Just Learning

hammertown

Hi, I know there are alot of experienced guitar players here, but I was hoping for some advice.
What is the best method to learn to play? I picked up a few books, and am trying to teach myself the acoustic. However, I find it frustrating (Read: boring) at times because I don't seem to be getting anywhere.
Should I look at taking a few beginner lessons, so I get the basics down first?
Any others tips?

I appreciate your help

moster78

hammertown wrote:

Hi, I know there are alot of experienced guitar players here, but I was hoping for some advice.
What is the best method to learn to play? I picked up a few books, and am trying to teach myself the acoustic. However, I find it frustrating (Read: boring) at times because I don't seem to be getting anywhere.
Should I look at taking a few beginner lessons, so I get the basics down first?
Any others tips?

I appreciate your help

I'm in no way experienced, but I'll just pass along my two cents about what worked and didn't work for me as far as learning to play goes.

I bought an acoustic in May of 2001 after graduating from college, bought a few books and was under the impression that I could teach myself how to play. Didn't quite go so well. I tought myself a few chords, but got bored, and frustrated with it really quickly, mostly because I wasn't sure what I was doing was correct or if it ever sounded right, and damn that open F chord, I couldn't get it for the life of me. So the guitar sat for a few years. I'd get the inspiration to pick it up and try every so often, but it probably collected more dust than anything.

Jump to June 2005 and life gave me a little kick in the pants to get off my ass and start doing the things I've been meaning to do, one of which was to learn to play. I looked online in the yellow pages, typed in the word guitar and called up the first place that came up locally and asked if they gave lessons. They did, I booked one for the next day and I've been going to the same guy once a week since then. For me the lessons work and I see an improvement, some weeks more than others. I needed someone to show me if what I was doing was right or wrong or sounded correct or not, and to correct my technique.

Thats just me though. I found lessons to be a neccessity. But try them, worst case scenario you're out a couple bucks. Just try to find a really good and patient teacher and you'll be fine.

StuffnJunk

to start, learn these chords:

A
A minor
C
D
D minor
E
E minor
F
G

with these, you can play 1,000,000,000 songs (give or take)

lessons help, but you can start off on your own

look for tabs online to any song you like

lessons are good cuz you have someone there to ask any questions you may have

but, practicing these chords for at least a year is really the way to start

mca47

I taught myself how to play. I first started w/ the basic chords (as mentioned above). If you learn all the chords and the transitions from chord to chord you can play lots of songs. After that learn the popular barr chords and power chords as your hand and fingers is probably stonger now. From there hit the scales.
For me, I got to a different "level" once I started to get some basic scales down.
You can do it, you just have to have a lot of patience and practice a bunch.

Thumbing My Way

mca47 wrote:

I taught myself how to play. I first started w/ the basic chords (as mentioned above). If you learn all the chords and the transitions from chord to chord you can play lots of songs. After that learn the popular barr chords and power chords as your hand and fingers is probably stonger now. From there hit the scales.
For me, I got to a different "level" once I started to get some basic scales down.
You can do it, you just have to have a lot of patience and practice a bunch.

Same here!!

When I learned some scales my playing jumped levels, that's the main part where my lessons helped...I took 5 about 2 months ago and it helped alot with soloing techniques and stuff like that. I got so far on my own, but I'm glad I took the lessons too.

They can be pricey though......

Pearl Juli

I taught myself. One day last June I decided to pick up my sister's crappy acoustic guitar. That thing was a pain to play. The action is so high, it's like drumming with your fingers (I kid you not). So, on that guitar, the possible progress was limited. However, I learned the basic chords, power chords, and a few songs, although chords were EXTREMELY hard to play because of the action being too high. I always ended up learning intros that just required me to play a note at a time (ala Come As You Are), but I was never able to play a whole song (again: the action made it very difficult for a beginner). But then, last December I got myself a Fender Fat Strat for my birthday. The progress I've made in these 3 months is incredible. Lately I've been learning Led Zep songs and I'm completely amused by the fact that I can actually play Rock and Roll, Whole Lotta Love, and Black Dog among others, lol. Led Zeppelin songs renewed my interest on this instrument, they were like a breath of fresh air, haha. Long live Jimmy Page!!!

Aaanyway, the bottom line is: YES, it is possible to teach yourself how to play guitar. However, it is not something for everyone. I'm a very perseverant and motivated person, lol, so that kinda helps me keep the focus on my goal and become a better player.



*On another note: Now I play the Strat. I'm gonna attempt to lower the action on the acoustic myself (even though it's an intricate process...) I'll give it a try. I wouldn't go to a professional shop because my guitar is really not worth the money, lol, I could just get another one for what I would spend there . So I'll experiment and try to fix it.

I think for my next birthday I'll get an Epi Les Paul honeyburst.......oh yeah

who's_pearljam?

If you're frustrated with books, then I think a few lessons can help a LOT!

They say "a picture is worth 10,000 words"

I think a few hours with a good teacher can really put you ahead rather than trying to teach yourself, especially for the basics.
I studied guitar with Robert Fripp once many moons ago, and one thing he said, "so, you're self taught? That means you learned from someone who doesn't know what they're doing!"
I always liked that one!

Some people are driven to learn by themselves and many many have, but sometimes the extra push from a teacher will help you learn a lot faster.

