[sean1968]

Ok heres the problem.
I can play open and barred chords no problem. Still the occasional hiccup changing but not too often.
The problem is now where do I go. Whats next?
Unfortunately I have an accoustic and have just bought an Aria Pro II and now I want to be Chuck Schuldiner the 2nd inside the next 2 weeks.
Cant see it happenning personally.
But so I dont get bored whats is the next step?
Ive been practicing the spider technique and doing ok with that @ justinguitar.com
There are probably people here that have gone my way and I was curious what they would recommend to delay the boredom and aide learning. There are so many different things you can do with either accoustic or electric that I have no idea where to go as I want to do it all.
I appreciate this is probably gonna take a few years and I accept that but I dont want to lose interest while learning.
Playing the guitar is something I have wanted to do all my life as ive been a metal fan for as long as I can remember.
Hope this all makes sense.
If anyone has any suggestions on what I should really be doing I would really appreciate them.
Cheers in advance

[busaclub]

Funny enough I thought the same thing my self when you start of first I think anyone can tell you to play guitar you have to first learn the chords, so you can focus totally on learning chords and feel your going forward however when you have accomplished that and having been on such a roll it’s a bit of a anticlimax, because its hard to get focused again and what to learn next I think it’s a case of so much out there to look at and your looking at everything trying to find easier lessons but not sure which one to concentrate on after being on such a learning curve for a while ,and knowing you were on the right track
After saying that I think you must figure out which path you want to take as in rhythm blues rock country lead ect. which ever you fancy that narrows it down a little anyhow from there go and just concentrate on the one you want maybe buy a book and stick to just those lessons until completed find lessons on the net by one person and stick to that either way I think you should stick to one pattern
This might not help you but a thought anyhow rock on

[allthumbs]

Take on some of Kirks lessons. Use hybrid picking. You are going to need those melodic breaks in your metal playing.

[Chris C]

Hi Sean1968,

I'd guess that a lot of players reach the same point, one way or another. Maybe it's "OK can do 100 chords now, what's next?" or "Right, I know 30 scales backwards, forwards and inside out - now what?" It's easy to be concentrating so hard on the business of rowing that you rather lose sight of just where you are on the river...

I'm sure it varies for everybody, but I imagine that it makes a big difference what your overall goals are. If you want to play like a particular player, or be good at one style of music then it's probably a matter of running through what you can do and what you still can't and picking what you want to try and improve next. But there might be some places that are worth looking at first. Here's a couple of ideas.

At the start there's a tendency to be obsessed with what the left hand (fretting hand anyway...) is doing, and grinding away at getting it smooth, quick and accurate. But it's only half the story. Much of the real artistry and emotion comes from the other hand - it's incredibly important for the timing, the touch, the phrasing or whatever. I'm not sure of all the terms, but you can have the world's best left hand and still sound like nothing if your right hand has no flair, skills or imagination. So maybe just sit on what your fretting hand can do for now, and concentrate on your strumming/picking hand. Work on your sound, your style, your pacing and phrasing - your whole 'feel' - all that stuff that's hard to describe exactly but makes the difference between one player and another. Take one piece of music and see how many different ways you can make it sound. Look at how you made it different and then work on ways of making it better or different again.

Another road is improvising. I've never had any real interest in following a particular style or player, so I've improvised right from the day I could manage 3 notes to mix together. That to me is where the fun lies, and I've never been bored, because it's not too hard to find out where 12 different notes and a handful of basic chords can be found, in one form or another - and once you have that then there's a few zillion possibilities to play around with. Pick a key and a handful of chords or notes and just go for it - see what comes out. If improvising is your thing then it comes out different every day. Once you've got a few ingredients in your kitchen there's almost no limit to what fresh dishes you can serve up by just changing the recipe and adding a new twist and a little fresh seasoning.

Good luck.

Cheers,

Chris

[agent0064life]

I was getting pretty bored with guitar for almost a week and then I just found another song that I wanted to learn. That's all it is finding a spark to get you back into playing... for some people the spark takes a day for some it takes years to rekindle the spark.

[scrappydidnt]

whats next? ya say? Man there's a whole universe of music out there to explore as for what you should do next well ya have to follow your heart. I've played everything from Bach to Black Label Society. Now I'm taking time out to delve into Bluegrass it's a very simplistic and straightforward beast but..... it's a totally different beast altogether. There are quite a few amateur Bluegrass pickers that could give even old Zakk Wylde a run for his money in the speed department. An afterthought to what i just said is that if you get to a point where you dont know where to turn then just try throw a few progressions together for yourself. Who knows you could be a decent songwriter.

[Hitam]

There are so many different things you can do with either accoustic or electric that I have no idea where to go as I want to do it all.

Me too. Until I read about 'T Model Ford'. He was over 50 years old when his wife and kids bought him an electric guitar as a gift then walked out on him that same night. He'd never played the guitar but feeling low as he was, he picked it up and learned to play Blues on it, picking up odd bits here and there from other bluesmen as he went. He's around 80 years old now and as he says himself "Ain't nobody else plays the blues same as me..."

I reckon I'll take his hint - do it your own way, and build a unique style as you go.

[Dewy]

Just a suggestion, but get a friend around the same level of ability your at. That is always a good step to take if your interested in playing live. At some point your going to have to exhibit what you learn, and doing that to and with a friend is always the next step before taking it live to the public.

Its also a big and important first step in joining the community, not to mention that other musicians are veritable fountains of useful knowledge when your getting started.

So whats next you say... I can tune and play a few chords... then getting together with a fellow guitarist or bass player would be a upcoming step for you to take.

[scott58]

I can't imagine getting bored with guitar or coming to a dead end in what i want to do as long as there were people like Chuck Berry around. This stuff is just great!