Learning Guitar

[tuxbox]

My sister bought me a guitar and amp and I was wondering if any of you had any advice for learning how to play? I know YouTube has a lot of howto vids but I would like a more structured learning tool. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you.

 

[Prolescum]

This sounds stupid, but my best advice is constant practice; you can't go into learning a stringed instrument without growing calluses on your fingers.
Seriously, daily.

If you can, start with a couple of songs you like before you delve in to proper training. Learn the chords, play the notes you finger individually and get a feel for the structure of the instrument (most modern western music is quite logical), the relationship between the notes of the chords and the distance between octaves.

Can you play any other instruments?

 

[tuxbox]

Thank you Prole,
I've been practicing my fingers off. I now have two blisters, one on my middle finger and the other on the ring. I been working on the E, A, and D chords currently but it looks like I am going to have to take a break. I found what looks like a decent site, call The Essential Guitar Guide which I like as well.

I can not play any other instruments and I am clueless on Music Theory, so I starting from scratch. I am having fun though.

 

[tuxbox]

Bored!

 

[Inferno]

There's a great variety of guitar magazines with useful tips. "Guitar" being one of the more famous ones, "Metal Hammer" being one for... duh, metal.

Though it all depends on the style you want to play, I'd suggest the following:
1) Use tabs. For people starting with the guitar, they're easier than to use normal notes. Protip: Tuxguitar plays GuitarProTabs for free!

2) Look up all the different scales and chords. Learn the more basic chords and scales by heart (eg. Blues Pentatonic scale, C/D/E/F/G/A/H chords including major/minor/7's) and play them every day. Going up scales in varying speeds and rhythms is imho the best way to start with the guitar.

3) Learn (at least) one (easy) song per week. This keeps you from getting bored, plus it's a great way to put your skills to the test. Again, GuitarPro may help.

4) There are a variety of warm up exercises, which you should do daily once you've played for a few months. They'll make your fingers more flexible and quicker. You might want to take a look at John Petrucci's "Rock Discipline". Especially the first 15-20mins are important.

5) Play play play. 30min a day is the absolute minimum, but don't overdo it at first. (8h a day during your first year? You'll give up)

6) There are a wide variety of ways to hold your arms. This is one of the things the internet can't teach properly. Two options here: Go and pay for that one or two lessons, focusing only on that. Or: Just play, you'll figure out your favourite way sooner or later.

 

[Laurens]

I think the key is persistence.

Most people try for a time, then decide its too hard and give up before they have ever really had the chance.

Your chords will sound shoddy to begin with, and your hands might feel like awkward contorted crows feet at times but with practice your hands will adapt and you will find changing from one awkward hand position to another rather simple eventually.

So song as you equip yourself with perseverance and a healthy understanding that you won't be Hendrix right off the bat, then the internet will have all the resources you could ever need to learn guitar.

And, yes, I am back

 

[tuxbox]

There's a great variety of guitar magazines with useful tips. "Guitar" being one of the more famous ones, "Metal Hammer" being one for... duh, metal.

Though it all depends on the style you want to play, I'd suggest the following:
1) Use tabs. For people starting with the guitar, they're easier than to use normal notes. Protip: Tuxguitar plays GuitarProTabs for free!

2) Look up all the different scales and chords. Learn the more basic chords and scales by heart (eg. Blues Pentatonic scale, C/D/E/F/G/A/H chords including major/minor/7's) and play them every day. Going up scales in varying speeds and rhythms is imho the best way to start with the guitar.

3) Learn (at least) one (easy) song per week. This keeps you from getting bored, plus it's a great way to put your skills to the test. Again, GuitarPro may help.

4) There are a variety of warm up exercises, which you should do daily once you've played for a few months. They'll make your fingers more flexible and quicker. You might want to take a look at John Petrucci's "Rock Discipline". Especially the first 15-20mins are important.

5) Play play play. 30min a day is the absolute minimum, but don't overdo it at first. (8h a day during your first year? You'll give up)

6) There are a wide variety of ways to hold your arms. This is one of the things the internet can't teach properly. Two options here: Go and pay for that one or two lessons, focusing only on that. Or: Just play, you'll figure out your favourite way sooner or later.

Thank you Inferno,
I have been practicing all of those chords daily (with the exception of the H chord. I have no idea what that chord is, except that some musicians play it in Europe.) and I now have calluses on my fingerings which is great. I watched that video and it is awesome. I love Dream Theater by the way.

I think the key is persistence.

Most people try for a time, then decide its too hard and give up before they have ever really had the chance.

Your chords will sound shoddy to begin with, and your hands might feel like awkward contorted crows feet at times but with practice your hands will adapt and you will find changing from one awkward hand position to another rather simple eventually.

So song as you equip yourself with perseverance and a healthy understanding that you won't be Hendrix right off the bat, then the internet will have all the resources you could ever need to learn guitar.

And, yes, I am back

Thank you Laurens and I do find switching from one chord to the other very difficult right now but that has not stopped me from practicing. I took Inferno's advice and learn one of the minor Pentatonic scales and that is a lot of fun to practice as well. I found a website http://www.justinguitar.com and it has helped a lot. I thinking about subscribing to http://www.guitarjamz.com/ as well.

