Rudiments of Music

[drahkon]

Anybody have a good guide/tutorial to learn about the rudiments of music (notes, rythm, etc.)?

I'd like to see if this is something I'd be interested in but I don't where exactly to start and what can be considered a good guide. Maybe some of you know something

[Sméagol]

When I was 8 years old (I think), my parents sent me to <google translate> recorder lessons. It was a standard thing here that taught the basics of music to children, then after that you'd choose an instrument you were actually interested in. I don't know of any "guides", but I'd suggest you simply take a few trial lessons. I think piano lessons would be great for the basics, but perhaps you already have something specific in mind.

[drahkon]

On 31/07/2017 at 1:21 AM, Sméagol said:

I don't know of any "guides", but I'd suggest you simply take a few trial lessons. I think piano lessons would be great for the basics, but perhaps you already have something specific in mind.

Would love to do some piano lessons but there are no trial lessons in the area. And I can't afford real lessons

 

Just picked up my acoustic guitar again. Haven't played in years and I never really learned any chords. I was just able to play a couple of Muse songs on my electric guitar. Learned them by reading tabs.

Found a cool app (JustinGuitar) that teaches you the chords and how to change between them. Think I'll use this every day to practice a little. Started with the A and D chords. Not too difficult.

Also have an app that's supposed to help you train your ear. We'll see if it helps

Edited August 1, 2017 by drahkon

[S.C.G]

Do you have/still own a 3DS @drahkon? (I genuinely can't remember)

Anyway, if so then you might want to give the KORG Synthesizer software a go.  

It's frequently on sale (both versions) and allows you to create amazing music tracks, plus it's probably good for learning about music in general.

Just a thought anyway.

I can't really talk as I own both versions though I've barely used them but one of my brother's who is into music uses his a lot as it's a really good tool to have.

[drahkon]

30 minutes ago, S.C.G said:

Do you have/still own a 3DS @drahkon? (I genuinely can't remember)

I don't. I've been on the lookout for a music software but the good once cost a fortune

[Rummy]

Every Good Boy Deserves Football.

FACE.

[Fierce_LiNk]

3 hours ago, Rummy said:

Every Good Boy Deserves Football.

FACE.

All Cows Eat Grass

Good Boys Do Fine Always

 

I'll reply to this properly later on @drahkon, as this is something I want to do better at, too.

 

[Jon]

It really depends on what you want to learn?

Do you want to more about the theory of music? reading music, understanding time signatures and music notation?

Or are you interested in learning more technically about an instrument like the guitar for example. How notes relate to each other? what makes a chord? Switching chords? building musical sequences.

[drahkon]

On 02/08/2017 at 10:47 AM, Jon said:

It really depends on what you want to learn?

Do you want to more about the theory of music? reading music, understanding time signatures and music notation?

Or are you interested in learning more technically about an instrument like the guitar for example. How notes relate to each other? what makes a chord? Switching chords? building musical sequences.

Well, I'd like to learn everything eventually

Reading music, time signatures and music notations would be great to learn at first.

 

Edit: Currently practicing the D, A and E chords on my acoustic guitar. I did that years ago and I'm surprised at how much stuck until now. Getting more and more comfortable with switching between chords. I do, however, need a little more practice to improve my speed and precision.

After that it's time for the Dmin, Amin and Emin chords. I remember practicing them years ago, too, but I can't remember the finger placement

Edit²: My fingers hurt But it's so much fun!

Edited August 3, 2017 by drahkon

[drahkon]

I cannot, for the life of me keep the guitar neck steady...It's annoying when it moves a little while trying to change chords, especially changing between E and Am. No idea what I'm doing wrong.

Edited August 8, 2017 by drahkon

[Fierce_LiNk]

Right, where to begin, eh?

You're playing guitar to create and make music. That sounds obvious. So, you're going to need to learn the skills that will enable you to do so. Learn skills, not songs. If you learn how to play one song, that's good, but you'll only be able to play a limited selection. If you learn skills, you'll be able to play a huge range of songs in different styles. Then, you use those skills to learn other song. So, skills come first. 

Starting out is hard work. It's fucking repetitive, but so worth it when you stick to it. 

I'd start off by getting this app: Scales and Chords: Guitar Lite.

I like it because it shows you the notes of a chord (e.g. it shows you where to play your fingers for a C Major and it also tells you which notes you are playing. In this case, CEG (or CEGCE if you're looking at all of the strings that you've fretted). You can then use the app to teach you all the variations of C. E.g. C Minor. The app also contains different forms of scales and the diagrams make it really clear to use. 

Truth is, you can find lots of other apps like it, too. There's a lot out there.

Next, I bought this book. If the link doesn't work, it's for the chord wheel. It's extremely useful in teaching you how songs are formed and how to link chords together. It also teaches you about "keys". Brilliant resource. 

On reading music: I was never taught how to read music, so I've mostly stuck with tab throughout my time. I'm going to make an effort now to learn how to read music, because I feel that it may be useful. It's a completely different skillset though and it is essentially like learning another language. I've always found guitar tab very easy to read and I've never been in a position to "need" to learn how to read guitar music. 

Also, practise your barre chords. They can be especially frustrating and take a lot of time to get right. But, the benefits outweigh the negatives. 

I'm trying to get back into music. We're planning to convert the second/spare bedroom into a guest room/music room. Currently, my guitars are in there but I don't have any real space to practise without having to bring all of the equipment downstairs and then back up again when I've finished. When that room is sorted, I'm going to dedicate a bit of time each day trying to improve.

