Any Guitar Players Here? I Want To Learn How

[HOPS5K]

I don't know why, but I want to learn guitar...I have this 'feeling' I should learn guitar for some reason...I've never been inclined to pick one up and really learn how to play, but the older I get, the more I want to learn how to do it. I've always been a music fan, and I hate to admit it, but one of my inspirations is probably somebody nobody here listens to, but she's good and kinda underrated.

Anyone here play guitar?

 

[wizoo]

hey buddy,

sry to say, but there is no playing the guitar without picking one up first

get yourself a cheap, used acoustic concert guitar to play around from egay, craigslist or from a second hand shop. doesn't matter what brand or how old as long as the hardware is working. an additional new set of strings and a cheap guitar tuner would be perfect.

check the feeling you get with it while exploring the instrument and the sounds you get out of it. listen to your favourite music and try to find corresponding tunes on your guitar. get an ear for both rhythm & tunes. check your fingers' handling and if you are comfortable with that at all.

start from there i'd say

 

[ThirstyKenny]

Agree with everything wizoo said. Just one bit of advice hop- do some finger strength and stretching excercises and invest in a box of band-aids Unless you have thin lady fingers, they're gonna hurt!

 

[rasputin]

Do you know what kind of music you want to play? That will influence what kind of guitar you should get to start out, either a cheap acoustic or electric. From there it's pretty much as wizoo said.

And you should always try before you buy, a guitar that looks good on the wall doesn't always feel good when being played.

 

[The Professor]

I am self taught, but if you're just starting out it's not a bad idea to seek out someone who plays and have them show you the ropes a bit. Preferably before you purchase your first instrument. Whether or not they play the same style as you doesn't matter as much at first. The basics are the basics.

If you're not sure what you want in a guitar or what you're looking at in general, have them go with you when you go instrument shopping. The point is you don't want the guitar you're considering buying to be the first one you've ever held in your hands. And with the salesman your lone "advisor".

 

[xmobotx]

the web has seemingly infinite resources for learning guitar so; you need not worry about being able to find some instruction or new songs to try

i found a lot of joy from practicing w/ power tab and i find tabs for it on ultimate guitar

learn the cowboy chords at the nut; learn how to find the major scale; practice some finger exercises like chromatic scales

always a good idea to spend a lot of time 'internalizing' ~one way is to 'sing' the intervals as you do the scale ~then start learning the variations {minor scale et al}

 

[GP73LPC]

i disagree on a cheap acoustic. easy way to turn off a beginner.

i would get a reasonably priced new or used electric. $200-$300 will get you a real decent guitar these days, if you go used it will buy more. small amp for $100 and you will enjoy the ease of playing an electric so much more you will be inspired to play more.

also, look into guitar pro. great program for learning. tabs available on ultimate guitar.com and thru file sharing networks. over 30,000 something tabs


EDIT: one more thing. learning the C, D and G chords will get you a million songs you can play

 

[HOPS5K]

Thanks for all the help guys, sounds good. Now that I got some extra spending cash, I'm gonna go find something to look at around here...I got nothing better to do right now, so why not learn how to play guitar?

I've always wanted to learn and the one time I took a guitar class back in 2000, I did okay for never having played before. It was on an electric though and I only leanred maybe 4 songs.

I always found smoking a little bit before hand helped me to concentrate on playing a bit better.

I can't wait to get another guitar now

 

[GP73LPC]

best of luck !!!

 

[DrFever]

Its the wonderfull world of internet learning how to play guitar is even easier i suggest hitting pawn shops , you can get a decent guitar for a decent price then start googling guitar for beginners, also wouldn;t hurt to go to classes for 6 months to get the basics of handling proper hand positions and finger positions rather then picking up bad habits which will be hard to correct

 

[festerous]

Who is your inspiration that nobody here listens to? The best advice I can give you is not to get hung up on playing tiny part's and lick's. Learn complete songs from day one. Sublime's "What I Got" is only two chords D and G with a couple of cool slides betwixt.

