Learning To Play Guitar

[ABM]

I think I'm going to take up learning to play the acoustical guitar. I play piano, so I'm already familiar with music.

Was considering purchasing a relatively inexpensive guitar/book such as these from Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Jasmine-Takam...cal-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1293207595&sr=1-4

http://www.amazon.com/How-Play-Guitar-Everything-Need/dp/0312287062/ref=pd_cp_MI_3



Anyone tried this route with success?

 

[Charcoal Filtered]

The Borders by Pioneer Place is going out of business. They had some learning guitar stuff when I went a couple of weeks ago.

Not musically inclined and tried picking up guitar in the pre-season. Found it takes alot of time that I do not have.

 

[RR7]

If you're doing it to pick up girls ABM, just carry the case around with you. No need to ever actually play the thing.

 

[SlyPokerDog]

Take a few lessons in person first. You know RubberToe is a damn good guitar player and would teach you.

 

[Denny Crane]

I taught myself to play about 30 years ago and I still play.

I bought a book of chords and taught myself to play my first chord. Then I listened to a record/CD to a song I wanted to learn, and every time that chord came up in the song, I played along with the record. After a while I learned a second chord and played that along with the record. Then I learned to change my fingering between the two chords and played both along with the record.

After a while, it became real obvious that most songs are made up of just a few simple chords and it became really easy to learn those songs. A song might have E-A-D chords in it. Or C-G-D. And so on.

It really helped me along to have someone who was pretty good at guitar to play along with and watch what he was doing with his hands. I picked up tricks like hammer on/pull off that way.

If you want to get good, you have to practice until you get blisters on your fingers. Those blisters turn into calluses which makes it so it doesn't hurt your fingers to play.

Unfortunately, I'm getting up in years and my fingers don't move like they used to

 

[SlyPokerDog]

I taught myself to play about 30 years ago and I still play.

I bought a book of chords and taught myself to play my first chord. Then I listened to a record/CD to a song I wanted to learn, and every time that chord came up in the song, I played along with the record. After a while I learned a second chord and played that along with the record. Then I learned to change my fingering between the two chords and played both along with the record.

After a while, it became real obvious that most songs are made up of just a few simple chords and it became really easy to learn those songs. A song might have E-A-D chords in it. Or C-G-D. And so on.

It really helped me along to have someone who was pretty good at guitar to play along with and watch what he was doing with his hands. I picked up tricks like hammer on/pull off that way.

If you want to get good, you have to practice until you get blisters on your fingers. Those blisters turn into calluses which makes it so it doesn't hurt your fingers to play.

Unfortunately, I'm getting up in years and my fingers don't move like they used to

And for the last 30 years Denny has been "that guy" who when he drinks too much at a party gets out the guitar and plays Smoke on the Water over and over and over.

 

[MrJayremmie]

My suggestion is get the cheapest guitar that is in good shape. I spent a couple years with a beat up guitar from my friend, and bought it from him for about 30$. I learned everything on that. A couple years later I went out and got a Taylor which I love (acoustic).

And make sure to learn on an acoustic, not an electric. Have your fingers build strength on the acoustic.

Good luck! Guitar is great. I knew piano a while ago, then kinda forgot and picked up guitar. Now I'm relearning piano. It is much easier this time around.

And I taught myself as well. Everything you need is online. Once you understand chords and all that, try playing simple songs. Learning songs not only helps you learn better, but makes it fun as well.

 

[Denny Crane]

My experience was that guitar was easier to learn, but piano is easier to master. Bass guitar is really easy once you know guitar.

 

[maxiep]

Go to a few guitar stores and hold and strum some guitars. Have their salespeople guide you. Then find the brands and shape (concert, drednaught, jumbo, etc.) you like and search for them on Craigslist. Playing on a guitar that isn't comfortable for you isn't much fun.

You can buy a book if you want, but with the internet and a printer, there's no reason to do so.

I've been playing since I was five and I play at least 15 minutes a day and most days over an hour. After all that playing, I still learn new things almost every day. Good luck!

 

[Further]

I started to learn guitar years ago and things were going well, then I moved and left my guitar in Portland and never really picked it back up, even though I have my Taylor 310 back again. One of the things I am excited about regarding buying a house is that I can pick up guitar again without worring about apartment neighbors.

When I was learning a while back, several things really helped. First I got a chord book and a guitar theory book. After a couple months strengthing my fingers and learning how to comfortably switch between a the most important chords, I took 2 lessons. Those lessons really helped me. If I take it back up, I would love to take another half dozen lessons. It is really amazing how much a live teacher can show you that a book can't.

Good luck!

 

[Nate4Prez]

[video=youtube;exE5kuyNo7E]

 

[BLAZER PROPHET]

Why not just buy a cheap keyboard to drag along with you.

Orrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, buy an accordion and join a hot Oompah band. There's a way to pick up chicks your age. Some of them might even still have their own teeth.

 

[ABM]

Go to a few guitar stores and hold and strum some guitars. Have their salespeople guide you. Then find the brands and shape (concert, drednaught, jumbo, etc.) you like and search for them on Craigslist. Playing on a guitar that isn't comfortable for you isn't much fun.

You can buy a book if you want, but with the internet and a printer, there's no reason to do so.

I've been playing since I was five and I play at least 15 minutes a day and most days over an hour. After all that playing, I still learn new things almost every day. Good luck!

No pun intended, but that's some sound advice. Thanks for that.

 

[ABM]

Why not just buy a cheap keyboard to drag along with you.

Orrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, buy an accordion and join a hot Oompah band. There's a way to pick up chicks your age. Some of them might even still have their own teeth.

