"Learning and playing songs is the single best thing you can do to improve yourself as a musician..." And here I've been feeling guilty and inadequate for spending so much time learning songs and not so much on scales and metronomes. This is exactly the sort of codependent affirmation I needed. 😁🎸th-cam.com/play/PLz1Jurlmso417LJLF2DMzam6Om3ssRDEP.html
My originality mostly comes from that exact same failure and a short attention span for learning covers. BTW, I can't shred for shit, but I love lots of that flavor! I just do it all at half-speed!
Wise words. Never realized i was "developing my galloping technique or improving my right-hand muting", i was just jamming along with some Maiden & Metallica tunes and having fun. Nowadays, whenever i feel like improving a particular guitar technique, i just pick a song that uses that technique and try to play it as accurate as i can :)
Learning whole songs is the best exercise. From the weird intro noise, to the riff, the chords, the solo, the second solo, the outro. If you can’t do that because it’s too hard, find another song and learn it instead. And also, Tom Petty is a great place to get better. Mike Campbell is a fantastic guitarist.
yo, this is literally a trap that i feel like i have been in for the past 10 years with guitar and I have spent the past couple months trying to get out of it by just actually learning to play some songs. This is soooooo so true and really appreciate the insight - i feel like i am falling back in love with the instrument and its because of this.
Do you ever like just go grab the chords and do the strum through and get that down, and then just try to make up your own parts instead of even copying the album? That's my vibe these days. Fake it. And then fake it slightly better.
I'm in that place right now Connor. My life kinda fell apart 5 years ago and has only piled up way more. It's a bummer for sure, I'm just going to keep scratching and clawing my way out of this dark place I'm in till I see the light again. Hopefully people I love will stop dying on me.
My problem is that I am a perfectionist, and unless I can play a song perfectly, it stresses me... which is why I don't play other peoples songs and stick to backing tracks :( Confidence is also a massive issue as my parents told me I was shit my whole life. I am 42 years old now, started playing at 13 and still lack confidence and skill...
@@lashedandscorned LOL. Ben makes great videos. And I really do play a lot more songs than anything else. It can get really confusing trying to find a balance (songs/exercises) . My regimen includes songs I wrote, songs from other bands I like, and stuff I suck at. Practicing what you suck at usually yields the best results. Not always fun though . So I watch Ben to infuse a little something new into my practice. He’s a smart dude.🤘🏻
The best reason for why I suck at guitar is that guitar takes coordination of both hands and fingers to create one note. each hand and finger contributes to the potential for inaccuracy in every note with multiple options to suck at every fingering, fretting, plucking, picking action creating unplanned noises, frustrating and distracting non rhythmic, unmusical crap.... the better you get... the worse it gets....
I guess I've been guitar right by accident because I always play through the whole song. Badly. Very badly. The point is to learn to play songs, not parts. No one learns to two bars of lyrics from a song. You learn the whole thing, and then mumble through the parts you don't know like a normal person.
and I've learned like 2 songs with powerchords and open chords after 2 years of playing guitar.) Somehow it feels uncomfortable to learn easy songs while you know all the mods and all the scales and stuff, but it's even more uncomfortable to learn hard songs because they're too fucking hard. So you keep on playing scales. I hust listen to mathrock and stuff and for me it's impossible to learn it by ear, especially not knowing what is the tuning n the song, but it's nearly impossible to find tabs to something not american football.
I’m struggling to get through this, because I can’t stop laughing. That Borat voice “short and intense, like-a my wife” joke had me dying. 😂 This is fantastic!
I’ve been practicing hella Ramones songs in the last month and a half or so. I know how to play power cords i practice Metallica songs and all that cool shit but man, Johnny Ramone is a different beast and their songs are so much fun i just love it.
My biggest problem has always been playing infront of people even family, someone will say 'play something there on guitar', i will blank and make excuses lol Ps why does this video have any dislikes!
The trick is to start simple, even if it's just warming up with scales. Don't worry about what popular songs they want to hear, just play what you like without trying to impress.
One of the best videos you've ever done. As an instructor, drummer, and fake guitarist, this is everything. A perfect example of how a balanced lesson plan will get you where you want to go.
“Pull-outs” best line in the whole video. As a teacher myself, love to throw those off comments to check if students are listening. Keep up the great work.
Dude.... I was just about done with trying to learn any Children of Bodom songs, because... You know... Alexi is a solo god. But the words you said about dropping out and playing rhythm instead really spoke to me...
Playing along with the radio or a random online setlist is like jamming with people you've never played with. Figure out the key, try to mimic, try to play something complimentary, take a solo! Play in tune and in time. It really helps your ears and fingers when it comes time to jam with real people (and you can tell when you jam with people that don't practice this!).
This method worked for me. People ask me how I learned how to play the way that I do, and I tell them "Judas Priest" and they look at me weird. I would just put on cds and play along from track one until they were done.
I agree wholeheartedly with this; I got caught in the exercise trap for way longer than I'd like to admit. When I started focusing on getting to the point where I could play a single song all the way through, I immediately noticed a huge improvement in a lot of the same techniques that I had only been doing exercises for. Still working on perfecting my first but excited to move on to others!
the run fast by being dragged behind a car analogy both made me cackle coffee right out of my nose and brought me right back to my years as a teen. thanks uncle Ben.
