I have a Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster HSS 2012 in Sunset Metallic.

Plus, does anyone know of a good instructional program to learn guitar? I can play basic stuff but I start to get lost once past first position.
Nice looking strat, love that color!

justinguitar.com is pretty good for lessons. He has an entire beginner course that's completely free, and I like the way he has it organized.
 
I got some down-cut inlay bits, fret guards, and a dremel anchor for building guitars. Does that count?
I'd sure say it counts! Would love to see some of the guitars you've built, post pics when you have a chance.
 
Just placed an order for a Positive Grid Spark. Now, to fix up the guitar a little bit.

Also got a Roland FP30 for the family for Christmas. Going to be a musical winter.
The Spark is so much fun to play with. It's nice that the default presets in the amp are actually usable, unlike some of the digital modelers that are so extreme and overdone that the first thing you want to do is get rid of them. It's fun to explore all the different tones using the Spark app, but you can also just turn the amp on, select one of the four factory presets and play if you don't feel like messing around with the app. You can also choose tones from the cloud and load them into the amp to overwrite the factory presets if you want to.
 
I'd sure say it counts! Would love to see some of the guitars you've built, post pics when you have a chance.

I’m just getting started. I’m only on my second build, and am actually building a few ukulele kits before moving on to guitars.

This was my first build, a soprano ukulele kit for my daughter.

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I didn't get any music related stuff for Christmas. I bought enough throughout the year to cover for it. I'm a video game junkie as well, so the misses got me a new Xbox Elite Series 2 controller. Very happy about that. 🤘😂
 
I have a Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster HSS 2012 in Sunset Metallic.

Plus, does anyone know of a good instructional program to learn guitar? I can play basic stuff but I start to get lost once past first position.

Guitarzoom.com is also a good place. Steve Stine is a great teacher. I also have a private teacher as well. He does a fantastic job. I'm an older player with bad habits so he helps me out.
 
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Nice looking strat, love that color!

justinguitar.com is pretty good for lessons. He has an entire beginner course that's completely free, and I like the way he has it organized.
Thanks. I'll check out the suggestion and the other one too. I play the piano so the chords and scales are not hard, but finding them on the guitar is much more of a challenge moving up the fret board. That's where I get stuck. Finger picking is also an adventure.
 
Thanks. I'll check out the suggestion and the other one too. I play the piano so the chords and scales are not hard, but finding them on the guitar is much more of a challenge moving up the fret board. That's where I get stuck. Finger picking is also an adventure.

You can use the open chord shapes all the way up the neck. Look up barre chords.
 
I took apart the guitar today for this first time since new, and soaked the rusty bridge hardware and springs in white vinegar. I also so polished up the bridge and cleaned the fingerboard with Pine Sol and then lemon oil. During the course of all this, I figured out today that my Fender Squire Strat is a '96 50th Anniversary Vintage Standard Series.

Putting a set of strings on and going to play for a bit before figuring out what to do if anything about worn frets.

8F1B3059-1BA0-4B70-95C6-26915C15AD23.jpegE60AAEBE-6491-4FF1-B111-C695DC088D03.jpegB5423A8F-9685-463A-9F4E-2A83E103AE62.jpeg07573571-8059-4803-B686-1E0FAD2DCDC9.jpeg
 
I hate to litter this thread with nonsense but,

I first read the title of this thread as “Magicians???” and was thoroughly disappointed when clicking on it......
 
Is that the CAGED system? I think I heard of that before.
Yes, and you can use the chord tones in those shapes for improvisation, which opens up the neck for soloing - something I understand in theory but am no good whatsoever at yet.
 
Is that the CAGED system? I think I heard of that before.

The basic idea behind barre chords is that your barring finger acts the nut, and your other fingers make an open chord shape below it. Changing the “nut position” changes the chord. For example, if you bar your index finger across all 6 strings on the third fret, and then make an E shaped chord on the fourth and fifth frets, you’ll be playing a G chord. Some shapes are easier to play barred than others. The E, Em, and Am shapes are the most common shapes used with barre chords, but they’re also the most boring to our ears as a result.

CAGED is more a system for learning the fretboard. I have mixed feelings on it. I think memorizing every note, and relative interval positions across strings goes a lot further than a system like CAGED. I’d never tell someone not to study it though, as long as they’re aware that it’s just one way of thinking about the fretboard.
 
Been posting in this thread for a few days now, but I didn’t really introduce myself from the musical perspective. I’ve been playing guitar for almost 30 years now, mostly focusing on rock and metal. I also play a bit of piano and drums, but barely enough to get by. I spent about 10 years in the early 2000’s producing several albums worth of ambient and experimental electronic music too.