 

[Laurens]

Just be warned, once you enter the realm of the Spanish Phrygian mode it is very hard to leave...

I learnt it fully a few months back, now I everything I play sounds like Flamenco.

 

[tuxbox]

Just be warned, once you enter the realm of the Spanish Phrygian mode it is very hard to leave...

I learnt it fully a few months back, now I everything I play sounds like Flamenco.

LOL, I'll keep that under advisement...

 

[DepricatedZero]

haha Laurens is a pretty good guitarist, I'm trying to imagine him stuck on Flamenco now. Seems funny.

I just got a guitar a couple weeks ago too. I've been playing bass for 15 years, but never bothered to pick up a 6 string. Friend of mine gave me a REALLY nice Martin Acoustic made of Adirondack Spruce for Christmas. It sounds beautiful, but I suck at it. So a couple weeks ago I dropped $40 on an old beat up Jackson and set it up. It sounds...okay.

One thing I learned quickly is the quality of callouses. Playing on a bass is like playing on really fine grade sand paper. Playing on a guitar is like playing on really blunt razors. I've torn off 3 callouses, and that shit hurts.but now I'm getting some REALLY damn thick ones. I play about an hour or 2 a day between both instruments (guitar and bass). I hope I'll soon be able to play the acoustic with some ability.

So here's my own suggestion:

Play things you LIKE. Nothing was more boring to me than learning to play the same tired songs that every band has to know how to play. If you get bored with your hobby, then it's not fun and if you're not having fun you won't come back to it. The very first song I learned on bass was Longview by Green Day - and I'm a huge Green Day fan. The very first song I learned on guitar was Santa Monica by Everclear. Find songs you like, and listen to the guitar parts. Find ones that sound like they'll be easy to learn, to start with. Santa Monica is all power chords, for instance. Blind Melon's No Rain is a good one for learning your E D A and G chords, because the guitar is slow. Want something metal? Learn the intro/verse to Iron Maiden's Dance of Death.

But I don't mean learn those songs. I mean, learn what you like to listen to. I think it was Dave Grohl who said you shouldn't be intimidated by your heros and think "I could never do that", you should look at them and say "I'm gonna do that!"

But that's the key. You must have fun.

I disagree with Inferno on learning from tabs. Tabs are good, and definitely great for beginners, and they're the easiest source of musical notation to find for most types of music. But there's no substitute for knowing your notes, or when discussing a phrase with a band knowing what it means to play stocatto, legato, piano, or forte. Like he said, learn a couple basic scales like the blues pentatonic. Exercise just playing the scales and as you play each note, sing its name. Look at the scale on a bar while you play it, as well as in tabs if you need the tab to show you how to do it at first. You'll begin associating the three - and that's really the key to learning sheet music. You'll see a note on the sheet, and think "C" while your hand goes to the position it associates with that C. Do this as part of your warm up exercise. 2-3 runs through the scales that way before jumping in to playing and you'll already be a step ahead of other guitarists who don't know the fretboard. This applies equally to any instrument.

 

[tuxbox]

Thanks for the advice DepricatedZero. Yeah, when I first started practicing, my fingertips hurt like hell, but I've gotten used to it now. I've learned 5 open chords and a few barre chords. I am now working on switching between chords as accurately as I can. I have also learned a minor pentatonic scale. I will be working on learning a few songs later when I feel I have mastered what I have learned so far. I am having a lot of fun.

 

[Laurens]

Thanks for the advice DepricatedZero. Yeah, when I first started practicing, my fingertips hurt like hell, but I've gotten used to it now. I've learned 5 open chords and a few barre chords. I am now working on switching between chords as accurately as I can. I have also learned a minor pentatonic scale. I will be working on learning a few songs later when I feel I have mastered what I have learned so far. I am having a lot of fun.

The cool thing with the pentatonic scales is that the notes that sound minor with a certain chord, sound major with a different one.

For example, the A minor pentatonic scale can also be played as C major. In general to find the major chord to play over a given minor pentatonic to get the major key is 3 frets up from the root of the minor. So in the example above A-A#-B-C. Another example would be that E minor pentatonic also works as G major (E-F-F#-G)

Being self-taught I am really poor at explaining these things, but if you have any questions I will try to answer them.

PS: This is not just unique to the pentatonic scales but rather than baffling you with too much new info I'll just leave you with that for now.

 

[tuxbox]

Thanks for the advice DepricatedZero. Yeah, when I first started practicing, my fingertips hurt like hell, but I've gotten used to it now. I've learned 5 open chords and a few barre chords. I am now working on switching between chords as accurately as I can. I have also learned a minor pentatonic scale. I will be working on learning a few songs later when I feel I have mastered what I have learned so far. I am having a lot of fun.

The cool thing with the pentatonic scales is that the notes that sound minor with a certain chord, sound major with a different one.

