[strumminsix]

Every once in a while I find myself saying, "I know the answer but I think it'd be better for that person to learn it on their own?"

Recently came across this in the Bird Song thread.

Not like I think, oh I'll show him, or I'm so smart but I won't share, but more like I know what a disservice it was to me by asking instead of trial and error and learning it on my own...

Just curious...

[Billbbill]

I'm not sure, maybe, but not really by design. For illustrative purposes only ;/ let me assume you're speaking about the BS thread I recently commented on.
Idealy one should be able to listen and translate a fair amount to the fretboard on their own. But I'd say everyone is not equally able to do that. Should one try before making such a request? I'd say yes but that's up to them. It's up to me whether I respond. If I respond it's usually because, aside from helpin out a brother, I'm curious myself.

I feel you SS, cause truth is it's best for one's own developement to give it the good ole college try; often people shortchange themselves. I just can't assume they didn't already give it a go before the request.

[IamDocWatson]

yeah learning on your own is great ear training, and reading a tab often allows you to learn a piece without even know the whys and hows of it but i usually assume some one asking for help is after they have tried for an hour or so to no avail....

some people may not want to master the understanding of the instrument either, maybe they were just in a mood to sing birdsong right then and there and just wanted the quick easy answer

[strumminsix]

Thanks. I'm glad y'all understand what I'm saying...

It's not to be mean or anything but really thinking that a great disservice can be done by teaching somebody "how to jam".

IMO, it has to come from the inside and the result of trying out all the combinations of chords and pairs of notes and knowing what to hit, when, and how to change mood, and how to play percussive, and what sounds right, etc...

[shakedown_04092]

If I respond it's usually because, aside from helpin out a brother, I'm curious myself.

I find myself in this ^^ situation quite often too.

But I hear ya Nick. Sometimes I don't respond to posts because either a.) I have in the past on a simliar post [i.e. the famous "how do you solo" posts that happen every 4-6 months] or b.) I think they've been adequately responded to in previous posts, so I don't want to add to the clutter. If that's the case, sometimes I'll try to find that link and paste it to help out the person who's asking. But I also kind of agree w/ Doc here, that sometimes you just want the quick n easy answer. Don't know if that's a bad thing or not, I guess at that point it's up to the person asking the question and then the person answering the question.

[CaptainTrips]

Ill answer any question once for the most part. Where I start to get frustrated is answering the same question more than a few times. This holds more in the real world I guess. I swear . . . I was in a band once with a kid who dropped out of high school and he was so annoying to work with. Over a four month period where I was trying to make that band work I must have told him the chords to Casey Jones at least two hundred times. By the end I wanted to rip his head off.

But on here, I think that telling someone how to jam is really off. Thats not how you learn. But if somebody has a question about theory I will answer 100% of the time if I have the chance and it hasnt been answered already. I feel that with things like theory the more questions you ask the better. As far as people asking for certain licks from certain songs, I would probably point them in the right scales/chord tone direction as opposed to tabbing it out for them . . . . although I have done that myself a time or two.

[amyjared]

I pretty much suck on the guitar, although I love to play and can fake it quite well. I never had the "ear" for it and have figured out only a handful of songs by "ear". As an example: I can't "jam" but can only play things I've learned and practiced. I love that I found tab and video and am able to learn things that I wouldn't have been able to otherwise. I am thankful for all your contributions and understand how you feel. I do try to figure something out myself before I post. I think part of it is that I never aspire to play large concert halls because of my job, kids, etc. I am happy being the hack player but also enjoy improving anytime I can. So, sorry if it's a burden sometimes, but thank you all for your input, answers, etc. You continue to help me immensely!

[tigerstrat]

My willingness to answer in a helpful manner is in inverse proportion to my laziness and sloth in putting thoughts into words that would make sense to the reader and actually typing them.

[gratephulphish123]

i would but i have nothing to teach everyone doesnt already know, so i just learn from you guys

[Shaggy]

There really is no substitute for simple time spent playing away and coming up with stuff yourself. But it's always interesting to read and hear other peoples views and ideas, and you never stop learning. I have so much yet I want to be able to do and learn on guitar and in music.

This site is a great help to so many of us, even if there were no forums on here there's tons to gain here.

[LazyLightnin]

man i thought this site was up for the sole purpose of sharing knowledge of playing GD tunes. i say you either help or not, theres a ton of people out there that are just starting and they wanna play GD just like us.

