and then I run into something I recognise while noodling and can figure out how to play the real thing, but that's it. It has been like this for years now 😵💫
I am way better with learning some concrete rules and that kind of stuff...
For such a well produced video as always, my OCD was triggered by the image "LEARN YOUR TRAIDS" lol. Great vid Rhett!
Learning the notes on the neck is extremely easy, especially if you do it in a way that overlaps with other knowledge. For me the best way was just learning the notes on the E string. Where it differs is in standard tuning one direction moves in 4ths the other 5ths exactly the same as the circle of 5ths so given (F C G D A E B). I can go to any note on high or low E and know the 2 notes directly above and below. So from D on low E, the notes below are G and C (reverse direction for D on high E) etc... When I started playing 7 and 8 string i immediately knew all the notes.
Jamming in the minor pentatonic has always been a 'go to' for soloing. It doesn't really work in major keys for obvious reasons. I had been playing for decades not knowing that just moving three frets down from the major key you're playing in and using the minor pentatonic shapes works like a charm. Then expanding up the fretboard from there into an aeolian scale opens up a third of the neck for your major key soloing.
Fantastic advice as always Rhett. Thank you for this and all you do!
I've been doing all this. My rhythm guitar has improved but i feel like neglecting my lead and have been for 10 years now. I grt tired playing crazy train which i used to be able to play at 17.
Deep River blues of doc Watson ..have a guy that gives an awesome lesson about this tune . Rick from Blues Guitar Institute.
Really cool man great advice thanks ! Learning by ear should take an entire video that’s what I’m practicing for some months now 😊
Funny, I've been learning songs by ear for years, but nothing beyond that. Thanks for the video.
One of the best videos of ALL TIME!!! Well done!!!
Great video as always, thank you !
Maybe a tip : go play live with friends, at church, in a bar gig or a jam... the more you do it the more comfidence you get on the instrument. And also you learn to listen to the other musicians.
I understood learn all notes in an other way. I was used to know all major scale notes but the in between notes I couldn’t hear because I never used them. So learn to use and listen to all notes is a good advice ;)
The 50 % off was my takeaway from this video😎
One of the best tips I ever got is:
You (almost) always have five minutes to play.
That will most often turn into twenty minutes or more
and maybe the beginning of a new song.
✌✌
The tab in the thumbnail looks like "I Stand Alone" by Godsmack ;)
Love this feedback!!!