So, i'm learning guitar.

[Outright Villainy]

Best tip I can give is to keep finding things to challenge yourself.

Yes this too. Actually I'm so glad I'm into prog right now, it's giving me a great reason to push myself in crazy ways. I'm slowly but surely gettin dah tappin down pretty tight, though I'm still horrible at muting the strings in between. I should probably get lessons, I'm entirely self taught...

 

[Outright Villainy]

I've had it for three weeks and i've not yet found a reason to put it down yet aside from "DAMN FINGERS, MOVE FASTER".

also, I'm guessing the trick to switching chords is practise?

Yes, that is correct. It's like driving a manual car. At first you have to tax your brain and think about it carefully all the time, then after a while the "muscle memory" part of the brain takes over and does it all for you. Eventually it gets to the point where you can talk on a mobile phone, perv at someone across the street and do it all at the same time.

Except, I can play guitar, ogle people, even eat a biscuit while playing, but I can't talk at all, let alone sing. Something about talking just completely throws me off. It's pretty annoying. Oh, and I've been playing for 5 years, so it's gonna be hard to fix that...

It's the polyrhythms. What you're experiencing is normal, it's the same reason why some people struggle with patting their head and rubbing their stomach at the same time. Practice is all it takes, in small steps. I was just like you in that respect, until one day I decided to be a singer-songwriter (fuck it, everyone else does it so why not me). I started by trying to play the most rhythmically basic song I possibly could find that I actually liked (in my case "Failure" by Swans), and sing at the same time. I struggled for months but eventually I got it. Then I gradually moved onto slightly harder stuff, and writing my own stuff.

Oh, I can do the simple. If it's an tum-tee tum-tee up down thing it's no problem. Like you said, it's those blasted polyrythms. If the guitar riff stops and starts then I'm gone.

Street spirit by radiohead: E-z street.
All my life by foo fighters: Fucking impossible.

Unless you count smells like teen spirit, but that's balls.

I guess I need to practice, but I'm not too comfortable with singing... Well I'm in a pub band now, it's as good a time as any!

 

[Suicidal Hobo]

Learn the pentatonic scale and your basic open chords, get a guitar teacher, and just practice like a mad man.

 

[Homplok]

i know how to play like the opening riff of seven nation army (because thats like, super hard and like, WHOA, EXTREME, EXTREEEEEME MAN)

Tune to open A, buy a slide and a digitech whammy, then the song is quite extreme. Crowds freak when you break into that slide solo.

To start, learn the ABCDEFG chords, both major and minor, then start learning songs you like. Learn the minor pentatonic scale, as the majority of rock/blues licks revolve entirely around it.

The minute you decide to get serious I strongly suggest getting a teacher, and learning the theory behind the instrument. I waited 10 years of playing to get serious with music theory, and I feel I've progressed more over the last few months than I did in those 10 years before that.

 

[spookydom]

I'm a guitar teacher and I'm here in a guitar thread telling you to practice a whole lot, and that's really all you need to worry about. Also, get a guitar teacher if you haven't got one - preferably me, so I can make some money.

I am a session musician and agree with BonsaiK here. Practice practice parctice practice and practice some more. Take your guitar everywhere you go and practice there. Play along with adverts or whatever you are watching on tv. Play when you are on the toilet (good acoustics in bathrooms). Find a good guitar teacher that you can get on with and learn scales and drills for your finger strength and speed. It can be a grind and it makes your fingers hurt but I think the most important thing to do is fun with it.......and practice. Good luck dude.

 

[Auron555]

The quicker you can master Power Chords the better. I've learned so many songs that are just power chords but sound so satisfying.

Also: practice every single time, and play all the day. If you just get used to playing, things'll come.

 

[fenderstrat]

practice. thats the answer to everything

 

[[zonking great]]

Give up and try not to pick up another pretentious hobby.

Or keep at it until your fingerprints are gone.

 

[Torque669]

FREEBIRD!

OT: practice?

Actually the opening for Freebird is a great thing to learn early on. Its what I did.

Also just find a band which does slow songs with what sound like easy riffs and practice them consistently until you've got the basics down.

 

[TheKagestar]

When you do barre chords, it's about the straightness of your finger, rather then the tightness of your grip. Also, check out Elmore Music. They do tutorials and such.

Thanks, I was breaking my wrist trying to strangle the damn thing.

 

[MysticnFm]

1. Learn to read music. Yeah you might think it is boring, but it will help you out to no end later on.

2. Learn at least some basic theory and harmonic practice. You don't have to go into too much intense detail unless you want to start ripping into some jazz (which I wholeheartedly recommend), but it will still give you one up on other guitarists.

3. Don't neglect scales. All starter musicians hate scales. I was no different. However as you start to play more music and learn more about your instrument, you will realize how much having a working knowledge of the many different scales can help you.

Seriously, even if you want to just shred, and get into metal, all this stuff will put you up over other guitarists and get you work, as well as making you into an awesome guitarist.

 

[snow]

So, do you guys have any hints, tips or whatever for starting out.

I've played the guitar for about 8 years now, self taught. The best advice I can give you is get yourself a teacher!!!

You can continue learning on your own for now, but eventually there is going to be something that you are going to miss out on without some one guiding you.

Even though I've been playing for 8 years, played in a band at one point and I think I may be in another now. I have been contemplating taking lessons just to catch up on all the things I have missed out on.

that and if you truly enjoy playing the guitar don't give up on it!

There are so many friends of mine that bother me about wanting to learn how to play guitar, I show them the basics on how to get them started, and they never pick it back up again. You can practice for 5 minutes a day... You can practice for 2 hours a day, it doesn't matter, because you're still practicing.

(obviously you get more out of it the more you practice, but you get what I mean.)