Next time you start whining to me about the "childish posts on this board", I'm gonna steer you back towards these remarks.

 

[ABM]

Anyone know about the quality of Protocol acoustic guitars? I'm interested in a 38" one.

 

[ABM]

This looks pretty hot, as well...........

http://www.amazon.com/Silvertone-Dr...atural/dp/B000189NUY/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

 

[DaRizzle]

Ok....I cant resist posting in this thread...Ive been playing for 20 years.

Do you want acoustic or electric?

Acoustic guitars have thicker strings than electric guitars. This makes it it slightly harder to push the strings down. The action on a acoustic guitar is also higher than an electric. Action refers to the distance between the string and the fretboard. Higher action= need more pressure and precision to play well.

Acoustic guitars will be good for a beginner because it gives your hand a workout and promotes good technique...on the other hand electric guitars are easier to play for beginners so you will probably have a little more fun off the bat....your call...I went electric

In my experience trying to learn guitar by sheet music is a bitch. You can play the same note at the same octive in multiple places, so not only do you have to read the music correct you also have your left hand in the correct postion. The solution is TABLITURE (aka: The poor man's way of learning guitar) . IMO its the way to go.
http://www.howtotuneaguitar.org/lessons/the-basics/how-to-read-guitar-tab/

As for buying a cheap used guitar....if you dont know how to inspect a guitar you can get one with high action or just warped in general.

 

[BLAZER PROPHET]

Next time you start whining to me about the "childish posts on this board", I'm gonna steer you back towards these remarks.

Truth hurts, eh bro?

 

[ABM]

Truth hurts, eh bro?

Actually, no.

Meaning, I've never really had any problems utilizing my own, unique methods in the art of "picking up chicks." And, for heaven's sake, I've never relegated myself to defer to you in such matters.

 

[SlyPokerDog]

Actually, no.

Meaning, I've never really had any problems utilizing my own, unique methods in the art of "picking up chicks." And, for heaven's sake, I've never relegated myself to defer to you in such matters.

I talked to RubberToe, email him. He'll hook you up.

 

[ABM]

I talked to RubberToe, email him. He'll hook you up.

With chicks??

 

[SlyPokerDog]

With chicks??

With the guitar stuff but he does have long hair...

 

[MrJayremmie]

DaRizzle, Where the fuck have you been, bro?

 

[MARIS61]

Meaning, I've never really had any problems utilizing my own, unique methods in the art of "picking up chicks."

Yeah, but rufies are illegal.

 

[ABM]

Yeah, but rufies are illegal.

Never. I've rarely stooped to incorporate external influences...other than occasionally alcohol back in my BC years.

 

[MARIS61]

Having played for over 40 years and studied with many of the most accomplished guitarists in the world, my advice to beginners is blisters are over-rated.

If it hurts you'll play less and learn much slower or quit altogether. Your fingers will develop strength through repetition if you play regularly.

For an acoustic your best bet is buy from a music store like Portland Music or Guitar Center where they will have the action already set up nicely. There are a myriad of flaws in the typical used acoustic that a beginner would not notice until too late. For economy models I like Epiphone, Takamine and Yamaha. They are well-built and will last you a lifetime. Your hand size is important to what type of neck you choose, and if a guitar feels fat or awkward to your grip do not buy it.

For electric and super-easy action, you can pick up a Fender Squire Strat with a practice amp for $200 or less at Costco or any music store. Lots of these for sale used also but at that price why buy used? The older Squires made in Korea seem to be better than the newer ones made in Mexico.

When practicing ALWAYS play super slow and cleanly, without mistakes. The biggest mistake made is trying to play faster than you can cleanly. You learn what you practice and if you practice sloppy you will play sloppy. Speed will come to you quicker from playing slowly. Like Denny said, learn in small chunks at a time. A new chord, then another, then learn to move smoothly and cleanly from one to another. Learn new songs one or two bars at a time.

 

[Moo2K4]

I've been playing for the better part of 5 years, and at least for me, it was definitely monotonous when I first started.

When you first start playing guitar, you HAVE to have patience, that's really the big thing. It takes a while to start getting anything remotely close to good. Like I said, I've been playing for nearly 5 years, and I'm still nowhere near where I want to be skill-wise.

The other thing I'd recommend is to not waste your time with instructional books. I got those initially, but they're only good to teach you basic chords and notes, and these are all things you can learn from resources online. One of my favorite sites for those is going to be www.cyberfret.com. It has a bunch of online lessons, scales, etc., to help ease things along.

The other thing that I'd recommend is to start learning off some easier tabs (i.e. songs like Good Riddance (or anything by Green Day), Smoke on the Water, etc.). Doing that also helps you learn some chords, as well as some chord progressions, which you can use to start writing your own music once you're able to build off those chord progressions.

Lastly, I'd recommend to NOT toil around with alternate tunings until you've got a solid grip on standard tuning. There's no need to make things more complex until you've got a good grip on the one that you're going to learn a good chunk how to play guitar in.

 

[ABM]

I talked to RubberToe, email him. He'll hook you up.

I e-mailed him this morning. As of yet, he hasn't gotten back to me. He's probably out with a bunch of wild ones.............

 

[DaRizzle]

DaRizzle, Where the fuck have you been, bro?

Dunno...being lame...this regular season has sucked....Congrats on Wes matthews blowing up

 

[ABM]

Hmm....perhaps, I'll go down this path. They're right down the road from my place of employment.

http://portlandclassicguitar.com/lessons.html

Does $30 per 1/2 hour ($120 per month) seem reasonable? I see people are learning classical guitar there. Is that a good way to break-in to learning to play the instrument?