General Music Chat

i've been playing off and on since i was 14 ...thought if i could play metallica's music i could play anything.....well now i just know alot of metallica..i play rythem , also got me a drum set ,been tryin to learn them to .i know i'm not good enough to play any gigs yet but im just burnt out on playin the same songs day after day...im kinda new around here so i dont know anybody else that plays...that would surely help...if theres any advice some of you vets could give me it would be greatly aprecciated...and if theres any1 around the augusta area that would like to jam sometime just hit me up at charvelleou812@yahoo.com........thanks[/b]

Learn to play one new chord every day.
Buy a book. Look them up.
(Stay away from the diminished chords at first).
Once you realize that 'crummy' sounding chords sound great when played at the right time and in the right place, you'll be dong new stuff.
. . .
- and out of a rut before you know it.

that sounds like a plan but what are you referring to as a diminished chord...once again thanks...

Play anything and everything, from jazz, R&B, funk, metal, pop, hell you name it play it. Sticking to one type of music, esp. Metallallallallica, will restrict you hugely as a player.

charvelleou812,
You asked what I was referring to when I mentioned 'diminished chords.'
You have to hear them.
Talking about it won't make you perform any better.
I'd like you to buy a chord book, and just browse through it, guitar in hand.
The chords all have names; - you know the difference between an A, an A minor, right?
But if you know just those two forms of "A" you will not be able to play a lot of music.
For example: learn an A minor 7th, and now there's over another 10,000 songs you can play.
Learn an A 7th, and now there's over another 10,000 songs you can play.
Or an A9, A sus 4th A - . . . .
I'm not gonna bog you down in theory.
But you can buy a book and easily reproduce the sounds by fingering the chords pictured.
Let your ears decide if you like a diminished chord, or a minor, or 5th, or a suspended 4th or whatever.
YOU decide what you like.
But an important part of your decision is a willingness to try new stuff.
All the wordfs in the world won't really help your musical ability; - not unless you try new stuff.
One of the best ways to get out a a rut is to learn new stuff.
Practice stuff you CAN'T play, my friend. If you want to get better, don't get hung up only playing the easy stuff.
If you've been stuck in one style for a few years, you probably are limited in which chords you've been using.
.
To build a house, you need the proper tools and supplies: hammers, nails, wood . . . but YOUR tools are chords.
.
You just need the proper tools.
And enough desire. Your degree of desire is one of the MOST important things.
If you only can play/finger, say - 25 chords (or variations of them), you can easily get bored.
Each new chord you learn will turn someof the boredom to interest.
.
And each new chord you learn to USE will turn someof that interest to enjoyment.
. . . end of rut.
. . . and end of long-winded story . . .
Good luck.
.
InflatableBassPlayer, you said:
"Play anything and everything, from jazz, R&B, funk, metal, pop, hell you name it play it. Sticking to one type of music, esp. Metallica, will restrict you hugely as a player."
.
charvelleou812, listen to InflatableBassPlayer.

I agree, mix your music up. I like playing all styles of music. I started in high school playing heavy metal and I play in a hard rock band at present but I also play acoustic guitar on the weekends at local eateries and coffee shops. I'm also working on a blues/ classic rock cd right now.


http://bandmix.com/mikegentry

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemus ... dID=591273

Not only good...no...great advice for guitarists....but also drummers. I'am unfortunately...or...fortunately blessed to only be able to play one instrument. That being (The Drums). And because of that...I find myself getting bored...or...sloppy. These guys hit the nail on the head...keep your learning limitless....learn all styles and keep it fresh. I started, some 26 yrs ago...playing Country and southern rock....after about 10 yrs of playing the same beat...to the same song...it seemed like...I ventured out and took a few drum lessons....learned to read music....learned to interprut percussion....My point is this....Music is only limited to the musician who plays it. Branch out....Have fun....And let the audience enjoy!

I'm bumping this up because the subject arouse in other postings, and there's good info in this thread.
If you're new to music - you'd do well to read it.
If you're in a rut, or if you've hit a musical wall - the way out is right here . . . .

ever been in a rut??

