Electric and Bass guitar questions?

Question

ok well heres the deal, about 2 years ago a friend of mine who was really good at guitar gave me one of his and taught me in a short amount of time how to play smoke on the water just to show me the ropes then taught me how to read music. so basically, ive been getting better completely on my own besides that. im doing alright at it, though i dont know ANYTHING about chords, all that "E minor" (or whatever) stuff, i was never told how to tune a guitar without an electric tuner, i need improvements on soloing, and i feel like im not getting better as fast as i could be. what could i do to fix all of this? also mind that i live in a small town where i would have to go way out of town for lessons, so that is most likely out of the question.

also, ive been wanting to pick up bass. so is it much of a change from electric guitar?

Answer 1

For a complete list of chords: chordbook.com

The way learned chords was by playing songs that had chords IN them. You could probably learn faster that way than memorizing.

To tune without a tuner, you can tune to the piano, or by ear. Using chords also helps. You can also tune one string to another. To tune the A string with the low E, hold the A string down at the fifth fret. Strum both strings to see if they're in tune. Usually, it takes a while for people to be able to tell if it's flat or sharp, but if it's really out of tune you can tell. You can tune all the strings to the string before it by pressing on the fifth fret except for the B string, which must be held down at the fourth. As for the soloing, practice make perfect.

You can also take lessons online. There's a link on chordbook. Good luck :)

Answer 2

Use cyberfret.com to get started (click on Beginner Guitar Lessons under the section Learn Guitar).

What your friend did-by teaching you a song and learning how to read music before doing anything basic-was the wrong way to go. You can't just jump into learning a song without learning everything that goes into a song first. And learning the basics takes a few weeks.

As for learning songs by ear: It does take a while. Learning a song from reading music is easy.

Answer 3

Hey Justin

Ear training is important and the more music you listen and play to, the better you develop your ear pitch, your rhythm and your timing.

Bass is easy and the fingering is the same as the guitar. No difference.

Except , that bassplayers should always practice with the first 2 fingers of the right hand instead of using a pick.

I played by ear and am self-taught from sight-reading to writing for a 15 piece band.

go on the internet and go onyouTube. You will find some interesting tutorial for bass and guitar.

Answer 4

Hi Justin..Left-T makes some very valid contributions to your question.  Ear training.. playing along with albums/cd's.... A lot of very good musicians have learned this way. Nothing wrong with it.. and as you grow as a musician... you will learn some things about music too.  Be patient with trying to learn the names of the chords.. but.. try to do so.  If you join a band down the road.... will be beneficial to know the names of chords.

   I also agree that you should learn to be a "finger player" on the bass.  I first played Upright bass , classically trained with a bow for 10 years.  When I made the switch to electric bass... never learned how to play with a pick.  Funny thing is.. I also play guitar.... and can use fingers or a pick comfortably on the guitar.   Try listening to some blues..... things like Stevie Ray Vaughn's Texas Flood..or any blues at about  that tempo to learn bass.  Its a very good tempo of music to hear everything thats going on.... plus.. learn some very fundamental bass lines and bass runs while also learning a bit about scales.

  Hope this has helped... and main thing.. KEEP PLAYING!