Yup ...the best thing that ever happened to my guitar playing was joining the School of Rock , I went from taking lessons and not knowing what to do with it to playing live shows with a band on stage for 300 friends and family in 6 months and we did nothing but learn how to play songs from intro to outro, bridges and solo’s , my playing increased 10 fold in 6 months . Now I’m trying to learn how to improvise on my own and jam with backing tracks ...it’s definitely a challenge for me without learning scales and triads and some theory behind and understanding the fret board.....any tips are welcome....thanks
Started doing this about a year ago. Play something i know on YT, play along to warm up, then let YT algo decide what i play next, just let it auto play, and i play along as best i can. Sometimes drop back into something i know and do that for about an hour 3 times a week. It's the most fun i've had with guitar since i started 20 years ago. Up to that point, it was always, "oh look, here's that same alternative solo from Sweet Child, that i know back to back"
This is objectively the best advice you can get on improving on guitar imo. You ask any of the old jazz guys how they got so good, and they tell you one word: repertoire. Especially with improvising, it gives you a bag full of tricks and melodies to pull from in order to make melodies from thin air.
Billy Sheehan preaches this as well. When I went to a bass clinic of his he said the most important thing to do as a musician was to learn great songs.
That's the most important thing, but Billy also says you need to break down the technical weaknesses in your playing and work through them, as well… He's very analytical on a micro level as well as seeing the big picture on a song or working level.
Thank you Uncle Ben! 53 yr old aspiring guitar guy here. Started at fifty and making progress. And, yes im putting in work to learn and or perfect songs im learning every day. Theres a lot of great guitar instructors on TH-cam but, you're one of the best. Love your style, sense of humor, and instructional content. I plan on subscribing to your pay site once im a little better off financially. Thank you!!!
Probably the first episode of the series ever where I feel comfortable about myself with the topic hahah. Playing full songs is just so much fun and it has helped me improve massively overall. Playing a solo can feel easy on it's own but it's another thing to play a whole song without mistakes. Great video Ben!
Ugh. This is such a good reminder early in the new year. I often do guitar exercises. Learn licks/riffs/song sections but i seldom learn the WHOLE song. I think it's safe to say that it isn't the same thing to learn a section as it is to learn the whole thing. I need to do fix this. I've been thinking that this year my musical goal is to put together a "youtube" worthy song play-through. Whether it's a cover or original. Just the whole thing. End to end. Thanks Uncle Ben!
Hi Ucle Ben, from the French Alps. What a great video! You have the gift of putting the finger where it hurts (no pun intended), and on what every guitarist is missing nowadays , in this time of trillions of internet guitarists. We also do a great job fooling ouyrselves believing that watching tons of videos will make us a better musicians. What makes us better musicians is playing more Music, not a catalogue of tricks and skills. Thank you for reminding us of that. And please , keep up the good work! Thank you again, as always
There was a period where I practiced scales 4-6 hours a day for a few months and I don’t miss it at all lol. I’ve gotten way better, way faster by covering songs and just writing my own material and having fun
same here- well still use scales and exercises to warm up but I don't spend more than 20-30 minutes using them as starter exercise than move to songs. Works better that way and after 30 minutes my hands are warmed up.
Its crazy how learning new songs actually just subconsciously affects your musicality. I've been working on the sweet child o mine solo, and after some improvisation, I noticed I played a little differently than before without me even thinking about it.
I'm almost the wrong way round, I play and learn songs all the time and rarely sit down and practice exercises. I'm learning some Twilightning now and it's getting me better at sweeps which I don't really practice on their own.
My greatest year of improvement was the year that I spent jamming with other people on an almost daily basis. If you want to learn a language you have to speak it with others.
This is the best guitar lesson. I spent months learning shred licks and alternate picking excercises, only to be embarressed when asked to play through an AC/DC song
Perfect timing. I get really burned out of technique studies. When I came back to guitar I started playing along with a lot of music and having fun again. Great topic, great ideas. I'm glad I don't have to learn songs by scratching up my records anymore.
Scales, chord building , triplet techniques etc , are all ingreidients , the flavour is how you combine them into a fine meal you can cook your friends mom for breakfast , good enough she'll invite you back for dinner !
I totally love this: "Learning and playing songs is the single best thing you can do to improve yourself as a musician . . . " & I also totally appreciate the concept of figuring out the songs by ear instead of finding tabs & blah, blah, blah Thanks very much!
I always felt like every song I learn needs to be practiced to perfection. I'd spend so much time in specific parts that at some point I'd lose all interest in continuing to practice. Most of the songs always have one or more parts that kept me from advancing. I guess I'm made to clean toilets and pick up the trash.
Awesome video Ben! Exactly! The answer to everything you want to learn about music and every guitar playing technique you want to know can be found in the music. Learn 1,000 songs and you will shred on guitar.
