Questions for Chris!

[Leadguitarist94]

Hi Chris!
I saw you on TV with Megadeth and the other three bands in the big four,
when you were in Gothenburg, Sweden, the 3rd of July 2011.

It was a really great show. I like your style on scene. I didn´t listen to Megadeth before,
but after that show I have been listen to Hangar 18, Trust and the whole Countdown to Extinction album.
Trust is a very great song to begin a show with.

How many hours a day do you practise guitar? Do you play other instruments too?
You are a very good guitarist, some days ago I was in and listened to your videos at your site
chrisbroderick.com, and I am very impressed.

I have been playing guitar for 3 1/2 years now, I am 17 years old.
But I have difficulty to find motivation, do you have any great tips?
I am a pretty good rhythm guitar player, I can play almost all. Like Symphony of Destruction and Trust and songs like this I can play all rhytm guitar parts.

I can play some Leadguitar too. But I´m not so good, I can play the intro solo to Trust. And things little harder than that.
What shall I do to be better, shall I practise scales, tapping (guitar techniques like that) or what do you think?


I would be very happy if you (Chris) answer this mail!
/Leadguitarist94

 

[Chris_Broderick]

Hey Leadguitarist94


I practice a decent amount but never as much as I want Ahahhaha. It's hard for me to be able to instruct someone on what should motivate them on the guitar (it's a personal thing), for me it is not only the expressiveness, and diversity of the instrument, but the challenge of creating on it (even things that seem un-playable). At the end of the day, if you are having fun doing what you do, then try to broaden those ideas. Also the other forum members on here usually post very good info so I would listen to what they have to say as well ( anyone want to chime in?).

Take care, Chris

 

[da.benson8r]

To me personally, it's whatever both interests and inspires you the most. For example, some might look at players like Chris or Michael Angelo Batio and say "I could never do that, he's just too good" while others might use that as a source of inspiration. It's what drives you to want to be better that is usually the best source.

If you want to learn a practical way, you can learn both scales and solos at the same time: learn your scales, then analyze a solo using a certain scale (Joe Satriani is a great source for that kind of practice). You can try learning scales in different ways: all on one string or two strings, with two-hand tapping or string skipping, however you feel comfortable.

Once you've got the scales down and understood, try practicing them in a more open environment: put on a backing track in a certain key and noodle around with the scales. Not only does this provide a look into expressiveness and individual technique, it also lets you know what works and what doesn't when experimenting with chord changes.

Hope this helps in some way. :Spin:

 

[Mr.Sister]

For Motivation: Don't set your goal too high at the beginning. A lot of little successes will help you stay motivated, instead of getting frustrated, when you're not the world's best guitarist after 2 months of practicing

Learning technique or solos? Depends on what you want to learn?
If you want to get a better technique, practice technique, if you want to learn more about arranging and composing of a solo, learn solos.

 

[sm0kinstrat]

hey chris, ive been playing for about 4 years now and i'm completely self taught. i wouldnt say im great or anything but i can play some difficult songs. i am noticing however that, although i can play what im hearing, i dont really understand whats going on in the music. do you think that taking classes and learning scales and modes and all that will benefit my playing much? thanks for your time, Jake