Here’s a slightly older picture of my guitar gear which is still current aside from a 1x12 tube combo I bought since.

Amps:
Vox MV50 Hybrid Tube Amp Head (small silver/black box on top of the cab with a cord plugged in)
Vox Pathfinder 10 Combo (modified with a Celestion Eight15 speaker and an external speaker jack)
Harley Benton 2x12 All Plywood Cab with Celestion Vintage 30’s
Monoprice 15w 1x12 combo tube amp (not pictured)

Guitars (left to right):
Gretsch G5420TG Hollowbody
Carvin/Kiesel Hardtail Bolt (Built from a kit)
Cordoba F7 Flamenco
Jackson SDK-1 (USA Made in 1996)
Charvel 625D electric/acoustic
Ibanez Soundgear Bass



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The basic idea behind barre chords is that your barring finger acts the nut, and your other fingers make an open chord shape below it. Changing the “nut position” changes the chord. For example, if you bar your index finger across all 6 strings on the third fret, and then make an E shaped chord on the fourth and fifth frets, you’ll be playing a G chord. Some shapes are easier to play barred than others. The E, Em, and Am shapes are the most common shapes used with barre chords, but they’re also the most boring to our ears as a result.

CAGED is more a system for learning the fretboard. I have mixed feelings on it. I think memorizing every note, and relative interval positions across strings goes a lot further than a system like CAGED. I’d never tell someone not to study it though, as long as they’re aware that it’s just one way of thinking about the fretboard.
Very interesting. Like barring (not the low E) the 3rd fret with the A shape on 5th fret to play C. But I think what you're saying is that the CAGED is good to know, but not the rudimentary way to really "know" the fretboard....I get that. For example, knowing the A chord in the first position is great, but knowing the A chords at the 2nd, 5th, 7th, 9th, and 12th frets is the harder part, but maybe knowing the shapes can make it easier because the shapes of the A chords in progression are (fret/shape).....2/G shape barre, 5/E shape barre, 7/D shape no barre, 9/C shape barre. Then the next issue is if a song starts with the A chord I know I will need to play the D & E chords (Pentatonic) so I gotta know where those chords are in relation to the A, and their relative minors plus probably some SUS or AUG chords.

What I first started learning the Pentatonic Scale (everyone else in the world knows this) is that it's the basis for what seems like millions of songs. I remember playing various chords such as A, D, E, and hearing "Count on Me" by Starship as just one of many of examples. Plus, it's astonishing how many songs use the I-IV-V.....C-F-G chords. Just knowing those and relative minors is enough to play thousands of songs.

EDIT....this is a great video...

 
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In case you haven't seen the videos by Phil X from Fretted America, he used to demo all kinds of guitars. In this one he demos a '59 LP Junior with one P90 pickup for which the sound is unreal.

 
Very interesting. Like barring (not the low E) the 3rd fret with the A shape on 5th fret to play C. But I think what you're saying is that the CAGED is good to know, but not the rudimentary way to really "know" the fretboard....I get that. For example, knowing the A chord in the first position is great, but knowing the A chords at the 2nd, 5th, 7th, 9th, and 12th frets is the harder part, but maybe knowing the shapes can make it easier because the shapes of the A chords in progression are (fret/shape).....2/G shape barre, 5/E shape barre, 7/D shape no barre, 9/C shape barre. Then the next issue is if a song starts with the A chord I know I will need to play the D & E chords (Pentatonic) so I gotta know where those chords are in relation to the A, and their relative minors plus probably some SUS or AUG chords.

What I first started learning the Pentatonic Scale (everyone else in the world knows this) is that it's the basis for what seems like millions of songs. I remember playing various chords such as A, D, E, and hearing "Count on Me" by Starship as just one of many of examples. Plus, it's astonishing how many songs use the I-IV-V.....C-F-G chords. Just knowing those and relative minors is enough to play thousands of songs.

EDIT....this is a great video...



CAGED would definitely help you to find chords all over the neck. Don’t let me discourage you from studying it. I just personally found more success learning the notes/intervals and applying chord construction theory than following a system.
 
CAGED would definitely help you to find chords all over the neck. Don’t let me discourage you from studying it. I just personally found more success learning the notes/intervals and applying chord construction theory than following a system.
No problem, I actually believe you are correct, at least in the overall sense....sometimes short-cuts are good but not long-lasting. Because of this thread I'm going to get back into playing again. I have a very good knowledge of music theory from piano so finding the chords / scales / intervals will not be "as much" of a challenge. I just have to buckle down and learn.
 
