I say this with a certain amount of pride… I don’t know a single song, but I entertain myself for a couple hours each day. Playing what’s in my head is relaxing and unclogs my mind, which is why I play.

@ajphotoltd

2 жыл бұрын

Same here !

@veshaw.

2 жыл бұрын

Hey bruh my wife was like hey when are you going to learn a song so I said uhh when you learn how to cook and not talk so much no I'm lying I never said that please don't tell her I said that 🎸🎸🎸

@glenclarkchidley3637

2 жыл бұрын

@@veshaw. Lol That would be an extremely foolish sentence!

@Brian-rq8hi

2 жыл бұрын

Glad I'm not the only one. Lol

@TrickyGomez

2 жыл бұрын

GUILTY as Charged!!!

Fun lesson, Chris! Noodling is my "freestyle fun time" after doing structured guitar practice :)

Noodling is my go to for enjoyment and exploration. Since I learned the notes on the fretboard it's become a pleasure instead of a minefield. Now if I make a wrong step, I almost know it as it happens and can react faster and recover easier, but most important, I don't bog myself in guilt or shame for making any mistakes. I see them, recognize them, move on and try and not make them again (unless they sound really good). Thanks for this video, Chris!

I always discover something when I'm noodling. I'll hear a melody on a TV commercial and try to figure it out....ramble over some chord progressions...etc. Thanks for the additional context of taking noodling somewhere else. I was missing the foundational information for scale/note/harmony. Grateful to be part of the Studio to learn these things. Thanks for all you do Chris!

@curiousguitarist

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for your support Tim, I'm so grateful to have you on board!

First I became a Curious Guitarist - now I’m a Guitareologist!!!!! Awesome Chris!

@AlexMorganGuitarMan

2 жыл бұрын

That's what I'm working towards, also. 🤔😉😆😂🤣🔥💯

I love the concept of guitarchaeology

@curiousguitarist

2 жыл бұрын

That one just popped into my head :) I like it too.

I absolutely agree. Noodling is not a bad thing. It’s fun, it can be very rewarding, and it’s a great way to apply some ideas I’ve been working on. It’s not usually something I do often, but when the notion strikes me, I go at it full bore and just have fun. After all, isn’t that why we play ? As always, thanks Chris ✌️

Most songs and song inspiration comes from noodling. Noodling is often where hooks come from. Virtually all of my best compositions came from noodling. I record all my noodling and noodle until I accidentally play something I hear was an awesome mistake or stumbled across gem. I then start to develop that idea, and continue adding to it by noodling until something else fits the spot. Noodling with a good ear is an extremely powerful tool and King IMO.

@curiousguitarist

2 жыл бұрын

Truth!

I love your videos I saw you first in Marty's video and i started following you since then.

@curiousguitarist

2 жыл бұрын

Glad you're here!

Thank you, Chris! This lesson is very timely. I feel lost and lazy for the past 1 week now. I am just forcing myself to grab my guitar.

@curiousguitarist

2 жыл бұрын

Yes!

Never has so much truth been said about me in a minute. A noodler, and turning the preference to capability. This lesson was really helpful. I'll kick in my harvest mode when I noodle next (which is most every day) God bless

@curiousguitarist

2 жыл бұрын

Go get it! Harvest mode = ON!

Great advice! I’m so guilty of noodling and often feel like I’m l in a rut. I think this will help. Thanks!

@curiousguitarist

2 жыл бұрын

Just harvest and you never have to feel bad :)

Great insight, Chris. Thank you 🙏 How else do we find fun musical ideas other than noodling?

@curiousguitarist

2 жыл бұрын

Learn new songs that sound challenging, and analyze them. How are the chords related etc? Learn solos and analyze what the player was doing. What scales, chord tones? Bending?

Thanks for making my guitar journey more fun by putting noodling into perspective 🤘 great content!

I have been noodling for 50 years, nothing wrong with I wrote a lot of originals by do it.. improvised training , u just training your ear and learning the notes and the fretboard.. I also think that every tune or song you ever heard is in you head .in like an internal hard drive ,you may not recall it but is there. Ever notice when you noodle around and ..wow that's sounds like somthing I heard before.. the light bulb goes off .. your creativity comes out. And that's what you want to happen .. We had a bar owner one time ask us why we played cover tunes exactly like the original? If your going to do I may as well use the jukebox.. play the song your way but still have the flavor of the original but do it your own style. And worked for us as a band ,people started say things during breaks like I liked the way you done that song.. What you don't want to do is be a clone, you need to break out observe the knowledge and get creative that's what will set you apart . Noodling will do that.. So yea don't be afraid to noodle, explore your instrument and improvise.