1000% This, I've only been playing a little under 2 years, but my picking hand and sense of timing has improved more in the past couple of months since I started learning Sylosis and Trivium songs and actually playing along to them than it has by doing anything else.
@@overthoughtmusik772 I've been working on Crystal Mountain and Without Judgement. On the Bolt Thrower side, Salvo, Anti-Tank, and (the one that's really warping my brain) The Killchain.
@@overthoughtmusik772 honestly, one of my favorite trem picking "benchmarks" is desperately trying to keep pace with Lashed to the Slave Stick lol. Nothing like a blistering 200 bpm to tell you you're still nowhere close.
I feel like this is the final chapter of why I suck at guitar. But please continue to tell me why I suck at guitar, because I suck and I need to know why!
I know, maybe it's just boredom of playing the same stuff over and over. That's what keeps me from practicing most of the time. That or just laziness in general. It's like: "I don't lack the passion for playing, I just get bored when it becomes routine".
@@Cthulhu_Awaken always learn new styles- country, jazz, etc. I'm 60 and go back and forth between genres even though I'm a rocker from way back. P.S. jazz chords are hard as Hell but good to learn
I find a challenge. Something that is above my very modest ability, but that I know will make me proud if I learn it. Then if I learn it, I think “If I can play it, it can’t be as impressive as I thought”
I'd say that two other things that are overlooked but *definitely* contribute heavily to your enjoyment of learning guitar (especially leads) are as follows: If your guitar can stay in tune. I cannot stress how frustrating this was for me starting out and wanting to learn Dave Mustaine solos. Your guitar going out of tune with any old bend is easily the biggest deterrent to actually practicing and improving lead skills. If your guitar is absolutely unable to stay in tune to save its life then send it to a luthier to get it looked at, upgrade some parts or - sadly - find a new one. If you're happy with your guitar tone. This is tricky since a lot of people start off with not a lot of money and probably have cheaper gear or don't know any better. But trust me, if you're getting into it definitely do your best to buy some good gear cause if you can make your crappy guitar playing sound *amazing* it'll only make you wanna keep going.
possibly the best "How to play guitar" video ever made. I'm an amateur, and I got better by playing my favorite 'tallica songs at speed, crappily, and then less crappily. Suddenly I got into a "I must play all the exercises starting at 90 bpm and slowly climb to 300bpm" RUT. I kept starting over, because I couldn't stick to it. Jamming with your faves, makes guitar your fave.
It makes me wonder... What kind of donuts it was? What was the icing or toppings? And how big it is? Especially the scale between the dough and the hole. Is that potato donuts with shoestromming as the toppings? No wonder he get offended.
"If you're being drug behind a car you'll run faster than you ever have in your life." Hot coffee, right through my nose. Thanks a lot, uncle Ben. Actually, age wise you're more like cousin Ben.
My best friend told me he would kneel before me if I could play the entire lead of a certain instrumental song. There's no tabs or videos so I had to write everything by ear. I'm struggling with it since 2-3 years and practising almost every day but at the same time I love doing it since I'm learning a lot. I also want to see my best friend kneel before me.
I set a quest to learn cliffs of dover and crazy train, I thought these were beyond me, but after working through for hours and practicing, I finally got it and felt amazing paying it.
This is some wholesome Uncle Ben content! I've played on and off for 15 years, but never really "learned" other than some tabs and I always felt discouraged. I bought my first 7 string a few months ago and it's motivated me to play more and more. It's tough because I still feel I'm not "great" for the songs I want to be playing, especially since guitar is just a small hobby, which can still feel discouraging, but this video reminded me to just try to have fun and learn music I like. Thanks Ben!
@@ATthemusician definately good advice, I do rely far too much on sight reading the tab right now. Once i've stopped playing RS I try to repeat phrases through from memory and usually struggle a bit, so now I do this after each session.
@@ATthemusician It kind of does that on it's own. Once you know a part it starts hiding the notes. The real pain of rocksmith is getting a simplified version of a riff, learning it in a particular way, and then having to learn it again once you get the full riff because the way you played the simplified version doesn't translate to the full riff.
This is the main way I learned how to play guitar. I actually lack the ability to really improvise and don't know many scales but I learned by doing and playing guitar that was hard like Anthrax, and 6 years later I can play almost anything. Except sweep picking. Fuck sweep picking LMAO
I absolutely agree. I started to record guitar covers of full songs during lockdown, and i feel like i improve since then more than the two years before
This is 95% of my practice, just playing along to my favorite songs. Another thing, practice standing up. Hard to watch even great players sitting hunched over their guitar with their face inches from the fretboard.
A lead guitarist is always better with a damn good player who's locked in with the rhythm section. Every guitarist wants to be a lead player. I've played with guys who could shred but were useless because that's literally all they could do. That being said, I also wanted to be able to solo, if just for a measure or two. I was overcomplicating the whole damn thing. I started with pentatonic scales like everybody else, got nowhere, until I started seeing all these guitar backing tracks popping up here on YT. I find a track I like in Eminor, play that scale from the 12th fret or open, and took off. You can't hit a wrong note if you stay there, if you miss with a flat note, bend that sucker up. Then find a track in Am and do it from the 5th fret, then Dm, Cm etc. Start there. You'll figure out the rest.
