Korgscrew
Group: Super Admins
Posts: 3511
Joined: Dec. 1999 |
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Posted: Aug. 23 2007, 16:00 |
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I'd like to contradict the others here (being the difficult bugger that I am  ).
Mike's 'unique' style is basically a modified classical playing style - right down to the 'violin' vibrato (classical guitarists use exactly the same kind of vibrato). My suggestion would be to find someone who can show you how to play classical guitar properly, because you will be able to transfer every single one of those techniques to rock and folk playing. Mike's technique is basically the same as the standard classical guitar technique, just he uses the little finger on his right hand for picking notes as well sometimes. There was one album where the classical guitarist John Williams played some electric guitar; he used a very clean sound and, with his classical playing technique, he sounded a lot like Mike.
I'm not necessarily suggesting that you have to go all the way and learn a huge classical repertoire up to a concert standard, just that I think it's good to learn the correct way of fingerpicking notes and how to get the best sound out of the guitar. I think having a good teacher will help greatly, in showing you how to hold the guitar in the right way (I know that sounds like it should be intuitive - I mean, holding a guitar, how hard can it be? - but it's very easy to get it wrong and end up doing things which prevent you from playing well and getting a good sound), how to fret notes properly and all those sorts of things.
The guitar is really quite a sensitive instrument, which really responds to the player's touch. That's a very good thing for someone who has all that under control - that's how so much emotion can be pulled from it. For someone who's not even aware that control is necessary...it's your worst nightmare!
I remember reading a story a long time ago about a Hank Marvin fan who did everything to sound like Hank. He bought all the right guitars, amps, effects, strings, everything that Hank used. It still didn't sound like Hank. So he managed to get friendly with Hank's guitar tech, who let him come up on stage and play one of Hank's own guitars through Hank's rig before a soundcheck. Of course, it still didn't sound like Hank. He just didn't have the right touch.
So I say the touch is the important thing and having someone help you develop that is not a bad thing at all, as long as it's not someone who ultimately puts you off.
Developing your ear is also important, and I think jonnyw's suggestion of listening and trying to play things which you hear is a very good one. Even try singing along to the notes as you play them - whether it's a tune or just a scale you're playing - to reinforce the connection between the pitch and the hand position (and as you become more advanced, you'll be able to use that skill to do some highly amusing George Benson style scatting along to your solos...).
Learn to tune the guitar too! I know electronic tuners are cheap these days, but to be honest, they're not always all that great. Sometimes a guitar that's in tune according to one of those sounds horribly out of tune to me. Of course they are helpful in getting you started - just try not to just look at the lights and not listen to the sound.
My main piece of advice, aside from all that, would be: be firm but gentle. I think this applies to the nylon string especially, because you really don't need a lot of force to hold down the strings or to pluck notes, as long as the force is directed in the right way. In the case of fretting, it's more about keeping the fingers rigid than it is about applying a lot of force - if I were to grip someone's arm as if it were a guitar neck, they'd not find my grip uncomfortably firm. However, if that person tried to push against my fingers...well, if I was standing up, they could probably push me over more easily than they could unbend those fingers by force (I'm not going to let anyone take it that far to test that out, though ). That's my number 1 secret of playing the guitar (except it's not a secret now I told you).
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. I know one fellow who gave up because the teacher was terrible, and only taught him certain things. Just make sure you learn just enough to learn more on your own. Because honestly, thats what it's all about, All guitarplayers are constantly learning, nobody knows everything about it.