Chris, another great lesson! The way you explain things makes so much sense. Thanks for the awesome content! 🤘🏻👍🏻🔥

Good video, I enjoyed it. I'm a chronic noodler, but I have noticed that I am now beginning to find that note that I want to hear next, so I'm happy noodling for now.

@curiousguitarist

Жыл бұрын

Great comment, that’s when noodling starts really paying off!

I think noodling is also good for just building a relationship with the guitar. Especially for a beginner. Just picking up the guitar and running up and down the neck with the CAGED system or just banging on power chords helped get me comfortable with the guitar. I had no musical end game other than building dexterity and getting comfortable with the guitar in my hands. Not to mention how no pressure noodling will make the stresses of the day just melt away. Great video!

@curiousguitarist

2 жыл бұрын

Love that context! Thank you.

This is something I’ve stumbled upon and have been doing the last couple of years on my own. It’s really helped my knowledge of the fret board and scales. What notes am I actually playing and why does it work?… etc

Hey Chris, great video. I also love the new visual effects. 👌🏻

Yes, I am a noodler...how can it be bad, playing is always good! You have opened my eyes for sure!

I just finished binge watching all your videos Chris. I've found them all so satisfying! LOL!!! I know how to play all the dots but never truly understood how and why all this works. You have a way of getting that across. Thank you again and keep up the awesomeness! You sir, are a gentleman and a scholar (not necessarily in that order). RAWK ON!

@curiousguitarist

2 жыл бұрын

Awesome! Thank you, Rich!

Guitarcheology! Great lesson Chris. How about the essential chords in one note, maybe "A" ? We can transpose from there.

@curiousguitarist

2 жыл бұрын

Sure sounds good!

Like the exploring of the idea!

This was a great lesson teaching us to open our eyes up, thanks Chris!

@curiousguitarist

2 жыл бұрын

You're welcome. Glad it was helpful, Thomas!

Love your teachings. TY

@curiousguitarist

2 жыл бұрын

You’re welcome, and thank you for the views and comments!

I record a number of practice sessions when I try learning something, because without fail I tend to wander off if I'm practicing a scale etc. And stumble on a cool interval that eventually turns into a little riff. Fantastic lesson as always and great perspective on how to build your own sound. Thank you.

@AlexMorganGuitarMan

2 жыл бұрын

💯🔥❤⚡😆😁😊😉😆 I do this sometimes also. 😆

@curiousguitarist

2 жыл бұрын

Great perspective! Thanks, Chris

I love it ❤!!! Many thanks Chris !! the lick is really cool!!!

That's right, me too. I practice about 1/3 of my guitar time, play with others or recorded music about 1/3, and just noodle around 1/3 with no particular plan or expectation. I may have a melody or rhythm idea I want to let develop, or sometimes I just grab the neck at a random spot and wander around from there. Sometimes something happens, sometimes not much. Sometimes I'm just screaming through my guitar to make noise. But it's fun and expressive and helps me know my guitars better. It's like letting the dog out in the yard to freely follow his nose around and just be a dog for a while, without thinking. As compared to being on the leash or trapped in the house where all the rules are in effect.

@curiousguitarist

Жыл бұрын

So great! Love it. Thanks for posting, Mark.

Love this lesson and your way of thinking!

@curiousguitarist

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you! 😃

@rocnrobyn

2 жыл бұрын

Actually… thank you!! I see why Marty raves about you!

Chris "The Guitarcheologist" Sherland strikes again... Nice vid👍

@curiousguitarist

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks!

Inspirational!

Great lesson. And, as a bonus, a great word: Guitarcheology. Love it!

@curiousguitarist

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks Phil....hey, if you need a word and it doesn't exist...well...

GUILTY!!! I've Been doing this since i was a kid. Some of my best original music has come from "Noodling".. To me any time with your hands on the fretboard is time getting closer to total understanding of the instrument. Great topic!

@curiousguitarist

2 жыл бұрын

Truth!

Really cool video. I do this a lot. I find myself humming random licks and riffs all day and can’t wait to grab the guitar and try to recreate what I’m hearing. I find that to be a tough exercise but rewarding. Inevitably though, all of my thoughts seem to translate to the pentatonic scale or blues. Another thing I learned: it’s hard to create a consistent riff. I hear something in my mind, but I’m constantly noodling it until the cool thought is no more. When do you stop fooling with a simple but cool riff? It’s definitely an art form. Finally, I’m walking around the street and I think of a monster riff! The new Zeppelin is here! And I get home, all excited, grab the guitar and . . . Totally forget what I heard earlier. Ugh

Great tone and great way of thinking about noodling! I always stopped noodling instantly because I was taught I wouldn't necessarily make me better. So thanks for sharing I'll dig in!

