Learning Guitar

Busta

Busta

Bang-a-Rang!
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I've been wanting to learn to play guitar for years. I've bought myself an acoustic Martin DX1 back in December, and I'm going to go about learning on my own instead of taking lessons.

My questions is to those of you out there that play at all, how did you learn to play? What did you use? Who did you play with, and how long did it take you to get the hang of it?
 
Taking lessons has helped me out a lot and I'd recommend them. But, before I started taking them I used this: http://guitar.about.com/library/blguitarlessonarchive.htm This was probably my favorite site for guitar lessons because it is well structured; it teaches you different chords, techniques etc then it teaches you some songs which implement the things you've learned.

Start with the basics i.e Open chords, barre chords, scales, memorizing the notes on the fret board (start with the E and A strings) and basic strumming. Once you have these down try playing with other guitarists/musicians which have been playing a bit longer than you, it's fun and it will improve your playing greatly.

Finally, keep things interesting. Try to make practice fun, I used to like trying to solo/play along to the countdowns on music channels because I didn't know what would come next.

Learning the guitar is a long process, my mate has been playing for about 10 years and he still thinks he has a lot to learn. But on the plus side, you typically see the most extreme improvement in the first 6 months of playing (depending on how much you practice). It's a good feeling to go from barely being able to play three notes in a row to playing scales. Good luck.
 
Self taught. It's much funner that way dude. I've been playing since 2006, and it's awesome. Actual guitar lessons may take the fun out of it for you completely. Hit up Ultimate-Guitar, type in the name of a song, and the chords will be highlighted, if you scroll over them.

They show where to place your fingers even so you can get use to it that way. Just learn your basic chords and how to grasp them, and start learning some easy songs to get the hang of the rhythms, (doesnt have to be the same as the orignial, trying to strum along might help though). I dunno if you're planning on singing along as well? Might wanna do that from the start.

I heard a lot of people have trouble doing it at the same time. Some don't, and I didn't, so I wouldn't know about that.

If you see the chords on that site for the song you want, and you type it in on google, you'll see different variations. Pick your easiest. ;)

If you see the chord tablet, E A D G B e, the thick string is E, then A, then D etc etc. Thinnest is e. It's easier to remember that way, so that you don't have your chords backwards. xD
 
You and me both, Jace! Well, minus the guitar part still. I'm buying an acoustic guitar in a few weeks and teach myself how to play. Lessons do come in handy (from my experience with taking a piano class a few years ago anyway), but a bunch of my family members self-taught themselves and from what I heard, it's pretty easy. I've been wanting to learn for years too, but I was more into playing the piano.

I did learn some of the basics when I was 12 (again, self-taught) but I was using my dad's electric guitar and I wasn't too comfortable with it, so my interest in playing sorta died down.

Anyway, what brand do you guys have? Any advices as to which brand I should probably stay away from or does it really matter too much?
 
Yeah, I definitely want to do this the self-taught way like you said @Six. I mean I do see where the lessons could make my experience jump pretty good, but I'd rather find my own sorta style to get the hang of it, play at my own time instead of scheduled times and all. I do hear though that it is best to try to get into a rhythm at playing at the same time of day to get into a habit of practicing.

@SaShman, I do have a lot of family back home who play (Uncles, cousins, etc...), and get together every week to sit in the kitchen and play songs from back in the day, old country songs, Bob Dylan songs, and others. That's definitely what I'm using as my motivation to get started on this and stick with it so I get good.

Mitsuki, I've had the option to get an Electric/Acoustic, but with the songs I mainly want to play, I stuck with acoustic for my first purchase. I've heard from some of my best guitar playing friends that the Martin DX1 was one of the best to get, as well as maybe an Ovation.

Also, I had a friend recommend to me this site: Justin Guitar.

I started on that going right from the basics. Haven't been on it in a while though. *kicks self*
 
Martin. <3 Too expensive for my budget though. :sad3:

I finally bought a guitar today. A Jasmine Takamine ES31C. Acoustic/Electric. I was hoping to avoid a black colored one, but that's one of the best deals I can find.

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Along with a Snark tuner.