 

[lost in a sea]

ive got all sorts of stringed instruments, my favourite is probably either a Dobro steel string resonator or a custom uke i had this cool german guy make, got some electrics, banjos, basses, a bazuki.. cant play anything for shit though, you need alot of free time to get to the point where you can play something audible for longer than 20 seconds.. it is really therapeutic, everyone should have a instrument.. and every child should be bought a ukulele imo, even if they just smash it against the wall like a rocker..

some people pick it up really fast and you wont know till you try but i agree that buying something of quality makes you want to use it more.. and i agree with festerous about trying to learn whole songs instead of licks..

 

[festerous]

Also if you are into the Acoustic thing, nylon stringed classical style guitars are very easy to play and can be used to play any style short of slide.

 

[GP73LPC]

Its the wonderfull world of internet learning how to play guitar is even easier i suggest hitting pawn shops , you can get a decent guitar for a decent price then start googling guitar for beginners, also wouldn;t hurt to go to classes for 6 months to get the basics of handling proper hand positions and finger positions rather then picking up bad habits which will be hard to correct

youtube is another great source for learning songs...

oh and btw, if you like it and you play your finger tips are gonna hurt for a little while until you can build up some calus on your finger tips...

 

[DrFever]

As a guitar player my self starting @ age 6 , 47 now gives you idea on how many years find the style you like Practice practice practice i remember playing 6 hrs a day for over 25 years. Playing in bands of all types
I took to the style of classical and Joe Satriani, once your in it long enough you will be able to pick up any song out there i can here a song and in 5 mins,
will have complete song down pact its all in the ear as you get experience knowing what to listen to
my axe i play with is custom made jackson as i am a south paw


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-f_xrx_1k8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jz7tDw4wvXk

 

[futuyama]

Totally agree with GP73LPC. A cheap acoustic could just be off-putting. The higher action and larger string guage will be a lot harder on the fingers. Although some people suggest that as a place to start for exactly those reasons.

If going used, definitely get it setup by a repair shop.

 

[xmobotx]

all seems like good sound advice throughout the thread ~who would think there were so many guitar players her?

lol~ just want to re-iterate {cause i think i mentioned already?} the dexterity built by chromatic scales

somewhere i have a guitar1 mag or some such w/ steve vai's finger regimen ~all variations on chromatic scales

similarly; tomo fujits's accelerate your guitar playing has an excellent section on chromatics/finger exercises

the beauty of chromatics is you dont need any real fretboard knowledge to get started building finger dexterity ~its basically just follow the previous fret w/ the adjacent fret and more complex chromatic-based exercises have you change strings too {even skip strings} MEANWHILE you build that knowledge and hear intervals as you practice

hearing intervals is a huge part of 'internalizing' the guitar ~which is building feel to the point if you 'hear' something in your head; your hands will play it

 

[managainstcloud]

Everyone has much better advice than me, but I taught myself guitar by just learning songs that I wanted to be able to play. One of the first songs I ever learned was Nirvana's About a Girl - literally a 2-chord verse, Em - G, over and over and over. Simple, but at first even that was impossible for me - how the hell did people change seamlessly between chords??

But, you know, like with anything, you just keep strumming and then one day you can suddenly change faster and you don't have to break your hand to hold a chord position and the progress feels great and rewarding, and you just keep on going because there's nothing in the world like being able to play music.

Sorry, i got all nostalgic and rambly there. Seriously though, just like everyone else says, go find a crappy guitar and start beating the hell out of it. Good luck!

 

[festerous]

Here is a nice trick for learning chords.
Fret the chord, strum once to check quality, remove the hand and wiggle your finger's to reset your muscle's memory process. Then repeat about 10-20 times. Use this basic principle
any time you need to learn an new chord or are having trouble switching betwixt them.

 

[HOPS5K]

I have just returned from my 3rd guitar lesson. I've been practicing up to 90 minutes a day.
I've been practicing C, F, and G chords. can get C and G without trouble individually, I can nearly get F but have only got it a handful of times.

Getting used to changing between the chords and learning a song...getting easier for sure and it sounds better every time I practice.

It's so awesome when you make your first chord sound perfect

getting the old guitar I picked up re-strung tonight and will be practicing again tomorrow.

teacher is already jumping into songs...had me playing "Sweet Child Of Mine" tonight...haha, didn't sound that Sweet though, lol