Stuck...could use some help...

[Lostheart]

Wow...all the time I have spend over here at the TDPRI and I have barely looked into this section here...until now!
I'm currently at a point where I feel like I won't progress anymore and this doesn't have anything to do with me being good at the guitar! I'm probably the worst guitar player hanging out here...I can't read music, I never took any lessons and learned all the chords from a sheet that I was given in my late teens.
For years I was somewhat content with my (in)ablities but in the last few years I wanted to progress a bit because there's nothing that makes me happier than sitting at home and playing my guitar.
Unfortunately it gets kinda boring to play scales (I know the minor pentatonic, the blues and the major scale in all its positions) and the same solos that I've learned form Troy Stetina and Peter Fischer books.
I hear all these leads in my head and would love to be able to transfer them to the fretboard but franky I suck at it!
Can anyone here make a suggestion on how to progress and take it from here?
Any help is greatly appreciated!

[Chris S.]

Not to avoid typing a long reply (which has never stopped me in the past... ), but I would suggest that you maybe consider "poking around" through some of the past threads in this forum. There are quite a few that address exactly the question(s) you're asking about.

One of the things I enjoy most about the TDPRI is the amazing wealth of accumulated knowledge we have here on almost ANY subject relating to Telecasters, guitars in general, amps, effects, etc. – including playing the guitar.

Just to be clear: there's absolutely nothing wrong with starting a new thread and asking questions – this IS a Discussion Page – and that's how we learn, right? :-) But there's a ton of good info already here waiting for you if you're patient enough to do a little digging. (And in my experience, you'll often find the answer[s] faster than you would if you just waited for folks to respond to your post. )

Just a thought. :-) I'm sure you WILL get some good answers in this thread – we have some very helpful and generous folks on board, for which I'm also most grateful. :-)

Hope it helps, and have fun! That's what playing (and the TDPRI) are all about, IMO. :-) CS

P.S. Now that I wrote all that, I WILL make a suggestion. ;-) You wrote:

I hear all these leads in my head and would love to be able to transfer them to the fretboard but franky I suck at it! Can anyone here make a suggestion on how to progress and take it from here?

YES! Sing the leads you're hearing in your head into a tape recorder while you play the chords, then go back and figure out how to play what you sang on the fretboard. You say you suck at it? Don't worry, so did/does EVERYBODY when they start – but it gets easier the more you do it. :-) Best of luck. :-)

[Leon Grizzard]

I agree with Chris that if you can hear them in your head you can figure them out like he says. But on the broader issue, learning more is the best thing. Work an entry level book or DVD in some new style to get out your rut. Beginning jazz helps everybody.

[mgfretman]

Many years ago I developed a series of recordings called Jam Tapes. They essentially were background tracks for various styles and feels of music recorded by a live rhythm section (yup! No drum machine!!!) in a real studio.
These tapes were designed to help players "find" new unexplored areas of their creativity when improvising a melodic line. Players who were young on their instruments would make tremendously rapid advancement using these tapes, as did the more advanced students, just by applying their knowledge of the scales we identified for them that fit the progressions on the tapes. Basically the tapes forced it out of you because they repeated the same rhythm background for a full half hour. This concept was eventually picked up by many copycat products with names similar to ours too numerous to mention here and to no purpose. My advice to you would be to get a hold of some of those products which may still be available and get to work. Thats what it takes....alot of work....repeated exposure to the challenge of creating an improvised line. Eventually, your advanced technique and greater development of your ear from doing this will make improvisation much easier
and more enjoyable.

[Willie D]

Time to focus on buying new gear! Your licks sound totally different on a new guitar.

Only kidding. Jam tracks help, lessons on DVD help, songbooks help. Download Audacity and record some rhythm parts yourself and solo over 'em (hey, that's FREE!). The best thing would be to find another musician to jam with.

[dsharman]

+1 on finding other players to jam with. That's the best way to learn. A lesson here and there can also help to jump start you to the next level.

[Lostheart]

Thank you guys...really appreciated everyone chiming in here!

Originally Posted by Chris S.

Not to avoid typing a long reply (which has never stopped me in the past... ), but I would suggest that you maybe consider "poking around" through some of the past threads in this forum. There are quite a few that address exactly the question(s) you're asking about.

I have done a search prior to opening this thread but I must have used the wrong keywords since I couldn't find much...I'll try again...maybe you're right and there's a load of info that I've overlooked.

Originally Posted by Chris S.

