Modern Saint

Play What Is Inside Your Head - Entry Level

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, 12-10-2010 at 09:47 PM (1301 Views)

Have you ever been able to play what you hear? Have you ever tried?

Many players get stuck in a rut and cannot figure out how to advance from the point that they have reached. This can be the most challenging and yet most rewarding if you can change the way you think.

Sooo....If you can't play what you hear, try some of these tidbits to get you started.

Take a simple melody - such as "Mary Had A Little Lamb" (not SRV's version but the nursery rhyme) and play it on your guitar. Do not use a recording, just from your head.

1) If the notes are wrong when you try, that is okay.
Tip: Time for you to work on intervals mixed with interval ear training.

2) If you hit all the notes, find a random spot on the fretboard and play the melody again - Keep repeating by finding random places on the guitar.

Tip: If you missed a few notes. Work on improving using the tip above. If you played it correctly again or missed one or two notes, try a few more random spots on the fretboard.

3) When you are comfortable with that melody, it is time to change the melody and use a different song. Keep doing this to the point that this becomes comfortable.

Updated 12-12-2010 at 05:15 AM by Modern Saint

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Comments

mosiddiqi - 12-11-2010 08:02 PM
spot on!...it's really important to build the head/ears/fingers connection and picking a simple tune like this is perfect to get started.
Mark Wein - 12-13-2010 05:32 AM
This is great! I'm going to add it to the front page because I think its a great lesson...it's really relevant to some of the lessons that I've been teaching myself!
Modern Saint - 12-13-2010 02:08 PM
Cool! I will add more overtime. This was actually a response to a thread where a fellow Weiner was in a rut.
Lino - 12-13-2010 03:29 PM
That is very interesting, ruts can be very difficult to get out of. Great sounding advice, I'm going to try it out. Thanks
ColD - 01-14-2011 04:20 AM
Interesting and I'm feeling the rut thing, but finding the right key? Does it matter?
Modern Saint - 04-10-2012 04:50 PM
Originally Posted by ColD

Interesting and I'm feeling the rut thing, but finding the right key? Does it matter?

Sorry for the much delayed reply. Didn't know that you asked a question. Regarding the right key, no. The objective is too be able to move the line anywhere on the guitar of other instrument. When you practice, you want to push it and be unsafe. That is why it is practice. With enough reptition, it becomes natural.

The most fun is too do this in a dark room or with your eyes closed. That way sight is taken out of the equation and only touch and hearing are the factors involved. You just let your inner self go.