Also, i've actually found some tabs on youtube o_o
There's been two threads (but way back in 2005) and i wanted something more updated, so i was wondering if anyone had a good site/search engine they use to locate tabs.
Or you could just post your favorite song/tab in this thread.
2) Backing Music
I asked my friend how to get good at guitar and he told me to just play songs i like(hence the tabs question) and just mess around with scales.
I was wondering if anyone had instrumentals similar to this: [url blocked] -fun to play along too
3) What kind of guitar/amp should i buy?
I'm just practicing with a cheap acoustic and I've been meaning to get an amp and guitar for a while now. I guess price range 200-500, electric.
4) Any tips?
The whole point of doing all this is to practice and sound better, so any help would be appreciated.
well, as for the gear with that style, you should look into jackson and ibanez electric guitars. they have a nice scale of prices for their gear. especially ibanez, they have nice guitars for like 200 USD.
as for the amp, 300 USD will not get you a good tube amp, so go for quality solid state, i would highly recommend Roland Cube amps ( 15, 30 or 60W versions, depending on how much you own) or hybrid amps (those have tubes in the preamp) like Peavey TransTube amps or VOX VT series.
Thanks. Have any advice for vibrato? I do this thing where i use my finger to make like... mini- bends, back and forth, which actually sounds a lot better than when i try normal vibrato ( like on a cello ).
There's no real meaning in "working on getting stuff clean, i can play fast enough.". Fast = meaningless if it's not clean. Get a metronome and go reaaaaaly slow at first and go slowly your way up. If it's not played clean, it's not played right. If you can't play it correctly slow, there's no way it will be clean (and I mean the "really clean" sound) at a faster speed. And go really basic at first. I started playing chromatics again really slowly but 100% correctly (or as close as I could get to that).
It can be frustrating at first, but for me after a while I really enjoyed (and still am enjoying) the process cause this is what helped me more than anything and I made heaps of improvement. It's very unlikely you've got all the basics mastered. In my opinion, someone who has mastered the basics is an awesome guitar player, but unfortunately it's too easy to get caught up in your excitement and anticipation and think you're past that and start going more complex, even though you know it's not sounding as good as it should.
And why are you still looking for tabs nowadays? Never heard of Guitar Pro? You can find pretty accurate transcriptions of most popular (and not only) songs for GP and it's really anything anyone could ask for to work on his own. In my experience you can never run out of things you want to learn how to play. Also, if you can't find accurate guitar pro tabs (rare, but happens) you can always search to download pdfs of the official books with transcriptions of the bands you like (it's not that hard with some basic google skills).
There's no real meaning in "working on getting stuff clean, i can play fast enough.". Fast = meaningless if it's not clean. Get a metronome and go reaaaaaly slow at first and go slowly your way up. If it's not played clean, it's not played right. If you can't play it correctly slow, there's no way it will be clean (and I mean the "really clean" sound) at a faster speed. And go really basic at first. I started playing chromatics again really slowly but 100% correctly (or as close as I could get to that).
yeah playing fast without it being clean is meaningless that's what i basically said , i thought. Guess i need to take English again I also do what you've described by starting slow and going faster when it's clean. its weird on guitar though, idk how to get a note clean in general Like, in orchestra u can vibrato the note, but on guitar it doesn't sound as distinct(unless u bend it)
In my opinion, someone who has mastered the basics is an awesome guitar player, but unfortunately it's too easy to get caught up in your excitement and anticipation and think you're past that and start going more complex, even though you know it's not sounding as good as it should.
All I meant was that you said "I can play fast, I just need to play it clean". Then you can't really play fast If you didn't mean it like this, just scratch that, didn't mean to offend you or anything
For tabs, I've just downloaded from torrents a pack with a collection of a few thousand tabs (should be easy to find with a simple torrent search). I rarely recall having to go search anywhere else for a tab, and that was just at the first few sites that appeared at google for "guitar pro tabs". It just happened this was never a problem for me, but I suppose it also has to do with the songs you're looking for, maybe it's hard to find new songs of less popular bands.
Vibrato in electric guitar is different from classical instruments. In electric you do an "up and down" motion, in classical you do "left and right". It's not the same.
I'm not sure how it is in cello, but I'm guessing it's similar to classical guitar (which is where what I said applies).
Also, make note that in classical guitar your left hand fingers are supposed to be vertical to the neck, whereas in electrical they're supposed to be at an angle (as if kind of pointing towards you) to achieve optimal clarity. Hope this makes sense..
Similar to the KillrBuckeye site, another one with high-quality tabs (mostly metal tabs though, like Killr) is musicman1066: http://www.freewebs.com/musicman1066/
Also if you weren't aware, both of them have YouTube channels and play the covers extremely well.
