How did slash learn to play guitar only by jamming along to Aerosmith records? Dont you need to know scales
SO how does he play on key and how does he learn other songs? i want to learn that way becuase scales are very hard and i love slash but i dont get how jamming along to Aerosmith records 12 hours a day accually teaches you how to play
October 13th, 2010 at 6:23 pm
Just read his book, he talks about that
October 13th, 2010 at 7:10 pm
he doesn’t always play in Key listen to most of the solos in November Rain they are out of Key, and terrible. he also didn’t turn out that good of player either, the only thing that makes him so popular are all the crazed sleez rock fans, hence HE IS OVERRATED BIG TIME
October 13th, 2010 at 7:12 pm
it all comes down to this does the note fit or not that is what he learned and according to you he learned that 12 hours a day sounds like a plan to me
music is a series of notes and these series repeat ALOT
October 13th, 2010 at 7:31 pm
why dont u just ask him
October 13th, 2010 at 7:36 pm
It’s kinda like driving.
You can totally get behind the wheel and learn how to drive, just be watching everyone else around you like a hawk. It isn’t easy to learn this way, because you really have to watch what everyone around you is doing, and sometimes you won’t do the right thing in a certain situation, especially if you’ve never seen it before.
Contrast that to going to Driver’s Ed and learning all of the rules up front. Sure, you still need to practice driving, but you do it with all of the rules at your disposal. Not saying it’ll be perfect, but as you get better your driving will approach the legal expectation of what a good driver should do – even in those situations that happen only once in a while.
Which is better? On one hand you didn’t have to pay for Driver’s Ed, but you can still get pulled over by a cop because you didn’t know that you need to turn off your brights when an approaching car is within 400 feet of you. On the other you had to pay for Driver’s Ed, and it took some time, but you enter the world of driving already knowing the rules, and you won’t get pulled over unless you’re being dumb.
Similarly, yes, studying and practicing scales is hard. The payoff is that you have a better idea as to the structure of different moods and feelings, and you don’t have to spend hours and hours “guessing”.
Yes, you can do it by ear. It will take you longer, and if your ear isn’t very good then it won’t help improve your ear. Your overall viewpoint will be limited and will only encompass what you’ve experienced or seen other people do.
On the other hand, by studying theory I can transpose any song into a different key, I can harmonize in any given key, I know how to create chords and harmonies and progressions from any given key (including non-diatonic, exotic, and synthetic). I know how to play over modulations, and with a bit of preparation, even those I’ve never seen before. With a little bit of theory, I can write bass lines, and parts for other instruments.
I was jamming on my guitar the other day, and I wrote a riff. It sounded cool, and I wanted to build on it. After realizing that I was playing in E minor, I decided to modulate it down to D minor, and switch tunings from standard to Drop D. It sounded great – and the way I ended it suggested that I could incorporate a riff that I had written a while back that I liked in A minor. There’s only one note different between the two keys, so I could pick a pivot chord and modulate between them pretty easily. It’s made me very happy, since both riffs are in odd timings… 6/8 and 9/8, respectively. I’d almost given up hope on being able to write something around the 9/8!
Anyways, yes, you can learn without scales. Tens of thousands of guitarists have done it, so can you.
But if you really want to excel at your instrument, really want to be the best you can be, and you aren’t naturally talented with an instinctive ability to pick this stuff up, then you should learn some theory, practice your scales, and preferably get a tutor or teacher.
Saul
October 13th, 2010 at 8:11 pm
Well, thats the thing about learning by ear. When you first want to learn an instrument you try to get a feel for it first. So when he started playin his first guitar he had to just figure out where the notes were. Then as he took more interest into it he went to a guitar teacher and learned some more stuff. A lot of this is in his book. But I know this by experience.
October 13th, 2010 at 8:34 pm
No you don’t NEED to know that stuff… it helps you out incredibly… but if you have a really good ear, it’s possible to do it by ear and just play around till stuff sounds right.