A post a while back asked how to break free from Rocksmith and play guitar in the "real world". This motivated me to do a small write up of things you should know about understanding music, the guitar and how to play it. Since I know how it is to struggle at first with the massive amount of information I'm trying to condense it while trying to keep things more visual. I know you can already find everything you ever want to know on the internet but this will be a write-up to guide you into some basic music theory and how it translates it to the guitar (and how to incorporate it into meaningfull excercices), hopefully helping some of you in your quests to become a better guitar player!

 

 

Since I am making this for you guys, I was wondering, what do you mainly have problems with? Or are there specific things you want to see explained? 

 

 

I will post the guide once I feel enough of the basics are covered so you can start to see how everything falls together. I feel there is not really a point in starting to post just parts of it because you will want to know how everything is connected, and posting parts might just confuse you even more. Once I do, it will be a Work In Progress, so people can ask questions wich will help me add more information if needed. But I'm striving to make it as easy to comprehend as possible from the start, so hopefully not much addition will be needed.

I wouldn't mind some more knowledge on playing by ear, I've never really understood where to start with that. About the closest I can connect with it is that I've been noticing lately that I've been spending less time looking at the screen and more time looking at my fret hand. I guess the easiest way to explain it is that with some songs I've gotten to where I kind of "sense" where the next note will be based on the chord progression I've been following leading up to that point. I've said in other posts, I can't name the note by position on the board, but I am starting to see that a lot of positions come into common rotation, just for different amounts of time.

Playing by ear requires a lot of practice. The best thing you can do is practice chord progressions to get used to the sounds. The problem is with more complicated songs that will change key during the song, but for basic songs just practicing the Harmonized Major Scale is one of the best thing to do. Also just listening to a song and trying to play a melody by ear will go a long way in getting used to certain sounds.

 

There are also some more common chord movements, as in, chords that lean towards another chord because of their sound.

 

 

Many Rock/Blues guitar songs, use a basic progression, I-IV-V7. So it is good to really practice this specific progression untill you get a feel for the sound and can spot it in a song. 

 

In Jazz for example the most important chord progression is ii-V7-I. And in a Jazz song this progression will move trough different keys.

 

 

I suggest practicing different chord progressions with up to 3 chords to start with. Practice chord progressions with attention to the sounds, don't just play over a song, play by yourself without any other music and get a feel for the progression and play them with a clean guitar sound. Chords are really not just what make a song, to a certain extend, it's the movement of chords that establish how a song will sound.

 

If you have further questions just ask, since I do not know how much of theory you know what I am saying might be very confusing.

 

 

 

I'll also note that you should practice playing the same chord progression in different keys. A good way for this is using the circle of 4ths. What do I mean with this? Well, a 4th is a distance between 2 notes [5 half steps]. So if you start with the key of C, the next key you want to practice in you will find by moving 5 half steps further, wich gives you the key of F. Once you played the progression in the key of F, you do the same, move up 5 half steps and play the same progression in the next key, wich is Bb, and so on. All the way until you come back to the key of C. A good way to practice is to play the progression twice in one key, then move on to the next key. The following picture will show you the movement of keys you should go trough during practice.

 

 

http://www.oreshko.co.uk/studentimages/circle4ths.gif

 

I'll probably incorporate this in the guide too, but I want to get the basics written out first since it is important to see a global picture and to know how we build a chord in the first place.

I think I follow you on that. I might specify that I'm a bass player, I don't know if that makes a lot of difference or not. Part of the thing with a lot of songs is that I have a hard time isolating the bass from the rest of the band. I can catch the rhythm and get a decent idea of how the line is supposed to move in sections where it stands out, like with Another One Bites the Dust, but where it blends I get lost pretty fast.

Not sure if I completely follow. But if you mean just not hearing the bass, you might want to try an equaliser to boost the lower frequencies of a song. I myself use this equalizer https://sourceforge.net/projects/equalizerapo/ with this GUI plugin https://sourceforge.net/projects/peace-equalizer-apo-extension/

 

And ofcourse, use a quality headphone for listening to music, it really makes a big difference. If you can, also use high quality sound files like flac instead of mp3, they do sound a lot better.

I never realy undersand it how to PROPERLY set up any guitar,by properly i mean,the string heights,pickup and trus rod adjustment and also the intonation.In my experience there is lot more difference between to set up a stratocaster and a Les Paul.