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Overall price...just a little over $200. The guitar was regular priced at $369 but I got it for $169.

Cutaway dreadnought. I was actually hoping for a thinner body for comfort reasons, but this isn't too bad. I had a choice between this and an Ibanez (at another store): http://www.guitarcenter.com/Ibanez-...ic-Electric-Guitar-Pack-103865994-i1168181.gc

Comes in a pack, but I wasn't too sure about guitars coming in packs to be honest. :hmmm: However, I'm kinda having second thoughts and I'm wondering if I should return the Takamine and purchase the Ibanez instead. Only because it is a good deal. :wacky: And I think it's a thinner body too. I'm so indecisive!

But anyway...I need to learn the basic chords. Fun. Any tips on where to start with this whole self-teaching process? I've been doing some research online and watching youtube videos, but it's a bit overwhelming to take in all at once. I know each strings but I guess it's playing the chords that I'll just have to get used to.





 
Excellent, always great to see people wanting to learn to play. I went the guitar teacher route myself. I was going to lessons for about 3 years, but gave it up in December because life was taking some dramatic changes that won't allow me to play much anymore (great changes though :ryan:). When all was said and done, I still feel like I'm not totally adept to playing, though I can hold my own fairly well.

You have to do what's best for you. I did the teacher thing because I have hour long lunch breaks and at the time I lived 50 minutes away from work, so it gave me something to do 1 day a week, at least. But as others have pointed out, that's not always best for everyone. Some of my favorite guitarists are self-taught, afterall. Try to at least set a half hour each day to practice. And be sure to have a plan on what to play instead of just playing random stuff and jumping around.

The toughest part about learning to play is keeping yourself playing without getting too bored and wanting to give it up. A lot of the early stages of learning is drills with some basic finger exercises. This is all to build better coordination between both hands. And don't feel like it's impossible, anyone can teach themself this, it just takes a little time. And unforutantely, I'd think that starting to play on an electric would be better, even though conventional wisdom says otherwise. The gage of the strings on an electric guitar are much thinner, so strumming and string bending takes less effort than an acoustic. It's not impossible to learn on an acoustic, but you might burn out your wrists quicker each day. Again, practice will help with building stamina in your wrists and fingers.

As for my hardware, I have 3 guitars these days. Two electrics and one acoustic. The two electrics are an Ibanez and a PRS. The acoustic is a Fender, which I just got for Christmas, so I don't have a picture of it yet. And my amplifier is a Line 6. Here is a picture of the two electrics and the amp:
Guitars.jpg


The PRS is the cherryburst one on the left and the Ibanez is the gray one on the right, with the amp in the middle. :ryan:
 
Kick-ass guitars, Dan! Great advices as well. For basic finger exercises, what do you recommend? :hmmm: Like, which particular chords first? Or should I start with single notes first?

I should buy a handbook soon...

Also...does having great tension on the base your neck part of learning the guitar? >.> Because it freakin' hurts when I turn my head right now lol. Started last night.

I'm really considering returning the Takamine and get the Ibanez Jampack, but I'm not sure if the body is thinner than the Takamine. I'm having some shoulder issues when I play for more than 10 minutes, and I'm having a bit of hard time looking at the chords at times...but I think it's just a matter of geting used to it? I hope?
 
Thank you. :ryan:

For some basic chords, I'd say go with E, E minor, A, A minor, C, D, D minor and G to start off with. To practice chords, strum them to a rhythm. Start off with basic eighth notes, which is basically a down strum, then an upstrum, and repeat that four times to achieve 1 beat. Or if you're not comfortable with upstrumming yet, then just do quarter notes, which is the same, but when you upstroke, don't hit the strings. Same motion as the eighth notes, but you won't be strumming when you upstroke. For single finger exercises, start off with the 4 3 2 1 method. Those numbers represent your fingers, 4 being your pinky and 1 being your index. What you do is start off on the thin string (high e string) at the 12th fret (which has 2 dots) with your 4th finger (pinky) and strum them 4 3 2 1. Naturally your 3rd finger will be on the 11 fret etc. After you do the 4 3 2 1, move to the next string, on the same frets and do the same thing. Repeat this until you have reached the fat string (low e string), then move your index finger to the 8th fret (it'll be on the 9th to start with) and do a 1 2 3 4 motion on the low e string and work your way back down to the high e string. Then move your 4th finger to the 10th fret (it'll be on the 11th for the 1 2 3 4) and do it all over again. Do this all the way to the first fret (with your 1st finger, of course), then move back up to the 12th fret doing this same pattern. When you get better with that, then you can start changing it to a 4 3 1 exercise doing the same thing, as well as a 4 2 1 exercise. Hopefully you understood all of that. :lew:

