Guitarists

[Mickus]

Hey all, Im just starting out to play guitar, can just play smoke on the water at the moment, I was wondering if any of the experienced guitar players here can give me any advice and the best way to start learning?

[The Monty]

The way I learnt was just get the tab to every song you here, and learn it.
I have around 10 folders of 100 pages each of tab, if I heard a song, even if it wasnt that good, Id grab the tab and learn it.

[Snakey Jake]

Go to www.justinguitars.com, he's really good beginner to advance lessons check it out i've learnt heaps of great songs from his web site & he has a forum page as well so you can request songs that you might want to learn & talk to some other excellent guitar players too hope this helps mate.

[astr0boy7]

yea man tabs are the way to go when you start... much easier than learning notes... and if u get the guitarist magazines they have some great lessons....

im learning some rolling stones at the moment

[juksta]

definitely start out by learning all the basic chords. a good website to use for this is
http://www.chordbook.com/guitarchords.php
which allows you to choose the chord you want to learn, then not only does it show the fingering for that chord but also lets you click a button to strum a virtual guitar which will show you the correct sound of that chord. this is good because it lets you know if you are playing the right thing.

and as everyone else has said tabs are the way to go, the most easy way to start learning guitar and the songs you want. i prefer using http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/

also you will find that often there are virtual lessons that people put on youtube of how to play certain songs which may help you out a bit. but if all else fails then all i can suggest is get a few lessons of a professional to learn the basics and get you up and going.

good luck with it!

cheers

[b2tf]

Use tab to get the hang of riffs etc but once you have the general idea focus on learning by ear - if you can train your ear to listen and get it sounding right, you will find it a hell of a lot easier to pick up new songs and play in general.

[muppet]

Yeah get some lessons , I teach guitar and one thing all my students say is "I got the guitar pack with the dvd and I still couldn't work out how to do it properly". It's a lot easier when someone can watch you and show you what you are doing wrong.
my next piece of advice is practice practice practice , start slow and make shore you fret all the notes properly.

[castek]

depending on how far you want to go. if its just something you want to pick up and play then go tabs. if you want to write your own music, and learn how to play by ear (you'll need scales and notes for this) then get lessons. they dont cost much and atleast you have someone who knows what they are doing showing you how to play

[BOOSTDEF]

I learned guitar purely by tabs and ear. Some people can do this and some cant. You don't need lessons or to read music to be a great guitar player.

Just learn your favorite songs via tabs, then you will soon see the trends (Scales and keys) which are used. The major scale with solo work is the minor pentatonic scale (Used in every Black Sabbath & Led Zeppelin song), then go on to the major scale (Metallica, Dire Straights....).

Once you slowly work your way up, you will soon find yourself learning songs by ear. It usually takes a few years to get to that point, but its well worth it for the chics and the party tricks ;)

[Tribal]

Practice, practice, practice... your teaching your fingers, hands and ears to all work together. Oh yeah, it won't be long before your have grooves in your fingers tips from the strings, so dip them in metho or similar to help harden them up - it might sound dumb, but the reason you'll stop practicing is 'cause your fingers will be so sore.

[The Monty]

Originally Posted by BOOSTDEF

I learned guitar purely by tabs and ear. Some people can do this and some cant. You don't need lessons or to read music to be a great guitar player.

Just learn your favorite songs via tabs, then you will soon see the trends (Scales and keys) which are used. The major scale with solo work is the minor pentatonic scale (Used in every Black Sabbath & Led Zeppelin song), then go on to the major scale (Metallica, Dire Straights....).

Once you slowly work your way up, you will soon find yourself learning songs by ear. It usually takes a few years to get to that point, but its well worth it for the chics and the party tricks ;)

This is what I done, although I am a Bass player. I tried having lessons about 5 years ago (been playing 8) and was treated like an idiot, and only ended up going twice. Its amazing, I have so many arguments with people who say Bass is the easiest instrument in the world, but have never picked one up, it might be easy to learn the fundamentals, but when you start learning stuff like Jaco Pastorious and Victor Wooten, it is just as hard as guitar. Try two handed tapping on huge fat .105 strings, lol, you need strong fingers. :togo:

[Mickus]

thanks for the help guys, I think ill try get into some tabs, i can sorta read them properly, not to sure on how hammer ons and pull off and all those things work though..