Another tip I can give you, is to understand when you are practicing and when you are playing. It got to the point after a while where I realized that... I wasn't practicing anymore! I am really good at writing my own stuff on the guitar so for probably a good year and a half after I started picking that up more, I became more interested in writing things than I was practicing.

That really held me back, when you start getting better at the guitar and you start getting into that stage where there are more options available to you, as soon as you pick up that guitar think to yourself, "Ok do I want to play a song, improvise, or practice something."

If you're picking the first 2 over practice the majority of the time, you're holding yourself back. I made this mistake, don't make the same! (keep in mind, that if you are playing a song you just recently learned or having trouble with, or are improvising with some new tricks or scales you learned, that's still practicing.)

This is why it's important to have a teacher, for the teacher will keep you pointed in the right direction, but don't just go out and pick a random teacher and feel like you have to stick with him/her. It is important that you're able to communicate openly with your teacher and that you both are able to understand each other and get along. If you don't feel comfortable with your teacher, you need to find a new one.


Well that's all for now, I might post some more tips later if you liked this here, hope you enjoy your new skill!

 

[Kavachi]

Being rich enough to afford guitar lessons, and actually studying at the "conversatorium" (a very high music school after high school) I got a few tips:

1. TABS ISNT ENOUGH. Try to learn the g-clef. If you really want to go pro with guitar instead of a hobby, learn the c- and f-clef also.

2. Learn the right fingerplacements. Doing this will help you greatly, as all songs basicly use chords, or part of chords (like some song only use D and F# from the standard D-chord), having the right fingerplacement can help you with alot of songs, so that way you won't get your fingers in a knot when you get to higher level

3. Learn the basics of music, and making music. Knowing what a crescendo is might not seem important, but everybody that ever touched a musical instrument probably knows this kind of stuff. Basic knowledge and understanding of music can help you get better and make sweet music.

But it is up to you how much you want to do with music. If you want to go pro, you really need to get a teacher, or buy books about the mechanics of music. If you just want to dot his as a hobby, you must see for yourself how casual you want to keep it.

Edit: But most of all, have fun with it, because that is what music is about

 

[Eumersian]

Know the basics of music theory, notation, etc. It'll do wonders for your understanding of any instrument. There are plenty of beginner's music theory books out there to get, and knowing how to read legit music will make you seem so much more professional. It might also surprise people that didn't expect you to know anything for you to know stuff. Sophisticated people may find you a bit less (sorry for the bluntness) annoying. One of my friends who can shred like a wood chipper started studying theory and stuff in his spare time. Now he's not just a metalhead. He understands it.

Have fun!

DAMMIT! NINJA'D!

 

[KindOfnElf]

Since everything else is already told I'll just say mind the intonation no matter what. Don't be satisfied if the tone you are playing is "all right". Work on precise intonation, develop a sensitive hearing, work on aliquot tones. It's what distinguishes good from excellent musicians.
Practice, practice, practice...

 

[johnsom]

I found the hardest thing at first was simply sounding the notes clearly. What I did was to find an easy tune I could use to build up the strength and dexterity of my fingers. You could also just play scales.

 

[snow]

It seems there are a lot of people that are putting enthusiasm on "Going pro" or "Getting famous."

That is the wrong way to look at things. A good teacher will ask you what you expect from the guitar.

Everyone learns the instrument for different reasons, some think about going big, others just enjoy playing in a garage band with friends. My brothers friend only wanted to learn how to play the guitar so he could just sit down and jam around camp fires and stuff like that, and my one buddy was telling me about his one neighbor who has a young kid with anger problems, so they are trying to teach him anger management through music.

(The way he was talking about it, it sounded as if things were going pretty well)

Figure out what YOU want from your instrument, don't let others steer you off in the wrong direction unless you're willing to head down that path. Because if you're not ready, you're not going to have fun and you're not going to play as much as you would normally.

But remember, no matter the reason, there is not one that is more important than the other. Because the most important thing about playing the guitar is the personal joy you get from it.

 

[Eren Murtaugh]

Its really fun. I can't strum fast, i know how to play like the opening riff of seven nation army (because thats like, super hard and like, WHOA, EXTREME, EXTREEEEEME MAN) and i can read tabs.

So, do you guys have any hints, tips or whatever for starting out. And if anyone took that seven nation army thing seriously, please, turn your humour on.

http://freeandeasyguitar.com/
Bam dude.
OH!!!
AND!
You may need to get a guitar and pick...and tuner. Just sayin, they might help...

 

[Sronpop]

The thing you will find about playing guitar is when you are constantly learning its hard to quantify how much you have improved, but when you play for a year then look back you go holy shit I have improved.

1. Learn all the Major and Minor chords

2. Experiment stringing them together to make shitty songs

3. Learn some easy 'coupla chord' songs, there are hundreds of songs played only with the same 3 chords. Patience by G'N'R and Time of Your Life by Green Day are recommended.

4. Learn play around within chords while strumming, like taking a finger of and on again between strums. Try Street Spirit by radio head, but don't pick all the notes, just strum it and try mimic the fingers the same.

5. Learn Barre chords

6. Learn scales

7. Learn different picking techniques, alternate picking in scales etc.

8. Learn slides and bends and hammer ons and offs.

8. Stick it all together and try play Whiskey In The Jar by Thin Lizzy

Boom you can play awesome now.

 

[JuryNelson]

Get a band, or at least a drummer. Nothing keeps you honest like having someone sitting there judging you.

I played drums and took lessons, but didn't get any good until I started jamming with a guitarist.
I played guitar alone for a while, but again, was completely useless until I started just playing with a band. It's incentive to practice for one, and it teaches you how to play with people, not just the instrument.