How do YOU play guitar ?¿?

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ChrisMusicChrisMusic Frets: 1133
Do you play notes, intervals or patterns ?

I thought it would be interesting to gauge how people on here approach playing, how you "see/feel" music and the guitar in particular...

And what do you feel the strengths and weaknesses of each approach are, etc ? (if you have an opinion on it, of course)   ~O)

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Comments

  • MossMoss Frets: 2409
    Badly
    Stop crying, start buying
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  • stickyfiddlestickyfiddle Frets: 26754
    These days.. infrequently :(

    Re the actual question I'm a bit of everything. I think in intervals and shapes more than anything else, I guess. 

    The Assumptions - UAE party band for all your rock & soul desires
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  • mikeyrob73mikeyrob73 Frets: 4663
    not as well as i would like to 
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  • siraxemansiraxeman Frets: 1935
    Do you play notes, intervals or patterns ?

    yes I do.
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  • dindudedindude Frets: 8534
    Forget that, the real question is how do you get an upside down question mark?
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  • paul_c2paul_c2 Frets: 410
    I think the guitar lends itself to playing patterns quite easily (compared to, say, a saxophone) so if its possible to play something referring simply to patterns, then that makes sense. But just knowing patterns alone won't be the total answer, so you pragmatically need to know where at least some of the notes are. I have seen guitar tutorials for beginners, where they break up learning "all the notes everywhere on the fretboard" into learning the first 5 frets of E string; first 5 frets of A string; then 12 frets of E string; 12 frets of A string.

    Intervals are something which is quite closely related to patterns. Also once you get more familiar with what actual notes are what, it becomes easier to relate notes to intervals to patterns so it ceases to become "notes OR intervals OR patterns" and you eventually have a thought process where you might be using a bit of one, a bit of another etc but fluidly interchange instead of thinking rigidly in one or another way.

    If you play with other musicians then obviously "notes" are going to be a common way of talking. And if you read music, then obviously "notes" need to be familiar and important.

    Off topic but weird stuff can start happening if you play with other instruments especially if they are transposing, or wind instruments. I remember a while back playing bass guitar in a wind band, the bass part split into two parts (it was the same rhythm, just a bunch of octaves and fifths) and the conductor simply couldn't get his head round the fact that when it did this, I simply played double stopped notes to play as written, the two notes at the same time. He rigidly assumed I'd be totally unable to do this and would be forced to pick one or another line to play.
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  • jamesjames Frets: 50
    Notes and intervals mainly these says, as most of the playing I do is depping from sheet music. 
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  • patterns as a skeleton and then throw in interesting "colour" notes as and when I feel appropriate I suppose. 
    https://www.gbmusic.co.uk/

    PA Hire and Event Management
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  • vizviz Frets: 10647
    edited August 2016
    I get tunes in my head and try to make my fingers play them. 
    Roland said: Scales are primarily a tool for categorising knowledge, not a rule for what can or cannot be played.
    Supportact said: [my style is] probably more an accumulation of limitations and bad habits than a 'style'.
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  • tone1tone1 Frets: 5113
    Follow the dots  :)
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  • impmannimpmann Frets: 12649
    viz said:
    I get tunes in my head and try to make my fingers play them. 
    This.
    Never Ever Bloody Anything Ever.

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  • impmannimpmann Frets: 12649
    dindude said:
    Forget that, the real question is how do you get an upside down question mark?
    LMGTFY

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_question_and_exclamation_marks

    Never Ever Bloody Anything Ever.

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  • edenfield99edenfield99 Frets: 349
    edited August 2016

    A mix of all three I guess. Played patterns exclusively when I started playing but now use intervals to add colour to scales/arpeggios. Notes less so but I need to know what key the pattern is in and what the note is to work out the intervals from there.

    Edit - and it all sounds terrible!

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  • AlnicoAlnico Frets: 4616
    At this point in time up and down major and minor scales and box positions.
    Also i'm running riot with relative major and minor scales (Thanks Phil X !!!).
    I barely understand intervals yet but it's coming in slowly.
    Right now i am buzzing every time i pick the guitar up and being able to play all the way up and down the neck.

    That and trying to play Iron Maiden songs, currently 'Dance of death' and 'Brighter than a thousand suns'.

    and watching endless tuition videos and constantly listening to the music i want to play on my iphone through waking hours and reading every bit of music theory i can find, whether i understand it or not.

    That's about it so far. Roughly 3 hours a day playing, 3 hours looking at stuff shaking my head and occasionally leaping up, Whooping out loud (Which SO should be text speak - WOL) when i get something and then realise upon landing that i'm actually quite ill and that leap wasn't such a good idea.

    Oh and headbanging.

    THAT is essential.

    :)
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  • FatfingersFatfingers Frets: 500
    Loudly.
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  • SargeSarge Frets: 2370
    "I play all the right notes,  not necessarily in the right order"
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  • Danny1969Danny1969 Frets: 10357
    I see everything in notes and intervals, being old n all but these days a lot of players don't because they learn from tab and tab teaches you fuck all about music. If you know Mr Brightside or whatever starts on the 17th fret of the A string and then it's 16th fret d string what has that taught you .... nothing! But if you know it's a D then an F# etc then you might notice it's 2 notes of a D major triad. 

    These days we have people who can play Malmsteen licks but they don't even know what key they are playing in..... it's musically illiterate and its caused by people more desperate for the youtube views than their want to actually teach something of substance 
    www.2020studios.co.uk 
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  • paul_c2paul_c2 Frets: 410
    Tab is a pet hate of mine too. I've almost never seen a tab which has rhythm on it - thereby making it almost useless, since I will then need to refer to the music itself to find that out. And a lot of the time its simply wrong, or the notes are correct but the position/string chosen for the sequence of notes is bizarre.
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  • professorbenprofessorben Frets: 5105
    edited August 2016
    Used to be a pattern player, now trying to push myself out of familiar 'shapes' by thinking what sound I want them trying to find it, occasionally revert to chord tones, or intervals when our drummer presents a chord sequence, and I need to navigate it asap. 
    Ultimately I ideally a well rounded musician would be comfortable using both approaches, I always take the Usain Bolt method, he's got a legion of trainers and nutritionists helping him behind the scenes, evaluating his training and diet, perfects every nuance of his technique, but when it comes to race day, it's just head down and go for it!!!!

    " Why does it smell of bum?" Mrs Professorben.
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  • jamesjames Frets: 50
    paul_c2 said:
    Tab is a pet hate of mine too. I've almost never seen a tab which has rhythm on it - thereby making it almost useless, since I will then need to refer to the music itself to find that out. And a lot of the time its simply wrong, or the notes are correct but the position/string chosen for the sequence of notes is bizarre.
    This, a lot. I find TAB really hard to play from in comparison to notation as it just doesn't tell you enough about the music itself. 
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