How many guitar heads are there on this website? Me (although I moved to piano a few years ago, but I'm back into guitar as well).
What music do you like to play? Jazz fusion, soul, grooves
What level would you rate yourself at? At what I can do, advanced. Compared to a professional session player, just a lounge room basher.
What guitars do you own? Maton acoustic. Martin Backpacker. Cheap old 12 string that has been extensively reworked. Mandolin. Ukelele. Looking to buy an electric later this year. (Also got a piano and a keyboard and a few effects pedals.)
Amps? None but I have a Behringer mixer that can take anything I want to plug into it. It's a new toy and a really really good thing.
Do you play guitar with others, solo, or use musical aids? Solo. Too lazy and too shy to play with others. I have played with professionals and in public in the past so I'm not a total wanker (well maybe a little bit).
Aids:
- Electronic guitar tuner.
- Little digital recorder so you can play stuff and slow stuff down and generally work on playing proper songs. Mine is a Boss Micro BR
- Boss RC-2 Loop station. You can play a section then it loops back and you can add layers over and over. Hugely good fun. Also has built in backing track and drum beats.
Tips for learning?
- Sing. I can't but everybody wants to hear a song. Playing three chords over and over is boring but add some words and you've got music. (Sing the right words the right way and you'll probably score something else.
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- Absolute number one is to learn about the "feel" of a song. If you can make the rhythm right you can get really credible songs from just three chords. Most of the truly great popular guitarists are not really good, but they can make a great feel that you just want to listen to. (BB King, John Lee Hooker, Eric Clapton, etc etc)
- Learn to pick up songs by ear. That's how all the best players learned. (You can get slow down software so you can play pieces at half speed to pick things up.)
- Learn some music theory. If you know basic song structure you can play anything you hear.
- Learn to read music. It's another way of learning songs more quickly.
- Play with better musicians than yourself. Music "rubs off".
- Don't give up and practice heaps. 15 minutes a day is fine if you keep slogging away at a piece. You go through years of thumping away on an instrument then one day you realise you're pretty good at it and never noticed.
- Even if you can't play everybody else's music, find your own sound and play that. You might think you're just a bedroom basher but it's your music and just as valid as anybody else's. If you've ever seen video of the Stones in rehearsal or U2 working up a song you'll know how crap great musicians can be
I've been playing on and off, more off since 1988, with about 15 yrs of no play. Just getting back into it after the ACDC concert where I got totally inspired, am trying to learn about 10acdc songs, though not Angus's solo lead playing, more Angus Riffs and Malcolms Rhythm. Also Fan of Led Zep, Jimi H, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath to mention a few
Nature's way of saving all n sundry from my gtr noodlings I always say.
.....Also had a samick electric but traded it in for one of them death metal axe looking things[}:)]...looks the shizzle, but in all reality the samick probably sounded better.
had heaps of guitars over the years strata, jazzmaster, jaguar, Les Paul, prs was favourite though sweetest tone for everything from jazz to grinding metal and the best action out of all of them. Now I'm down to my Mex strat which is sweeeeet and a ****jouse accoustic covered in stickers, lived thru hell with that one haha. Had to sell Marshall last year due to gfc, jcm 800 from 1980 something, filthiest head I've ever heard and quad. Now I'm down to sharing juniors squire crudbox. Planning on getting a sweet little combo again soon though, any suggestion. Thinkin another Marshall.
(DGDGBD] one finger dave hole 