There's tons of videos on youtube of people who can answer specific questions or who can show you how to play certain chords. It's down to your preferences with which ones you find useful. I've watched JustinGuitar before on YouTube and there's a fair bit of content there. Worth having a look at, for sure. With your chords, it's just going to take time, particularly with switching between each one and then also remembering the fingering positions. You will get better if you stick with it. Sometimes I used to just get the finger positions for a particular chord, strum and then remember what that chord sounded like. Each time I'd play that chord, I'd try and get it to sound identical each time, for consistency. I'd go reeeally slooow between two different chords and gradually build up the speed. Sometimes it can be suicidal trying to playing along to a song that you already know because the temptation there is to play it at full speed straight away, which can then lead to sloppiness and bad technique. Far better to go slow and then build it up.

[drahkon]

Thanks @Fierce_LiNk.

 

I'm currently following The JustinGuitar Beginners Course. Not far into it (played the C and G chords for the first time today) but it seems like a good guide.

Quote

Next, I bought this book.

I'll buy that book sometime in the future

Quote

Also, practise your barre chords. They can be especially frustrating and take a lot of time to get right. But, the benefits outweigh the negatives. 

Won't reach the F chord with the course mentioned above anytime soon, but I'm still practicing it every other day. That fucking B string...

[Sméagol]

On 01/08/2017 at 1:49 PM, drahkon said:

I don't. I've been on the lookout for a music software but the good once cost a fortune

The Korg apps are great fun, but obviously don't teach you the music basics. As for good DAWs, take a look at the software section of Steam during sales.. I got the basic Sonar version for 50 euros, but they have since then changed the tiers, and I have no idea what current version would correspond to what I have. I have the feeling things have gotten more expensive in general.

[drahkon]

4 hours ago, Fierce_LiNk said:

You're playing guitar to create and make music. That sounds obvious. So, you're going to need to learn the skills that will enable you to do so. Learn skills, not songs. If you learn how to play one song, that's good, but you'll only be able to play a limited selection. If you learn skills, you'll be able to play a huge range of songs in different styles. Then, you use those skills to learn other song. So, skills come first.

I assume chords belong to a certain set of skills (fingering them correctly, strumming correctly, etc.)? I've learned some and like to put them to use by playing one or two easy songs occasionally.

I've actually learned enough chords to play one of my favourite songs:

Playing one of the guitars is not too difficult. It's an E - A - D pattern and at two points there's a G chord and a C chord. The "solo" at the end I'm slowly figuring out by myself.

Edited August 8, 2017 by drahkon

[Fierce_LiNk]

11 hours ago, drahkon said:

I assume chords belong to a certain set of skills (fingering them correctly, strumming correctly, etc.)? I've learned some and like to put them to use by playing one or two easy songs occasionally.

I've actually learned enough chords to play one of my favourite songs:

Exactly. Learn a range of chords (e.g. the ones which "fit together") and that will help you with a huge variety of songs. Better than just trying to learn one song (like Wonderwall or something) directly and aiming to perfect that. It's the equivalent I think of learning "holiday phrases" when learning a language. You'll have far better long term success if you learn sentence structures, verbs, how to conjugate, adjectives, etc rather than just learning set phrases that only have one or two applications. 

[drahkon]

Struggling a little with chord changes that involve the C and G chords...Wanted to start learning the G7, C7 and B7 chords (and the F Maj7) but I think I'll practice what I know for another week or so

 

I keep getting better at playing Every other Freckle, though. It's great to play it a couple of times after practicing. It's a shame I don't have a nice singing voice

[drahkon]

Kinda neglected learning chords and playing guitar in general...

To get back into it I started looking up some tabs/chords for three songs by IAMX and I'm actually quite pleased with how easy it is to play afterI had learned the first few basic chords. The F chord that is used in all of the songs is still annoying, especially since I didn't really practice it but hey...it doesn't sound too bad

 

I'm able to play 5 songs now, even though they include one or two chords I haven't even learned, yet (thank God for tabs). It's still rough in certain parts and I keep making some mistakes but I'm proud of myself. Never thought I'd be able to do it with the lack of musical talent I always thought I had

 

Edit: @Fierce_LiNk I just ordered The Chord Wheel. Might be a little early ,though, 'cause I probably know only 5% of the chords. But maybe it can already help me understanding music.

Edited January 4, 2018 by drahkon

[Fierce_LiNk]

9 hours ago, drahkon said:

Kinda neglected learning chords and playing guitar in general...

To get back into it I started looking up some tabs/chords for three songs by IAMX and I'm actually quite pleased with how easy it is to play afterI had learned the first few basic chords. The F chord that is used in all of the songs is still annoying, especially since I didn't really practice it but hey...it doesn't sound too bad

 

I'm able to play 5 songs now, even though they include one or two chords I haven't even learned, yet (thank God for tabs). It's still rough in certain parts and I keep making some mistakes but I'm proud of myself. Never thought I'd be able to do it with the lack of musical talent I always thought I had

 

Edit: @Fierce_LiNk I just ordered The Chord Wheel. Might be a little early ,though, 'cause I probably know only 5% of the chords. But maybe it can already help me understanding music.

It'll prove to be a good purchase for you, even if you find that you don't use it all too much immediately. It'll help you to identify which chords sound good with other chords. You may even find that through learning and listening to others songs that some of this lines up with the progressions in the Chord Wheel. 

We've got our guitars placed in the wall mount that is attached to the wall in the second bedroom. The issue at the moment is that the room doesn't really have anywhere to sit just yet. So, we're going to purchase a sofabed for that room. It should mean that I'll be able to just go in there and play straightaway in future, rather than potentially lugging the guitar and amps downstairs. In the old flat, it would take a few minutes to get the guitar from the rack, amp it up, plug it all in, plug in headphones, effects pedals, etc. I'm looking forward to being able to access all of the equipment easily soon.