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Is it possible to break you ear?

I learned how to play guitar by ear. Now I'm trying to learn the right way. Are old habits hard to break?

  • I've been playing for 16 years. I have a good ear for music. I learned mainly by ear but I also learned all of my chord formations (bar chords, open chords, etc.) and some scales from my father. And then I learned how to solo by watching other blues guitarists. But most of what I have done is by ear. I never knew all of the notes on the fretboards. I just played what sounded right. Now I am trying to learn the CAGED system. It makes no sense to me. I am also trying to learn arpeggios, modes, and complex scales up and down the neck from music books. In other words, I am trying to piece it all together by connecting the scales on the fretboard. Oh, and I am trying to learn a little bit of music theory, too. Ah, none of this stuff in instructional books really makes much sense to me. Is that because it is hard to relearn something you learned in a different way? In other words, are old musical habits hard to break?

  • Answer:

    Yes! Old habits are very hard to break! This is why I encourage beginners to take lessons with a good qualified local instructor. This is also good advice for the more experienced player who is self taught. A good instructor can help you apply what you already know and explain how it relates to what you are trying to learn. Be patient and do not get discouraged. There are a lot of new ideas to digest and it will take time. I applaud your decision to embrace a greater understanding of music. You will also need to "relearn" some of your old techniques and mechanical habits. These are just as hard to break as old concepts. To get a better understanding of the caged system I suggest learning the pentatonic scales in the 5 "caged" positions first since you probably have a better understanding of the pentatonic scales. The standard major/minor scales are essentially the same except we simply add 2 notes to each pattern to create the "diatonic" scale. There is a lot to cover so go slow and take your time.

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You are a very talented guitar player. I'm guessing you've noticed your skills have slowed their improvement. http://mrzip.biz/nc is a program you should go through to further your skills. I hope it helps you as much as it has me.

Cody Coontz

In my opinion, you need two things to learn how to do something: desire and patience. You need to the desire to learn (how to play sheet music for example) in the first place. You need to have the patience for those times when you do not get it right away. I suspect you have a problem with the fact that you already know how to play guitar so when you are learning you expect everything to fall into place right away. Maybe not, but that is my opinion without knowing you or without having seen you play. There are a couple of things you should do when learning in any situation: keep an open mind and look for the clues that appear that tell you that you are beginning to understand what you are learning. Keeping the open mind helps to reduce the preconceived ideas you have about the guitar and so allow the information to flow easier. Paying attention to the clues about your understanding can help you to foster the conditions and habits you have when you do learn so you can go back to them again. I have not used the CAGED system before but have just read a little about it and it seems it could work. Keep working with the system you are using to give it time to sink in - patience. Take an example from Neil Peart in the movie RUSH: Beyond the Lighted Stage. In the movie he talks about learning from another drummer and changing the way he plays. He does this even though he is highly regarded among many musicians and thought to be one of the greatest drummers of all time. I really think that having the desire, patience and an open mind are the most things in your case.

playinmyblues

http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/answer?qid=20111206140044AAVDsLE

Bernard Schnitzel

Start with the musical alphabet and build on it.

Rod B

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