These are the books that taught me to play guitar. They came new with my first guitar in 1965.
Actually, books can't teach you to play a musical instrument. You have to motivate and do it yourself, and if you've got it you'll get there, and if not you won't. It is hard-earned. I remember so many whose desire exceeted their application.
'Tune A Day' was helpful by starting me off with two-chord songs such as 'Some Folks Like To Fret And Scold', played just on three strings, but I had to keep trying over and over again before it sounded anything like it should. Most find that being able to change between chords is the most difficult bit. It can also be hard to know when the guitar is out of tune.
You then struggle to master more chords using more strings, and pehaps after a few months you begin to realise you can do it. But as a guitar teacher in Hull (Tim Keech) told me, "it takes you ten years before you realise how crap you are" (which is true of so many other things too).
Once I could play a bit, there was another book that did in fact teach be quite a lot, Hal White's 'Leeds Guitar Method' from the nineteen-fifties. It explained things clearly, such as on this page about Augmented Chords, and followed up with contempory songs that used them; in this case Dickie Valentine's 'The Finger Of Suspicion Points At You'. My copy of the book came from a long-forgotten school friend whose name and address I am disturbed to see written in the front. I wonder what became of him.
Play regularly for ten years and you become reasonably competent. When I lived in a shared house we often bought a big bottle of cider each and played through the Beatles' Songbook.
Here are a couble of multi-track recordings I made in the severties: a J.S.Bach two-part invention, or if that's not your thing, you might recognise the other piece as an improvisation around the Beatlers' song 'You're Gonna Lose That Girl'. You don't have to tell me now how messy it is, but I was making much of the improvisation up as I went along. I wish I could still do it as well as that now.
If you can't see the videos they are at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1li2a1TfDo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kK71bqVVIFk
I think practice is the answer to any instrument. I am learning the Ukulele and was getting on fine but because of circumstances I haven't picked it up for a few weeks and I've lost the flow. I'll get back to it I know.
ReplyDeleteI remember Tom learning some guitar from 'Tune a day'
Briony
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Practice and motivation. Ukulele is very like playing a guitar at the fifth fret on 4 strings. I have a baritone ukulele which uses the same chords as a guitar.
DeleteWhat a coincidence! My eldest Grand-daughter had been taking guitar lessons at school then decided last year to give them up, but a couple of days ago on a visit to us, mentioned that she was going to get an electric guitar to carry on learning and the coincidence is that the guitar arrived today. She seems very keen again.
ReplyDeleteMy husband also was teaching himself to play the guitar a few years ago from books, (don't know which ones), but he became so frustrated with his lack of improvement that he stopped. So, he has two guitars which haven't been touched in years. They wouldn't be any good for my Grand-daughter as he is left-handed and she is right.
From what I've seen of school guitar lessons, they are slow and tedious. They insist on teaching classical guitar. If she wants to play popular music chords and is motivated to practice enough, she's get on better, but you don't necessarily need an electric guitar.
DeleteThis touched a chord from more than 50 years ago, when my brother started playing guitar using the Bert Weedon books. He went on to play a few gigs at Uni, and in later life moved on to making and then playing a lute amongst other instruments. I well remember going on a visit with him to the Dolmetsch factory many years ago in Hazelmere to see recorders and other instruments including harpsichords under construction. Sadly, his musical ability passed me by, all I could muster was picking out a few bass lines on a bass guitar.
ReplyDeleteI had Bert Weedon's book too but hardly looked at it. It's interesting that people have different levels of musical ability. I can't draw at all.
DeleteI borrowed a neighbor's guitar maybe sixty years ago, with the book he learned from. The difference between out ability was motivation and practice. I sadly lacked any amount of motivation or desire to practice and returned his equipment.
ReplyDeleteYour abilities are clearly visual, Joanne. I'd be hopeless at the weaving you do.
DeleteLove those video soundtracks of you playing guitar! Marvelous!
ReplyDeleteThank you. I hear mainly the bits that didn't come out as intended, but when I can ignore that I'm rather pleased with them.
