I’ve very recently purchased a guitar. I’ve just realized that I really shoulda gotten a bass guitar, instead. I purchased one of the Behringer MetAlien kits for $200. The lowest bass kit is $350. So it’s going to be a while before I can fix that mistake. Meanwhile, however, I’ve been trying to figure out where to begin.
I had decided that Learning and Mastering Guitar ( http://www.learnandmasterguitar.com/ ) would be good for us to learn from. It’s a great program, don’t get me wrong. But my daughter just doesn’t seem motivated enough to even watch the first dvd lesson. And while I’ve watched the first three, I find myself feeling all sorts of aggravated at reading music (which isn’t that hard) and having to memorize chord fingerings. Reading music teaches me how to read music. It feels like being placed in a box or like following a recipe and having a dictator looking over my shoulder with a ruler at hand to slap me if I make a mistake. I don’t like that feeling. These lessons DON’T give that feeling in and of themselves. The guy is actually pretty patient, informative, and helpful on the lessons. It’s just me. I’ve always had a thing about that fear of making a mistake thing. Gee, I wonder where I could’ve gotten that feeling from. :rolleyes:
I’d rather learn how to MAKE music. I know, I know. Some people will tell me that AFTER I learn all about music theory and have practiced hundreds of stuff OTHER people have made, THEN I may be able to start making my own music. I have one thing to say to that…. Pffft! Talk to the Hand.
I want to make music NOW. Not in a few years from now. (Have I ever mentioned how impatient I can be? lol) I already KNOW that any music making abilities would be extremely limited, maybe even to just two notes or so. I don’t mind, because at least then I’m also learning to be creative, learning to improvise, and learning what I like and don’t like, etc. And there’s no drill sergeant barking orders at me!!
I also really don’t like the sound of chords strummed simultaneously. Two notes played at once on the guitar sounds ok. But more than that and I start to feel agitated inside. It’s almost painful, to my ears, my mind, my body…not to mention my fingers (which need some major stretching exercises). I also don’t like being told to memorize these chords, with absolutely no information about why these chords? why this way? how can this be carried over elsewhere and elsewise? Nothing. Just “memorize these chords”. Argh! (Also, harmony is a group thing, I’m not interested in being an island unto myself. If I want harmony, I’ll seek out other players to play with.)
What I’ve found that I DO like?
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ostinatos – those lovely little repeative rhythmic things, short, sweet, to the point, and can be altered and changed as the mood strikes.
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consistent fret board patterns – TheCipher ( http://www.thecipher.com/ ) has shown me how the fret boards for both bass and standard guitars are set up. If I decide to keep my standard guitar, then I’ll most likely alter the tuning so it’s EADGCF instead of the standard EADGBE. Though, with TheCipher’s help, it wouldn’t be too hard to adjust patterns to the standard tuning.
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low sounds – the B & E strings are just too high pitched for my tastes. I like notes to be lower, more mellow. Though I’m not sure if perhaps bass guitar notes would be too low or not. After the weather clears up I intend to find out.
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music styles of some R&B, Rock, Funk, and a bit of new agey feel. I’ve always been stuck on classic rock’n'roll songs, and while behind on current musics/songs, I’ve learned that I like some of the feel of Funk. (I think I was more surprised at that than my brother/friends.)
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fingerpicking over strumming any day!!! I particularly like the style of say…chet atkins…in the sense of playing a bass note intermixed with a fingerpicked melody/ostinato. Do I actually think I could ever play that way? Not really. I think that that would be way too complex for me to try to do. But fingerpicking in and of itself, yes.
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basslines – I Heart bass lines. Particularly over strummed chords..heheh. But the sounds of bass lines seem so much cleaner and clearer and pulls me along with it. Even the mere thought of being able to create my own bass lines on the spot has me drooling.
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simplified notation – I almost detest standard notation that we use. It makes no sense to me. The different staves with the note names on different lines/spaces. The bias towards the C major scale that pianos have. Ok, for piano playing, I can see using one of the staves, as well as the C major bias. It helps with figuring out where the notes are on the instrument. But fretted guitars are instruments set up as semi-tones. They don’t have black keys spaced in such a way as to make that easier. Playing the guitar requires a different style of note reading than piano does. (and no, I’m not a fan of tabs either)
So, there ya have it. My likes and don’t likes regarding learning music. But what’s my plan for actual learning? For now I’m having to develop that by feel, by paying attention to what I seem to respond well to vs what I cringe or get irritated at. For now,
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using TheCipher’s system of translating everything into interval degrees (0-12) instead of into note names
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using TheCipher’s 0, 5, 10, 15 method of viewing the fretboard layout and how to find intervals 0-12
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using TheCipher’s system for memorizing interval degree fingering options on the fretboard, and thus also learning the notes on the fretboard
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using Ed Friedland’s “Building Walking Bass Lines”
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finger exercises for developing strength, dexterity and stretch (also done while learning interval fingering options
For now, that’s as far as I can plan. I started these yesterday. I’ll try to keep this blog updated on how things go. A friend has asked me to vlog my progress on the guitar. I’ll keep that in mind, but I have mixed feelings about that. For now, wish me luck!! 
