Hey lovers of the ‘verb!

I am trying to learn surf guitar. I am beyond beginner level at guitar but definitely struggle with speed and fretboard maneuvering. I don’t know a lot of songs of any genre but can play along with some of my old fave punk tunes on Ultimate Guitar. Also a bit time constrained due to job and family commitments so don’t have like hours each day to lock myself in a room and learn.
I’ve always loved surf and have experimented with learning how to play it but am not sure if I’m going about it well. When I look at surf tunes that have been transcribed on Ultimate Guitar, I get intimidated. When I go ahead and give them a try, I might learn a lick or two at slow speed but then get frustrated or jump to another tune that I’ve always wanted to learn as well.
In an effort to get some decent, focused training, I bought Jason Laughlin’s “Essentials Surf Guitar” from TrueFire. It is a cool course for sure but is designated as intermediate level. Have been working on the first tune from the course and am making progress but it is challenging for me and I’m not very inspired because it’s just a tune that he made up. Doesn’t speak to me at all. On top of that, the course doesn’t seem to teach any fundamentals common to surf. They may be included in the tunes but there isn’t any technique lessons per se.
This is kind of long but basically, I’m looking for advice from you guys on how to dig into this genre of playing and make some progress.
I’m open to all advice and am not too proud to listen.
Thoughts I’ve had:
-continue with the TrueFire course and learn all of the tunes, even if none of them are songs I know but just embrace the learning that is there any way
-learn songs from Ultimate Guitar and just focus on one at a time until I nail it even if it takes me months of struggle
-say screw it and keep playing simple punk rock tunes and leave surf to the maestros
-say screw it and go back to playing bass guitar
Another thing I’ll add is that I have a somewhat mangled fretting hand index finger which is something that adds a bit of challenge to my efforts. It doesn’t bend fully nor straighten all the way. I’m not sure that in the end it will force me to set the guitar aside and go back to playing bass or not but any advice on this would also be appreciated. I’ve added some pics of my gnarly finger just to show you all what I’m dealing with.
If you hung in there and read this whole thing, I appreciate it.
Thanks,
Jason

Last edited: Mar 28, 2020 13:55:27

Redfeather wrote:

You can get most of the job done with the pentatonic scale in surf but as there are those eastern type ones mixed in, it does get slightly more "exotic" at times.

How well do you know the major and pentatonic scales? Do you know all the positions so you can play up and down the neck? It's not that you actually need to be able to do that within any given song but it helps in figuring out how people have most likely played one you're trying to learn. When I hear something that sounds kind of tricky or isn't obvious in how it's played, I always assume it's actually much easier than it sounds and it seems like I'm always right. People find cool sounding licks while they're noodling and they become songs...

I think you should chuck the books and do it all by ear. It's really the best way to learn. That is, if you have your scales down. Well, scales and the corresponding chords so that you can work out the key of a song quickly and know where you need to be on the fretboard. Are you at a level where you can do this?

Thanks for the words of wisdom. Your reply was really inspiring. I have always wanted to figure songs out and transcribe them myself but have always been intimidated by it and I guess never felt like I was good enough to do it. I’ve had friends that could do it and I think I always put them on a pedestal that I thought was either unattainable by me or a long way off for me. Well, maybe I’ve actually paid my dues enough now and have enough skill to go for it.

I am still learning the minor pentatonic scale in the five positions but have it down fairly well. I only know the most common major scale pattern though. Figured I’d get minor pentatonic down first and then learn others.

I have the 5th and 6th string major and minor barre chords down fairly well even with my wonky finger. I’ve been able to coax it to do a bar whether it wants to or not. Haha. Open chords can be a bit of a struggle at least those that require a lot of bending with the index. C and F are a bitch for me. I can get to them but it hampers my speed.

Any suggestions for an app to slow down songs? Any recommendations for first songs to figure out?

Thanks again!
~Jason

Last edited: Mar 30, 2020 19:00:48

ldk wrote:

There’s nothing worse than learning by playing songs you don’t like, so ditch the book. Start by playing songs you like. You can find some good song tutorials on YouTube. So you don’t get frustrated and move to another song, pick something that sounds simple enough to play. Also, don’t be afraid to play a song slower than the original. Speed will come with time and practice. If you want to learn songs by ear, use some software that lets you slow the song without changing pitch. Audacity is one example.

Definitely learn chord shapes up and down the neck. I’m working on scales now, but I personally haven’t found them to be necessary in learning songs. If I improvised, it would be a different story.

Maybe lessons would be helpful? Probably hard to find a teacher to help with surf specifically.

The forum has some good threads on technique. The one on picking comes to mind.

You should look at backing tracks on the forum. I think it’s more fun to play along with them than with originals.

Good luck!

Thanks for the advice! Very helpful.