@curiousguitarist

2 жыл бұрын

You bet, keep me posted!

your videoes is really inspirational about noodling.loved any enjoyed your videoes.sir thanks a lot for your great lesson.

You're a great teacher. Very practical approach to for a practicing musician while hitting points of interest for beginners. Its reassuring that a lot of the things I already do in playing have the potential to push me further. You dont get that from instruction you get that from goid teaching. Thanks.

@dmont2

2 жыл бұрын

Good teaching

@curiousguitarist

2 жыл бұрын

Wow, thank you for that comment. I appreciate it.

@curiousguitarist

2 жыл бұрын

@@dmont2 Thanks!

100% thanks Chris noodling is great I love to noodle while watching tv without the guitar even plugged it’s amazing what you sometimes hear coming from the fretboard 👍

Hey Chris.. thanks for that one!

@curiousguitarist

2 жыл бұрын

You bet, Nick!

I don’t think noodling is bad when you’re trying to follow the chord progression, hitting important chord tones. You need those chromatic and scale notes to make it less boring.

👍Thanks.

Thank you for another important video!

@curiousguitarist

2 жыл бұрын

You're so welcome! Thanks for being here.

Another great video I'm a noodler , I heard Ritchie Blackmore said Jimi Hendrix was always searching for notes, , that stuck with me, personally for me it helps with my ear development and fret board knowledge I know a few bars of songs , not the whole thing but a bit of this and that , I'm having fun that's matter the most who cares what other's think or say

@curiousguitarist

Жыл бұрын

Truth! It's so important to do, but also so important to see it as a "part" of how you move forward as a guitarist. Great comment! Thanks!!

Noodling is part of the creative process. Part of the learning process. And it’s fun.

@curiousguitarist

2 жыл бұрын

Truth

My focused practice ALWAYS turns into noodling after I learn something.. I just expand on what I’ve just learned.. I think a lot of us aren’t happy learning songs because they don’t sound as good as the record… But I always try to play and improve the last couple songs that I’ve learned as part of my practice.. Thanks for the validation,man…!👍🏼

@curiousguitarist

2 жыл бұрын

Great context there Joe! Thank you.

My noodling has led me to creating songs. When I find something cool I do it more and then find things that go with it (to my ear)

@curiousguitarist

2 жыл бұрын

Yes!

You had me at “guitar-cheologist” 😁

@curiousguitarist

2 жыл бұрын

haha, glad you liked that :)

Ritchie Blackmore calls it "emoting" with the guitar and I can see nothing wrong with that! :)

@curiousguitarist

2 жыл бұрын

I so agree!

Great vid, Chris, thanks! A good message, and not one often heard. I can agree with... love idea of "harvest mode"... For me "noodling" is how one writes songs, finds original material, finds connections.... Hey, what happens if I do this? How about that? This is noodling for me... How could anyone contend such a thing is bad? Thanks, and for demo of how you found and developed the licks. Now, the final phase of "harvest" some form of notation! Would be another good vid... Quick, spontaneous note-taking (or various kinds) in order to record/remember various ideas.

@curiousguitarist

7 ай бұрын

Ooooh O love that idea!

I try to understand a bit of the theory taking place within my noodling, I also work at getting my playing more smooth-fingers more capable, and get all the psychological benefits... I figure as long as I keep a steady pulse, it's quality noodling. It's kind of rough draft song writing too...chord progressions

@curiousguitarist

2 жыл бұрын

So true!

own it ! love that💜💜💜💜💜

Thanks for the sound advice as always! I've been really trying to isolate my standard pentatonic majors of all things and I've been doing this exact thing; trying to find and isolate ideas, that I can then accentuate with modes. Edit: majors, not minors.

@curiousguitarist

2 жыл бұрын

Nice!

Am a big noodler, too. Can be playing a song, and while playing, my brain says, hey, these other songs use these chords too, and then proceed to go off on these tangents. Just call me scatterbrain.

@scottgrimes2405

2 жыл бұрын

I do the same thing now. It’s amazing once you train your ears a bit how you can pick out other songs and riffs. Then realize guys like Clapton are playing the same riffs in different positions and varying the speed or key.

@curiousguitarist

2 жыл бұрын

That's great stuff...connecting those dots, it's a huge learning opportunity.

@michaelgreen5206

2 жыл бұрын

@Chris Sherland Thanks, Guitar Sensei Chris!!