The issue i have is learning the songs. I know it is as simple as sitting down and trying to figure it out, but I have the worlds worst ear and the patience of a 3 year old.
Great advice. I've played along to songs since I started playing. It helps you train your ear and your sense of rhythm. If you do this first, everything else just clicks into place.
My guitar instructor back then told me : Don't learn any new songs until you're able to play Twinkle twinkle little stars fluently on 5 different modes!
My God, SO MUCH I wanna write in the comment section... but I'll settle by saying I 100% agree with you on literally everything that you said. Learning music by ear, learning full songs, and just jamming to records helped me TREMENDOUSLY later in life. Skills like these are why I can lay tracks with just a click/or a drum track. Skills like these are why I can jam with just about anyone onstage and be able to keep up. Honestly, it separates the boys from the men, I think. For some people, it's enough to just learn the intro 'Crazy Train' lick and call it a day. Then there's the folks that push themselves to get better.
Thank you for giving me the thump in the head. About 5 months ago i decided to pick the guitar back up after 25 years. All the new tools that exists now really fired me up. Though over time i have been picking up more and more exercises, which now take me nearly 30 minutes to get through just the exercises. This a good reminder of why i picked up the guitar in the first place, and why i eventually quit 25 years ago.
Thank you for watching This is Why You Suck at Guitar: You Don’t Play Enough Songs!!! What songs are you working on now?!
Thoroughly at home
Apparently thumping and selective thumbing at 8 trillion bpm is a little difficult. Who knew?
Ghost of Perdition.
Iron Man Black Sabbath
"Learning and playing songs is the single best thing you can do to improve yourself as a musician..." And here I've been feeling guilty and inadequate for spending so much time learning songs and not so much on scales and metronomes. This is exactly the sort of codependent affirmation I needed. 😁🎸th-cam.com/play/PLz1Jurlmso417LJLF2DMzam6Om3ssRDEP.html
Cult of Personality
“Rhett shull transition” 😂
TRADEMARK
Ha! Yea - that was fantastic! :D
LOL, so true.
I was gonna post the same thing, I laughed way too long at that.
Same here, laughed my ass off...
Step-dad: mow the lawn.
Uncle Ben: play more songs.
Rock on!
I have to mow the lawn.
AND play more songs! Haha
Every song I've ever written started as a failure to learn someone else's music.
You must be in the band Green Day!
_(Or some joke to that effect.)_
Lmao dude same. “Hmm the way I messed up this riff was pretty cool..what if I slowed it down and added a note here”
@@vu4803 yup
My originality mostly comes from that exact same failure and a short attention span for learning covers. BTW, I can't shred for shit, but I love lots of that flavor! I just do it all at half-speed!
@@j_freed can you name an example of Green Day copying a song or are you just shitting on them randomly?
Wise words. Never realized i was "developing my galloping technique or improving my right-hand muting", i was just jamming along with some Maiden & Metallica tunes and having fun. Nowadays, whenever i feel like improving a particular guitar technique, i just pick a song that uses that technique and try to play it as accurate as i can :)
63 years old here and I still aspire to be a rock legend. Well actually I am one just visit my bedroom sometime. Lol great wisdom Uncle Ben
Wholesome Dave
@@ahyeaman love it. Look up the band Foghat
U go for it brother! It's never too late!
Amen!
Take it easy old man
Learning whole songs is the best exercise. From the weird intro noise, to the riff, the chords, the solo, the second solo, the outro. If you can’t do that because it’s too hard, find another song and learn it instead.
And also, Tom Petty is a great place to get better. Mike Campbell is a fantastic guitarist.
Dude, Mike is one of the most underrated players EVER!!!!
yo, this is literally a trap that i feel like i have been in for the past 10 years with guitar and I have spent the past couple months trying to get out of it by just actually learning to play some songs. This is soooooo so true and really appreciate the insight - i feel like i am falling back in love with the instrument and its because of this.
Do you ever like just go grab the chords and do the strum through and get that down, and then just try to make up your own parts instead of even copying the album? That's my vibe these days. Fake it. And then fake it slightly better.
At least it was only 10 years 😂
I'm in that place right now Connor. My life kinda fell apart 5 years ago and has only piled up way more. It's a bummer for sure, I'm just going to keep scratching and clawing my way out of this dark place I'm in till I see the light again. Hopefully people I love will stop dying on me.
@@Jeffmetal42 Been there buddy, hang tough man, life always has a way of self-correcting, I promise!
My problem is that I am a perfectionist, and unless I can play a song perfectly, it stresses me... which is why I don't play other peoples songs and stick to backing tracks :( Confidence is also a massive issue as my parents told me I was shit my whole life. I am 42 years old now, started playing at 13 and still lack confidence and skill...
This list of reasons of “why I suck at guitar” is steadily rising 😩
lmao
@@lashedandscorned LOL. Ben makes great videos. And I really do play a lot more songs than anything else. It can get really confusing trying to find a balance (songs/exercises) . My regimen includes songs I wrote, songs from other bands I like, and stuff I suck at. Practicing what you suck at usually yields the best results. Not always fun though . So I watch Ben to infuse a little something new into my practice. He’s a smart dude.🤘🏻
@@Wargasm644 Ben's shit helped me with string skipping & sweep picking. He makes some damn fine content.
