Any Guitar Playing Science Junkies Out There?

[Anura]

Im kind of new to science. But I've been playing guitar off and on for thirtyish years. Im just curios if there are others.

[mississippichem]

I've got 3/4 of a Jazz studies degree on bass (upright and electric). I changed to chemistry about three and a half years ago (though I studied it for most of my childhood), but I still play as much as possible. I've been playing for about thirteen years. I also play a bit of alto saxophone, guitar, and piano, but no formal training on guitar.

Edited December 5, 2010 by mississippichem

[Anura]

I'am shooked that only one other guitar player exist in this forum so far. Are some people not speaking up. Or did I word it carelessly using the phrase science junky.

Edited December 16, 2010 by Anura

[mississippichem]

I'am shooked that only one other guitar player exist in this forum so far. Are some people not speaking up. Or did I word it carelessly using the phrase science junky.

 

All the more discussion for the two of us! Anura, tell me about your guitars. What do you like to play? You ever gig at all?

[Anura]

I own a guitar and a bass and an acoustic. My guitar is a fender copy my bass is a peavey and my acoustic is a small sized nylon string amigo. I played mainly rock untill about 2 months ago when i discovered the hybrid technique. That's where you use the pick like normal but you use your 3 remaining fingers for fingerpicking. Please check this out. It's what im working on when i can put down my biology books.

 

As far as giging. I just play at home now. I have very nice recording equiptment to work with.

Edited December 16, 2010 by Anura

[FX]

New person here. I play guitar! And love science. Played Pro when young, now just for fun.

 

Please check this out. It's what im working on when i can put down my biology books.

 

That is YOU? Seriously? That is awesome. I saw that years ago and was blown away. I wish I had thought of that.

[small bang]

I have been playing for 3 years.

[Anura]

New person here. I play guitar! And love science. Played Pro when young, now just for fun.

 

 

 

That is YOU? Seriously? That is awesome. I saw that years ago and was blown away. I wish I had thought of that.

 

 

That's NOT me. I wish. Its just a video of the song im working on. Jerrys breakdown by jerry reed.

[Guest Nerddoc]

I do play the guitar. I've been playing for only about 3 years now. I've had no formal training in music..just kind of picked up my brother's guitar one day and taught myself. I find that its a easy instrument to teach yourself and you learn more when you teach yourself. Anyway, yeah, so I'm a 'science junky' who plays the guitar.

Edited December 19, 2010 by Nerddoc

[StringJunky]

I do play the guitar. I've been playing for only about 3 years now. I've had no formal training in music..just kind of picked up my brother's guitar one day and taught myself. I find that its a easy instrument to teach yourself and you learn more when you teach yourself. Anyway, yeah, so I'm a 'science junky' who plays the guitar.

 

He who teaches himself has a fool for a master

Edited December 19, 2010 by StringJunky

[Anura]

He who teaches himself has a fool for a master

 

 

if you teach yourself with books and the internet whos the fool there?

[FX]

Oh snap.

[Guest Nerddoc]

He who teaches himself has a fool for a master

 

 

yeah, nevermind the genius autodidacts the world has seen...they were all fools...

[Anura]

yeah, nevermind the genius autodidacts the world has seen...they were all fools...

[/quote

 

 

Why are you against autodidact?

[FX]

More importantly, why is a fool considered a bad thing?

[StringJunky]

When I learnt of that saying, which is not attributable to me, I took slight umbrage as much as one or two have here (I'm self-taught in a few things) but the more I thought about it I realised how true it is. With respect to musical instruments one must be careful not to learn and practice mistakes which a teacher would help one avoid...if you are mindful of this idea you can avoid that pitfall when you teach yourself.

 

The full quote as it turns out which is by Benjamin Franklin: " Learn of the skilful; he who teaches himself has a fool for a master."

Edited December 20, 2010 by StringJunky

[Guest Nerddoc]

Well, my response was meant to be a bit sarcastic. No offense to anyone.

 

I greatly respect autodidacts. Teaching yourself is one of the best ways to learn.

 

When I learnt of that saying, which is not attributable to me, I took slight umbrage as much as one or two have here (I'm self-taught in a few things) but the more I thought about it I realised how true it is. With respect to musical instruments one must be careful not to learn and practice mistakes which a teacher would help one avoid...if you are mindful of this idea you can avoid that pitfall when you teach yourself.

 

The full quote as it turns out which is by Benjamin Franklin: " Learn of the skilful; he who teaches himself has a fool for a master."

 

True. As long one keeps self-correcting, teaching yourself can be fun and productive.

[StringJunky]

Well, my response was meant to be a bit sarcastic. No offense to anyone.

 

I greatly respect autodidacts. Teaching yourself is one of the best ways to learn.

 

 

 

True. As long one keeps self-correcting, teaching yourself can be fun and productive.

 

Playing in front of a mirror can be a good aid for self-correction...helps objectivity. Apart from the obvious like posture , picking/fretting technique and overcoming self-conciousness if you watch your hands in the mirror instead of directly, after a while one should be able to play 'blind' better when you take the mirror away...seems to encourage me to rely on feel (muscle memory) more rather than sight somehow. Don't read into this that I know much about playing because I don't but I do think a fair bit about learning methods.

Edited December 20, 2010 by StringJunky

[Guest Nerddoc]

Playing in front of a mirror can be a good aid for self-correction...helps objectivity. Apart from the obvious like posture , picking/fretting technique and overcoming self-conciousness if you watch your hands in the mirror instead of directly, after a while one should be able to play 'blind' better when you take the mirror away...seems to encourage me to rely on feel (muscle memory) more rather than sight somehow. Don't read into this that I know much about playing because I don't but I do think a fair bit about learning methods.

 

 

When I was learning, I used to train my mind to not look at my fingers, especially the chord playing hand (which happens to be my left hand). Same idea...rely on muscle memory rather than sight, as you said. I distinctly remember the first time I felt my fingers automatically form a D chord shape without my looking (it was about 3 weeks into my first picking up that dusty old guitar). *swoon* That is one of the best memories in my life. Its when I actually felt like I was a guitarist for the first time. Its amazing how the fingers can memorize chord shapes if played often enough. Never ceases to amaze me. From then on, the memorization time kept getting shorter and shorter and the dexterity kept on increasing. Now after three years I can look at the tablature for almost any moderately difficult song and learn it within a couple days. I now want to focus more on fingerpicking...that seems to me harder than strumming. Although I've seen people who think strumming is more difficult than fingerpicking.