Hi, I’m new here and I just want to start by saying that learning the guitar is hard! I know I’m not telling anyone anything they don’t already know.
I’m a former classically trained musician who’s getting back into it after many years away. I got my undergrad degree in music and played the upright bass in the college orchestra and jazz band and played bass in bar bands during that time period as well. I didn’t pursue music after graduating and didn’t touch an instrument for many years. About 10 years ago I started teaching myself guitar and got pretty decent but I mostly gravitated towards strumming chords and singing songs. Sold all my guitars and pedals and now here I am at 50, borrowing my friends’s tele and determined to get good at this thing.
I know theory. That’s not a problem but it only helps me so much right now. Like everyone else, I’m overwhelmed with the amount of info. I have Truefire and Guitar Tricks (I use Truefire more).
I learned the bass guitar from a classical guitar player and he had me playing Bach Two Part Inventions with him. Between that and college, I got very good at reading music. The difference is, with both the upright and electric bass, I knew where my fingers were and what string I was on and could just look at the music. It’s different wit the guitar. I have to look down all the time and it’s hard to get through a passage.
I was looking at a Guitar Player article about combining lead and rhythm (something I’m very interested in) and it had some SRV type Texas shuffle combined with some lead fills. It took me so long to get one measure under my hands and I still can only play it really slowly. I’ll think my pick is on the G string then I play and it sounds terrible and I look down and it’s on the D string.
I’ve only been playing for a couple of months now but I play a few hours a day. Pentatonic scales, Arpeggio exercises, chord scales, etc, and then I learn songs, go through classes in Truefire but nothing sticks. When I pick up the guitar I can’t remember anything except two solos I have been working hard on. Gilmour’s 5 a.m. and Wiser Time by the Black Crowes. Gilmour is based on E minor pentatonic and the Wiser Time solo seems mainly G minor pentatonic.
I know 2 months is nothing but I guess I’m just asking if this is normal because the guitar is a lot more frustrating and difficult than the bass. Lol.