The best reason for why I suck at guitar is that guitar takes coordination of both hands and fingers to create one note. each hand and finger contributes to the potential for inaccuracy in every note with multiple options to suck at every fingering, fretting, plucking, picking action creating unplanned noises, frustrating and distracting non rhythmic, unmusical crap.... the better you get... the worse it gets....
the next reason I suck at guitar is I always play over my head trying to do things I have no business doing except to try to show off for chicks...
I guess I've been guitar right by accident because I always play through the whole song. Badly. Very badly. The point is to learn to play songs, not parts. No one learns to two bars of lyrics from a song. You learn the whole thing, and then mumble through the parts you don't know like a normal person.
True
👍
Watermelon, watermelon.
@@unclerumple9287 wtf
and I've learned like 2 songs with powerchords and open chords after 2 years of playing guitar.) Somehow it feels uncomfortable to learn easy songs while you know all the mods and all the scales and stuff, but it's even more uncomfortable to learn hard songs because they're too fucking hard. So you keep on playing scales.
I hust listen to mathrock and stuff and for me it's impossible to learn it by ear, especially not knowing what is the tuning n the song, but it's nearly impossible to find tabs to something not american football.
I’m struggling to get through this, because I can’t stop laughing. That Borat voice “short and intense, like-a my wife” joke had me dying. 😂 This is fantastic!
IS NICE!
I’ve been practicing hella Ramones songs in the last month and a half or so. I know how to play power cords i practice Metallica songs and all that cool shit but man, Johnny Ramone is a different beast and their songs are so much fun i just love it.
My biggest problem has always been playing infront of people even family, someone will say 'play something there on guitar', i will blank and make excuses lol Ps why does this video have any dislikes!
The trick is to start simple, even if it's just warming up with scales. Don't worry about what popular songs they want to hear, just play what you like without trying to impress.
One of the best videos you've ever done. As an instructor, drummer, and fake guitarist, this is everything. A perfect example of how a balanced lesson plan will get you where you want to go.
“Pull-outs” best line in the whole video. As a teacher myself, love to throw those off comments to check if students are listening. Keep up the great work.
Dude.... I was just about done with trying to learn any Children of Bodom songs, because... You know... Alexi is a solo god. But the words you said about dropping out and playing rhythm instead really spoke to me...
Even then, CoB's music is so full of little things here and there it's a big task to learn/, especially on the follow the reaper album
@@Thijscube currently I'm trying Morrigan and Under Grass and Clover and even the rhythm is destroying me. 🤣
COB isn't that hard tbh
but its fun to play
Rest in peace alexi laiho🙏🤘 he was so good at songwriting and yes i also find COB songs extremely difficult
Playing along with the radio or a random online setlist is like jamming with people you've never played with. Figure out the key, try to mimic, try to play something complimentary, take a solo! Play in tune and in time. It really helps your ears and fingers when it comes time to jam with real people (and you can tell when you jam with people that don't practice this!).
As an Aussie, seeing Little River Band pop up brought a tear to eye... your range of music interests never ceases to amaze, Uncle Ben!!!
Love it!!! Gotta stay diverse!
LRB were awesome.
I'm 56 and think this is probably the best advice ever given in a guitar video. Thank you!
My favorite video EVER, i tell my students the same thing, all the time.
This method worked for me. People ask me how I learned how to play the way that I do, and I tell them "Judas Priest" and they look at me weird. I would just put on cds and play along from track one until they were done.
I agree wholeheartedly with this; I got caught in the exercise trap for way longer than I'd like to admit. When I started focusing on getting to the point where I could play a single song all the way through, I immediately noticed a huge improvement in a lot of the same techniques that I had only been doing exercises for. Still working on perfecting my first but excited to move on to others!
the run fast by being dragged behind a car analogy both made me cackle coffee right out of my nose and brought me right back to my years as a teen. thanks uncle Ben.
Yup ...the best thing that ever happened to my guitar playing was joining the School of Rock , I went from taking lessons and not knowing what to do with it to playing live shows with a band on stage for 300 friends and family in 6 months and we did nothing but learn how to play songs from intro to outro, bridges and solo’s , my playing increased 10 fold in 6 months . Now I’m trying to learn how to improvise on my own and jam with backing tracks ...it’s definitely a challenge for me without learning scales and triads and some theory behind and understanding the fret board.....any tips are welcome....thanks
This is the most fucking realistic bad ass video lesson ever recorded.
"your step mom... talks in her sleep" - nice.
Aye, that one was a beaut
Hilarious
Started doing this about a year ago. Play something i know on YT, play along to warm up, then let YT algo decide what i play next, just let it auto play, and i play along as best i can. Sometimes drop back into something i know and do that for about an hour 3 times a week. It's the most fun i've had with guitar since i started 20 years ago. Up to that point, it was always, "oh look, here's that same alternative solo from Sweet Child, that i know back to back"
Satch Boogie is my all time fav by Joey Satch.
