Any guitarists on FR?

[LouAvul]

I used to play the guitar but broke my wrist, ruptured a tendon, other life events, and quit. I kept the gear (2 Gibsons, a Fender and a Martin, with amps.)

I'm relearning, but from a different tact. I formerly simply learned songs without realizing any principles or theory. Now I'm starting by learning scales. Am pentatonic, for starters.

Question: I know this scale works with songs written in Am, but I also read that the Am pentatonic scale also works in A major. The only difference is the root note.

Am I understanding this correctly?

[LouAvul]

Thank you. My feeling exactly. The internet says they are the same. (AI, maybe?)

But to me it sounds discordant. thnx

[T.B. Yoits]

a (or la) minor the relative minor to C (or do) Major. Relative because they share the same notes but sound different due to the whole and half step intervals between notes of scale.

C Major: C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C
a minor: a-b-c-d-e-f-g-a...

Major Scale intervals (W is Whole, H is Half):
W-W-H-(W)-W-W-H

minor Scale intervals (W is Whole, H is Half):
W-H-W-(W)-H-W-W

You can visualize this on a piano and play it to hear the difference the location of the half-step intervals. With guitar, it's about finger patterns but don't get caught up on the starting note. Learn the pattern and then play the same pattern on different strings. You'll hear where it works better related to where you just played it.

The same sonority applies to minor pentatonic scales as well, so your a minor pentatonic works with C Major, not as much with A Major.

The Parallel Major shares the root, the Relative Major shares the same notes. The pentatonic shares mostly the same notes.

[plain talk]

youtube has plenty of videos out there to help out. Sorry about the health issues and hope things get better.

[T.B. Yoits]

I highly recommend John Brimhall's "Theory Notebook Complete". It's three workbooks that take you through notes, scales, etc. You'll pencil in notes and learn as you go.

https://www.amazon.com/Theory-Notebook-Complete-John-Brimhall/dp/158560755X

[T.B. Yoits]

In relation to slide guitar being easier on the fretting hand, for those who haven't seen it, here's a 3 minute video of Justin Johnson playing slide on a 3-string shovel guitar.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9-ltPsbw9g

[gibsonguy]

Any guitarists on FR?, Red Badger wrote:“

You betcha, been playing off and on for 50 years. I think you should go on youtube and find all fretboard arpeggios. Great for a lot of reasons.
I still have my beloved 65 Gibson ES-345, 68 Strat, 58 Gretsch and an unknown Gibson acoustic. Amps have come and gone. I had a mid fifty’s patent pending Fender Bandmaster. Best sounding amp l ever heard. I got sloppy and some SOB stole it. After 30 years l still greive.

[Celerity]

I was born with orthopaedic birth defects. My arms are twisted in such a way that I could not even hold the strings down.

All my friends in highschool played, and I was jealous.

30 years after graduation, 5 years ago I decided to pick up a bass and give it my all. I now play both bass and electric guitar (the body of an acoustic is still to thick for my arms) pretty well. Lots of pain, but it happens.

I couldn’t answer the theory question - but you have my support! Good luck!

[Manic_Episode]

Move your Am pentatonic pattern down 4 frets. You are now in A major pentatonic. Find the root with your ear. You’re welcome.

[dfwgator]

What’s weird is that I am right-handed, but I play guitar (badly!) left-handed, it was a real bear to find a left-handed guitar.

[1Old Pro]

Like most things, in order to get really good you need two things, God given talent and practice practice practice.

That doesn’t mean you have to be the best, being just good is enjoyable, and sometimes not being that good is fun - as in Golf.

Like Golf and like listening to great musicians there’s an old saying for golf easily translated to music. In Golf when watching a pro it’s often said, they aren’t playing the same game we are.

[libertylover]

People who can play a musical instrument amaze me.

[Skooz]

I am, by all accounts, the world’s worst guitarist.

But, I do play.

[Towed_Jumper]

Sorry Lou, I can’t help you. I have zero musical talent and can’t play the guitar. In fact, I have problems just playing the radio.

[Bob434]

I briefly tried to get I to music, harmonica actually, and wow, my brain isn’t cut out for music I guess- it’s all Greek to me. My brain locks up trying to listen and fol.ow videos on music-

[Bobalu]

By a set of strange circumstance I have come into possession of several guitars.

I don't play guitars though.

I do embedded systems work and someone had the idea I might be able to automate guitars in some way.

I have taken one of the guitars, a 4-string, short-scale bass and turned it into an open-g 4-string by simply putting the middle 4 strings from a pak of number 10 strings on it and tuning to GDGB. It sounds pretty great and the narrow nut of 1.4" combined with the wider string spacing of only 4 strings works well for those with both large and small hands... Some call these 4-string open tuned guitars Cigar Box Guitars. They are easy to play... it has a 25.5" scale length, the same as a common telecaster or strat.

I have managed to play some old Stones riffs on it by following Cigar Box Guitar demos on youtube... it's actually pretty easy! I read that Keith Richards of the Stones plays a 5-string open-g guitar with a 25.5" scale length.... pretty much the same but with a 5th string tuned to D. I can't really tell any difference, I tried the 5-strings on one of the guitars I got, it's a Fender Telecaster, it sounds no better than the 4-string to me.

Here is what the modded 4-string looks like. It's a smallish guitar but surprisingly weighs the same as a larger telecaster.

I looked for them on ebay and found them for just 50 dollars but that may have changed since the tariffs. The two I have came from some music shop in Nashville.

It sounds great plugged into the amp that was with the guitars I am attempting to mod. it is a Fender Champion 100 amp and is very loud. The pickups seem adequate but at some point I may mod it and put in a better pickup at the neck position.

[subterfuge]

Have been playing 51 years. Always concentrated on learning songs I liked and could sing, so not much of a soloist. I don’t really think of chords anymore. I just see the patterns and shapes my fingers need to be in to play a given song. IOW, can’t help you. Sorry!

[dfwgator]

I guess I just never had the patience to put in the 10,000 hours it would have taken.

[AmericanMermaid]

Yes! I began learning at the age of 60 from YouTube. Justin Guitar, Andy Guitar, Simplified Guitar, just to name a few great teachers. Ivor Sorefingers is wonderful, too. I’ll never be Carlos Santana, lol, but I enjoy learning an instrument that I loved as a kid but we couldn’t afford lessons. Now I also play the ukulele, which is easier to learn and great fun.

[woodbutcher1963]

Hendrix just played upside down.

Give us some “Little Wing”

[HonkyTonkMan]

I play parts of songs. Badly. Ditto on Truefire.