Guitar players.

[Tungsten,]

Originally Posted by MyAlberta

Tablature just about had me quit guitar. Luckily I explored the theory side and reignited my interest.

Tablature was a bit difficult at first, but now with apps like guitar pro to hear the timing and slow the speed down sure makes it easier.

[jednastka]

What a blast from the past this thread is! I took piano lessons for years. Both my younger brothers were much more talented, and harder working, than I was. Finally, in Grade 10, my parents let me quit, and bought me a "Hudson's Bay" special. That's it, hanging from my bunkhouse wall in Northern Manitoba on my 18th birthday. I've been playing ever since. I'm not particularly good, but music has always allowed me to escape into my own little, peaceful world and I come out much more relaxed and focused. I'm up to 7 guitars now, including a Fender Strat and a Yamaha Bass. I found that I did not really understand music theory the way it was taught when I was being taught piano, but that understanding came very quickly when I picked up the guitar. I don't play as much now as I should. This thread should help to get me going again.


I play almost anything, old folk, new folk, country, gospel, rock, heavy metal etc.

[MyAlberta]

Originally Posted by Tungsten,

Tablature was a bit difficult at first, but now with apps like guitar pro to hear the timing and slow the speed down sure makes it easier.

I haven’t explored any of the apps. But I do make use of utube backing tracks (too cheap to buy a looper). I find it way too hard to follow 4th fret on the 3rd string kind of stuff. If it’s resolve to the 5th, bend the flatted 3rd, now your talking my language. I didn’t realize until recently that my exploring where the triads lay, had the term ‘caged’. I’m bent on hearing intervals. Recently I’ve started recording myself attempting scales vocally. Pretty scary, but with a little practice, I’m hoping I can squeak out a tune without the glares.

Been listening to a lot of cello lately. Just love the resonance

[Tungsten,]

Originally Posted by MyAlberta

I haven’t explored any of the apps. But I do make use of utube backing tracks (too cheap to buy a looper). I find it way too hard to follow 4th fret on the 3rd string kind of stuff. If it’s resolve to the 5th, bend the flatted 3rd, now your talking my language. I didn’t realize until recently that my exploring where the triads lay, had the term ‘caged’. I’m bent on hearing intervals. Recently I’ve started recording myself attempting scales vocally. Pretty scary, but with a little practice, I’m hoping I can squeak out a tune without the glares.

Been listening to a lot of cello lately. Just love the resonance

Thats the beauty of learning guitar,so many different ways.Im the other way I prefer 2nd string 2 second fret compared to B string 2nd fret.

[wayne]

Beautiful resonator Cat - no claim to fame, I am just the self-taught, designated campfire player/singer in the good weather outings doing lots of Johnny Cash, some John Prine, Fogerty, some blues, etc. Always nice when someone else can join in and play lead or adds some twanging and howling. I learned Life By the Drop on the acoustic/electric with the amp, a retirement gift from last year.

[EZM]

Good Thread. Played Bass for a few years and we had a typical garage band and played a few friends parties, and stuff like that. True rock stars in our own minds.

Was a ton of fun, and didn't hurt my social life when meeting new people at some of these small time jigs. lol. True Rock Star wannabes I guess.

I still have a few guitars and I never really put enough time to get really good but I do enjoy strumming a little and figuring out catchy songs - the internet helps this along quite a bit - as some mentioned - the clues like tuning can save a guy days of frustration ..... lol.

Most of the stuff I like is alternative, rock, indie, some blues and classic and of, course, metal from the old days. Pretty open minded, from Blue Rodeo, to Metallica, over to Tool, Tragically Hip, Guns, Sound Garden or even some folkly hippie stuff for the campfire.

Gonna try and find a picture and post it .... you guys will get a good chuckle.

[Red Bullets]

Found a pic of my Dad and his guitar back almost 80 years ago. Thought I would share it. Guitar is part of my heritage. Glad I kept up the tradition for the past 50+ years. And now my son has been playing for 25 years too.

Tip of the day:
Like the outdoors try to make music part of your family heritage.