I never realy undersand it how to PROPERLY set up any guitar,by properly i mean,the string heights,pickup and trus rod adjustment and also the intonation.In my experience there is lot more difference between to set up a stratocaster and a Les Paul.

Did you not watch the numerous videos and/or read the tutorials that we sent to you? It might make more sense to resume things in your original thread.

 

I'm really not trying to be rude. It's just rather frustrating that multiple people have tried to help you with this subject, in multiple threads, and it seems like you haven't taken the time to learn from the materials we've provided you. Instead you keep asking questions that are answered in the tutorials that we provided.

 

It's not that difficult to set up a guitar, but there are several steps, that need to be done in order because they affect one another. The principles are exactly the same, no matter the type of guitar. The hardware is just slightly different.

 

Again, I really think this tutorial will help you - http://www.samash.com/help/library/main/How_to_Set_Up_an_Electric_Guitar.html

 

PLEASE, read through each step, starting at step # 4. If you have questions, on any of the steps, just let us know.

 

I never realy undersand it how to PROPERLY set up any guitar,by properly i mean,the string heights,pickup and trus rod adjustment and also the intonation.In my experience there is lot more difference between to set up a stratocaster and a Les Paul.

Did you not watch the numerous videos and/or read the tutorials that we sent to you? It might make more sense to resume things in your original thread.

 

I'm really not trying to be rude. It's just rather frustrating that multiple people have tried to help you with this subject, in multiple threads, and it seems like you haven't taken the time to learn from the materials we've provided you. Instead you keep asking questions that are answered in the tutorials that we provided.

 

It's not that difficult to set up a guitar, but there are several steps, that need to be done in order because they affect one another. The principles are exactly the same, no matter the type of guitar. The hardware is just slightly different.

 

Again, I really think this tutorial will help you - http://www.samash.com/help/library/main/How_to_Set_Up_an_Electric_Guitar.html

 

PLEASE, read through each step, starting at step # 4. If you have questions, on any of the steps, just let us know.

 

Yes i watchd them  im not so retard,bur none of them solved my problem,and i look at a lot of pages of how to set up,but then again, none of them helpd me out still,i even watchd full set up videos,but those 2 were wrong,one was still not understandible and had tools that i don't have,the other was about how to clean it,altough it had the full set up in the title.Back to the websites,the setps that in the website you just linkd it's not to so clear what to do,at the clean the nut part,i can't do the clean the alcohol part because i have small fingernails and i don't want anyone in my family do it,because the just fuck up everything,and i'm not wiiling to skip this part either,because i tryd several mods at the pickups and the bridge part at my Les Paul but after a time the result was the same,uncomfortable playing and buzzing all strings,and the problem is has to be the nut part,because it can't be any other thing that cause string buzz.

 

 

I never realy undersand it how to PROPERLY set up any guitar,by properly i mean,the string heights,pickup and trus rod adjustment and also the intonation.In my experience there is lot more difference between to set up a stratocaster and a Les Paul.

Did you not watch the numerous videos and/or read the tutorials that we sent to you? It might make more sense to resume things in your original thread.

 

I'm really not trying to be rude. It's just rather frustrating that multiple people have tried to help you with this subject, in multiple threads, and it seems like you haven't taken the time to learn from the materials we've provided you. Instead you keep asking questions that are answered in the tutorials that we provided.

 

It's not that difficult to set up a guitar, but there are several steps, that need to be done in order because they affect one another. The principles are exactly the same, no matter the type of guitar. The hardware is just slightly different.

 

Again, I really think this tutorial will help you - http://www.samash.com/help/library/main/How_to_Set_Up_an_Electric_Guitar.html

 

PLEASE, read through each step, starting at step # 4. If you have questions, on any of the steps, just let us know.

 

Yes i watchd them  im not so retard,bur none of them solved my problem,and i look at a lot of pages of how to set up,but then again, none of them helpd me out still,i even watchd full set up videos,but those 2 were wrong,one was still not understandible and had tools that i don't have,the other was about how to clean it,altough it had the full set up in the title.Back to the websites,the setps that in the website you just linkd it's not to so clear what to do,at the clean the nut part,i can't do the clean the alcohol part because i have small fingernails and i don't want anyone in my family do it,because the just fuck up everything,and i'm not wiiling to skip this part either,because i tryd several mods at the pickups and the bridge part at my Les Paul but after a time the result was the same,uncomfortable playing and buzzing all strings,and the problem is has to be the nut part,because it can't be any other thing that cause string buzz

Do the strings buzz when played open?