I also use a program called Guitar Pro, and download Guitar Pro tabs for it (you can also find them on 911tabs). You're more likely to find higher quality (more accurate) tabs by downloading the Guitar Pro version of it. It basically is like having a tablature book in front of you, but it also plays the song for your while you watch the tablature go by on the screen. You can repeat certain portions of the song that give you trouble by putting it on loop, and you can even slow down music up to 75% (playing the song, or part of the song at 25% of the original speed without affecting the pitch)! Highly recommended for any serious guitar player.
2) Backing Music
Guitar Pro is your best bet here. Although playing along with a metronome is "okay", some songs really should be played with the band in the background. I use the metronome most often with my exercises (practicing picking different rhythms using chords, as well as practicing lead guitar with scales and solos).
Something else you can do is buy a mid-level multi-effects pedal - they inevitably will include a customizable drum machine (you can alter the type of drum rhythm used, it's speed, and it's volume on mine).
3) What kind of guitar/amp should i buy?
I highly recommend trying out guitars before you buy them. And I also don't recommend buying a guitar less than $200. Different guitars have different feels to them, so I won't recommend anything specific.
4) Any tips?
Setup a basic practice regimen that you can stick to. Even if it only ends up being a total of 15 minutes 3 or 4 times a week, it's better than 1 day playing for hours straight. Some ideas for things to concentrate on while practicing:
* Ear Training. There's a variety of ways to practice this. I prefer getting my guitar in tune, hearing what each string sounds like when in tune, then loosening all the strings except the low E and tuning to that. Verify with an actual tuner before moving onto the next string.
* Chord Training. Learn the basic open chords (major and minor - then later on practice other chords), and focus on having all the notes come out cleanly, as well as smoothly and efficiently moving from one chord to the next.
* Rhythm Training. Put the metronome at a moderate tempo, and practice different rhythms of quarter notes, eighth notes, and sixteenth notes using the chords you know.
* Lead Training. Buy a book that details the different positions each scale can be played in, and practice playing them along with a metronome.
A great free site for basic, intermediate, and advanced guitar lessons is Justinguitar.com: http://www.justinguitar.com/
Also, make note that in classical guitar your left hand fingers are supposed to be vertical to the neck, whereas in electrical they're supposed to be at an angle (as if kind of pointing towards you) to achieve optimal clarity. Hope this makes sense..
makes perfect sense, thanks. I play more classically when im higher on the fret board and "electrically" when im lower strings/frets if that makes sense. Harder to vibrato the way im used to, on lower frets because your wrist is arched like that.
1) As already stated several times, ultimateguitar.com. Alot of the tabs are fairly inaccurate, but if you have a halfway decent ear it should be pretty easy to correct any mistakes you find there.
3) http://www.rondomusic.com/ More specifically the SX models. I don't know how their guitars are, but their basses are awesome for their price (even the low low ones) so I'd hope that their guitars have similar quality. The amps they sell aren't very good, but if it's just for practice then they should get the job done.
Although I'd recommend looking up craigslist/ebay/garage sales. You probably get 2-3x the quality for the same price by buying used.
4) Find a teacher/tutor or whatever to teach you the basics in terms of proper posture, fingering, etc. Scales and theory you can easily learn yourself, but I've heard a load of stories of people basically having to relearn to play the guitar after realizing their technique is horrible and is holding them back. A session or two with a competent teacher should get you going.
Also as already stated, practice, practice, practice.
4) Find a teacher/tutor or whatever to teach you the basics in terms of proper posture, fingering, etc. Scales and theory you can easily learn yourself, but I've heard a load of stories of people basically having to relearn to play the guitar after realizing their technique is horrible and is holding them back. A session or two with a competent teacher should get you going.
For 300-500 dollars, don't expect to get anything of decent quality in guitar or amp. But if you're just starting off then just buy a cheap but playable guitar and some tiny amp to carry around. I think it's best to just buy a simple guitar and a simple amp with none of that onboard effects shit.
I started off with a cheapo Ibanez and a 20watt solid state Orange amp. Although I've sold my Ibanez to my friend and have almost never played on the little Orange amp since I've gotten my Ampeg V4, the two cheap pieces of equipment was what I taught myself with for a good two years, and even though the Ibanez was a pure piece of shit, I learned how to play with it, and that's all that really matters.
Don't really try to look for sound quality, especially in the lower end guitars. Just find something that feels really comfortable to play; that's arguably the most important thing to look for.
Don't really try to look for sound quality, especially in the lower end guitars. Just find something that feels really comfortable to play; that's arguably the most important thing to look for.