Browsing through a music store the other day, I caved in and bought a teach-yourself-guitar book. While I've definitely been having fun playing Rock Band and I think it's been good for learning some of the basic techniques, I kinda feel like I'm learning to play the game with a guitar rather than actually learning to play the instrument itself. Without any feedback in the form of sound coming from the instrument I don't really feel like I'm making the connection between my actions and the end result.
So I've been learning from the book for about a week now, and I definitely feel like I'm learning more about the sound of the guitar and it's definitely nice to be able to hear what I'm playing so I can correct my fingering when I get string buzzes and so on. On the other hand it's no where near as much fun as doing it through the game and without the immediate feedback and controlled pace that the game provides I find it takes me much longer to master each exercise.
So I think going forward I'm going to mix up the two approaches a bit, maybe get some proper lessons from a tutor too. It's a real shame that you can't play the game and make a noise at the same time though, that would be perfect.
Wednesday 13 July 2011
Tuesday 28 June 2011
A bit of background
I got a question on my previous entry regarding how the game works so I thought I'd go into a separate entry on how the game works. I kind of covered a bit of this on a previous post I wrote that got lost and as I figured no-one except me would ever read this blog I never got round to re-writing it.
Pictured below is the guitar I'm using to control the game:
And for reference, below is a 'real' Squire:
So they look pretty similar right? The controller, has fewer pickups, no whammy bar and gamepad type controls where some of the dials and knobs are but it's recognizably a guitar, not just a plastic controller. The black rectangle you can see at the bottom of the neck is the string mute; a spongy pad which when engaged stops the strings vibrating. When playing the game this needs to be in place, but when using it as a guitar it should be disengaged to let the strings ring freely.
The picture below shows a screen from the game
If you envision the neck facing away from you, then the strings from left to right, represent the strings top to bottom on the guitar. The indicators on the strings move down the screen and should be played when they reach the bar at the bottom. The number inside the indicator shows where the string should be fretted, with zero being an open string. For anyone unfamiliar with guitar, the frets are the metal bands that run across the neck. When playing the second fret, for example, the string should be pressed just before the second band of metal.
So in the image above for the next note I'd hold down the top (or 6th) string at the 3rd fret and strike that same string with the pick. The next 2 notes I'd play the 6th string again but this time without fretting.
The note after that is a chord, the number on the chord represents where to put your index finger, and the height of the change of the indicator shows where to put your other fingers. So in this case the index finger goes on the 1st fret of the 6th string with other fingers going on the 3rd fret of the 4th and 5th strings. The white line under the indicator shows which strings to pluck, in this case the same strings that are being fretted. Next to the chord is the chord name, which is probably easier to remember than trying to work out the indicator.
It's a lot of information to take in and it takes some getting used to, but it's apparently similar to guitar tablature that is often used to represent guitar music in books,
Pictured below is the guitar I'm using to control the game:
So they look pretty similar right? The controller, has fewer pickups, no whammy bar and gamepad type controls where some of the dials and knobs are but it's recognizably a guitar, not just a plastic controller. The black rectangle you can see at the bottom of the neck is the string mute; a spongy pad which when engaged stops the strings vibrating. When playing the game this needs to be in place, but when using it as a guitar it should be disengaged to let the strings ring freely.
The picture below shows a screen from the game
If you envision the neck facing away from you, then the strings from left to right, represent the strings top to bottom on the guitar. The indicators on the strings move down the screen and should be played when they reach the bar at the bottom. The number inside the indicator shows where the string should be fretted, with zero being an open string. For anyone unfamiliar with guitar, the frets are the metal bands that run across the neck. When playing the second fret, for example, the string should be pressed just before the second band of metal.
So in the image above for the next note I'd hold down the top (or 6th) string at the 3rd fret and strike that same string with the pick. The next 2 notes I'd play the 6th string again but this time without fretting.
The note after that is a chord, the number on the chord represents where to put your index finger, and the height of the change of the indicator shows where to put your other fingers. So in this case the index finger goes on the 1st fret of the 6th string with other fingers going on the 3rd fret of the 4th and 5th strings. The white line under the indicator shows which strings to pluck, in this case the same strings that are being fretted. Next to the chord is the chord name, which is probably easier to remember than trying to work out the indicator.
It's a lot of information to take in and it takes some getting used to, but it's apparently similar to guitar tablature that is often used to represent guitar music in books,
Friday 24 June 2011
Hammer-ons and pull-offs
I managed to get all the chord lessons done. As usual, it was a not entirely convincing performance but I'm sure there will be plenty more chances to reinforce what I've learned later.
The next set of lessons are hammer-ons and pull-offs. I did the hammer-ons with little difficulty but didn't really understand what I was supposed to do for the pull-offs, the instructions weren't very clear. A quick search on YouTube turned up a number of videos explaining it though so I'll have another go later.
The next set of lessons are hammer-ons and pull-offs. I did the hammer-ons with little difficulty but didn't really understand what I was supposed to do for the pull-offs, the instructions weren't very clear. A quick search on YouTube turned up a number of videos explaining it though so I'll have another go later.