This is objectively the best advice you can get on improving on guitar imo. You ask any of the old jazz guys how they got so good, and they tell you one word: repertoire.
Especially with improvising, it gives you a bag full of tricks and melodies to pull from in order to make melodies from thin air.
Billy Sheehan preaches this as well. When I went to a bass clinic of his he said the most important thing to do as a musician was to learn great songs.
That's the most important thing, but Billy also says you need to break down the technical weaknesses in your playing and work through them, as well… He's very analytical on a micro level as well as seeing the big picture on a song or working level.
Thank you Uncle Ben! 53 yr old aspiring guitar guy here. Started at fifty and making progress. And, yes im putting in work to learn and or perfect songs im learning every day. Theres a lot of great guitar instructors on TH-cam but, you're one of the best. Love your style, sense of humor, and instructional content. I plan on subscribing to your pay site once im a little better off financially. Thank you!!!
Thanks very much, Shaun!
Probably the first episode of the series ever where I feel comfortable about myself with the topic hahah. Playing full songs is just so much fun and it has helped me improve massively overall. Playing a solo can feel easy on it's own but it's another thing to play a whole song without mistakes. Great video Ben!
I've forgotten more songs than I can remember. And I can remember a lot. The life of a busker.
Ugh. This is such a good reminder early in the new year.
I often do guitar exercises. Learn licks/riffs/song sections but i seldom learn the WHOLE song. I think it's safe to say that it isn't the same thing to learn a section as it is to learn the whole thing.
I need to do fix this. I've been thinking that this year my musical goal is to put together a "youtube" worthy song play-through. Whether it's a cover or original. Just the whole thing. End to end.
Thanks Uncle Ben!
Hi Ucle Ben, from the French Alps. What a great video! You have the gift of putting the finger where it hurts (no pun intended), and on what every guitarist is missing nowadays , in this time of trillions of internet guitarists. We also do a great job fooling ouyrselves believing that watching tons of videos will make us a better musicians. What makes us better musicians is playing more Music, not a catalogue of tricks and skills. Thank you for reminding us of that. And please , keep up the good work! Thank you again, as always
Love the Rhett Shull shout out!)) This one of my favorite videos from you Ben, thanks.
There was a period where I practiced scales 4-6 hours a day for a few months and I don’t miss it at all lol. I’ve gotten way better, way faster by covering songs and just writing my own material and having fun
same here- well still use scales and exercises to warm up but I don't spend more than 20-30 minutes using them as starter exercise than move to songs. Works better that way and after 30 minutes my hands are warmed up.
Thanks Uncle Ben, Good advice. I really dug the Rhett Shull transition dig. LOL. Keep on smiling...
That Little River Band song was sounding nice!
Uncle Ben, you speak truth and it hurts
Its crazy how learning new songs actually just subconsciously affects your musicality. I've been working on the sweet child o mine solo, and after some improvisation, I noticed I played a little differently than before without me even thinking about it.
You have proven your musical infallibility this day by playing Little River Band. They are so good.
I'm almost the wrong way round, I play and learn songs all the time and rarely sit down and practice exercises. I'm learning some Twilightning now and it's getting me better at sweeps which I don't really practice on their own.
Same
"If you're being drug behind a car, you'll learn how to run faster than you ever have before." I laughed my head off after hearing that. Good one Ben.
My greatest year of improvement was the year that I spent jamming with other people on an almost daily basis. If you want to learn a language you have to speak it with others.
This is the best guitar lesson. I spent months learning shred licks and alternate picking excercises, only to be embarressed when asked to play through an AC/DC song
Perfect timing. I get really burned out of technique studies. When I came back to guitar I started playing along with a lot of music and having fun again. Great topic, great ideas. I'm glad I don't have to learn songs by scratching up my records anymore.
the most important thing i ever learned 45 years ago was that you can't stop. if you make a mistake, find your place and keep going
Yep, no stopping and correcting the mistake.
Scales, chord building , triplet techniques etc , are all ingreidients , the flavour is how you combine them into a fine meal you can cook your friends mom for breakfast , good enough she'll invite you back for dinner !
What did she do to merit that kind of treatment?
You’re headed into step dad territory there 😂🤣
I totally love this:
"Learning and playing songs is the single best thing you can do to improve yourself as a musician . . . "
& I also totally appreciate the concept of figuring out the songs by ear instead of finding tabs & blah, blah, blah
Thanks very much!
I always felt like every song I learn needs to be practiced to perfection. I'd spend so much time in specific parts that at some point I'd lose all interest in continuing to practice. Most of the songs always have one or more parts that kept me from advancing. I guess I'm made to clean toilets and pick up the trash.
Awesome video Ben! Exactly! The answer to everything you want to learn about music and every guitar playing technique you want to know can be found in the music. Learn 1,000 songs and you will shred on guitar.
1000% This, I've only been playing a little under 2 years, but my picking hand and sense of timing has improved more in the past couple of months since I started learning Sylosis and Trivium songs and actually playing along to them than it has by doing anything else.
same here- learning classic metal songs really builds these key skills on guitar and more fun learning process as well!