Sing the leads you're hearing in your head into a tape recorder while you play the chords, then go back and figure out how to play what you sang on the fretboard. You say you suck at it? Don't worry, so did/does EVERYBODY when they start – but it gets easier the more you do it. :-) Best of luck. :-)

Thanks for the suggestion, Chris! Sounds like a great idea...looks like the next thing I need to figure is out how to record some stuff with my PC.

Originally Posted by Leon Grizzard

Beginning jazz helps everybody.

Thanks, Leon! Jazz...hmmm...I listen to some Miles Davis, John Coltrane and Thelonious Monk but I've never cared much for Jazz guitar. Got any suggestions concerning the instruction DVD's/books?

Originally Posted by mgfretman

Many years ago I developed a series of recordings called Jam Tapes. They essentially were background tracks for various styles and feels of music recorded by a live rhythm section (yup! No drum machine!!!) in a real studio.

Thanks for pointing them out...sounds like this is "the key" as it was suggested a few times. I'll do a search on the web and see if I can find something like that...are yours still available?

[QUOTE=wilkat1]Time to focus on buying new gear! Your licks sound totally different on a new guitar./QUOTE]

LOL...I like your way of thinking! ;-)

Originally Posted by wilkat1

Jam tracks help, lessons on DVD help, songbooks help. Download Audacity and record some rhythm parts yourself and solo over 'em (hey, that's FREE!). The best thing would be to find another musician to jam with.

Thank you Rev. Will! Great stuff on your myspace page! I added you right away!
Anyways...Audacity sounds promising...need to figure out how to connect the guitar to the PC and if my soundcard is sufficient but that shouldn't be too much of a problem.

Originally Posted by dsharman

+1 on finding other players to jam with. That's the best way to learn. A lesson here and there can also help to jump start you to the next level.

Cheers for the suggestion...unfortunately I have no buddies who are into music and guitars...most of them spend their weekends in the stadium watching soccer!

[Leon Grizzard]

I say jazz studies because you would learn some new scales that are useful in almost all areas of music, especially the dominant/mixolydian, and the minor seventh/dorian. The others are useful also. Also, you would get a vocabulary of cool chords, very usable in other styles. It is just a good way to learn a bunch of new stuff. If you can read music at least a little, I recommend Micky Baker, Vol I, as a great starting place. Here are two threads to look at:

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/tab-tips-...t=Mickey+Baker

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/tab-tips-...t=Mickey+Baker

[blacklinefish]

If you don't like jazz, then learn to play it. Next, do everything you can to not sound like that at all! Just kidding, Leon's right because Jazz doesn't have boundaries (guys like Coltrane and M.Davis proved this). But, a little bebop never killed anyone.

My experience was the opposite of yours. I started classical in the 4th grade. The first thing I learned was to read music (didn't know any better). I didn't take it seriously until late high school, but I majored in music for my bachelors degree at a liberal arts state school. Sounds like half-way decent credentials, right?

However, after twenty years of playing - I could never just play! I could really only follow written music, lead sheets, and of course, chord charts. No improvisation whatsoever. Kids ten years younger playing for just a few months could sometimes play lead lines that I couldn't create. I was so frustrated! Of course, I could play pretty well - and always seemed to impress people - but by all accounts I should probably not have made it.

Now, ten more years later, I am comfortable playing with others, improvising, and can pick up just about anything played at a moderate tempo. If you are stubborn, it will come to you. I stopped focussing on the mechanical scale memorization and started to learn the fretboard through chords (arpeggios). Pay particular attention to just about anything Leon contributes in some of these other threads.

--gh

[Lostheart]

Originally Posted by Leon Grizzard

I say jazz studies because you would learn some new scales that are useful in almost all areas of music, especially the dominant/mixolydian, and the minor seventh/dorian. The others are useful also. Also, you would get a vocabulary of cool chords, very usable in other styles. It is just a good way to learn a bunch of new stuff. If you can read music at least a little, I recommend Micky Baker, Vol I, as a great starting place. Here are two threads to look at:

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/tab-tips-...t=Mickey+Baker

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/tab-tips-...t=Mickey+Baker

Many thanks, Leon!
Nope, no music reading here but I'll look into the Jazz thingy and see if I can find any instructional books that are not over my head...

Originally Posted by blacklinefish

If you are stubborn, it will come to you. I stopped focussing on the mechanical scale memorization and started to learn the fretboard through chords (arpeggios). Pay particular attention to just about anything Leon contributes in some of these other threads.

--gh

Thanks, G!
Great story and also some really valuable info.

I'll take it from here and see if I can work it all out...