Yes, but I just got out of the car, threw on the ol' chains, and drove out.

OK smartass answers aside, one good way to work yourself out of a rut is to pick up a new instrument. Although I wouldn't consider myself in a rut right now, I wandered into a music store on a lark yesterday, and picked up an instrument I didn't even know existed - an octave mandola - it is the larger, octave down cousin of the mandolin. I started plucking around with it and I have to say I really enjoyed it. The only sacrifice I will have to make is to trim the nails on my left hand a bit (I wear my nails long because my first instrument is celtic harp) but I think that can be accomodated. Just working my way around the fret bar and playing with the beautiful resonance of the double strings gave me all sorts of new inspirations.

I tend to agree that trying a new instrument will knock you right off of a plateau.
Anything that shakes up our self-imposed musical paradigms is good, eh?
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This may not be the right direction for some people; mainly those who only know just a little bit about their instrument (those who only know 10 chords, or who tend to give up easily, that is . . .).
I know someone who started w/ a guitar, and quickly decided it was too hard. So he picked up a Bass. Then he decided THAT was too hard. So he went to drums, and is now happy.
.
Others stick with one instrument for years, determined to master all they're able to learn about it . . .
But, if after several years, - one finds oneself in a rut, a new instrument will certainly give one a wonderful new perspective about music.
That, perhaps is what it's all about: wonder. Once you lose the feeling of wonder - you're bored, and so, in a rut.
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Another thing - some people in a rut may be playing the wrong instrument (for them) in the first place.
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It's always good to expand your horizons . . .

personally i think all of the above is a load of bollocks written by musos who think diminshed chords and theory and all the technical crap will solve yer problems... it will just bog u down with more problems...

only one solution mate... PLAY IN A BAND !!!!!!! playing with other musicians is not only fun but the learning curve goes through the roof... so go out of your way to find a band even if u have to travel out of your area

I agree with Simon5 experiment a lot.See what style youre comfortable with and stay with it.

If your comfortable enough w/ your progress self promote a demo on yer own. Dats what i'm doin in 3 solo projects all mus lyrics be me.

i kinda dont agree your standing on the shoulders of giants forget it , be yourself write your on songs raise the flag up the pole and is who slutes it be your on person. omm

Simon5, you said:
" . . . only one solution mate... PLAY IN A BAND !!!!!!! playing with other musicians is not only fun but the learning curve goes through the roof . . ."
That may be true for many musicians, and so can be good advice for them.
.
For myself, however (so far), when I've played with bands, the learning curve drops way, way down.
Oh, sure I learn new songs and all, and sometimes a new technique . . .
And - don't get me wrong; I know there's a lot of great, highly profiicient musicians in bands out there who are better than me.
There's ALWAYS someone better, right? (And - I don't care; I'm happy for them)
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But most bands tend to play only one or 2 styles of music.
Mose bands limit themselves to only a few certain chordal-groupings.
And they tend to play songs only using the same general kinds of rhythms, also.
Not all; most . . .
Many bands are in a rut, and just don't realize it.
Oh, sure, it's a wider rut, and so they have a little more room to move. But it can be a rut, just the same; whether they realize it or not, eh?
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Every so often a member of a band will realize the band is in a rut, (doing the 'same ol - same ol'), and quit.
They just get bored, and so they go into some fresher project.
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So, one might do well to allow for the possibility that here is no ONE rule on how to get out of a rut.
.
For myself, if I play with most bands, it's a guarantee that I WILL get into a rut.
Yeah, playing with a band might direct me to 3 new approaches to music. . .
. . . but I'm already dabbling in 7 - 10 new approaches to music. And these are the approaches I choose, the directions I want to head. Not someone else's preferences.
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But for others; joining a band may, indeed, be the very thing they need.
Not all folks share the same musical commonalities.
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You've got to keep that sense of wonder going, somehow. And some sense of challenge, a goal that is almost within one's grasp.
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If one doesn't know what one wants, the best thing seems to be a change of pace, some new, fresh approach to music.
Hmmm - key word: "Fresh?"