Learning Guitar

[Nemo128]

So, yeah, like topic says, I want to learn how to play guitar. Acoustic guitar. I don't aspire to being the next Jimmy Hendrix or Slash, I don't expect to perform the riff from Metallica's One (will they sue me for mentioning their name here?). I just want to learn how to play a guitar. I'm in a really bad place in life and I always wanted to learn. I have a guitar, bought it like a year ago and have taken it out of the case two times.

So, advice? I don't have time for formal lessons, but I just want to start somehow.

 

[highfigh]

So, yeah, like topic says, I want to learn how to play guitar. Acoustic guitar. I don't aspire to being the next Jimmy Hendrix or Slash, I don't expect to perform the riff from Metallica's One (will they sue me for mentioning their name here?). I just want to learn how to play a guitar. I'm in a really bad place in life and I always wanted to learn. I have a guitar, bought it like a year ago and have taken it out of the case two times.

So, advice? I don't have time for formal lessons, but I just want to start somehow.

If you go to Guitar Center or a lot of other music stores, they'll have an area with books, sheet music and teaching methods. In this area, they'll have Hal Leonard books, many with a CD or DVD, so you can see how you need to do certain things.
Amazon has them, too-
http://www.amazon.com/Hal-Leonard-Guitar-Method-Complete/dp/0634047019

If you have some musical background, it will be helpful- if not, you don't necessarily need to read music well, although it helps. Also, if you don't read music, it can often be found in what's called Tab, or Tablature. This shows six lines across the page with numbers. Each line corresponds to a string and the numbers correspond to the finger used. At the top or bottom of each musical line, they'll have a number that corresponds to the fret number.

If the book says that you should practice with a metronome, you don't need to buy one- google 'free metronome download'

There's a bunch of things that aren't much fun to do when learning an instrument- scales, picking practice, etc. The practice part sucks, IMO, but it's a means to an end. Music is good therapy, too. Have fum with it.

 

[itschris]

I'm a late bloomer when it came to picking up guitar. Here's the thing... your fingers simply won't do what they need to at first.. so expect to be frustrated beyond belief. Sometimes I'd play for just a couple of minutes and put it down... wait a day or two only to find that suddenly I could do what I could the days before. It's literally the physiology of your body making the correct neural pathways and to fire them so that your fingers can actual articulate the way they need to.

I would start off by just using tablature. There's no point in getting all formal and learning scales and what not to begin with. Just find a tablature version of a song you like that has just the chords and strum along. That's the easiest way to get started. It's really cool when you can actually just play along with the song you're playing. You don't have to do all the individual plucking or anything... just strum the chords and play along. You'll be surprised how much that will motivate you which is what you need at first.

 

[jinjuku]

bought it like a year ago and have taken it out of the case two times.

So, advice? I don't have time for formal lessons, but I just want to start somehow.

You could try smashing one. Hell all the players no matter how great have done it and felt better Don't need a lesson for that.

 

[jliedeka]

I would agree with itschris. Learning guitar is a cumulative process. It seems slow at first but the more you learn, the easier it gets.

I don't really read music. I can but it's a slow painful process. I'm an ear player. After 25+ years I have no problem figuring out notes and chords but I sometimes struggle with getting the rhythm right.

If you are interested in guitar to accompany your singing, I'd just learn some basic chords to start and find the songs you want to learn on the internet. There's also a lot of free tablature available. The accuracy can vary but you can't beat the price. The more you learn, the quicker you'll recognize chords and lick in songs you hear.

Jim

 

[10010011]

I don't aspire to being the next Jimmy Hendrix or Slash

Slash who?

 

[highfigh]

Slash who?

You know, that nice boy from Los Angeles, Saul Hudson

 

[Adam]

You know, that nice boy from Los Angeles, Saul Hudson

"Nice boys don't play rock and roll."

 

[stratman]

There are students in university music programs that teach as a source of income, most are excellent players, they will get you started with your basics, It's a better method than CDs and/or DVDs, they'll be able to diagnose and correct your mistakes as you progress and as a bonus they tend to be on the affordable side......I highly recommend this method.

 

[highfigh]

In the short-term, the best advice I can give is to just start banging away on it.

 

[jliedeka]

Good point. U2 didn't know how to play their instruments when they started and look how they turned out.

Jim

 

[Nemo128]

If you are interested in guitar to accompany your singing

Jeez no, I can't sing worth a damn.

You could try smashing one. Hell all the players no matter how great have done it and felt better Don't need a lesson for that.

Now that is an idea.

 

[omegapoint]

A bit of advice I can give is never put your guitar in its case. Buy a stand and keep it in the room you spend most of your time in. You'll find it stares at you like your dog when it needs to be fed and you'll pick it up more often which is key. Also, I find developing a high apptitude for rhythm will reward
you with a style and allow you to develope faster, since theres a thing called "rhythmic displacement" that allows you to cheat by using pauses as moments
to gather your choice of next note when playing leads ...some might call it
funk. Listen for it with players like Robben Ford. The absense of a note or rest can be as effective in rounding out your phrasing as the presence of one.
All that of course depends on the style you're after, but guitar like piano is in
part a percussive instrument. Even when listening you can sort of practise.
Think rythmically as in when you express what some drummer does with mouthed sounds but in silence ..."boop bip bip boop bip bip yea." (...what song is that from? I forgot). Like alot of players here have said, when you first start its that hand dexterity that'll have you climbing walls but it'll pass.
And lastly ...find what inspires YOU, and refer back to it often. Good Luck

 

[stratman]

Search your nearest university's music school......trust me on this. Buy a decent acoustic (decent action so you don't get frustrated with chords), don't spend a ton of hard earned money until you're sure this is what you really want to do......I taught my 8 year old the blues progression, he's learning fast, because it's easier when you have one on one with an accomplished player.

I took up guit playing at seven.....I'm 48 now, I learned the hard way, flamenco with a super strict teacher, sight reading and composition. I eventually settled on jazz, but I'm more of a Texas Blues kind of caveman........down and raunchy fat tube sound, thick stringed Strat or super low actioned gold top Paul.....

 

[highfigh]

."boop bip bip boop bip bip yea." (...what song is that from? I forgot).

I think it's either 'Big Money', by Rush or 'Chevrolet', on Robben Ford and The Blue Line.