New guitar and player (hopefully)

mdigenakis

Just received my guitar, now what? I have no idea how to play. I've looked at some online lesson sites, but i've only had the guitar for about an hour now. Any links or advice would be a tremendous help.

oh, its a Ibanez RGEX2. If that matters.

Red Burrito

Learn to read tab.

Learn some basic chords; E, G, D, A, C...

giventowail.com is great for Pearl Jam stuff.


oh yeah, and practice, practice, practice...but if you get frustrated just put the guitar down for a while and come back to it later. You don't want it to become a chore, it should always be fun...

Pauk

First things first, you'll probably want to learn some open chords.

http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/lessons/chords/basic_chord_theory.html < That should explain everything. Don't worry too much the theory behind chord construction at first though. The beginning is all about training your fingers to 'remember' the positioning so you can play chords instinctively. You'll probably want to learn A, D, G and E first, and save C and F for a week or 2 when you've got used to the other chords as they're generally a bit harder to switch between for beginners. If you want to learn some basic songs with open chords then look up Elderly Woman and Wishlist.

Obviously the chords will rpobably be a bit dry to learn at first, but the key is to practise little and often. It may not be realistic to practise for an hour, seeing as it's only a few chord shapes, but pick up the guitar and practise whenever you have a few spare minutes. I found when starting out lots of short sessions are much more useful than one hard slog. Repitition really is key.

In case you don't know how to read tabs...
The 6 lines represent the 6th strings. The bottom row represents the top string (i.e. the thickest string), while the top row represents the bottom string (i.e. the thinnest string). So the tabs may feel a bit upside-down at first but you'll soon get used to it. The strings should be tuned to:

E (thinnest string)
B
G
D
A
E (thickest string)

Jkingy

I've only been playing for five years, so I'm no expert, but one thing I would like to say, in regards to learning the guitar, is that I think a good way forward is to have a balanced mixture of being self-taught, exploring for yourself, and a variety of outside tuition, such as in the form of formal teachers but also playing with friends, and listening to music, picking things up from other sources.

moster78

I can't stress the importance of a good teacher enough. Find a good one in your area and take some lessons. You'll find then when you're paying for them every week, you're more inclined to stick with it so you get your money's worth.

xtremehardy388

Don't give up and HAVE FUN

All Those Yesterdays

Definately remember why you wanted to pick it up in the first place. This is suppose to be fun, so keep that as the main priority.

edpearson

Starting out can seem quite intimidating so I'd look into getting a teacher and commit to it for at least 6 months. After that, you can make a better decision on what direction you want to go (ie, sticking w/ a teacher, learning on your own, jamming with others). I started out w/ a teacher for about that long, then taught myself. When I got to college, my roommate was also a guitar player so I ended up learning a lot from playing with other players (and eventually found myself in a classic rock cover band). The good thing about a teacher (as opposed to online learning or a book) is a teacher will always tell you if you're doing something right or wrong -- try asking a book or your computer if you're doing something right!

Good luck and welcome to your new lifelong (and expensive) hobby!

kitfoo

moster78 wrote:

I can't stress the importance of a good teacher enough. Find a good one in your area and take some lessons. You'll find then when you're paying for them every week, you're more inclined to stick with it so you get your money's worth.

X1000!!!!!

A good teacher will show you the correct way to play, which will eliminate bad habits down the road. Also, they're better at teaching the basics than some website or video.

Anon

Congrats. Fun times ahead.

Because i'm lazy, i am just gonna paste what i typed for someone a few weeks ago who had a similar question..

I'm not sure how much you already know so i'm sorry if i say things that you are already aware of.

If you are just learning, then these are excellent excercises to build up strength in your fingers. They might seem hard at first, but keep practicing and it will become easier.
theres this clip to watch it might help
http://www.guitarz-for-ever.com/guit...exercises.html

If you are able to swing it, i would suggest that you take some lessons from a teacher or another player. they can show you things in minutes compared to hours of reading and working out on your own.

also, check http://www.giventowail.com because it's the best site available for pj tabs and if you look to the left, they have an excellent section on lessons, and it also goes through tunings. it's easy to read and not to over the top.
http://www.giventowail.com/lessons/beginners.php

this is an excellent basic cords chart. (one of the regular posters here has posted this in the past and it is very good)
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w83/ianvomsaal/CHORDS.jpg

http://www.cyberfret.com is also an awesome online learning resource centre.


also, invaluable for a new player. (i wish this would be made a sticky for all the new guys.)
from ian (ianvomsaal) one of the most experienced posters here

Chord Chart - http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w83/ianvomsaal/CHORDS.jpg

Chord Theory - http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w83/ianvomsaal/ChordExplination-1.jpg

Scales & Modes - http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w83/ianvomsaal/Scales--Modes-Diagrams-Fingerings.jpg

Best of luck buddy.

Anon

Ian, i see you are online, the links are not working for your chord chart, and the theory and scales.
Because you are awesome, i know you are gonna fix them for me. Right?

Thanks Ian!

ianvomsaal

Pj_Gurl wrote:

Ian, i see you are online, the links are not working for your chord chart, and the theory and scales.
Because you are awesome, i know you are gonna fix them for me. Right?

Thanks Ian!

you've got mail

Anon

ianvomsaal wrote:

you've got mail

Thankyou Ian. I appreciate that. Right now i think you are cooler than Ledger in the dark knight. and that's saying something

paige_peach

Buy a book or get some lessons if you are serious about learning. If not, tinker until your fingers bleed.

xtremehardy388

Pj_Gurl wrote:

Thankyou Ian. I appreciate that. Right now i think you are cooler than Ledger in the dark knight. and that's saying something

Ian was always cooler

mdigenakis

Thanks alot for all of this.