[rick'o]

Train your ear, steal everything from every player you love...play it over and over...develop your own style but, most importantly, learn to read music.

R

[Peuty]

Originally Posted by BOOSTDEF

I learned guitar purely by tabs and ear. Some people can do this and some cant. You don't need lessons or to read music to be a great guitar player.

Agreed.

I have never had a lesson in my life, now I am in a money earning band. Pretty good feeling to earn money for something you love doing.

Daniel

[broken_suave]

Keep practicing, every day. Your fingers will burn very quickly, but keep at it. I learnt how to play basic guitar, but I went on to learn bass. Once you've learnt to play guitar, try picking up a bass and having a play around. I found it was really good to broaded my scope, and I ended up liking bass more. It helps to have other musos around, even if they're also only learning. If theres a few different guitars and basses around, pick them up and have a go. Just make sure you keep practicing, in any form, keep playing. It can be awesome fun to sit around having a jam session, even if you're only new to playing. I formed a little "band" with a few mates just playing around when we'd had a few drinks. We ended up writing some really awesome songs, just a pitty I havent seen some of them in ages.

[BOOSTDEF]

Originally Posted by The Monty

This is what I done, although I am a Bass player. I tried having lessons about 5 years ago (been playing 8) and was treated like an idiot, and only ended up going twice. Its amazing, I have so many arguments with people who say Bass is the easiest instrument in the world, but have never picked one up, it might be easy to learn the fundamentals, but when you start learning stuff like Jaco Pastorious and Victor Wooten, it is just as hard as guitar. Try two handed tapping on huge fat .105 strings, lol, you need strong fingers. :togo:

Yeh theres no way Bass is that easy. I mean, frets are wider, strings require more force from your fingers to be hard pressed... People generally assume because it has less strings its easier. Simply not the case..

Just watch one of Cliff Burtons solo's from the 80s and one will see that bass players have skill. Then take a look at Iron Maiden, and how their Bass player (Steve Harris) wrote 90% of their songs... Including the guitar pieces.

[HLC]

get lessons for a start. then after you pick things up, and know what you are doing then move off and just learn songs!

[MR_SIDO]

I just started about 6 months ago too, I got two terms of lessons, I am having a term off but I am getting there. I have learned to play Red Gum's Only Nineteen, bit of a weird song to learn straight up but it is fairly easy. I can scan some of my stuff and email it too you if you like. It is all beginner stuff.

[sfr rob]

Try to learn how i did, chuck the radio on Gold 104.3FM (if you can get it up that way) or put on random CD's then play along with it.
It's the best way to develop your own "flavour" and way of playing/learning i found, I never had lessons.

[Peuty]

Originally Posted by HLC

get lessons for a start. then after you pick things up, and know what you are doing then move off and just learn songs!

Don;t waste your time and money on lessons until you know that you are going to stick with playing and you know that you enjoy learning to play.

As sfr_rob said, if you learn yourself, you will develop your own style of playing, rather than being shown someone else's style.

[muppet]

All this talk about dont worry about lessons is all well and good. But I personally have seen too many people that have bought guitars thinking that they will just teach them selves. Only to find out it's harder than it looks so they put the guitar under the bed and leave it there for a year or two. Then they come to me (a guitar teacher) and I show them a few things and they go "oh that's how you are meant to do it".
I have nothing against people that teach them selves , good on them. But I would bet that at some stage someone actually showed them a few things. When someone shows you something and watches how you try to do it and picks up on the small things you are doing wrong. Then you learn a lot quicker than if you try and nut it out for you're self and teach you're self bad habits.
Finding the right teacher is the key , there is no use going to a teacher that only does Elvis if you want to learn Cannible Corpse. It all depends on how serious you are , if you just want to muck around with it then don't bother with lessons . But if you think you may want to take it further then I would be looking at finding a teacher that plays the music you want to play and can teach you scales , modes and proper technique . Proper technique is the only way to get fast and be able to play solos without thinking (too much lol).
If you want to hear what learning scales and proper technique can do for you then this is my myspace
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm...ndid=161824123
and the solo on it is just me testing my wha pedal . Its all one take off the top of my head.