Same here, i have been playing for about 2 years aswell, when i started to spend hours learning songs i like it has improved my playing a lot
I am Autistic.... And I am steadying mastering the Guitar 🎸😎 I love playing
Been doing this with Bolt Thrower and Death lately. Been seeing way more improvement this way than just trying to to learn the tabs alone
Learning something from the Human album has been on my todo list forever...
@@overthoughtmusik772 I've been working on Crystal Mountain and Without Judgement. On the Bolt Thrower side, Salvo, Anti-Tank, and (the one that's really warping my brain) The Killchain.
@@r3ngokuking That rules, I love BT too. Talk about good music to learn to keep your skills up....death metal
@@overthoughtmusik772 honestly, one of my favorite trem picking "benchmarks" is desperately trying to keep pace with Lashed to the Slave Stick lol. Nothing like a blistering 200 bpm to tell you you're still nowhere close.
BT rules, check out Frozen Soul from Texas, theyre our Texan Bolt Thrower. TXDM REPRESENT
I feel like this is the final chapter of why I suck at guitar. But please continue to tell me why I suck at guitar, because I suck and I need to know why!
Benadryl Cumpersnitch : *exists
Yingyang Milkshake : allow me to introduce myself
🤣🤣🤣
Been saying this for years for my friends who suck at guitar. Now they suck less. Thanks uncle Ben.
You're the first guy that looks sincerely happy when shredding away^^ Thats nice
My problem is once I learn a song then I don’t want to play it anymore.
Got the Same Problem
I know, maybe it's just boredom of playing the same stuff over and over. That's what keeps me from practicing most of the time. That or just laziness in general.
It's like: "I don't lack the passion for playing, I just get bored when it becomes routine".
@@Cthulhu_Awaken always learn new styles- country, jazz, etc. I'm 60 and go back and forth between genres even though I'm a rocker from way back. P.S. jazz chords are hard as Hell but good to learn
Then play it Reggae Style, or Bossa Nova.
I find a challenge. Something that is above my very modest ability, but that I know will make me proud if I learn it.
Then if I learn it, I think “If I can play it, it can’t be as impressive as I thought”
Hearing Ben's array of "Yngwie Malmsteen" variations is one of my favourite things about this channel. Ying Yang Milkshake had me in stitches!
I'd say that two other things that are overlooked but *definitely* contribute heavily to your enjoyment of learning guitar (especially leads) are as follows:
If your guitar can stay in tune. I cannot stress how frustrating this was for me starting out and wanting to learn Dave Mustaine solos. Your guitar going out of tune with any old bend is easily the biggest deterrent to actually practicing and improving lead skills. If your guitar is absolutely unable to stay in tune to save its life then send it to a luthier to get it looked at, upgrade some parts or - sadly - find a new one.
If you're happy with your guitar tone. This is tricky since a lot of people start off with not a lot of money and probably have cheaper gear or don't know any better. But trust me, if you're getting into it definitely do your best to buy some good gear cause if you can make your crappy guitar playing sound *amazing* it'll only make you wanna keep going.
WTF dude??!
Screw the guitar,
At 0:47 you totally crushed my casanova dreams!
Feel like you're right on the money. Feel I'm caught in this Music theory / mindless scale trap
possibly the best "How to play guitar" video ever made. I'm an amateur, and I got better by playing my favorite 'tallica songs at speed, crappily, and then less crappily. Suddenly I got into a "I must play all the exercises starting at 90 bpm and slowly climb to 300bpm" RUT. I kept starting over, because I couldn't stick to it. Jamming with your faves, makes guitar your fave.
I heard that guy Yingyang Milkshake was offered some donuts when he was touring with Pantera and he got pissed, he said he could buy his own donuts
It makes me wonder...
What kind of donuts it was? What was the icing or toppings? And how big it is? Especially the scale between the dough and the hole.
Is that potato donuts with shoestromming as the toppings? No wonder he get offended.
Bet they weren't Krispy Kreme. Gotta set the bar high.
Yea, dude "don't fu**in like donuts!"
Although Ying-Yang's last name is pronounced Mei-Ku-Sake.
It's Japanese and means 'no songwriting writing skills.'
@@j_freed lol
Thanks uncle ben, for teaching me how to have fun with learning and not touching me when I was little
You're crushing it!
"If you're being drug behind a car you'll run faster than you ever have in your life." Hot coffee, right through my nose. Thanks a lot, uncle Ben. Actually, age wise you're more like cousin Ben.
Probably the best musical advice you have ever adviced.
My best friend told me he would kneel before me if I could play the entire lead of a certain instrumental song.
There's no tabs or videos so I had to write everything by ear.
I'm struggling with it since 2-3 years and practising almost every day but at the same time I love doing it since I'm learning a lot.
I also want to see my best friend kneel before me.
I set a quest to learn cliffs of dover and crazy train, I thought these were beyond me, but after working through for hours and practicing, I finally got it and felt amazing paying it.
just hearing the "guitar grimoire" word combination made my day
"Your step-mom..."