[pgavey]

Hey RED was that a Harmony your Dad was holding? I learned my first few chords on my Dad's old arch top Harmony.

[MRM]

Cat, that's a sic 60's pic!! The Resonator guitar looks great as well.

I have been playing on and off since early 90's. Should be so much better, but brings me joy regardless. Maybe not others.

[catnthehat]

Originally Posted by MRM

Cat, that's a sic 60's pic!! The Resonator guitar looks great as well.

I have been playing on and off since early 90's. Should be so much better, but brings me joy regardless. Maybe not others.

Thanks guys , yeah we was rockin' back then !
I sure like kicking back with the Dobro knock off though!
Cat

[HVA7mm]

I can finger pick and strum a few chords. I really wish that I would have taken some lessons about 40 years ago. This should probably be a perfect time for me to sit down and practice, but I just haven't taken the time yet. Too hard on my family's ears I guess

[Hiwa]

Me and the boys can't jam nowadays.
Drivin' me nuts.

[DisplacedCaper]

I’ve packed my drums up, and stuffed them in the closet with a bunch of other guitars to make my jam room another play area for the kids while we are keeping in the house. But I still have a few out
Playing some tunes has been a bit of a saviour while cooped up. Major stress reliever!




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[Stinky Buffalo]

Originally Posted by DisplacedCaper

I’ve packed my drums up, and stuffed them in the closet with a bunch of other guitars to make my jam room another play area for the kids while we are keeping in the house. But I still have a few out
Playing some tunes has been a bit of a saviour while cooped up. Major stress reliever!




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Heh! Had to do the same with much of my gear when the kids were little. Hung a few guitars up in the living room, out of reach of the tiny fingers. Rest got packed up.

On one occasion, I was missing a large Mag-Lite flashlight. Could not find it for the life of me. Then, one day, I was rolling my keboard amp around and heard a thump inside of it... Sure enough, my daughter (a toddler at the time) had slid the flashlight in through a port in the back of the amp. I can only imagine that she thought it was one of those shape-sorting toys.


Now the living room is full of gear, all of the kids play to varying degrees.

[tullfan]

I finally after years of toiling about it bought a banjo. Been learning 3 finger style and I am zero musical. I am having so much fun. Couple things I have discovered.
Being a mechanic I can do amazing things with my hands and fingers, very d good with them. That being said, It took forever to get the right hand to just pluck the strings.
The left hand is having a hard time reaching for the different frets. It's frustrating and fun at the same time.
Next lesson I learned about myself after 47 years of being in this body is.
I can concentrate so hard that I drooled on myself. Lol. I never had that happen before. Lol. I laughed, wiped my face then continued onto the task at hand.
Just bought a second open back banjo. I've promised my fiancé I will play a song for her around this summers campfire. That'd my goal. So far I love it and it's still fun.


Tullfan

[DisplacedCaper]

Originally Posted by Stinky Buffalo

Heh! Had to do the same with much of my gear when the kids were little. Hung a few guitars up in the living room, out of reach of the tiny fingers. Rest got packed up.



On one occasion, I was missing a large Mag-Lite flashlight. Could not find it for the life of me. Then, one day, I was rolling my keboard amp around and heard a thump inside of it... Sure enough, my daughter (a toddler at the time) had slid the flashlight in through a port in the back of the amp. I can only imagine that she thought it was one of those shape-sorting toys.





Now the living room is full of gear, all of the kids play to varying degrees.

Lol glad I’m not the only one. I once bought an evh frankenstrat and left it unattended in the living room for a bit. It took forever to get the peanut butter out of the pickup. Lesson learned haha


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[DisplacedCaper]

Originally Posted by tullfan

I finally after years of toiling about it bought a banjo. Been learning 3 finger style and I am zero musical. I am having so much fun. Couple things I have discovered.

Being a mechanic I can do amazing things with my hands and fingers, very d good with them. That being said, It took forever to get the right hand to just pluck the strings.

The left hand is having a hard time reaching for the different frets. It's frustrating and fun at the same time.