I show countless numbers of new guitar players what to do and when to do it, on the street of course. I go to jam nights every week, and theres always great discussions on theory and other related issues. If it werent for the help that a few kind fellows handed down then i wouldnt be where im at now.

Strummin', ive learned SO MUCH from your conversations here, wheather i replied or not. its not a responsability bestowed upon you. think of it as passing of the torch. the more you pass, the world gets better by just a little bit. theres no obligation for giving out info , but you should feel better inside knowing that somewhere someone has just advanced thier ability by just smallest of margins.

oftens times ill stop playing for a few days. and just let ideas and thoughts conjure in my head, then i go back and emulate what i heard in my mind. there are times when you need to be on your own with this, but not all the time.

maybe someone has a question about something so simple that you think its ludacris, but maybe just mabye that small bit of information is what will propel them into a world of amazement that they can enjoy for years to come.

its all about sharing and caring, these arent guys playing Knicklecreek or MettaliSka, these are dudes that found this site by looking, looking for a way to get what they want, and what they want is to play GD, and i say the more the merrier!

have you ever been in a Guitar Center? the countless numbers of soccer moms buying BC Rich's for 14 year olds, the constant strum of Barre chords, the guy in the acoustic room strumming open chords over, and over , and over ,and over. we're not talkin about these people, we're talking about people that have TASTE. people that want the Jerry experience, they want what we have, and i think they deserve it, if not for being fans of the Dead but for just finding this little conclave we have here.

a few years ago i posted a topic in the think tank entitled JAZZ? i think every budding guitarist that comes thru here should read it and all the posts that follow. you see the concept of playing is NOT hard, but if you believe that its hard it will be. and if you feel that youve been shunned then you might give up.

we've got to keep this music ALIVE! ive told numerous people about this site, i dont know if 1 of them have ever visited, but i gave out the URL becuz i know that fellow a Deadhead can come here and find what theyre looking for. you gotta pat these guys on the back and tell em, "look this is a great community and we've got things to offer and if your willing to learn then ill then I'll tell you what i know. what I know now was DETRIMENTAL to my playing ability, and i owe alot of it to this site. scales, modes, theory, opinions, good and bad.

[shakedown_04092]

^ Well said, Lazy. Well said.

For me anyways, if I see someone in person, live...I'll help 110% of the time. But sometimes I just don't feel like typing. But again, I agree with your statement that we've gotta help because it's the right thing to do. I wouldn't be where I am had it not been for all you guys (Kenny included...man how I miss him!) And I say we....I hope that I am contributing in some way! For all I know, there's garbage coming out of my pie hole. But regardless, if I don't feel like typing because it's a topic that's already been answered on here, I'll at least do a search for them and post the link to it.

[strumminsix]

Wow, cool, LL!

It's not that I don't want to teach somebody or share my knowledge. It's more altruistic than that. It's more that I fear by me the answers somebody may stop looking for them.

Sometimes that's a good things - certain licks or a chord that just doesn't sound right. But sometimes it's bad because it allows the person to not search for the sound.

Man as I write that I wonder if Phil wasn't talking about that in Unbroken Chain:
"Listening for the secret, searching for the sound"

Isn't that the passion behind our music finding those right notes, chords, etc and finding their blissful relationships with one another on the instrument and one another in the band?

[ronster]

Sometimes I want to help someone out but it gets complicated to do by typing it. I'll try and type out a thought and reread it and I sound like a freakin wanker so I'll delete it like I should this one. I've got to say that when I first started playing I had no ear and could not figure out a song unless it was straight blues or a two chorder and then I would be in the wrong key half of the time. If it were not for tabs and people showing me stuff, I would have never stuck with it and now I can actually figure out tunes and licks on my own and people sometimes say shit like "wow your pretty fucking good". So don't hold back because any knowledge you spread around just helps.

[LazyLightnin]

ya, if its already been talked about then its a different story altogether I would hope that common sense would dictate a new user to search for the answer within these "walls" themselves first. For the most part all my questions have been answered. thats why i dont ask alot, but the think tank archives are something everyone should read also, thats a completely FREE theory lesson, and should be used as a reference for all questions on scales, modes etc. Kenny was so gracious to leave us with that, although im sure he stops back periodically to check up, how could you not?

that being said, almost any trivial question pertaining to individual songs ,in its appropriate index ,have been answered also.

i wasnt the same player till i found you guys, it amazes me every day what i've accomplished in my playing. thanks to all you guys who contribute. youre all class acts and irreplaceable as confidants.