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DianeB

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Posts posted by DianeB

    Are classical scales the way to learn the fretboard?

    in Guitar Playing & Technique

    Posted

    Hi, Eduardo,

    Welcome to the forum!

    To get a truly satisfactory answer to your question, I recommend consulting with an experienced guitar teacher. If you give them an account of your past musical experience and present knowledge, and a vision of where you want to go, you will form a clear plan of what to do now and what to save for later.

    For now, I can say that the melodic minor and harmonic minor scales are compositional tools. They exist to create authentic cadences (V or vii dim —> I or i). You will encounter them in melodies where they are called for and likely not even notice them.

    After consulting with my own instructors, I deferred Steve’s session on pentatonic scales to focus on the major scales. This is just one approach. I think Steve introduced pentatonics in the course where he does to give the student momentum in learning the fretboard, and pentatonics are a little simpler than major scales.

    So much depends on what you want to do with guitar. That’s where a real conversation with a teacher is invaluable. I'm sure my friends here will offer good insights.

    Moderators Corner

    in Guitar Open Talk

    Posted

    I have deleted yesterday’s (2/3/21) spam post. I left it up for a day to increase awareness. In the interest of transparency, I'd like all to know that I informed the member that the forum was not for solicitation, and because they made no introduction or demonstration of interest in the forum, I issued a warning. If it reoccurs, they will be suspended or banned.

    There's nothing inherently wrong with self-promotion on the internet, but here, happily, we have boundaries. If you see something suspicious, please advise one of the moderators.

    • Like 4
    • Thanks 2

    Hello 👋🏽

    in Gibson's Learn & Master Guitar

    Posted

    @Oasis   Welcome to the forum! Playing keyboards and drums gives you a great head start on learning guitar. I agree with Wim that it's best in most situations to start with Steve's general guitar course. That course takes up basic fingerstyle about midway through. The fingerstyle course assumes from the outset that you have certain skills.

    But if you are really intent on learning fingerstyle, there's no reason you can't start learning right hand patterns right at the beginning, on the six open strings. It won't be really musical, but some exercises just aren't. If you have access to an in-person teacher, take advantage, and the sooner the better.

    Explore the forum at your leisure. There's a lot of good advice here. Practice faithfully and the music will follow.

    • Thanks 1

    How to build a realistic practice routine?

    in Guitar Open Talk

    Posted

    Hi, Mohammad. Glad to help. Practice, play, and participate. Join us for the Live Lessons if you can. Details are in the sub forum. If you can’t watch and chat live, you can watch it a few days later after Steve posts the video. If you’re just starting out with guitar, I especially recommend Tom Heany’s “First, Learn to Practice”. It’s concise and direct.

    • Like 1

    How to organize sheet music....suggestions, please!

    in Guitar Open Talk

    Posted

    Nancy, I like my paper music, but it takes effort to keep the paper controlled. I keep songs that I’m actively working on grouped in letter trays on desk space around the music stand. Other songs go into loose leaf binders. I have only a few pieces of 9x12 sheet music, and I keep these with my song books in magazine holders. Music stand extenders like this give you more real estate.

    I have friends who swear by their paperless systems on their tablets, with foot switches for page turning. Nice for performing. But my music stand iPad is devoted to logging practice, watching Steve’s lessons (via Dropbox), and playing along with YouTube. I need to be able to write directly on the page of the music as I’m working, and for this I prefer paper and pencil.

    $$$$ for acoustic guitar

    in Guitar Gear, Amps, Effects, Pedals

    Posted

    @Gran Gran  Welcome to the forum, and I presume, to Steve's course. My take on your question is this: the guitar that will best help you learn is the one on which you actually practice and play. That guitar could cost anywhere from $25 to $250,000. It should suit the kind of music you want to play, give you pleasure, and it should be professionally set up so that you don't have to work against it. So, my layperson's short answer is, no.

    There comes a price point of diminishing returns at which the extra dollars do not add playability or tone as much as they add trim and finish. This point varies with the individual. A downside of owning a pricey instrument is that one can become more concerned with preserving its value than actually playing it. These days one can purchase a high quality instrument for $2,000, so your present guitar should serve you well as a student. All the best. 

    • Like 3

    Composition Project

    in Music Theory

    Posted

    For the past few years, off and on, I’ve studied music theory with the Community Music School near me at the University of Delaware. We tallied around 55 class hours, and have progressed — pun intended — about as far as we can go before delving into specific areas such as orchestrating and songwriting. My instructor is the supremely talented Kevin J. Cope, composer and president of the Philadelphia Classical Guitar Society.

    Our final assignment this summer was to write a piece for solo piano incorporating what we’ve learned. I can’t play piano — it would have helped — but fortunately Finale can, and that’s what you’ll hear in the mp3 (2:42). I gave the score to a friend who’s an experienced pianist, and she pronounced it quite playable. So this isn’t for guitar, although my guitar certainly helped with testing progressions. Here’s my “Letter from Emily”.

    Letter from Emily - Score.pdf Letter from Emily.mp3

    • Like 7

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