DeleteI had guitar lessons from age 12 to 15, only stopping when I started to learn the piano (age 15 to 18). Both skills have been put up in the attic where they have been slumbering peacefully along with my ability to speak French. It is a shame to let go of something once acquire by much practice, something that used to give me joy, but when I started to work full-time at 18, everything else took a back seat.
ReplyDeleteSteve's Beatles Song Book was one of his most prized possessions. I still have it here with a few other mementos of his way too short life.
I know people in music circles who don't seem to have done anything else all their lives. They are amazing musicians but just have one interest. I'd rather be a dabbler in different things. Strangely I find it hard to be interested in music, writing and software development at the same time.
DeleteYou had/have real ability Tasker. Those recordings were impressive. I taught myself how to play guitar in my teens but my main motivation was to simply accompany the songs I was beginning to make up. Sadly, my guitar just hangs on the wall now and I never play it even though I know I still have songs in me waiting to be crafted.
ReplyDeleteP.S. Playing both of your recordings at the same time is not recommended.
DeleteThanks. A music teacher would point out all the early and late notes, those not voiced properly and so on, before coming to matters of interpretation.
DeleteAs said in response to Meike, writing can displace music for me as if I can do only one creative activity at a time. Maybe you are the same.
As a retired musician I can say with certainty that what ever you play the only thing that keeps you any good at it is practice. I doubt I could play anything on the piano now (I gave my piano to my son years ago after arthritis made playing impossible). I like your Bach interpretation.
ReplyDeleteWeaver
Thank you. Many musicians you be horrified by my Bach piece. The sliding notes would set them off for a start.
DeleteI thoroughly enjoyed both of your videos, Tasker. Since I was a pianist and organist, when I tried to teach myself guitar it made my tender fingers hurt too much to continue. I find playing 88 keys much simpler than trying to figure out what to do with 6 strings. I do envy you guitar players the portability of your instruments, and they're far easier to tune as well.
ReplyDeleteI've always felt that pianists look down on self-taught guitar players as not being proper musicians. I'd love to have a go on a full-sized organ.
DeleteDear Tasker, wow: you play very well! Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteAt about the same time as you I tried to learn guitar too - it started well with a good teacher, but he left soon for Jugoslavia where he came from - and the second one, much older, wanted to educate me and started with Spanish etudes - a fault, because I wanted to play Beatles or Rolling Stones songs...
And the steel strings cut so much into my fingers, and my little finger could not reach the uppermost string (he gave me a thing to go a bit more down) - well: I changed to boyfriends who played guitar in a band, haha.
The right teacher makes all the difference. My daughter started well this trombone but then the teacher changed and she gave up. There's no point forcing someone to classical guitar if they want to plat popular music.
DeleteI liked your playing it brought back the memory of actually owning a guitar and never being able to play it. Though perhaps I should have gone for a left handed one. There were two in the charity shop my daughter runs yesterday, one already sold to a young man. The lure of the bright lights and playing on stage still hold strong.
ReplyDeleteYou have to be really good to do that. And I think to get there requires a certain kind of obsession. It has to be out and available all the time to pick up for a few minutes to have get another go at that change from A to D.
DeleteI would love to be able to play music on any instrument, but it just isn't in me. I'm happy enough now to just listen.
ReplyDeleteI like listening too. Professional musicians are incredibly skilled.
DeleteF had to learn piano as a child - the formulaic by-rote method. Boring. As an adult she started guitar lessons and had a teacher who would play something simple and get her to write and play accompaniment and then help her refine her choice of sounds and talk about how the different sounds felt. No theory about 3rds and 7ths and stuff, just lots of practice at improvizing and joining in. He was the best teacher ever but she only got a few months with him and life had other plans.
ReplyDeleteHaving the right teacher, with compatible ideas, is so important, rather than one who insists on forcing their own ideas on you.
DeleteWe had no money for things like lessons and instruments. I always wanted to play music. My grandparents had a piano. I studied the book on my own, and taught myself some songs. My grandmother was an invalid, but every morning, she would ask me to play something. That simple request was a powerful encouragement. We spent very little time there unfortunately.
ReplyDeleteYour grandmother gave you motivation. We all need someone or something like her / that.
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