Playing your guitar, "Offishal" check in thread. Do you feel like I do?

Man.. I preach that to everybody. Tell it to all of your friends too. Best time or money that you can spend.

If you bought it at a shop, they will do that for free, if you ask.

Everybody can sing. You just need to find your key.
If you are not going to sing though, I suggest learning the progression, and working the melody in there, playing with your fingers and hammer ons and off on your top strings. You can do it.
You have to decide, if you are going to do more, or just play it safe. Don't play it safe on guitar. Own That Sumbich.

Picked up a new G&L ASAT Special last week and loving it. Those MFD pickups make it super versatile.

quote:

---

Getting serious about targeting chord tones instead of scales and simplifying lead lines to better complement the songs. Waylon, in particular, had some odd timing with his lead playing

---

Man, that's something that I work on all the time. The best thing that works for me, is trying to do all of the bass licks on your guitar, on your top 2 strings as you strum. Then use 3 note shapes to get your high end of the chord. You have to move kind of fast, but you can do it.
A good shape to use at first is The 1st position Emajor chord. slide 3 frets higher, and only pick your GDA strings that's a G, 2 more frets and that's an A.
You probably already know that, but if you do something simple like that, instead of playing those full chords, it makes it quicker to get up there on those top 2 frets with an open hand and hit a couple of those funky note walks real quick.
If you want the high part of it, hit a bar on the proper fret real quick and release it. Also keep in mind that it's really just a blues rhythm fancied up a little bit.
Another thing that makes everything else easier. Learn to do that top string part from Lay Down Sally. Once you get that, all the other top string runs will come to you like ticks.
I also just use bars for the Amaj mostly and the Emaj shuffles sometimes. Use the pointer finger to bar, and the others to play bass notes, to get a funkiness. Start out with John Lee Hooker stuff, and you can go anywhere from there.

quote:

---

What are you working on?

---

Speed, accuracy, and fret hand muting. After years and countless hours of grinding, I'm finally at a point where there's not all sorts of extraneous string noise when I turn on the speed. (I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, but certain elements of shred guitar intrigue me.) I remember always thinking that certain speed runs like Randy Rhodes and Van Halen would often close out solos with always seemed so out of reach and the product of a talent they had that I just didn't, but now I can actually play some things like that at speed.

One thing that I worked on not long ago that actually helped me break through multiple plateaus is economy picking. Prior to seriously working on economy picking, I was always a strict alternate picker. If I'm practicing a speed pattern across 2 strings, I can play it alot faster if I use a 2 string economy sweep motion rather than strict alternate picking.

quote:

---

I just got my guitar professionally set up this week for the 1st time since I got it a couple of years ago

---

Where did you have this done? I know Fret Shack is awesome, but I’m in Slidell and they are in Baton Rouge I think. I’ve never had any of my guitars set up, and since I’ve bought a few new guitars in the past couple years I’m really starting to get aggravated at how different they are all set up. I’ve got 2 Jackson RRs, a Jackson soloist, an ‘81 Les Paul, and Martin acoustic that all really need to be set up properly. Even my 2 RRs feel completely different from each other. Also want to get some new pickups and a set up done on my old Electra/Westone Dynasty.

Anyone know of a shop on the Northshore that does good setups?

I’ve been learning a bunch of covers so my band can make money. Just finished recording an album. Struggling mightily to write new material in a genre we can use. I feel like I have long sense plateaued as a player and every time I sit with my guitar, the same boring things come out. Definitely in a major rut musically and have been for a long time.

In response, I’m trying to put together a pop punk project where I just sing.

As we are doing some Allman Brothers covers, I am also working on blending major/minor pentatonics together.

Chicken pickin' and shreddy...check out Johnny Hiland, dude will make your head spin.