[Poetic Justice]

Have to agree with muppet there.. I'm 22 and got my first guitar for my 8th birthday. I've had a few times where I've stopped playing for prolonged periods of time and I must say, without ego, that I am a fairly decent player.

In saying that, I wouldn't be a decent player if I had never even had a teacher. Not to mention that my teachers were average so I never really became as good as I should have, but without having a teacher to drop random theory tidbits and tricks you'd never really learn unless you were a born guitarist - something which alot of people clearly aren't.

I've tought people over time just for a little fun, those who wanted to have a play around with my guitar and show them a few things, and some people clearly need a lot more assistance than just listening to a radio.

I recommend those JustinGuitar videos as well. I recently picked up my guitar again a month or two ago after not playing for a good 2 years and played around a bit with MattyB (another mate who I've been giving pointers to) and I sat watching Justin teach how to play Wish you were here by Pink Floyd and I picked it up as fast as he was teaching it. I've always responded to learning by sitting in front of a teacher who says "Here, do this.." and I follow.

At the end of the day, everyone has different learning styles. If you're that savvy that you can pick up a guitar and listen to the radio and pick it up that's great. But if you can't, don't just give in on account of it being hard if you haven't sat down and had a good few lessons with an experienced teacher.

[LTDHO]

Practice until you get blisters.
do this every day.

I cheated by starting in TAB.

[XWGT]

Guitar Pro 5.1

Absoulutely awesome

[Peuty]

Originally Posted by XWGT

Guitar Pro 5.1

Absoulutely awesome

Amen to that brother.....

[LTD Ute]

You are new to the guitar. Tab will give you alot of stimulus.
Play the music you love and enjoy!
However!!! when you want to get serious with your instrument,
it will be time to take lessons, both in music reading and more
importantly technique.
There are reasons why finger positioning, etc are important.
All the great players aren't that good by just inventing their
own technique.
I come from a classical guitar background, but I'm a 70's child
and love my Led Zep,Thin Lizzie, etc
Come to grips with your instrument and absorb all you can!!

[FordFella]

Yeah, tab does help alot, esp ones like Guitar Pro and Power Tab that you can play along to. BUT if you wanna get serious and be able to improvise, you need lessons. First off just play some 12 bar blues with scales till you get the feel for impro, and just listen to everything you can. After all, what you listen to is what will define your style of music. If you wanna get tricky you can even try making some jazz (which is incredibly hard to get right).

[Van D]

Personally i'd say never use tabs if you plan to play with any other musicians. It's a waste from the get go, I did and regret it.

Learn theory from the start and you'll be much better off. Besides, it's really not that hard at all.

[Stefan]

Get lessons for six months and you will be streets ahead. You wil learn in six months what will take you years by yourself. Not saying it can't be done but why do it the hard way. :

I do a six months stint every 3 or 4 years.... and play different styles jazz funk rock metal, classical..

[87xfdriver]

I agree with Van D, and- there are a handful of very skilled musicians who were "self taught" but they usually grew up in musical households, and were playing as children, etc. So they're not really "self taught". If anyone is serious about playing any musical instrument well, the services of the best teacher/s you can find are a must, and it is also a life long lesson- you never stop learning. Plus if you avoid bad habits from the start you won't have to spend time unlearning them.
If on the other hand you just want to crank out a few riffs and have a jam, etc. tabs might be the way to go.