Next lesson I learned about myself after 47 years of being in this body is.

I can concentrate so hard that I drooled on myself. Lol. I never had that happen before. Lol. I laughed, wiped my face then continued onto the task at hand.

Just bought a second open back banjo. I've promised my fiancé I will play a song for her around this summers campfire. That'd my goal. So far I love it and it's still fun.





Tullfan

Enjoy! That’s been on my list to learn for a while. I picked up a fiddle in may and have been working at that since. It’s different, that’s for sure.


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[Yukongold]

Played in a few bands doing country, folk and R&R. Was in a party dance band for many years until I lost my best friend (lead guitar player) to cancer at 51.
That shook the hell out of me and when I re-surfaced decided to get into celtic and Irish. This means that you need to make an attempt to master 6/8 (jig) timing which is easier said than done. Reels are ok as they are in 4/4. To play the jigs and reels you need to practice alot with an experienced fiddle player so your ear can anticipate the changes and the patterns become second nature. Its been a riot but covid is interferring with pracky right now. Keep pick'n.

[MyAlberta]

I bought a harmonica last summer. Whenever the wife starts in on me I pull it out, capture the whine, and respond with a blues run. Drives her into a frenzy, which drives me to be more expressive. Life has new meaning. As a nice consequence, I’ve stepped up my oral hygiene, constantly flossing and brushing, while watching what I stick in my mouth.

[Bushleague]

Originally Posted by mooseknuckle

Started on drums in 2000. toured north america in a punk rock band. Recently been playing bass guuitar and singing. Some jerks broke into my shop/rehersal space. My 1977 maple fender precision bass.... gone. Broke my heart. Played the starlight room in edmonton a few times. Pretty fun, but at 41 with kids, not as high priority.

I too am interested to hear what band you played in, we likely moved in the same circles at some point.

Started out playing guitar in various bands in the ska/punk/hardcore scene back in the late 90's. Later assembled a fairly respectable home recording studio, picked up drums and bass over the years, just as a side effect of getting to spend lots of time with some truly great musicians. For a few years now I've only had time for my acoustic guitar though, the rest of my gear has been sold off. Once I got old enough to realise I'd probably never play in another gigging band, all other instruments just kind of lost all meaning.

As for songs, I like to find songs that you wouldn't think of as great acoustic songs, but once you work at them a bit they raise some eyebrows. Most recently I've been rocking a mean delta blues version of Purple Haze that really stands out from the usual campfire standards.

Some old favorites over the years
-Other Side by RHCP
-Interstate Love song by the Stone Temple Pilots... that lick works so well on an acoustic, and its got some cool jazz chords too
-Lounge Act by Nirvana, real simple but its a great high energy acoustic song
-I Wish you Well by Tom Cochrane… I don't know who remembers this tune but its friggin' beautiful.
-Disconnected by Face to Face... the few people who recognize that tune love it, give it a bit of a rockabilly feel to make it work better on a acoustic.

[Dweb]

I own basically one of every major brand , but this Tele and Princeton pairing is my favourite.

Hope everyone has a good holiday season this month with lots of jamming and strumming !

[marlin1]

picked up a Canadian made Seagull acoustic last summer . Took lessons as a kid and its coming back with some instruction from my Woman who is pretty good on her gibson hummingbird . Tequila sunrise I can strum . Learning Neil Young stuff now . Got a cheap little amp as well

[Bushleague]

since its show and tell I'll play. A few pictures from my misspent youth.

Scan_20201203 (7) by , on Flickr

Scan_20201203 (6) by , on Flickr

Scan_20201203 (5) by , on Flickr

Scan_20201203 (8) by , on Flickr

[mooseknuckle]

Originally Posted by Bushleague

I too am interested to hear what band you played in, we likely moved in the same circles at some point.

Started out playing guitar in various bands in the ska/punk/hardcore scene back in the late 90's. Later assembled a fairly respectable home recording studio, picked up drums and bass over the years, just as a side effect of getting to spend lots of time with some truly great musicians. For a few years now I've only had time for my acoustic guitar though, the rest of my gear has been sold off. Once I got old enough to realise I'd probably never play in another gigging band, all other instruments just kind of lost all meaning.

