Just got my bass

[Vilewoman]

Buy a mobile phone with camera and put it on your desk
No excuse, honey!

I promise as soon as I feel brave, I will post a video!!
I took some pics last night I'll post one at some point.
Damn this is so exciting and you all are full of great support!!! Thanks so much!!!

 

[Beave]

Just as an earlier point, has anyone hear learned to a good standard without professional lessons (I mean, taught themselves out of books and stuff).

Thinking of picking up an electric guitar but I can't really afford lessons right now.

As long as you have the will to learn, you can self-teach yourself into sounding like a Julliard-trained professional!

Theory is an entirely different matter, however.

At any rate, i know several successful/badass local musicians/songwriters/shredders who have no formal training whatsoever and couldn't even tell you where to locate an E chord on the guitar, but you would never know it when they play their songs.

If you like any punk music, it's a great starting point. Try downloading some old Minor Threat or Ramones songs or something along those lines -- shit that's easy to learn, but still fun to play.

 

[Beave]

Something i've always wondered is whether the dudes in AA have formal music training. From the power and depth on display in many of their songs i suspect that at least some of the members have received training in classical music at some point.

If anyone knows what kind of backgrounds they have in music I'd be interested find out!

 

[griev0r]

Get the program Guitar Pro and download some song tabs. Getting a beginners guide to bass book would definitely get you off on the right foot also.

 

[griev0r]

Something i've always wondered is whether the dudes in AA have formal music training. From the power and depth on display in many of their songs i suspect that at least some of the members have received training in classical music at some point.

If anyone knows what kind of backgrounds they have in music I'd be interested find out!

Oden trained them from birth to be metal gods. Each guitarist was born with an Xplorer in his hand windmilling coming out of the womb. At least I think thats the story.

 

[Vilewoman]

Ya the Ramones are awesome, I asked another friend...he said Deep Purple, lol.
A friend of mine plays the bass and has for a long time...but for reasons I will not mention...I'd rather not get lessons from him. So I am looking for a way to do it on my own

I've been playing on activebass.com and they seem to have a lot of lessons available, I just need to learn the basics first. I'll have to check out Guitar Pro though, thanks!

Beave, read PMs

 

[Vilewoman]

Oden trained them from birth to be metal gods. Each guitarist was born with an Xplorer in his hand windmilling coming out of the womb. At least I think thats the story.

 

[Gazza]

how's it going with the bass Rhonda?

 

[Bates]

Not necessarily, Steve DiGorgio can go up to 32nd notes fingerstyle...
of course, he's Steve DiGorgio.

In general, when you need to play fast, use a pick.

Ya, I know, he's not the only one who plays 3 fingered, either. But it's not the easiest trick to learn, I'm not sure I can even do it any more. I've always been more of a "follow the drummer" then a "follow the guitarist" type, anyway.

 

[waif]

Follow the drummer sounds better for rock, jazz, etc...
Follow the guitar generally sounds better for metal...
imo.

 

[waif]

Seen some of those guitar packs on GAK for less than a hundred. Don't know if they're any good though

Avoid. Crap.
Anything that costs less than about $300 is gonna suck balls. Even for a beginner guitar, it's worth shelling out.
My guitar. Cheap, but it's ibanez - high quality to price ratio. Still thinking about upgrading once I get the cash. A good beginner instrument.
My amp. Nice little practice amp. Oriented towards metal, but you can play whatever you want on it. Solid gain settings and it has a bunch of onboard effects that, while practically useless, are loads of fun to play around with.

Something i've always wondered is whether the dudes in AA have formal music training. From the power and depth on display in many of their songs i suspect that at least some of the members have received training in classical music at some point.

If anyone knows what kind of backgrounds they have in music I'd be interested find out!

I don't know for sure, but I kind of doubt it. Their melodies honestly aren't hard to right - you just play random 16 notes and switch really slow until you come up with something cool. Not to offend anyone (I.E. please don't kill me) but from a technical standpoint they're merely adequate guitarists.
Classical training is cool, but it isn't necessary - a lot of the best bands have the least training (I.E. Ramones + pretty much all punk music, Bathory, etc).

If you like any punk music, it's a great starting point. Try downloading some old Minor Threat or Ramones songs or something along those lines -- shit that's easy to learn, but still fun to play.