I have looked for live lessons but surf is a no go. Surprised that so few guitar teachers are have a clue about the genre. I’ve even had those that don’t know of it at all. I say surf and they say “what, like The Beach Boys?”. So, yeah, lessons are out.

I’ll keep trolling the threads here for knowledge and piece together as I can. At least I’m over the beginner guitarist hump so can make sense of what I’m reading and learn from it. Or mostly can do that anyway.

I do like what the other reply said and you mentioned as well about learning songs by ear. Hoping to get some advice on a good iPad app. I know Audacity is good on a PC as I use it for audio narration at work. Anyway, rambling on at this point. Thanks again!

Last edited: Mar 29, 2020 16:20:47

I use Reaper, which is practically free and allows you to slow any track down as much as you want while retaining the pitch. Not sure if they make a mac version, though.

Another thing I can say about scales and chords is that arpeggios are immensely helpful in both songwriting and song-figuring out. More specifically, the root, 3rd, 5th, and 7th (the odd intervals) as they are what really define a chord. Carol Kaye pounds on this and actually discourages the learning of scales as a primary exercise. I think she calls what I described "chord scales." All the other notes are to be thought of as passing notes when you're soloing. Generally speaking.

Learn the rest of the major scale positions. I'm still improving on all that myself and even at my level, it facilitates songwriting in a way that has totally opened a new world to me. There are a lot of surf songs out there and among them are a whole lot of really weak ones. I'm sure we all know what I mean. Some melodies just aren't very strong. Getting your chord scales down helps you avoid weak melodies and opens your ears so that you can hear and judge them.

Finally, I'd suggest worrying less about the physical ability to play stuff right now and just focusing on the theory. Once you have that stuff down better you can work on figuring out alternate ways to play things if you need them.

Toni Iomi adapted. So did Hound Dog Taylor. All God's creatures.

mj
bent playing for benter results
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Woah. I am also a punk bassist of many years who has been playing guitar for a year and a half and was inspired to learn surf guitar. Nice to meetya!

I wanted to play in a surf band forever and could not find anyone who wanted to play that kind of guitar so I decided to do it myself. I did the first 5 chapters of Fender play, rock n roll and started
learning specific songs from YouTube. I find it is hard to track down tabs for a lot of these songs.

Last edited: Mar 30, 2020 08:34:36

https://www.thesurfguitarbook.com/

I recently ordered this book. Looks like it has a little more than the typical surf book content and includes downloads for backing tracks.
Unfortunately, it doesn't ship until May.
Django Reinhardt, Tony Iommi and Jerry Garcia all think a wonky finger is no excuse not to give it a go.
And there's nothing wrong with a little punk rocking, it helps you get used to barre chords.

Hi Jason,

I didn't start playing any instrument at all until I was 45 (I'm 52 now). I have mainly played bass, but gotten serious about guitar in the last two years.

My advice, in general from my own experience: have realistic expectations. I struggled for a few years because I thought with enough practice I'd be some awesome player. I finally came to the conclusion it would never happen, and I'd have to accept that or give it up. I didn't want to give it up, so just reset my expectations. Made things enjoyable instead of frustrating. That doesn't mean you shouldn't strive to improve. I'm a MUCH better player than I was then.

As for technique, I still can't tremolo pick well at all, but that's the awesome thing about surf: it's melodic. You don't need to play fast at all to create a memorable surf song (Apache, Surfer's Lament).

As for learning songs, start with some easier ones: Surfer's Lament would be an awesome choice. There's a backing track here (I think) and a how-to on youtube. Apache is also a good one, because you get a few short bursts of trem picking to work with, but the song is very easy for the most part.

Learning by ear is still the way to go. It opens up SO many possibilities. A few years ago when I tried to start I thought it would be impossible. I use a digitech jamman to record songs into, and then tap tempo to slow them down. You'll be amazed at how much easier it becomes once you do it for a while. Then you don't need to depend on tabs. I learn most songs now by ear. And don't worry about being 100% accurate, play what sounds best to you. Again, realistic expectations are key. Plus, simplifying or changing little things here and there is a terrific segue into composing. I finally decided to try that this year and it's been a blast.

Best of luck, and the people here are great and always willing to help.

MIJ Floral Jazzmaster, Parts Stratocaster, Quilter Tone Block 200, Fender Hot Rod Tweed Cab

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Last edited: Mar 30, 2020 19:07:29

Joelman wrote:

Yeah that finger looks messed up.
And I have noticed that the best players have long pinky fingers too.
Mine is very short on my left hand.
But hey,,, ya still got a thumb and three other fingers.
Don't give up. Surf music can be played with the fingers you have.
It just takes determination
Besides,,,
It's not all really hard stuff.

Joel

Thanks Joel. It helps to have encouragement.