Need some advice on what and how to study before I give up
(Yeah, it's a very long text, took me a while to write it. Pretty much cathartic. Thanks for reading!)
I'm trying to get back into guitar playing after 20+ years without doing it consistently. I had some acoustic guitar training in my early teens, but never got past major, minor and pentatonic scales (at least those are the ones I never forgot) and the most common chords... My thing really was the bass, which I've played for a few years with friends, lot's of 90's pop-punk/hardcore.
Maybe it's an ADHD thing but I'm really having a hard time doing it by myself. My objectives are playing songs that I like but also understanding how they are made:
- Why this crazy chord sounds terrible alone, awesome in a song/riff and how the hell the composer came up with it?
- How to use and identify different scales and modes in solos and riffs?
- How to get my guitar to sound like (or close to) Metallica, then Green Day, then Iron Maiden, then Limp Bizkit and so on with the equipment that I have.
Problem 1: I don't have a space in the apartment to keep things always ready to play, so I have to setup the guitar, cables, pedals, amp, power adapters, headphone, pc or mobile for spotify and tabs... making me give-up before even starting or playing for 5 minutes before getting frustrated.
Problem 2: There is a lot of study material online: courses, books, videos, platforms and so on. So much that I can't choose one. Learning things from multiple sources as I stumble on them doesn't work well for me, I need a progressive path that someone put some thought into it. I don't mind paying for courses, lessons or books., I just can't choose one.
Problem 3: Time. It's nice to sit down and learn an entire song in one go, but sometimes we just want to/can practice for some minutes. What do you guys do on small 5~15 minutes sessions?
For the first problem, I'm thinking on selling my gear and get a device like Sonicake's PocketMaster or Livtra Nanocore, or even Fender Mustang Micro/Boss Katana Go/Blackstar Beam Solo. Not sure if that's the way to go... I currently have:
- Boss Katana Mini (use with a headphone)
- TC Electronic Fangs
- Behringer Hell Babe
The thing is: I love music, I'm constantly listening to it, all day, everyday. I have and had many hobbies, and playing is one of the most rewarding but also quite difficult to keep up for me. Any help, suggestion, ideas will be much appreciated.
Cheers!