 

 

 

I never realy undersand it how to PROPERLY set up any guitar,by properly i mean,the string heights,pickup and trus rod adjustment and also the intonation.In my experience there is lot more difference between to set up a stratocaster and a Les Paul.

Did you not watch the numerous videos and/or read the tutorials that we sent to you? It might make more sense to resume things in your original thread.

 

I'm really not trying to be rude. It's just rather frustrating that multiple people have tried to help you with this subject, in multiple threads, and it seems like you haven't taken the time to learn from the materials we've provided you. Instead you keep asking questions that are answered in the tutorials that we provided.

 

It's not that difficult to set up a guitar, but there are several steps, that need to be done in order because they affect one another. The principles are exactly the same, no matter the type of guitar. The hardware is just slightly different.

 

Again, I really think this tutorial will help you - http://www.samash.com/help/library/main/How_to_Set_Up_an_Electric_Guitar.html

 

PLEASE, read through each step, starting at step # 4. If you have questions, on any of the steps, just let us know.

 

Yes i watchd them  im not so retard,bur none of them solved my problem,and i look at a lot of pages of how to set up,but then again, none of them helpd me out still,i even watchd full set up videos,but those 2 were wrong,one was still not understandible and had tools that i don't have,the other was about how to clean it,altough it had the full set up in the title.Back to the websites,the setps that in the website you just linkd it's not to so clear what to do,at the clean the nut part,i can't do the clean the alcohol part because i have small fingernails and i don't want anyone in my family do it,because the just fuck up everything,and i'm not wiiling to skip this part either,because i tryd several mods at the pickups and the bridge part at my Les Paul but after a time the result was the same,uncomfortable playing and buzzing all strings,and the problem is has to be the nut part,because it can't be any other thing that cause string buzz

Do the strings buzz when played open?

 

Of course,but some of them are buzzing when (for example) i play the 4th fret,but it also appers when i play 13th fret on the G string,also not all strings are buzzing,i think the high e is just fine.

 

Of course,but some of them are buzzing when (for example) i play the 4th fret,but it also appers when i play 13th fret on the G string,also not all strings are buzzing,i think the high e is just fine.

 

 

If most of your strings buzz in the open position it is likely that the neck of your your guitar is back bowed.

 

http://jacksinstrumentservices.com/shared/images/info/truss%20rods/tight.jpg

 

This is fixed by loosening the truss rod ( read up about it before trying )

 

 

Of course,but some of them are buzzing when (for example) i play the 4th fret,but it also appers when i play 13th fret on the G string,also not all strings are buzzing,i think the high e is just fine.

 

 

If most of your strings buzz in the open position it is likely that the neck of your your guitar is back bowed.

 

http://jacksinstrumentservices.com/shared/images/info/truss%20rods/tight.jpg

 

This is fixed by loosening the truss rod ( read up about it before trying )

 

I know this should need to lose the trus rod,but the problem is that i can't lose it or tight it,(i think it's broken)

 

Also i tried this at my strat. and nothing changed,so it's got to be the nut's fault.(also the first 2 string buzz when i play the open one or the frets)

 

I know this should need to lose the trus rod,but the problem is that i can't lose it or tight it,(i think it's broken)

 

Also i tried this at my strat. and nothing changed,so it's got to be the nut's fault.(also the first 2 string buzz when i play the open one or the frets)

 

 

It would surprise me a truss rodd would break, unless a top piece broke off and you have visual confirmation for it. It's an iron bar, so if anything, everything else on your guitar would break first. And since the rodd keeps your neck in shape, I think you would notice quite fast because of the neck if something was up with the truss rod. Also messing with the truss rod won't show that much visual change since you should only change it in very small increments.

A buzzing string can have a few causes so it's hard to help without actually seeing the issue, it's only by trying different things that you can find what's affecting it. 

If you really can't fix the buzzing after watching all those videos and trying different things it might be worth it to just take the guitar to a guitar shop. Specially if it's a nut problem

 

I know this should need to lose the trus rod,but the problem is that i can't lose it or tight it,(i think it's broken)

 

 

Probably overtightened. You might need to heat it up (soldering iron is good)

 

 

Also i tried this at my strat. and nothing changed,so it's got to be the nut's fault.(also the first 2 string buzz when i play the open one or the frets)

 

 

What I would do is rub a pencil in the string channel on the nut, this acts as a dry lube and sometimes removes buzz. Are you using the same string guage that came with the guitar?