The Ramones and the Sex Pistols is a good starting place, but honestly 90% of thrash metal is just as simple. I doubt there's a single Slayer song you couldn't learn to play in under an hour. (Relatively technical stuff like Death and Testament might be another story). Much of death metal is similarly simple. Actually, most of Amon Amarth's stuff is probably pretty easy to play...

 

[Vilewoman]

how's it going with the bass Rhonda?

Hey man, it's going ok. Nothing special to report yet. This is going to take a lot of time and effort on my part. Practice Practice Practice. Just like anything else I put my mind to, I will get it!
I have pics of my first night playing it, I will put them on myspace tomorrow.

 

[Bates]

Follow the drummer sounds better for rock, jazz, etc...
Follow the guitar generally sounds better for metal...
imo.

Depends on how good the drummer is, lol. But half of playing bass is knowing who to follow and when not to follow, no matter what style you're playing in. Strictly speaking death metal, maybe, but I haven't strictly stuck to death metal for about 14/15 years.

 

[Gazza]

Hey man, it's going ok. Nothing special to report yet. This is going to take a lot of time and effort on my part. Practice Practice Practice. Just like anything else I put my mind to, I will get it!
I have pics of my first night playing it, I will put them on myspace tomorrow.

brutal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[False Joe]

Ibanez seems a good bet (Made a question a couple of weeks ago on Yahoo Questions, and they reckoned Ibanez are relatively cheap, and good for metal).
Anyone recommendations from this list?

http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/pr...m=Ibanez&c=Electric+Guitars&r=%A3100+-+%A3200

 

[Vilewoman]

Ok after hours of practice last night, I think I have one part of the scale down! Woo go me.
Got a lesson last night. Teacher was impressed, said I was picking it up quickly. So there is hope for me! I feel like such a n00b!

 

[waif]

@GFAD: Ibanez RGR321EX. The RGs are built for playing metal. Good stuff.

 

[False Joe]

£200 + Good amp.

Man. I'm gonna have to do some fund raising.

But it does look ace, and theirs no point in starting with a pile of crap.

 

[waif]

Indeed...that thing should serve as your main guitar for a couple years (or more, depending on how vigilant you are about practicing) and a decent practice amp like the on I listen above will last the same. Even once you move on to a better (and more expensive) instrument you can always keep it around, sell it, or even make it a project (change the pickups and customize it n stuff).
I started off with a $120 knockoff strat + 10W amp combo pack. I was extremely unhappy with it. It's a miracle I stuck with it long enough to get my RG.
If possible, it's always best to try before you buy. If there are any guitar stores in your area, go in, tell them you're a beginner, you want to play metal, and your budget is whatever it is. Unless they're assholes they'll help you find what you need (in all likelyhood they'll direct you to an RG, actually). But it's always best to try before buying. When I decided to get my second guitar, I was planning on getting a fairly cheap Jackson Rhoads V, but I decided to try out a couple other similarly priced guitars just for comparison. I tried out an RG, and it was way better (and more comfortable - as metal as Jacksons and BC Rich's may look, they're fucking uncomfortable). Also, bring a friend - always helpful.
Avoid BC Rich's - the cheap ones suck. Even if they look cool.

 

[Beave]

I don't know for sure, but I kind of doubt it. Their melodies honestly aren't hard to right - you just play random 16 notes and switch really slow until you come up with something cool. Not to offend anyone (I.E. please don't kill me) but from a technical standpoint they're merely adequate guitarists.
(I.E. Ramones + pretty much all punk music, Bathory, etc).

"Merely adequate guitarists" - You son of a bitch. How dare you...

No, I merely jest. But I've never really been much for rating the technical abilities of guitarists. It's all moot really. All i care about is if i like the sound they produce.

Also, it might seem easy in theory to write songs, but this is deceptive. You might be able to break a song down into parts that sound easy to write by themselves, but the real talent is putting them all together, into a "package" that totals more than the sum of its parts - a "gestalt" if you will.

I'd say about 99.9% of people coudn't write a decent song to save their lives.

I doubt there's a single Slayer song you couldn't learn to play in under an hour.

For a novice guitarist? I dunno, that's a pretty bold statement there...