Guitarist: How should I practice?

Question

I'm a violinist and am teaching myself guitar.
I have all the theory down, notes, names etc.
I can play songs and read tab and music.
My problem is that I'm accustomed to scales and etudes as practice and warm ups.
I'm finding it difficult to fully "feel" the guitar as everything seems to be in tabs, and not real music lol.
I know all open chords and most barre chords.

What you recommend tomget me actually inside the guitar and really learn and feel comfortable with what I'm doing??

Thank you

I'm 30, violinist all my life and orchestra teacher for 3 years.

Answer 1

I suggest getting Modern Guitar vol. 1 which will help you immensely in playing and linking any scales across the fingerboard with the proper fingering.



http://www.freenote.com.br/produto.asp?shw_ukey=37550152002MPBR8FL



That will help you to understand the fingerboard. Being a violinist will help you because you already have the correct fingering 1-2-3-4 and in guitar, we use one finger per fret technique. So when you do a scale, the hand doesn't move all over the place because each finger is assigned a position in the fingering.



Finally, you can lay off the tabs and use real notes since you already can read music. It reminds my of Yngwie Malsteem who switched from violin to guitar and because a great guitarist especially with the speed he plays the arpeggios.



Basically, I suggest, learning the scales in one position and then, learn them in 5 different positions so that you can solo and move easily over the fingerboard.

Answer 2

TAB's should be pretty easy to learn. There are 6 strings on the guitar and 6 lines on the tab sheet, each line on the Tab sheet represents a string. Moving left to right you will see numbers, those numbers tell you which fret to play and on which string. It takes a couple months to really get comfortable with it, but eventually you'll get the hang of it.



Also, Mel Bay and Hal Leonard have good guitar instructional books. I don't think they use Tab either, so you may prefer these books.



It's going to take awhile to get use to playing the guitar, I mean, it's a lot bigger, bulkier and heavier than a violin, but time will eventually help you get over that.



I recommend just practicing chromatic exercises as the first thing you do when picking up the guitar.

Answer 3

Just play music you love. The guitar is a real instrument of passion. The music you play needs to inspire you in some form. I started off when I was just 14 playing songs I loved, and I practiced them for that very reason. I started doing scales because i wanted to learn how to solo. Just find music that moves you, and practice that. After you've learned songs that you love, it sets off a chain reaction for more guitar music.

Answer 4

If you'd like to learn the theory behind the guitar fretboard, I highly recommend "Modern Method for Guitar" by William G. Leavitt.

EDIT: I have a hard time with "tablature" as well, there's really no way to sight read it if you've never heard the song... There's a reason music notation includes a time signature. lol.

EDIT2: Careful with practicing guitar too much, you might want to change your violin's tuning. lol.

I bet you could do some serious shredding on a mandolin.

Answer 5

I genuinely were playing professional for two decades . I practice 2 hours an afternoon 5 days a wk.I also paintings on as many diverse kinds as My skills will enable.nonetheless do my scales. i love to play.