I've always thought that we should do a guitar lesson sort of ongoing thread varying from novice to advanced....bu t who has the time to record runs and write up the tabs? Rob is right IMO, I started out on The Sky Is Crying and Vulgar Display of Power and just worked on everything within those discs for months. The best advice I could give is to 1. Study other's playing (technique, string gauge, tuning, etc.) 2. Remember not to get comfortable (I.E. *Always* be working on something that is just beyond your ability and keep at it until you've nailed it and 3. Instructional DVDs (read: the correct ones) are worth a king's ransom in helping you to watch others so that you can be sure that you're doing it right.......wh en I was 17 I wanted to learn how to warble- it said in the tab key of Steve Vai's Passion And Warfare to 'vibrate the tremolo bar rapidly'. I spent 2 months looking like a coked-up monkey masturbating before I was in a guitar store and a salesman was jamming and I heard him warble....I ran over and asked 'how'd you do that?'. He made a 'retard' face at me, pulled the bar up and just let go. DVDs, man!
By the way, I reject your attitude of 'how can I get max results with minimal practice?'. I *think* it was Chet Atkins who once said something to the tune of, 'There are no shortcuts in learning the instrument.... and I've been looking a long time'. You have to be a dedicated mofo or you'll get nowhere. 'Get back what you put in'....like Phil's mom.