For example, the A minor pentatonic scale can also be played as C major. In general to find the major chord to play over a given minor pentatonic to get the major key is 3 frets up from the root of the minor. So in the example above A-A#-B-C. Another example would be that E minor pentatonic also works as G major (E-F-F#-G)

Being self-taught I am really poor at explaining these things, but if you have any questions I will try to answer them.

PS: This is not just unique to the pentatonic scales but rather than baffling you with too much new info I'll just leave you with that for now.

Thanks Laurens, I did here about how to use the A minor pentatonic scale as a C major while watching a video on JamPlay. I play the scale pretty well, but have not tried using it with a backing track yet. I am currently trying to learn Don't Fear The Reaper from Blue Oyster Cult. I am having a blast but I have a hell of a lot to learn. Thanks for all the advice.

 

[abelcainsbrother]

First off you need to learn the chords first and I would say A B C D E F and G first. There are so many songs that can be played if you just know these chords.After you get these chords down then you want to learn some minor chords too like A minor and E minor,etc.Get used to placing your fingers where they need to be where your fingers don't hit other strings,etc,practice lifting them up and then putting them back in the same spot they were without touching other strings that doesn't allow it to ring out properly. This is probably going to be boring at first but it will pay off in the end.

After this you want to learn how to play power chords which are pretty easy and as you practice these chords practice different ways of strumming them like all down strokes,all up strokes,up and down,etc and as you do it try to pick your fingers up when making the chords and then putting them right back where they were,also try switching between chords also. Tap your foot to keep timing or if you can find a drum beat with no music just drums you can try to play along with it while practicing the chords. But first get used to the chords first. Then after you learn and get used to the chords you can learn about tablature and start learning songs you like.

I did it backwards when I first started playing the guitar I learned how to read tablature and I was able to learn a bunch of songs but I could not tell you what chord I was hitting so I later had to go back and learn chords to where I could name them and recognize them in songs.

Also another tip with your fretting hand if you place your thumb in the middle on the back of the neck instead of wrapping your thumb around it,this will help your fingers stretch better to make the chords if you are having trouble stretching your fingers to make the chords,try this,it works.There are advanced chords like Jimi Hendrix used in which you must wrap your thumb around the neck and fret the 6th string with it to make the chord properly,but this is an advanced chord I would'nt worry about for awhile.

 

[tuxbox]

First off you need to learn the chords first and I would say A B C D E F and G first. There are so many songs that can be played if you just know these chords.After you get these chords down then you want to learn some minor chords too like A minor and E minor,etc.Get used to placing your fingers where they need to be where your fingers don't hit other strings,etc,practice lifting them up and then putting them back in the same spot they were without touching other strings that doesn't allow it to ring out properly. This is probably going to be boring at first but it will pay off in the end.

After this you want to learn how to play power chords which are pretty easy and as you practice these chords practice different ways of strumming them like all down strokes,all up strokes,up and down,etc and as you do it try to pick your fingers up when making the chords and then putting them right back where they were,also try switching between chords also. Tap your foot to keep timing or if you can find a drum beat with no music just drums you can try to play along with it while practicing the chords. But first get used to the chords first. Then after you learn and get used to the chords you can learn about tablature and start learning songs you like.

I did it backwards when I first started playing the guitar I learned how to read tablature and I was able to learn a bunch of songs but I could not tell you what chord I was hitting so I later had to go back and learn chords to where I could name them and recognize them in songs.

Also another tip with your fretting hand if you place your thumb in the middle on the back of the neck instead of wrapping your thumb around it,this will help your fingers stretch better to make the chords if you are having trouble stretching your fingers to make the chords,try this,it works.There are advanced chords like Jimi Hendrix used in which you must wrap your thumb around the neck and fret the 6th string with it to make the chord properly,but this is an advanced chord I would'nt worry about for awhile.

I guess I've been learning it backwards, hehe. I have learned A C D E and I am working on the F but it is hard to get the second string to ring correctly. It's pretty frustrating but I'll eventually get it, I hope. Thanks for the advice and it is good advice. I plan on following it. I use my brothers JamPlay account to learn new cords and timing with a metronome. I'm not sure how long it will take to learn switching between chords correctly but I am having fun learning.

 

[abelcainsbrother]

Here is a song by Third Day I learned. It is called "Cry out to Jesus"The chords to it are C F A minor and G.I learned it because me and another guitarist and singer were going to play it in a church but it never happened but I like the song any way and so I Iike to crank it up and play along with it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeGNgBwPTMA

 

[abelcainsbrother]

I just got a mandolin about two weeks ago as a gift and I've never played one before eventhough I've played the guitar for years well about two nights ago I figured out how to tune it and I got it in tune and I said I want to learn a song so I thought of a good mandolin song and it is losing my religion by REM. Well the way you make the chords for the guitar is different on a mandolin but I started learning losing my religion about two nights ago and I've learned the chords and the licks in the song.There is one lick in the song played quite abit through the song that is kinda tricky but not too difficult giving me a few problems but it won't be long and I'll have this song down perfect on the mandolin. I had already learned it on the guitar but now I'll be able to play it with a real mandolin.