In between, learning Target lessons the other day. I began driving my wife nuts with this noodlily little riff that I kept playing over and over and over ad nauseam. I do this sort of thing all the time I come with something that sparks my initial interest; only to have it not really go anywhere. In other words, I am stuck; as is often the case.(Maybe someone can have a listen and tell me where to take it...or what I can do to make it better...or if I just scrap it and get back to learning "Amie, Angie, & Over the Hills & Far Away"...like I should have done in the first place if I wasn't so adult ADD.) I think it might make a decent song section, but I dunno. If anyone is interested in doing some sort of original collaboration stuff. I would totally be into that. I got several other little sketches of tunes that I am not doing anything with and I am sure a lot folks out there do as well. I think it would be a blast. Anyways sorry for being so long winded! -Cori
*EDIT I guess I don't have the correct file format to post here. I guess I'll post in the lessons section...because i don't know how to post it otherwise. Sorry.
Ever find yourself mindlessly zoning out with noodlily little riffs that don't go anywhere...
One thing I learned early on from the TG forum was the importance of avoiding the trap of learning small bits of many songs, and instead learning fewer song all the way through. This was good advice. Playing fun riffs here and there is certainly enjoyable and rewarding on its own, but in the spirit of trying to improve every day as a guitarist, I try to focus on learning one song at a time. Actually, I tend to have several songs on my list of "want to learn" but one song generally dominates. I suspect you already know this, but I thought it might be worth mentioning again for some of students who are just beginning their guitar journeys.
I try to focus on one song as well and then practice the ones already learned so that my hands remember what to do. However I just got done an hours worth of noodling. Sometimes changing the tempo or the phrasing of a song already known and then playing with various hammerons will then drift me off to another direction where I'll lose myself for a while. It's fun when everything else you are doing is frustrating the heck out of you.
MarkM
MarkM
I have always been very much in the camp that Jay advocates, sticking to a song until I have it down. Last night a friend I have the good fortune to be able to play with came armed with 4-5 new songs he wanted to play with me, and so I needed to be open to that. They were reasonably challenging tunes and I feel I learned sufficiently well to take them forward. That was extremely enjoyable so although I do think it's necessary to have a focus, I no longer resist looking at new stuff at the same time. I think without the focus you can indeed spend a lot of time sitting and noodling and not getting terribly far. It seems to me there are a lot of players who know bits and pieces of dozens of songs but very few complete ones. I don't want to be in that category.
Read this with some interest, I guess the riff thats bugging you is your own composition so its not like learning bits of songs and not really progressing. (So long as you don't do that also) I have done this in the past just been noodling and come up with something thats sounded good (to my ears anyway) and had no clue where to take it or even work out a progression, eventually I forget and move on or I realise it is part of a song but didn't realise at first. I strike this at times when practicing scales mostly Blues, and strike something and go wow I like that, only later to find its a BB King piece lol.
I know this thread ended some time ago, but I've got something to add.
I play around on the guitar quite a lot too, and always come up with little bits and pieces, incomplete in themselves. A lot of the time, I'll see if I can combine these seemingly disparate riffs and chord progressions etc. And a lot of the time, they seem to go together quite well. Maybe you could take all your own separate parts and see if you can build a hybrid out of them.
I play around on the guitar quite a lot too, and always come up with little bits and pieces, incomplete in themselves. A lot of the time, I'll see if I can combine these seemingly disparate riffs and chord progressions etc. And a lot of the time, they seem to go together quite well. Maybe you could take all your own separate parts and see if you can build a hybrid out of them.
I have to disagree a little with some of you guys about the one song thing. Yes, it is important to learn a song all the way through or what good is it? But many, if not most, great songs started with a little riff of an idea.
I have the bad habit of sitting in my easy chair, with terrible posture and all, and doodling around different scales, keys and modes. TV is simply too stupid to dedicate a full brain-channel to so playing around the fretboard is a lot of fun. I pick out old songs I'd forgotten (Born Free and Love is Blue the other day? I know, OLD!) but spend most of my time in scales.
Every once in awhile an idea for a new song pops up but it's so frightening I have to put my guitar down! LOL! :cheer:
I have the bad habit of sitting in my easy chair, with terrible posture and all, and doodling around different scales, keys and modes. TV is simply too stupid to dedicate a full brain-channel to so playing around the fretboard is a lot of fun. I pick out old songs I'd forgotten (Born Free and Love is Blue the other day? I know, OLD!) but spend most of my time in scales.
Every once in awhile an idea for a new song pops up but it's so frightening I have to put my guitar down! LOL! :cheer:
I'm surprised this thread got recycled...Yeah, Carpet I think that is a great comment about never throwing a riff/idea away. (Who knows maybe it will become part of an opus someday lol.) But, seriously people pick up the guitar with different end goals in mind. I'd like to be able to write good accompaniments that serve songs well...someday. I would rather be a good songwriter than a great guitar player I think. Sure it is a high falutin' goal. But what if all the great primitive songwriters said ah, "Nah I can't do this." I say, way not you?
