Guitar Lessons

ian richardson says:

Yup…Used to do that and i know why…Because the worse thing beginners can do is to learn a scale by practice.
You tend to do exactly what you showed. And when you come to trying to actually do something with it you end up sounding like your playing a scale..Bad habit and a sod to break.
I do a bit of teaching beginners because i enjoy showing people who don't have the first idea with the thing. I give them the 1st position from the A on the 4th string..I do not include the the lower strings. I show them how to do a basic full and half tone bend and vibrato..and basic picking.
Then i give them a few fairly easy licks using 3-4 notes. This way they're less likely to choke of the notes like that (unless you actually want to) and they learn that part of the scale by doing something with it. And at the same time get the hang of picking and holding the pick. I leave them to do that and come up with a few of their own licks..Which do NOT include most of the ruddy scale.
Once they're comfortable with that i add the 2nd position notes on the first 3 strings..Then we add the rest of position one..and another technique like say a hammer on. Then the blues note..And then go from there adding the next step when they're ready for it. This way they learn the scale while they're learning how to use it and navigate it.
In effect they are playing from the get go..much less boring and and keeps interest.
Of course basic music theory is looked at as we go. We look at rhythm Add some double stops…the sliding 6th..(which isn't) simple 2 finger " chords" if you like. Then we start adding a chord in and so on..
This way they start to learn where notes are..intervals..4ths and 5ths etc..Major and minor 3rds..Using the pentatonic as a "skeleton" scale to find Major and minor 7 note scales..modes..notes common to the modes etc etc.
The next lesson comes when they have the last one to a reasonable standard..so not every week all the time.
I just think so many give up because you can make it dull and repetitive for the sake of it.
One thing we don't do is add effects too soon..play it clean to start with. And to make full bends easy on soft fingers de-tune half a step..Once their fingers have hardened up and they have a decent technique then go to standard tuning..I play de-tuned just about all the time any way..why be a stick in the mud.
That be my pennys worth anyway..it seems to work..

Troy Frost says:

Gr.. Blues . Thanks again for the lesson you always break the lesson down . I still learning and picking on the lesson from the other day . ???? Lol TroyFrost ? CoolRiffs ? Cool ?