Sometimes people look at books or websites for hours on end, trying to figure out if what they're doing is right, when really, after few minutes with a good teacher they go,,, "AhA!! THAT'S how you do that!

It's great to learn things like, how to hold the guitar and fingers so they don't labor too much, so you can play efficiently and longer.
Maybe you can learn some chords and scales.



And


Pearl Juli! I was just going to PM you and see how your Strat turned out! I'm glad you like it! It sounds like you got it!
Good luck fixing that acoustic! That's great stuff to learn.

Did you paint it pink yet?

Pearl Juli

who's_pearljam? wrote:

Pearl Juli! I was just going to PM you and see how your Strat turned out! I'm glad you like it! It sounds like you got it!
Good luck fixing that acoustic! That's great stuff to learn.

Did you paint it pink yet?

haha! No, I didn't paint it pink yet I actually like the original Sunburst finish, though I think a pink Strat in the future would be pretty awesome. I like those new Hello Kitty ones that come in pink and black. Too bad they're Squiers. I guess I could just buy it and make a few upgrades anyway, so it wouldn't be a big deal hehe.

Yeah...I'm gonna need a lot of luck with the acoustic...haha! I need to find some time to do it, and do some more research to see what is that I'm supposed to do exactly. So far I know I gotta do something to the nut, the bridge, the truss rod (sp????) or all of them in order to lower the action, lol. Hopefully it'll turn out allright

who's_pearljam?

Pearl_Juli wrote:

Yeah...I'm gonna need a lot of luck with the acoustic...haha! I need to find some time to do it, and do some more research to see what is that I'm supposed to do exactly. So far I know I gotta do something to the nut, the bridge, the truss rod (sp????) or all of them in order to lower the action, lol. Hopefully it'll turn out allright

I bet I can walk you through it. I don't want to hijack this thread, but we could do a step by step analysis if you want.

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Books,_plans/Building_and_repair:_Guitar,_electric/Guitar_Player_Repair_Guide.html

^ There's a book to get you started, but we could do a step by step on another thread if you want.
I think it's great to learn how to do that stuff.
When you're ready, start up a guitar repair thread and I'll help you with tools and the like.

One Song Glory

I got an acoustic for Christmas two years ago and signed up for lessons with some local guy. First lesson, he asked if I could read music. I said yes cuz I've played the flute and piano before and he said "You don't need it." I mean, obviously if you want to play something other than rock music you would need to be able to read sheet music, but for rock, all you really need is tab anyway. Then he asked what kind of music I liked to get a feel for what to teach me. Turns out Jeff's a huge Pearl Jam fan too (thank God! Haha, we're actually going to a show together this time around too) so he taught me the chords for Black in my first lesson. We also did stuff like Love Boat Captain so I could figure out the power chords. Since they have such an extensive catalogue of music in all different skill levels, he pretty much taught me everything through real songs. Whenever he wanted to show me something new, he would use a real song to get me interested in it so I'd wanna master the technique. Last summer he was showing me some Hendrix style playing so we worked on Yellow Ledbetter first, and then Little Wing, which is very similar. I bought a Tele about a year ago so now I've been learning how to solo and everything. And of course, to get me used to playing leads, we did some Mike stuff. Proud to say I can play the solos to Alive and Even Flow now (album versions though, so a little easier), along with a few others. But from picking up certain licks, like the first few from Alive, I can kind of work them into my own solos now, as well as some licks from other bands' songs. I'm a sucker for the Stairway licks, I don't know why. I know this stuff isn't all that complicated but I've only been playing for two years. Jeff says his other students pretty much want to learn Green Day, which they master in six months of course, and then they have no desire to go further so they quit, or they just wanna learn conservatory style and then have no interest in it after a short time. I suggest picking up a few PJ songs like Betterman, Black, Small Town, hell even Last Kiss would work if you can still stand that song. Work on those till you have them down perfectly and go from there. Obsess over your playing for a little while, whether you're frustrated or not, and you'll get there. Signing up for lessons with someone cool always works too.

fisttothejaw

I think that's the most important thing - finding a teacher who's willing to dive into the music you're passionate about learning - just like anything, learning a musical instrument can get laborious at times, and it's important to actually ENJOY the music you're trying to learn!

Cláudinha

What are the easiest songs to start off learning?

elstongunn

hammertown wrote:

Hi, I know there are alot of experienced guitar players here, but I was hoping for some advice.
What is the best method to learn to play? I picked up a few books, and am trying to teach myself the acoustic. However, I find it frustrating (Read: boring) at times because I don't seem to be getting anywhere.
Should I look at taking a few beginner lessons, so I get the basics down first?
Any others tips?

I appreciate your help

well my brother is a guitar teacher and when i started he told me to choose a few 'simple' songs. maybe some with your major chords, G C D. type thing. just work on the transition between the first two chords. once you have that down then add the third chord. and continue. basically break down the songs and not worry about playing the whole thing until you have mastered the 'sections'. also, don't give up, somehow it was a real struggle for me at first and then maigically things just came easier after about three months or so. sooner or later you get 'over the wall' and things progress.

charlotte28

I learned on my own from a book that showed chord charts(what finger goes where, etc.). I didn't try a teacher, but I learned other instruments from teachers and I think it's just my personality to prefer learning things on my own, on my own time. It depends on you, I think. How patient and tolerant you are with other people as well as how fast you want to learn makes a difference in whether or not you use a teacher. Good luck!