1

(20 replies, posted in Electric)

We are really blessed today to have good quality bottom of the line guitars. Squire and Epi are both very good for the money.  I own both and believe them to be just as good as some of the hi end classic guitars I've owned in the past.  For the price of one name brand instrument you can buy and sell all kinds of really cool bottom enders. The trick is to learn their week points and avoid anything that can't be fixed. You can fix cracks and warps and you can replace tuners and pickups    and you can tighten up loose hardware like jack plugs and such. Think of it as part of the guitar learning curve. That way if you ever want to buy a classic you'll have learned the ins and outs of what can go wrong and what can be done about it. I love my Squire 51 for 99 bucks and my Epi dot studeo for 199. bucks. I play them just as well as I'd play a Gibson or a Fender except that nobody will likely steal them when I'm not looking.

2

(242 replies, posted in Chordie's Chat Corner)

Its so cool to see the diversity of places, ages and level of experience here. I'm a 57 year old guitar picker and have been playing since I was 15. I live in Selkirk Ontario Canada on the north shore of lake Erie.


We really are blessed to have sites like Chordie to learn our chops from. Its a never ending process and even we old timers can learn from some 13 year old kid who plays his licks like only a 13 year old can play them. Thank you all for your input here.

3

(2 replies, posted in About Chordie)

When we listen to a recording today, we're hearing all kinds of instruments that may or may not be what they seem. A synth guitar piece played on a keyboard can be imposible for a guitarist to duplicate. Don't get too hung up on what those "pros" do. Just experiment with strum patterns that you can fit into what sounds good to you. Thats how many new songs are written too. It all comes down to you and how you want to play a piece.

4

(9 replies, posted in About Chordie)

I found reading music a lot easyer on a keyboard than guitar which was my first instrument. I played guitar for years without knowing how to read actual notes. I just learned the chords to a song and what key to play them in and sang the melody. Eventually I learned the blues scales and was able to fit some riffs and licks into my strumming patterns. Then about 5 years ago I got a midi keyboard and only then did I start to learn the notes on the staff and the language of written music. All this is over a period of 40 years. If I'da learned to read music early I may have advanced faster or I may have quit out of boredome.


I'd recomend to just play by ear and have some fun with your guitar and take a keyboard course to learn the written music. It all takes time unless your a prodigy <img src="images/smiley_icons/icon_biggrin.gif" border=0 alt="Very Happy">

5

(5 replies, posted in About Chordie)

There are lots of songs that fit way better on 2 pages and why not spread out and add all the chords in that case. I guess I've been playing these tunes for so long that all I need is the basic structure and some detail on the turn arounds between verses and chorus or bridge. Most songs just repeat their chord changes so I use this ::: to indicate repeated patterns. It saves space on the page and simplifies the visual pollution that gets in the way once you've learned the song. 


Moonlight Mile is a good example of a repeating pattern.  Its a wonderful 2 chord song so why write out all those changes when      G  C  :::  tells you the whole story.

6

(5 replies, posted in About Chordie)

I've got this song formatting down to a science. I've been doing it for years and have over a thousand tunes edited down to one page in a word document. The trick is to show chords in only the first verse and chorus and just show lyrics for the rest of the song. Then its a matter of getting the font size as large as you can and still fit on one page. That way its easy to read from about 5 feet and ya don't have to turn a page in the middle of playing a tune. It's a lot of fussing and fitting and cutting but its well worthwhile.

7

(4 replies, posted in Electric)

I play a Squire strat and for the price, I can leave the Fender hangin in the shop and buy a good amp. I've owned a number of high end guitars that just don't play as well as some of the cheeper copies out there now. Take your time and try out lots of guitars in all the shops in town. If you're new, get the sales guys to play through some tunes on the instruments your interested in. The best time to do this is when the shop opens in the morning and its not too buisy.  Enjoy the shopping trip for a long long time before you commit. Think of it as an education because once you buy, the guitar is yours and you gotta live with it. Hmmm. Now you've got me in the mood. Lets go shopping! <img src="images/smiley_icons/icon_biggrin.gif" border=0 alt="Very Happy">

8

(6 replies, posted in Electric)

Hi. I'm new to this forum but have played guitar for over 40 years. Yup! 40+. Tab will give you the notes of a spacific riff or chop or whatever but the chords are the bones of the song. Try playing the chords through and then play the riff. After a dozen or so reps you should start to feel the tab fitting into the chord patterns. Music isn't cut in stone, so unless you absolutely must play a tune as it was recorded, just have fun with the changes in the song and eventually it will all fall into place. Just play and have fun! Thats why they call it "playing" <img src="images/smiley_icons/icon_biggrin.gif" border=0 alt="Very Happy">