I do this too and after a while of just paying random stuff I wonder why I can t play through an entire song start to finish… what’s wrong with me! Lol but noodling around let’s you learn new licks and riffs and your practiceing technique so I guess it’s helpful and I should start recording when I play so I can go back and listen to stuff I played that I like.

Noodling is my dessert course after liver (scales) and broccoli (arpeggios) and brussels sprouts (sight reading)! Noodling is still playing!

@curiousguitarist

2 жыл бұрын

Truth!!!!

Noodling let’s your ear learn the neck! I very rarely hit a sour note because of noodling.

Same here

"She's a noodler, Jerry!" "A noodler?" "A noodler!"

@curiousguitarist

2 жыл бұрын

Hahaha!

Love the lines "musical preferences becomes my musical capability ", stay curious. And become a guitarquiologist miner

@danielrenaud3985

2 жыл бұрын

Guitarchologist

@curiousguitarist

2 жыл бұрын

@@danielrenaud3985 guitarist plus archeologist = guitarcheologist:)

@danielrenaud3985

2 жыл бұрын

@@curiousguitarist love this

with the open E start, it became a ZZ Top riff. sort of.

@curiousguitarist

2 жыл бұрын

OMG you're so right! Sounds like old 'Top from the late '70s!

I love guitarcheology!

Seems kinda silly now that I’m typing this but I never thought to move ideas around the neck to explore different voicings and positions. Great tip!

@kevinrich5312

2 жыл бұрын

I was thinking the exact same thing!

@curiousguitarist

2 жыл бұрын

Yeah, it's so helpful! You learn a TON about the fretboard this way too!

Noodling is life! The best ideas come if you set your mind free! 🖤

@curiousguitarist

2 жыл бұрын

So true

I gotta buy some lessons off you, Chris

@curiousguitarist

2 жыл бұрын

email me at chris at curiousgutarist dot com

I do structured guitar practice to improve my noodling.

@curiousguitarist

2 жыл бұрын

hahaha

Noodling is invaluable, BUT for me it's a question of how much and for what purpose? If I am not progressing by learning songs, theory, or something else new, I feel I've stagnated. Aimless noodling is fun, though doesn't feel like purposeful progress. Nothing wrong with that. But if that's 70% of my playing (or some other large percent), I want to refocus. What you've shown is focused THINKING ABOUT PLAYING AND COMPOSITION. That's purposeful, to me, and it's not really noodling. It's eating a bag of chips, then taking your vitamins! 😆

@curiousguitarist

2 жыл бұрын

Great context! Thank you.

I noodle to hold music. Find the key & noodle away... Although after 8 hours holding for the IRS has made me appreciate commercial corporations hold music more.

I feel like this video was made just for me

@curiousguitarist

2 жыл бұрын

Hahaha! I know that feeling too!

Noodling is learning. It’s all good.

I was a sinful noodler. Now I'm a proud noodler.

@curiousguitarist

2 жыл бұрын

Yes! Own it!

Noodling (for me any way) is like talking nonsense for an hour in the pub with your mates. It's kinda meaningless but passes the time and you leave happy.

@curiousguitarist

2 жыл бұрын

Love that angle.

If you play songs every time in the end it's no different from practicing scales. I didn't even know that what I do every day is called noodling.

@curiousguitarist

2 жыл бұрын

Yup, great context. Most of the solutions we come up with as guitarists are organic and have no names. But they work, right?

😊🌟💕

Yes but some of the mistakes and unintentional notes sound cooler than the intended notes...and that brings out the inspiration. thats how a real artist finds art.

@curiousguitarist

2 жыл бұрын

So true!

my only regrets being poor 💸and not being able to 👍more than once because you are awesome Mr Chris 💕ty

@curiousguitarist

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you Jen!

I'm not a Gibson guy, but that is a NICE guitar.

@curiousguitarist

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks! Love my strats but this thing is crazy great

@coaldoubt2879

2 жыл бұрын

@@curiousguitarist What's the color?

@curiousguitarist

2 жыл бұрын

@@coaldoubt2879 it originally came as “Sweet Cherry” but it’s slowly fading into a beautiful orange.

"guitarchaeologist".......great term!

@curiousguitarist

Жыл бұрын

Ha! Thanks Steve!

I was playing for my fam on the 4th and the iphone went quiet so I started to noodle on my acoustic. My sister immediately said wow thats pretty and said what is it. I just said its me :)

@curiousguitarist

2 жыл бұрын

It doesn't get much better than that! Then you can harvest that stuff to write your own songs.