 

Don't take this the wrong way but it seems you are inexperienced in the mechanics of a guitar. Inexperience and advice on a forum can be a lethal combination and can ruin a guitar.

You need to find an experienced friend who can show you first hand how to do things. I'm guessing your in school or college so it should be quite easy to find someone.

 

 

I know this should need to lose the trus rod,but the problem is that i can't lose it or tight it,(i think it's broken)

 

 

Probably overtightened. You might need to heat it up (soldering iron is good)

 

 

Also i tried this at my strat. and nothing changed,so it's got to be the nut's fault.(also the first 2 string buzz when i play the open one or the frets)

 

 

What I would do is rub a pencil in the string channel on the nut, this acts as a dry lube and sometimes removes buzz. Are you using the same string guage that came with the guitar?

 

Don't take this the wrong way but it seems you are inexperienced in the mechanics of a guitar. Inexperience and advice on a forum can be a lethal combination and can ruin a guitar.

You need to find an experienced friend who can show you first hand how to do things. I'm guessing your in school or college so it should be quite easy to find someone.

 

I used a pencil in the nut part,and probably that ruined the nut ,also my sister's friend said,if i take my guitar to that guitarstore he knows,then they will do it for free and explain how wo do it,i know it's a great opportunity,but i can't message to my sister's friend(because i never see him on facebook) and i don't know where is that guitar store either,and i don't realy want to take it to that guitarstore where i usually go,because it's a horrible price for anything.

 

 

 

What I would do is rub a pencil in the string channel on the nut, this acts as a dry lube and sometimes removes buzz. Are you using the same string guage that came with the guitar?

 

Don't take this the wrong way but it seems you are inexperienced in the mechanics of a guitar. Inexperience and advice on a forum can be a lethal combination and can ruin a guitar.

You need to find an experienced friend who can show you first hand how to do things. I'm guessing your in school or college so it should be quite easy to find someone.

 

 

Two of my strings were buzzing awhile ago too so me being the master guitarist I screwed around with the screws and shit on the bridge until it didn't buzz anymore...the green string is slightly higher than the rest of them now buy hey who needs the bottom two strings anyway :)

 

 

Thats a novel way of fixing it ;)

 

I used a pencil in the nut part,and probably that ruined the nut also,

 

rubbing a pencil on the nut would not have ruined it unless you damaged the channel. The graphite in a pencil just acts as a dry lube.

 

Are you using the same guage strings that came with the guitar?

 

 

I used a pencil in the nut part,and probably that ruined the nut also,

 

rubbing a pencil on the nut would not have ruined it unless you damaged the channel. The graphite in a pencil just acts as a dry lube.

 

Are you using the same guage strings that came with the guitar?

 

Honestly i have no idea,but when i got this strat. it had 9th string on it,but i use 10th strings on this and also on the les paul and sg.I even tried the pencil again,and it just ruined on the nut more.

 

 

 

I used a pencil in the nut part,and probably that ruined the nut also,

 

rubbing a pencil on the nut would not have ruined it unless you damaged the channel. The graphite in a pencil just acts as a dry lube.

 

Are you using the same guage strings that came with the guitar?

 

Honestly i have no idea,but when i got this strat. it had 9th string on it,but i use 10th strings on this and also on the les paul and sg.I even tried the pencil again,and it just ruined on the nut more.

 

I can guarantee you that just putting graphite on your nut would not ruin it. Even if it did you can remove the graphite. 

 

Just a thought , do you here the buzzing through an amp or just acoustically

 

 

 

 

I used a pencil in the nut part,and probably that ruined the nut also,

 

rubbing a pencil on the nut would not have ruined it unless you damaged the channel. The graphite in a pencil just acts as a dry lube.

 

Are you using the same guage strings that came with the guitar?

 

Honestly i have no idea,but when i got this strat. it had 9th string on it,but i use 10th strings on this and also on the les paul and sg.I even tried the pencil again,and it just ruined on the nut more.

 

I can guarantee you that just putting graphite on your nut would not ruin it. Even if it did you can remove the graphite. 

 

Just a thought , do you here the buzzing through an amp or just acoustically

 

I hear it when just play it without an amp,like a normal guitar.

