hey, I bought an acoustic guitar today and im going to start to learn to play, does anyone on here play? if so how did you learn? Any suggestions or ideas to make it easier? Thanks

Good on ya!

 

Buy a book so you can learn as many chords as you can, or you might be able to print some off from websites. I'd suggest learning just two chords at first, say A and E because they're relatively easy to pick up. Now practice and practice till you can change smoothly between the two.

 

Learn where all the major notes fall on each string, ie A, B, C, D, E, F and G - that will help you no end. The notes in between and usually sharps and flats.

 

Depending on your sense of timing and rythmn, playing in time and learning techniques for playing the strings might be hard to pick up at first, suggest finding some video tutorials (there must be loads!) and following them.

 

It you have some spare cash it would be really worthwhile hiring a guitar player to give you some tuition - lots of guitarists do this in their spare time so check out your local music shops and newspaper ads.

That's cool, I've been playing guitar since I was 6, so that's 12 years in total, however I did have a 'black spot' where I didn't play for ages.

 

It's hard to say an easy way for you to learn because it all really does depend on your techniques of learning. Your best bet to get your finger placement, picking and rhythm right is to play along to some songs first. The best way to do this is probably to learn tab. I found that things like Eric Clapton etc were the best. Just push yourself really hard .

The key to success in my opinion is to make in enjoyable. Start with the basics like Bluedreamer says: simple chord shapes, finding the notes on the neck, learning to tune the instrument, practising, practising, and practising some more.

I highly recommend having some tuition in the early stages so that any problems can be spotted and ironed out before they develop into bad habits.

Once you can play a few chords and have smooth transitions between them, try playing along to CDs. This is a great way to develop a sense of timing and dynamics.

Don't expect too much from yourself initially. It's good to push yourself hard, but it's not good to have an unrealistic idea of what you can achieve in the first 3 months (or at any time, but particularly in the beginning). Depending on your musical experience and whether you play another instrument, it is likely to take a few years to get to grips with the main techniques. If you expect too much from yourself you'll end up disappointed and demotivated. Take it a step at a time, and remember: the guitar is there for enjoyment. If you're starting to hate it when you find something very hard, put it down for 10 mins and do something else. Your fingers will yield in the end.

One last piece of advice: your ears are as important, if not more important than your fingers. Listen closely to what you are playing, what the sounds coming out of the instrument are like, and what the different notes sound like in relation to each other. Developing your ear is critical to becoming a good musician.

I've been playing for nearly 20 years now, and teaching for 5. If you have any questions feel free to send me a PM.

Good luck, and have fun. Acoustic guitar is the best

I self taught myself when I was younger. Don't play anymore though, because I like having nails

Have a look on youtube. I bet there is someone on there offering tutorials.

Like has already been said, keep it simple, and don't be disheartened if you don't get it straight away. Good luck!

hey, I bought an acoustic guitar today and im going to start to learn to play, does anyone on here play? if so how did you learn? Any suggestions or ideas to make it easier? Thanks

 

Good stuff.

 

I taught myself few basics sometime ago. Found the most convenient way to start was by picking a relatively simple song i liked (a bunch of chords on a loop sort) and trying to play that over and over until the shifts between chords were smooth. Was a fun way of going about it definitely, whether the most efficient or 'textbook correct' is another matter.

 

A word of warning though: It's not advisable to choose a song you like 'too much' to start with, because by the time you are finished learning it you probably won't wanna hear it ever again

I had lessons - once I got to a stage were I felt comfortable teaching myself, I stopped them - they are exspensive at £25 per half hour but it was well worth it - I bought an eletric guitar for about £300 with an AMP.

£50 per hour!??! I am WAY undercharging! If I am anything to go by, you'll be able to find a reasonable tuition rate without compromising on tuition quality if you look around.

I only learnt for a bit, then I got into kung fu instead - but here's my two pennies worth.

 

learn the A shape, E shape and variations thereof (minor 7ths etc.) - and all the open chords at the top of the neck - then get a grip strengthener, and do A/E barre chords until your fingers bleed. If you can get barre chords down, then you really open up the fret for yourself - although it's harder to arpeggiate/fingerpick of a barred chord unless you've got a good clean grip.

 

You can get a lowered action on the fret if you're lazy, and light strings too - but I'd reckon on getting a jumbo with medium strings to make sure you're exercising your fret hand properly.

Me and some friends are thinking of doing a beginner guitar / music website.

We know there is a lot of sites out there, but they aren't that great.

We were thinking of having some resources and some lessons.

Similar to justinguitar.com, but with more resources - PowerTab etc...

Any ideas / sugesstions?

 

Any suggestions or ideas to make it easier?

try justinguitar.com :] very good.

3 chords and the truth

 

 

Listen to what you play, record yourself, don't get hung up on technicalities. Listen so some awesome guitarists (even if you're not into that style of music).

that justin guitar is a great site thanks! and thanks to everyone else the advice is noted, im trying to get down the 3 major chords right now

For some mind blowing inspiration check out (youtube em if you want)

 

Andy McKee (Drifting is one of his best or Africa for a well known)

Michael Hedges (Aerial Boundaries, Rickover's Dream or All Along the Watchtower for a well known)

Check out Guitar Heroes edition of Jools Holland - awesome contributions from Kelly Joe Phelps, Pete Townshend & Radiohead, and some really dodgy performances from some of the other players....

You know who you are!

Enjoy!

Also, make sure that if you do get a tutor he doesn't screw you over and use it more for a lay about session as opposed to properly teaching you, my guitar tutor did that for about a year and I suffered the consequences because of it. Luckily I learned during school, so the lessons were £7 for half an hour.

 

(Bargain.)

I been playing for about 12 years and can play just about anything I want (as long as it's not ridiculous shredding like buckethead)

The best advice i could give to an absolute beginner would be:

learn- "smoke on the water" "peter gunn theme" and "come as you are".

also learn the major scale this is the basis for almost any melody that sounds "happy" think "when the saints go marching in"

you can find all these on youtube or through google.

Learn to tune by ear from the start, train your ears, it will be invaluable later for "playing by ear".

once you have some simple 1 string melodies down, move onto simple chords.

as much as i hate oasis, their early stuff is some of the easiest chord based guitar music to learn and will be a fantastic basis, then move onto the beatles, (like oasis but more complex)

once you have these basics nailed, you'll know where to go based on what you want.

also don't be too quick to get a teacher, many of the best guitarists are/were self taught.

when you start to get it, it becomes incredibly addictive.

practise, practise, practise, practise, practise, practise, practise, practise, practise, practise, practise, practise, practise, practise, practise, practise, practise, practise, practise, practise, practise, practise, practise, practise, practise, practise, practise, practise, practise, practise, practise, etc etc etc...

Don't play anymore though, because I like having nails

 

I get what you mean! I felt the same way when my violin teacher told me I had to cut mine if I wanted to play... But oh well, my passion for the violin spoke louder and now long nails are a mirage for me. But I don't mind much.