[rapter]

Thanks for this site. I have played the guitar for a little while and have not put together a complete popular song. I would for once like to complete a song to play all the way through. When I pick up a song book with tabs and try to play it, I eventually give up and come back to it later, only to start all over again.

My question is, what is the correct way to practice a song,do you scan the whole part first to get an idea how the music is laid out and dissect each measure? I have a backing track to a particular song and try to learn each measure as dictated from the song book but give up after a while. I know this sounds weak and undiscipline but please offer any advice on the correct way to begin playing a song the way it is suppposed to sound. Thank you for any advice that you may offer.

[krissovo]

I dont think there is a set way of learning a song, this is how I do it.

Break the song down into chunks, Intro, Verse, Chorus, Bridge, Outro. Once broken down break each section down again into bars. Work on each bar, get the hang of one bar then work on the next one and etc, etc until you finish the chunk. Once you have one chunk completed move on to the next one and follow the same steps.

Now the next part of the question, playing a song how it is supposed sound. Why would you want to mirror a song????? Why not make it your own with subtle differences but so that it still sounds similar to the orriginal but it is your own.

Have a look at Easy Songs for Beginners Lessons - Guitar Noise here they break down the song step by step but it is done in a slighty different style to the orriginal. Still sounds close but cool and you cab easily recognise the song if you play a sing a long.

Best of luck

[allthumbs]

There a couple of beginner tunes in this forum that should not be too difficult to master.True beginner? Here's a lesson for you!

[phillsaska1]

Thank you for posting the lesson and videos. It has helped me emensly. I am a 61 year old novice.
Phill

[Noodler]

I really relate to this.

I tend to look at a song, work out the main riff or chorus. Then the verse, or sometimes the intro first if it is a Metallica song. Then a hard bit will come up that I can't play instantly. So I stop.

I find it so hard to just concentrate on one hard bit and it's a lack of patience, focus and discipline to go to myself, "It's not instant. You may have to work on it."

Any tips for overcoming difficult passages? eg do you set aside a certain period of practice per day and if so how long? I find it hard to stick with trying to learn something for more than say 2 days.

[Fong]

I would recommend Powertab. It is a free to use program, has plenty of Tabs available and you can change the tempo of the song.

This way you can slow down the hardest parts to a speed you can manage, then slowly work them back up to full song speed. This way you can always sort of play along and won't feel so bored by the experience.

[Noodler]

Oh? I thought powertab was just another tab site like 911 tabs. Can you post a link for me?

Another thing I can do is save a phrase to my new Loop Station and slow it down that way, but I've noticed it starts to sound "square" and lose some definition. To be able to do it on the computer would be easier and might sound better. Thanks.

[starsailor]

Recording is a great way to learn Noodler, I always have a tab or lyrics in front of me if I'm doing a particular song, my recording quality isn't that good due to some problems but recording what you've done and playing it back does tend to give you a better idea of where you're going and if you have a good session it is quite rewarding to play it back and think yeah actually that sounds quite good so I think it's a good idea. I'm still pretty new but I think our biggest enemy is frustration if things really aren't going well sometimes it's best to move on and come back to it, this just gives us time to think about where we're going wrong.
I always play a song on my mp3 quite a lot if I'm learning one, the repetition allows me to get a real feel for the song.
The suggestions above are good, it is better to take it slow and nail all the changes and then build up speed, I struggle a lot but I get their eventually small steps are better than big ones in my opinion

[Noodler]

Yes, absolutely!

It goes both ways. I've got some recordings where I was just "Noodling" and when I listen to them I'm stoked.

Most times though, I listen back and think, "I need to strike that chord more cleanly" or " I (expletived) up my timing there." So it's a great feedback tool.

One bad habit I'll pass on for others to avoid is using your index fingernail to strum if you don't have a plectrum. Bad. Very difficult to break because you get used to the feedback from the strings, and you can tend to "choke" all your notes and strums when you play with a pick. I kick myself every time I listen to my own recordings.