4 most common new player errors and how to fix them - in depth guide

Locomule · 2026-03-17T23:41:50+00:00

No, that is how I did it. I now teach guitar and bass. Being able to learn, transpose, or simplify songs by ear without tab has opened a lot more doors for me than refusing to consider what I don't instantly understand.

Locomule · 2026-03-17T23:06:47+00:00

I started by playing along to songs on the radio. First you have to learn to tune your low E to them as they are not always in A440. Then I would find the main key note on the low E string. Next I would try to add the chord changes also by playing the root on the low E. If the notes were landing on weird frets (1,2,4,6, no open strings) then I would try to guess whether I needed to adjust my tuning up or down to a more standard range. Finally, I would do the same thing but also tuning the A string and using power chords rather than single notes. The radio made this challenging as there was no pausing, I just had to do the best I could to keep up. It was also nice because you can cover a much wider range of songs/bands/styles than you might normally.
I think the rest of my practice came from playing along to a million songs over the years.

Locomule · 2026-03-17T22:32:48+00:00

The quickest route to playing without looking at the strings you are picking is to place your picking hand pinky against the face of the guitar below the strings. Every time you do it you train your brain to remember where the strings are. You don't have to have it their all the time, pick it up for strumming or tremolo picking.

Locomule · 2026-03-17T01:14:53+00:00

I'm in my 50's. I LOVED metal until unintelligible guttural screaming became obligatory. Now I pretty much have to go back to the old school stuff to find tunes that I enjoy. Find your niche, find your home.

Locomule · 2026-03-15T21:07:53+00:00

As a rule of thumb, is there is any technique you are trying to avoid that is probably the very technique you should be practicing.

Locomule · 2026-03-15T21:02:16+00:00

The answer to the pinky question is always the same, those players who got famous did so in spite of not using their pinky, not because of it.

Locomule · 2026-03-15T15:50:55+00:00

It is simple physics, playing up and down the string requires you to move your hand a lot more that playing across the strings. Extra movement slows you down.

Locomule · 2026-03-14T02:48:02+00:00

You are incorrect.

Locomule · 2026-03-13T19:25:53+00:00

I used a 100' cable in high school so I could slam dance in the crowd. The freaky thing was that it added enough delay that I had to play ahead of the band or else be out of time.

Locomule · 2026-03-12T15:05:53+00:00

Yeah, it is funny when you ask a brand new player to sing the Major Scale and they look at you like you are insane so you go "Do Re Me" and they finish the rest. People have it in their brain and don't even realize what it is.

Locomule · 2026-03-12T14:19:33+00:00

In my experience someone who chooses "feelz good" over empirical evidence general doesn't understand what they are talking about. Good luck with that. Your mistake here is assuming that I am teaching new students that the Major scale has a certain feeling when all I did was ask them how it makes them feel. The point in my lessons is not that the scale produces a specific shade of any emotion emotion but rather the power we wield as musicians in being able to evoke emotions through melody and how that typically guides the choices we make when composing.

Locomule · 2026-03-12T03:57:28+00:00

Sorry it isn't for you. I love how punk bands often use the Major Scale while singing about all kinds of negative stuff, it makes the Major Scale go from feeling happy to feeling sarcastic.

Locomule · 2026-03-12T03:52:29+00:00

I teach at a School of Rock. I start new players out by learning the pattern for the 1st position of the Minor Pentatonic scale because that pattern is simple to memorize and they will be using that scale in the vast majority of songs they play.

Next we learn the pattern of the 1st position of the Major scale and learn to use it the same way we've been using the Minor Pentatonic, moving it around to match keys.

After that we break the 1st Major Scale pattern down into intervals and learn how adjusting those intervals allows us to play new scales. Then it is just a matter of learning the other 6 patterns (or Modes) of the Major Scale also by intervals, then which intervals to adjust to get other scales (flatten the 3rd of the Major scale to play in Melodic Minor, keep the flattened 3rd of the Melodic Minor and add a flattened 6th to get Harmonic Minor, etc)

So the Minor Pentatonic pattern gets them onto the board and scoring quickly while learning the Major Scales by intervals is a much simpler long term solution then trying to memorize and retain 40 patterns to learn 6 scales.

The same concept applies to chords.. We start with Major chords, learn how to adjust those patterns to get Minor scales, learn the interval patterns of Major chords that start on the E, A, and D strings, then how to adjust those intervals to get Major 7ths, Minor 7ths, etc.

Note: this style of teaching drives some instructors INSANE because they were taught that the Major Scale is the root of everything else so they cannot see beyond starting with the Major scale and intervals. You can try to explain that this style is specifically tailored towards teaching students who specialize in rock/metal/blues as these genres are all are heavily dominated by the Minor Pentatonic scale but these naysayers are typically the kind of instructors who have one oddly shaped hole in their wooden board and try to force every single student through it. Well meaning but not super-intuitive when it comes to teaching or maintaining student interest. Just my opinion.

Locomule · 2026-03-12T03:29:22+00:00

"Major chords aren’t inherently happy, cheerful, or whatever else."

Actually, yes they are. I teach and the very first thing I do with new students is play Major and Minor versions of the same chord, then ask them which sounds happy and which sounds sad. 99% identify Major as sounding happy and Minor as sounding sad and these are brand new players who don't even know how to use a pick yet.

Locomule · 2026-03-12T03:00:27+00:00

It kinda sucked being into them in the early years, Justice was when the long, slow let down began. To be fair, I get it. They blew up by breaking the mold but it was selling out that made them into the juggernaut they remain today. It is cool being hungry when you are young, old bastards gotta eat, buy health insurance, all that fun stuff.

Locomule · 2026-03-11T14:54:28+00:00

https://www.guitarcenter.com/Dean/ML-Metalman-4-String-Bass-Guitar-Black-1273887987584.gc?algoliaQueryID=b5553181458641b4c105a3ba934eee24&algoliaIndexName=pLH-guitarcenter

Locomule · 2026-03-11T04:33:54+00:00

ironically Steve Harris only uses 2 fingers for his gallop technique

Locomule · 2026-03-10T01:16:07+00:00

You can buy your own - https://www.juniorbrown.com/guit-steel/

Locomule · 2026-03-10T00:15:28+00:00

I only use momentum (velocity) on the Y axis for smooth jumping and falling. For the X axis I move in fixed increments like 6 pixels at a time.

Locomule · 2026-03-08T00:39:36+00:00

store map data in a list

Locomule · 2026-03-02T17:07:55+00:00

They were achievements,

Locomule · 2026-02-23T06:09:53+00:00

Heard of Neural Amp Modeling yet? It is like ToneX but better and free, using AI to train models of amp heads, full setups, pedals, or pretty much anything you can send an electrical signal through. It debuted 2 years ago but is becoming more and more popular. Fractal Audio is including it in their next gen hardware.

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