Tuesday 21 June 2011
Struggling with chords
I'm making slow progress through the chords lessons. I've gotten through 4 out of 5, but somehow the lesson where I have to switch from single notes, to chords and back again has really gotten me stumped. Neither my brain nor my fingers seem to be able to make the switch quick enough. I guess this is what happens as you get older.
Ah well, if I keep at it for long enough I'm sure I'll get it eventually. I've been reading around some guitar forums and it seems like most people have similar problems when they start out.
Ah well, if I keep at it for long enough I'm sure I'll get it eventually. I've been reading around some guitar forums and it seems like most people have similar problems when they start out.
Tuesday 14 June 2011
Chords
Wow, I've already been going for a month, doesn't feel like it.
Anyway, I've been practising the Ramones song on medium difficulty and got up to 96% accuracy, which I think is pretty good. There are a couple of parts where it moves up and down the fretboard quickly which still throw me off, but apart from that I'm pretty happy with how it's going.
I've decided to move on to a new lesson: open chords. The first lesson introduces 3 chords. I'm finding it tricky to get all my fingers in the right place quickly, I have to pretty much do them one at a time at the moment, but after a bit of practice it's becoming a bit easier. One thing I'm really struggling with though, is getting the strings to ring cleanly. Even when I have my fingers in the right place, adjusting them so that they aren't touching adjacent strings while still holding them string enough to prevent buzzing is proving very tricky. Hopefully this will get a bit easier once the skin on my finger tips toughens up a bit.
Anyway, I've been practising the Ramones song on medium difficulty and got up to 96% accuracy, which I think is pretty good. There are a couple of parts where it moves up and down the fretboard quickly which still throw me off, but apart from that I'm pretty happy with how it's going.
I've decided to move on to a new lesson: open chords. The first lesson introduces 3 chords. I'm finding it tricky to get all my fingers in the right place quickly, I have to pretty much do them one at a time at the moment, but after a bit of practice it's becoming a bit easier. One thing I'm really struggling with though, is getting the strings to ring cleanly. Even when I have my fingers in the right place, adjusting them so that they aren't touching adjacent strings while still holding them string enough to prevent buzzing is proving very tricky. Hopefully this will get a bit easier once the skin on my finger tips toughens up a bit.
Monday 6 June 2011
Day 23 - Reinforcement
I've been a bit busy recently which has meant I haven't been practising as much as I would like. I'm trying to concentrate on reinforcing and improving some of the skills I've already learnt before moving on to new lessons. I've been playing around with some of the pro-bass parts in songs as well. As there are only 4 strings to contend with for the bass part it means there is less to contend with. I played through the bass part of 'Imagine' last night and could play it pretty well on first play through at full speed. Admittedly it's a very easy piece but I think this kind of practice will help me develop my coordination and playing while sight reading.
Tuesday 31 May 2011
Day 17 - Starting over
After a few days break I came back and tried to start the next set of lessons. After struggling for a while I came to the realization that I was doing things very wrong. I wrote a while back that I was relying too much on looking on what my fingers were doing to get them into the right places. Well, I kinda assumed that with time things would fall into place naturally but that hasn't really happened and I'm still unable to get my fingers into the right place without looking at them. This means my attention is divided 2 ways as I glance up at the screen to see what I should be playing next and then look back down at the frets to get my fingers in place, inevitably missing the note, which pauses the game. So I end up playing stop-start note by note until I memorize what the pattern is and no longer need to look up at the screen at all. Not only is this clearly a rubbish way of learning, the position of being hunched over so I can see the neck of the guitar means my back starts to ache pretty quickly. Not good.
I decided there's no point trying to continue like this, so I started the lessons over from the beginning, making an effort not to look at my fingers this time. While it took a bit of getting used to, I breezed through the lessons quite quickly and managed to complete some of the ones that had tripped me up previously much easier than before. I played as far as the White Stripes song and managed to play that better than before, it's much easier when you can look at the screen to see what to play and have your fingers naturally go to the correct position. Kind of like touch typing, even if you make a mistake you know which way to move your fingers based on what comes up on screen when you press. Actually, I realised that the feedback of being able to see on screen where your fingers are without having to look at them is a great advantage over traditional learning. Previously when trying to make adjustments I'd often find my fingers going the wrong way; to higher strings when they should have gone to lower and vice-versa, but once I'd made the adjustment I was able to find my way around the fretboard a lot easier. Hopefully this will stand me in good stead going forward.
I decided there's no point trying to continue like this, so I started the lessons over from the beginning, making an effort not to look at my fingers this time. While it took a bit of getting used to, I breezed through the lessons quite quickly and managed to complete some of the ones that had tripped me up previously much easier than before. I played as far as the White Stripes song and managed to play that better than before, it's much easier when you can look at the screen to see what to play and have your fingers naturally go to the correct position. Kind of like touch typing, even if you make a mistake you know which way to move your fingers based on what comes up on screen when you press. Actually, I realised that the feedback of being able to see on screen where your fingers are without having to look at them is a great advantage over traditional learning. Previously when trying to make adjustments I'd often find my fingers going the wrong way; to higher strings when they should have gone to lower and vice-versa, but once I'd made the adjustment I was able to find my way around the fretboard a lot easier. Hopefully this will stand me in good stead going forward.
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