Look at all the Soul Blues, & Country Blues greats that developed and revolutionized music by doing it their way. I'm certainly not saying I will ever do that. Probably won't...but I'm gonna attempt to use the guitar to express myself. Playing Foghat tunes to impress your friends is great but I like to take what I learn and try to apply it somewhere else.
I see learning individual songs as a mean to an end. To learn as much as I can about the instrument as a whole...to have a bunch of tools in the toolbox to write songs when creative impulse arises.
I really like what you had to say on this issue, Rick. (Specifically about a lot of great songs starting out as a simple riff or idea.) (Also, I agree that if you are learning sales there is nothing more boring than flying through scale patterns up and down without mixing it up and giving these little notes some type of application.)
I like to think somewhere some songwriter is struggling & wrestling with some silly thing will later become a much copied technique or better yet; part of a well rounded tune.
" Mysteries of the universe are just waiting to be discovered on the fretboard."
- Keith Richards
Look at all the Soul Blues, & Country Blues greats that developed and revolutionized music by doing it their way. I'm certainly not saying I will ever do that. Probably won't...but I'm gonna attempt to use the guitar to express myself. Playing Foghat tunes to impress your friends is great but I like to take what I learn and try to apply it somewhere else.
I see learning individual songs as a mean to an end. To learn as much as I can about the instrument as a whole...to have a bunch of tools in the toolbox to write songs when creative impulse arises.
I really like what you had to say on this issue, Rick. (Specifically about a lot of great songs starting out as a simple riff or idea.) (Also, I agree that if you are learning sales there is nothing more boring than flying through scale patterns up and down without mixing it up and giving these little notes some type of application.)
I like to think somewhere some songwriter is struggling & wrestling with some silly thing will later become a much copied technique or better yet; part of a well rounded tune.
" Mysteries of the universe are just waiting to be discovered on the fretboard."
- Keith Richards
This really is a great thread. I am on the fence about the "whole song" / "parts of songs" issue. I do both equally. When you get right down to it, most of these songs are not really that different from one another. Most, if not all, (aside from the key they are in) all have similarities that can sometimes make it easy to slip from one song to the next. Once you understand, and inherently know, the basics of song and chord structure, learning the song from start to finish could be all of a matter of 30 sec. (I'm not stating that I can do this, but look at Neil for instance) What key is it in, what pattern is it (1,3,4 1,2,4) etc. and where are the changes, done. Now once more with feeling. hahaha But seriously, I'm trying harder and harder to get out of the habit of "remembering" a song but rather "knowing" a song. 3 chords with feeling and soul goes a lot farther than 16 chords played like a human computer.
As for the original topic, of a riff or noodle not going anywhere, if you played 3 notes, it went somewhere. If the original post had been worded in such a way that you had an idea or heard in your head where you wanted the noodle to go but couldn't get there, then I'd have to say a better understanding of the key signature and scale may improve those hang ups. I truly believe, learning how to play a song from start to finish, and learning how to play the guitar are two vastly different things.
The more I learn, the more all songs meld together into one giant amalgamation of chord patterns and scales, none too disimilar from the other. Learning physically how to play the chords and scales is only one part of the puzzle. It's when you can forget about those things that the real learning and playing can commence. Watching Neils Chords in a Major Key, really solidified some things for me regarding how these things all fit together.
This for rehashing this thread. I'm going to spend some time back at the basics, the fundamental acoustic guitar genius series refresher is in order.
As for the original topic, of a riff or noodle not going anywhere, if you played 3 notes, it went somewhere. If the original post had been worded in such a way that you had an idea or heard in your head where you wanted the noodle to go but couldn't get there, then I'd have to say a better understanding of the key signature and scale may improve those hang ups. I truly believe, learning how to play a song from start to finish, and learning how to play the guitar are two vastly different things.
The more I learn, the more all songs meld together into one giant amalgamation of chord patterns and scales, none too disimilar from the other. Learning physically how to play the chords and scales is only one part of the puzzle. It's when you can forget about those things that the real learning and playing can commence. Watching Neils Chords in a Major Key, really solidified some things for me regarding how these things all fit together.
This for rehashing this thread. I'm going to spend some time back at the basics, the fundamental acoustic guitar genius series refresher is in order.
I don't see anything wrong with messing around in scales. It's great exercise for the fingers and the ear as well. If you don't want to just noodle around and would rather make something of it, then try using a backing track. It gives you a whole new way to work out your scales. I have a computer program that I can choose the key, chord progression, time signature, and the style of music and it will create a backing track for me on the fly. All I have to do is play along.
It makes it much easier to figure out where a riff is going.
It makes it much easier to figure out where a riff is going.