As for songs, I like to find songs that you wouldn't think of as great acoustic songs, but once you work at them a bit they raise some eyebrows. Most recently I've been rocking a mean delta blues version of Purple Haze that really stands out from the usual campfire standards.

Some old favorites over the years
-Other Side by RHCP
-Interstate Love song by the Stone Temple Pilots... that lick works so well on an acoustic, and its got some cool jazz chords too
-Lounge Act by Nirvana, real simple but its a great high energy acoustic song
-I Wish you Well by Tom Cochrane… I don't know who remembers this tune but its friggin' beautiful.
-Disconnected by Face to Face... the few people who recognize that tune love it, give it a bit of a rockabilly feel to make it work better on a acoustic.

Outcast, surten purpose, 120 grit, radio city riot squad, mooseknuckle, cobra apollo. Can find recent tunes (Cobra Apollo) on band camp, as well as video live from the starlight room

[510-Gem]

Been playing for close to 20 years - more if you count the first 2-4 years of suck... but I was just always drawn to it after hearing a song I wanted to learn or seeing other players noodling riffs in the stores and such. I cut my teeth on Metallica and Megadeth, AIC and STP, Dave Matthews all kinds of classic rock and 90's grunge.

When my musical tastes grew up a bit I put a lot of effort into acoustic fingerpicking, and the best thing I ever learned how do was travis picking.
I later got into electric again, and had many late nights noodling around, and my awareness of the instrument just exploded. Now I can dabble in blues and jazz, chicken-pickin, and I always seem to come back to the acoustics. Developing my right hand away from always using a pick has drawn out way more of what I consider to be my own style. I notice that many great blues players don't always use a pick either, and some incorporate both (hybrid picking). I've been hammering on the banjo for a good year now as well and just starting to see some progress, but it has been a lot like starting over - very few shortcuts earned from even playing guitar as long as I have.

Few thing's I've learned:

Having a passion for music is definitely a pre-requisite.
Don't be too critical. Listen closely to your playing, but play through your mistakes... don't practice your mistakes!
Get to know the fret board as best you can (there's a reason standard tuning is the way it is), and picking up some theory here and there will only help in the long run. You don't need to be Segovia, but you'll start to see patterns and shapes emerge as you take in information on scales and chord positions.
Use a capo and/or lighter strings if your having trouble fingering chords, and have your axe set up by a luthier from time to time.
Stick with it, and rock the F out from time to time! I find it to be as good of a stress reliever as archery, and just plain good company.

[titegroup]

Been playing mostly as a home hobby for around 30yrs. Mostly for my own therapy-- love the sound of crunch with some drive in it- . love the power chord sounds- although most of them aren't rocket science. like stuff from Brian Adams\ Whitesnake\ Creedence\ Heart\ Santana-- the list goes on. Can't read notes so I'm a tab junkie-- not to difficult once you get on to it. I needed a pick-me up in the 90"s when my mom passed away --so while visiting the bro up there in Calgary-- stopped in at Guitar-Works- ended up leaving with a PRS- Custom 24- in Black sunburst. Back then when I saw the price tag I almost had a cardiac- but no regrets -- its the most amazing sounding axe and built with such quality. Although there are many other guitars that I think sound awesome also. Took lessons for about 5 yrs. just to pick up some knowledge & technique -- don't know what the Paul Reed would be worth today-- still like pickin -- but got to be in the mood-- be a dam hard guitar to part with if I lost interest-- maybe the wife will end up selling it in an estate sale when I'm gone -- but she's no pushover-- she knows very well --the value of a American made PRS.--- cause from what I understand some are being made overseas now.

[Okotok]

Been playing for many years but with long periods of inactivity. I'm destined to be an entertaining campfire guitar player with a jam thrown in here and there. Still love playing but not as motivated as I once was. I did learn a couple of new songs lately though. Youtube is a very helpful resource these days. I'm a better builder than player.