Me: uh-oh..
"... talks in her sleep"
Me: THANK GOD! IT'S NOT WHAT I HAD IN MIND!!
This is some wholesome Uncle Ben content! I've played on and off for 15 years, but never really "learned" other than some tabs and I always felt discouraged. I bought my first 7 string a few months ago and it's motivated me to play more and more. It's tough because I still feel I'm not "great" for the songs I want to be playing, especially since guitar is just a small hobby, which can still feel discouraging, but this video reminded me to just try to have fun and learn music I like. Thanks Ben!
meow
(on topic) Rocksmith is fun to play along with proper songs.
It's good but don't let it slow you down, once you learn the song learn how to play it without watching the screen
@@ATthemusician definately good advice, I do rely far too much on sight reading the tab right now. Once i've stopped playing RS I try to repeat phrases through from memory and usually struggle a bit, so now I do this after each session.
@@ATthemusician It kind of does that on it's own. Once you know a part it starts hiding the notes.
The real pain of rocksmith is getting a simplified version of a riff, learning it in a particular way, and then having to learn it again once you get the full riff because the way you played the simplified version doesn't translate to the full riff.
So many true things you spoke right here. I wish a had an Uncle Ben teacher when i started 25 years ago.
That REVV head absolutely killed me. Yes just killed me. I'm died.
REVV Rules!!!!
RIP 1.28.2021
Dead? Get well soon
So true Uncle Ben. I'll just add that the rythym playing of Hendrix is often harder than the solo, and play and jam with other actual people.
Very true. Its even more incredible that Hendrix is singing at the same time.
This is the main way I learned how to play guitar. I actually lack the ability to really improvise and don't know many scales but I learned by doing and playing guitar that was hard like Anthrax, and 6 years later I can play almost anything. Except sweep picking. Fuck sweep picking LMAO
I absolutely agree. I started to record guitar covers of full songs during lockdown, and i feel like i improve since then more than the two years before
This is some of the best advice for musicians ever.
This is 95% of my practice, just playing along to my favorite songs. Another thing, practice standing up. Hard to watch even great players sitting hunched over their guitar with their face inches from the fretboard.
yo, best thing I learned today is to play with a smile on my face, just like uncle ben always does
I always remember James hetfield saying he strives to play a completely solid rythem I always thought that was cool.
You read my mind. I just started last week making sure I play with music everyday from now on along with the practice I've been doing for months.
Rhett Shull transition im DEAD LMAO
Hahaha glad you caught that
Thanks Uncle B ....knew I sucked just did not know WHY. LOL really enjoy your channel keep going strong
I’ve been playing for years and have never learned how to play a single song.
My dad ones called Yngwie "Weegwee Maelstrom" fully genuine.
My personal favorite rendition.
Then there's me who can't play lead and always 100% plays rhythm.
A good rhythm guitarist is 100% better than a sloppy lead
A lead guitarist is always better with a damn good player who's locked in with the rhythm section. Every guitarist wants to be a lead player. I've played with guys who could shred but were useless because that's literally all they could do. That being said, I also wanted to be able to solo, if just for a measure or two. I was overcomplicating the whole damn thing. I started with pentatonic scales like everybody else, got nowhere, until I started seeing all these guitar backing tracks popping up here on YT. I find a track I like in Eminor, play that scale from the 12th fret or open, and took off. You can't hit a wrong note if you stay there, if you miss with a flat note, bend that sucker up. Then find a track in Am and do it from the 5th fret, then Dm, Cm etc. Start there. You'll figure out the rest.
3:38 rhett shull transition.
The issue i have is learning the songs. I know it is as simple as sitting down and trying to figure it out, but I have the worlds worst ear and the patience of a 3 year old.
If everyone followed this, there would be no market for TH-cam guitarists any longer. You've cracked the code
Uncle Ben, your delivery, humor, and knowledge are a gift to youtube! Thanks
Great advice. I've played along to songs since I started playing. It helps you train your ear and your sense of rhythm. If you do this first, everything else just clicks into place.
My guitar instructor back then told me :
Don't learn any new songs until you're able to play Twinkle twinkle little stars fluently on 5 different modes!
My God, SO MUCH I wanna write in the comment section... but I'll settle by saying I 100% agree with you on literally everything that you said. Learning music by ear, learning full songs, and just jamming to records helped me TREMENDOUSLY later in life.
Skills like these are why I can lay tracks with just a click/or a drum track. Skills like these are why I can jam with just about anyone onstage and be able to keep up.
Honestly, it separates the boys from the men, I think. For some people, it's enough to just learn the intro 'Crazy Train' lick and call it a day. Then there's the folks that push themselves to get better.
Thank you for giving me the thump in the head. About 5 months ago i decided to pick the guitar back up after 25 years. All the new tools that exists now really fired me up. Though over time i have been picking up more and more exercises, which now take me nearly 30 minutes to get through just the exercises. This a good reminder of why i picked up the guitar in the first place, and why i eventually quit 25 years ago.
Uncle Ben's the reason I picked up guitar again, the Punisher exercise helps out a whole ton.