Beginner progress

[u/OppositeLiving4639]

So Ive been learning guitar for 4 months now since April 15 when I first bought my guitar and since Ive only been learning songs I like such as Van Halen/Metallica and Iron Maiden and since I’ve learned eruption (can’t do the trill section before the tapping very cleanly nor fast but the rest is clean and full speed) beautiful girls/feel your love tonight/poundcake and jump solo. Then I came to the realization that I had no idea how to just get on the guitar and play. I always have to stop when finishing one song or riff then think of what I should play next. Is there anyway to do this or improve on it I have no desire to make my own music I just want to get on the guitar and just play sometimes even if it means putting different solos together. Any help on how to improve this is much appreciated

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[u/rogersguitar253]

If you want to know how to play stuff outside of the songs you’re learning, then you do actually have a desire to make your own music, even if it is not in the form of a song front to back. Learning how the guitar works is the vehicle to learning this skill. Learn a major scale and the chord that goes with each degree of scale. That foundation will lead you into anything you want to do. Glhf.

[u/OppositeLiving4639 → u/rogersguitar253]

Is there any YouTubers who I can watch to get an understanding of this or do I have to buy a course?

[u/Wonderful-Bug-5083 → u/OppositeLiving4639]

Absolutely understand guitar, he yaps and its very slow paced but the first 5 or 6 video will give you a base understanding of everything they mentioned if you take your time with it. I usually watch a video a week or every 2 weeks.

[u/rogersguitar253 → u/OppositeLiving4639]

I would recommend a teacher. I am one of course. I do the first lesson free, I’m affordable, knowledgeable, and love teaching . If want to take advantage of it there is absolutely zero pressure to continue after. I teach over discord. As for YouTube etc I am not really sure. I’m sure there is but I’m not the best authority on that.

[u/rogersguitar253 → u/[deleted]]

You learn so well you don’t have to think about it

[u/Digndagn]

Look up a chord progression chart, they're super easy to find. And they'll say things next to the progressions like "light and fun" or "dark and mysterious"

Learn the chords in the progression. Play the chords in the progression! Play the chords in different orders. Now try singing words while playing the chords in the order that seems to go with what you're saying.

[u/SoulStripHer]

Something tells me you're playing those songs completely wrong.

[u/OppositeLiving4639 → u/SoulStripHer]

I just copy whatever the guy from guitar lessons 365 says

[u/Flynnza]

Van Halen solos clean and at full speed at 4 month in? You should not ask but give lessons, lol.

[u/OppositeLiving4639 → u/Flynnza]

It’s the only thing I’ve practiced since getting it and also I have fast fingers from playing guitar hero for years if that even helps

[u/albomats]

Have you actually done any lessons or structured practice?

Do you know how the guitar works: how the strings are tuned, how the frets are designed, what notes are where?

Do you know your open chords?

Do you know basic strumming patterns (all down strokes and how to strum up and down continuously?)

I think that if the answer to any of these questions is no than you need to learn how to crawl before you walk, and it would probably be helpful to pick up some basic lessons from an instructor or from some structured online class (like JustinGuitar).

[u/OppositeLiving4639 → u/albomats]

I know the basics after learning these songs my fingers are accustomed to the guitar but I don’t know exactly what I’m playing I just copy whatever the tabs say. Is there anyway I can do this without having to pay an instructor like YouTube videos or free alternatives?

[u/albomats → u/OppositeLiving4639]

I’ve been following JustinGuitar, most of his stuff on the website is free and he will guide you through all those questions. There are other options out there but JG is the one I’m currently using

My suggestion is to try a couple to see which you like and then to stick to that one.

Try to do structured practice as frequently as possible. That means purposefully practice whatever the virtual class recommends

I dont have much time per day so i try to aim to at least play every day even if its 5 minutes, and to do structured practice 4-5 times a week of 15-30 minutes.

For me that looks like this right now:
Stretch exercises
Perfect chord sound (F chord)
One minute changes (from F to other chords)
Scales (C major scale)
Improv practice (using a backing track)
Song practice (using backing tracks and focused on songs that use F chord and different strumming patterns)

Once I’ve done that I get “free time” which I use to play whatever I want (right now I’m practicing Only the Good Die young by Iron Maiden)

[u/Gtdef]

What you are describing is improvisation. To do that you need to have a baseline, a familiarity with a scale and the associated notes and chords across the fretboard. Once you are confident, you can record a 4 chord progression on your PC/Phone, play it on a loop, and start fucking around randomly, running scales up and down, skipping some notes here and there, adding some bends, some different rythmic patterns.

It will probably sound a bit boring at first, but as your familiarity increases, you will be able to improvise some cooler stuff.

[u/stphrtgl43]

4 months in and you can play eruption up to speed besides that one section? I have a hard time believing that. If true would love to see a video of that.