No problem, I actually believe you are correct, at least in the overall sense....sometimes short-cuts are good but not long-lasting. Because of this thread I'm going to get back into playing again. I have a very good knowledge of music theory from piano so finding the chords / scales / intervals will not be "as much" of a challenge. I just have to buckle down and learn.
Theory and fretboard knowledge are my two biggest weaknesses. My theory knowledge is pretty rudimentary, and I can identify all the notes on the fretboard if I think about it for a second, but I can't just instinctively find an A anywhere on the neck, or fret a position and instantly know what note it is - I have to work up or down from the markers I do know. Both areas I need to work on.
 
Theory and fretboard knowledge are my two biggest weaknesses. My theory knowledge is pretty rudimentary, and I can identify all the notes on the fretboard if I think about it for a second, but I can't just instinctively find an A anywhere on the neck, or fret a position and instantly know what note it is - I have to work up or down from the markers I do know. Both areas I need to work on.
What I found is most songs are based on the Major Pentatonic scale. Pentatonic is the I IV V. That means songs that start with C will have the F and G chords, and relative minors. Knowing this allows me to "predict" the chords before playing a song. If the song starts with the A chord, then it's A, D and E major chords, with relative minors. IMO if you can master the A, F, G chords and minors, all over the neck, you'll be able to play so many songs your friends will think you're a rock star.....and golfer. LOL.
 
What I found is most songs are based on the Major Pentatonic scale. Pentatonic is the I IV V. That means songs that start with C will have the F and G chords, and relative minors. Knowing this allows me to "predict" the chords before playing a song. If the song starts with the A chord, then it's A, D and E major chords, with relative minors. IMO if you can master the A, F, G chords and minors, all over the neck, you'll be able to play so many songs your friends will think you're a rock star.....and golfer. LOL.
You can definitely play a lot of rock/pop/country songs with 3 or 4 chords in the I IV V! I know my power chords, major, minor and m7 chords in the open and barre chord positions, and have started (*started*) playing around with triad inversions up the neck - where I really fall short is improvisation. I can wank forever in the minor pentatonic/blues scale over a simple chord pattern, but can't extend it up and down the neck, and have to think too much about playing chord tones over changes, so it becomes an instant trainwreck when I try that.

On the plus side, my sense of timing/rhythm is pretty solid, I can keep good time in my head and/or lock on to a beat and keep it - so I guess I'm a halfway decent rhythm guitarist, but suck as a lead guitarist, haha!
 
What I found is most songs are based on the Major Pentatonic scale. Pentatonic is the I IV V. That means songs that start with C will have the F and G chords, and relative minors. Knowing this allows me to "predict" the chords before playing a song. If the song starts with the A chord, then it's A, D and E major chords, with relative minors. IMO if you can master the A, F, G chords and minors, all over the neck, you'll be able to play so many songs your friends will think you're a rock star.....and golfer. LOL.

I IV V I is a chord progression that’s been around for a long, long time. It’s used so much because it defines the major tonal key completely (ie. every note in a major scale is played in those three chords) and ends with a “perfect cadence” where the V chord (typically a V7) makes the strongest resolution back to the root chord. Look up Functional Harmony for more on the topic from a theory perspective.
 
I IV V I is a chord progression that’s been around for a long, long time. It’s used so much because it defines the major tonal key completely (ie. every note in a major scale is played in those three chords) and ends with a “perfect cadence” where the V chord (typically a V7) makes the strongest resolution back to the root chord. Look up Functional Harmony for more on the topic from a theory perspective.
Any recommendations for a good theory learning resource on the internet?
 
Any recommendations for a good theory learning resource on the internet?

I do actually. The person who taught me theory is online. His name is Ray Harmony, and he teaches with his wife Kate. I met him twenty years ago in a tattoo shop on Sunset Blvd in Hollywood. He was going to Musician’s Institute at the time, after completing the Royal College of London’s music program which is the UK’s equivalent of Juliard. I started taking guitar lessons from him, but I ended up learning theory. He makes it so easy to understand.

His book Hack Music Theory Part 1 is the place to start. It’s a much more refined version of what he taught me in a cramped bedroom in Hollywood a few decades ago. I refer to it all the time when I’m writing songs. He has a ton of videos on his YouTube channel too.

 
I do actually. The person who taught me theory is online. His name is Ray Harmony, and he teaches with his wife Kate. I met him twenty years ago in a tattoo shop on Sunset Blvd in Hollywood. He was going to Musician’s Institute at the time, after completing the Royal College of London’s music program which is the UK’s equivalent of Juliard. I started taking guitar lessons from him, but I ended up learning theory. He makes it so easy to understand.

His book Hack Music Theory Part 1 is the place to start. It’s a much more refined version of what he taught me in a cramped bedroom in Hollywood a few decades ago. I refer to it all the time when I’m writing songs. He has a ton of videos on his YouTube channel too.

Thanks, I'll check him out!
 
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