I am a noodler. Playin for myself. Making music like Santa’s elf

This is just driven me up wall ..I've. Just hit another ..c u all in month

@curiousguitarist

2 жыл бұрын

We'll be here!!! See you then!

I'm a noodles for sure. Lol. But I actually discovered the "miss you" riff by the rolling stones doing it.

@curiousguitarist

2 жыл бұрын

Exactly! You can learn SO much if you just force yourself to wake up when you hear something cool!. Thanks Christopher!

Watching this while eating noodles....seriously.

@curiousguitarist

2 жыл бұрын

Of course! What a wacky universe

Watch the Get Back Beatles documentary and see McCartney coming up with Get Back and tell me noodling is a waste of time

@curiousguitarist

2 жыл бұрын

Right!?!?! I loved that moment.

If you don’t noodle then how are you going to create?

@curiousguitarist

2 жыл бұрын

Love that!

@jcdemp7513

2 жыл бұрын

@@curiousguitarist thanks 🙏

Noodling friend kirk hammington of Metallica got all over my case about that I met him with a music store ben friend s with the owner 4 years

@ekw555

2 жыл бұрын

was James Hettington there too?

@curiousguitarist

2 жыл бұрын

Well, it was "Kirk" after all :)

I have no idea why noodling gets such a bad rap. Ok, maybe mindless noodling won’t help you progress much, but if it’s fun and it puts the guitar in your hands then it can’t be all that bad. OTOH, mindful noodling is more like experimenting. That can do wonders for your understanding of music, your instrument, and your technique. Discover something cool, play around with it, and make it yours - internalize it and own it. It doesn’t get much better than that.

@curiousguitarist

2 жыл бұрын

Yup, perfect context!

I am a professional noodler! 😁

@curiousguitarist

2 жыл бұрын

Hey! if it pays the bills..... right!!?!?

Huh, I literally just wanted to learn guitar to DO 'Noodling'.

@curiousguitarist

4 ай бұрын

You should, I do. Just make sure you know the difference between that and training/practice.

@bunkaaa8726

4 ай бұрын

@@curiousguitarist For sure, I'm not really doing any formal lessons so just self teaching, when I specifically want to learn a song or chords, techniques etc I will dedicate time to that, but for getting in to the 'flow state' and simply enjoying the creativity (I score v high on creativity opposed to productivity sadly..), this noodling is just pure bliss, playing or even listening to people like yourself.

@curiousguitarist

4 ай бұрын

@@bunkaaa8726 love it! That bliss state, and what you can do within it, is all defined by your capabilities...ear, hands, etc. The more you train, the broader those capabilities get, and the more satisfying that flow state is, because you're drawing on increased capabilities. GO GO GO!

@bunkaaa8726

4 ай бұрын

@@curiousguitarist Glad to hear this side of the argument dude cheers 🙂

@curiousguitarist

4 ай бұрын

@@bunkaaa8726 of course! Just remember that as you “top out” your capabilities, that’s when the rut shows up, that’s when things can get repetitive and sometimes boring. That is a sign you need to refresh your training and increase your capabilities. Rock on!

Noodle vs. Not? Noodle.

@curiousguitarist

2 жыл бұрын

Truth!

Better to be an expert at noodling than a limp noodler..

@curiousguitarist

2 жыл бұрын

Truth

hey you been watching my videos hummm

@curiousguitarist

2 жыл бұрын

Yup, every once in a while I take a peek. :)

@jen8441

2 жыл бұрын

@@curiousguitarist btw this reminded me of the Allman brothers One Way out just saying its a fun noodling song

@jen8441

2 жыл бұрын

@@curiousguitarist Did you know on how many levels this leason works on, ? ? omg no wait ..What was I thinking ,,?? oh ya I think I learned something new,,, now I have to try not to forget it,,,no wait thats part of the leason too. this awesome Chris,, thank you

blow up my amp then ,my guitar after putting new strings,oh boo,,,,,,on topic ,lessons ,work then noodling. my practice time. just saying

You'll never be a good guitar player by simply learning scales and methods. Noodling is a door opener for learning. I started guitar in 1967 and had zero lessons or scales. I learned by picking, and very few "trained" guitarists can hang with me. You have to imagine that music came before written notes and procedures and the written notes and procedures were a bye product of tried and true picking. If you don't have the heart and soul of a musician you will never become one.

@curiousguitarist

Жыл бұрын

There are as many paths to becoming great at anything as there are examples of greatness.

You had me until you started talking about "flat 7" and "root"... Why can't I just PLAY what sounds good without having to know that stuff?!

@curiousguitarist

2 жыл бұрын

You don't have to know any of it. Ever. But if you do, you just ensure your capability to replicate it.