 

 

 

 

 

I used a pencil in the nut part,and probably that ruined the nut also,

 

rubbing a pencil on the nut would not have ruined it unless you damaged the channel. The graphite in a pencil just acts as a dry lube.

 

Are you using the same guage strings that came with the guitar?

 

Honestly i have no idea,but when i got this strat. it had 9th string on it,but i use 10th strings on this and also on the les paul and sg.I even tried the pencil again,and it just ruined on the nut more.

 

I can guarantee you that just putting graphite on your nut would not ruin it. Even if it did you can remove the graphite. 

 

Just a thought , do you here the buzzing through an amp or just acoustically

 

I hear it when just play it without an amp,like a normal guitar.

 

Then you should just forget about it , it's not an issue as it's an electric guitar , if it was an acoustic it would be a different story.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I used a pencil in the nut part,and probably that ruined the nut also,

 

rubbing a pencil on the nut would not have ruined it unless you damaged the channel. The graphite in a pencil just acts as a dry lube.

 

Are you using the same guage strings that came with the guitar?

 

Honestly i have no idea,but when i got this strat. it had 9th string on it,but i use 10th strings on this and also on the les paul and sg.I even tried the pencil again,and it just ruined on the nut more.

 

I can guarantee you that just putting graphite on your nut would not ruin it. Even if it did you can remove the graphite. 

 

Just a thought , do you here the buzzing through an amp or just acoustically

 

I hear it when just play it without an amp,like a normal guitar.

 

Then you should just forget about it , it's not an issue as it's an electric guitar , if it was an acoustic it would be a different story.

 

I'm sorry but i'm not so sure what are you talking about. I do now want to just ignore it,because it anoys me as hell.

Not sure if I completely follow. But if you mean just not hearing the bass, you might want to try an equaliser to boost the lower frequencies of a song. I myself use this equalizer https://sourceforge.net/projects/equalizerapo/ with this GUI plugin https://sourceforge.net/projects/peace-equalizer-apo-extension/

 

And ofcourse, use a quality headphone for listening to music, it really makes a big difference. If you can, also use high quality sound files like flac instead of mp3, they do sound a lot better.

Been playing with that software, it makes a HUGE difference!

 

Not sure if I completely follow. But if you mean just not hearing the bass, you might want to try an equaliser to boost the lower frequencies of a song. I myself use this equalizer https://sourceforge.net/projects/equalizerapo/ with this GUI plugin https://sourceforge.net/projects/peace-equalizer-apo-extension/

 

And ofcourse, use a quality headphone for listening to music, it really makes a big difference. If you can, also use high quality sound files like flac instead of mp3, they do sound a lot better.

Been playing with that software, it makes a HUGE difference!

 

 

Nice! good to hear the suggestions helped

 

Not sure if I completely follow. But if you mean just not hearing the bass, you might want to try an equaliser to boost the lower frequencies of a song. I myself use this equalizer https://sourceforge.net/projects/equalizerapo/ with this GUI plugin https://sourceforge.net/projects/peace-equalizer-apo-extension/

 

And ofcourse, use a quality headphone for listening to music, it really makes a big difference. If you can, also use high quality sound files like flac instead of mp3, they do sound a lot better.

Been playing with that software, it makes a HUGE difference!

 

You can also use a low pass filter set to about 100-150Hz, which just filters out everything above those frequencies. Works well for me when I'm trying to transcribe bass parts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I used a pencil in the nut part,and probably that ruined the nut also,

 

rubbing a pencil on the nut would not have ruined it unless you damaged the channel. The graphite in a pencil just acts as a dry lube.

 

Are you using the same guage strings that came with the guitar?

 

Honestly i have no idea,but when i got this strat. it had 9th string on it,but i use 10th strings on this and also on the les paul and sg.I even tried the pencil again,and it just ruined on the nut more.

 

I can guarantee you that just putting graphite on your nut would not ruin it. Even if it did you can remove the graphite. 

 

Just a thought , do you here the buzzing through an amp or just acoustically

 

I hear it when just play it without an amp,like a normal guitar.

 

Then you should just forget about it , it's not an issue as it's an electric guitar , if it was an acoustic it would be a different story.

 

I'm sorry but i'm not so sure what are you talking about. I do now want to just ignore it,because it anoys me as hell.

 

It might just be one of those guitars that always annoys , it happens. I've spent months trying to get rid of fret buzz and nothing worked except hanging it on the wall.