As for the neck cramping, its just because you're tense. I'm sure you're pressing your fingers really hard on the strings as well, which is probably hurting your fingers and wrist. Once you start getting more comfortable with playing, you'll loosen up. Your endurance for playing will increase as well, so you'll play longer before the cramps. Same goes for your shoulder. You're just not used to it yet, but it'll come around with practice. Unfortunately, there is no shortcut to playing better or more efficient, its just a matter of sticking with it and practicing. Then your ability and skill will come as well. Just takes some patience.

I could probably make a video showing this stuff, as a visual aid will help much more than reading it. But my apartment is still upside down at the moment, so it might take some time.
 
I'm primarily self-taught but honestly, getting a teacher is the way to go for one important reason. Getting a good teacher will teach you how to play things right. You have no idea how much time this saves you in the long run when you start to improve but (for example) have to suddenly stop because way back when you learned to alternate strum you had poor technique so you can't go on to sweep picking or arpeggios until you go back and correct that, and when you've been practicing something wrong for so long it's incredibly tedious to relearn everything.
 
I did a video for Mits explaining the basic chords, I just might do a quick run through tutorial for in this thread as well. So many people seem interested in learning, and playing guitar is awesome, so I'm willing to help out. Can't say when I'll have it done though, I work all week. -.-
 
I don't have any extensive advice, but just start easy. A lot of the easy stuff you can pick up from MIDI music files from old games like the Pokemon series, or Final Fantasy VII. Some of the Crisis Core songs are not that difficult to play either if you're willing to give it some time.

http://www.gametabs.net/

Is a site that I used to use frequently.

Reading Tablature isn't hard, but if you want to actually perform live or something you should probably train your ears instead of relying on tablature alone. :monster:
 
I didn't really think of suggesting Guitaretab or Ultimate-Guitar since they usually come up whenever I search <"song name" tab> in the google search bar in my browser.

There are also some tabs that load into a program called Guitar Pro, but Powertab is freeware and I doubt that there's really a big difference between the tabs some people put up for this program.

infact, I wouldn't be surprised if they were the exact same. :awesome:
 
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Excuse my messy bed..... >_>

Lmfao this is my dodgy little hippy guitar, I am only just learning to play with help from some of my pals. So far I am not very good....all I can play is D chord and A chord and slowly go from one to the other.

My guitar is actually my friends but she's lent it to me for as long as I need. If I enjoy learning guitar I'll probably buy my own eventually, something that isn't so hippy with the flowers and birds and words 'freedom' all over it :wacky:
 
Cute guitar, Toni! Looks like a slimmer body so that's perfect for beginners. Good luck with it. :)

Here's my Fender. Poor thing hasn't had much attention lately.

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I can play Hotel California, but only with a capo. Zombie is easy as well, and I did learn More Than Words but it's been awhile, so I kinda forgot how to play that. :hmmm:

...I still can't do tablature. I tried learning but I'm too lazy to take it all in.
 
If any of you are still interested in learning guitar,I suggest picking up Rocksmith 2014.Ive been on it for almost 2 weeks and I say it works pretty well.Ive been playing for about 11 years and am self taught with no formal lessons,I am using it for learning new scales and learning some of the songs,It is basicaly guitar hero for the real guitar when it comes to learning the songs,yet this program allows way more control over the material your learning from.RS 2014 ranges from absolute beginer to expert level,there are an uber amount of tutorials and lessons to choose from.Just thought I would throw this out here,its a pretty good instructional game so far.

http://rocksmith.ubi.com/rocksmith/en-US/home/index.aspx
 
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