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shellman54
01-27-2005, 03:37 PM
I'm teaching myself how to play guitar, does anyone have any tips or advice? Jason, no smartass remarks!!!

Phil C
01-27-2005, 05:10 PM
Practicing by yourself is important and I don't know about videos even though Esteban seems to have a good one to help you learn. Also what really helps is to get a band and practice together an hour or two once in a while (by band I don't mean professionals but just a group that plays various instruments together to learn).

BHKrystal06
01-27-2005, 05:12 PM
I can get some books for you from the Guitar Center if you want.

pirate44
01-27-2005, 05:13 PM
Originally posted by shellman54
I'm teaching myself how to play guitar, does anyone have any tips or advice? Jason, no smartass remarks!!!
grab a hammer and beat your left fingers (if your right handed) till they are numb. then your ready to begin.

AP Panther Fan
01-27-2005, 05:17 PM
Originally posted by pirate44
grab a hammer and beat your left fingers (if your right handed) till they are numb. then your ready to begin.

You're right...there is nothing that hurts more until you develop callouses on your fingertips. :(

pirate44
01-27-2005, 05:21 PM
Originally posted by AP Panther Fan
You're right...there is nothing that hurts more until you develop callouses on your fingertips. :(
thats why i switched to piano:D

shellman54
01-27-2005, 06:39 PM
i got the guitar for dummies book from barnes and noble, and have developed a couple of very nice calluses on my index finger. but any other books would be helpful, bhkrystal.

BHKrystal06
01-27-2005, 08:27 PM
Originally posted by shellman54
i got the guitar for dummies book from barnes and noble, and have developed a couple of very nice calluses on my index finger. but any other books would be helpful, bhkrystal.
Ok, I'll talk to my friends tomorrow afternoon.

BIG BLUE DEFENSIVE END
01-27-2005, 08:57 PM
JHS_c/o_06 plays the guitar, I know. You should send him a PM and ask him about the basics. I've been wanting to learn to play, too, I just haven't gotten a guitar yet. :D

bullfrog_alumni_02
01-27-2005, 09:10 PM
Originally posted by BIG BLUE DEFENSIVE END
JHS_c/o_06 plays the guitar, I know. You should send him a PM and ask him about the basics. I've been wanting to learn to play, too, I just haven't gotten a guitar yet. :D having a guitar may be an essential part of learning to play one.

Astrosdawg07
01-27-2005, 09:54 PM
Ya think....:p

rockdale80
01-28-2005, 12:29 AM
just get a book that shows you the chords and go from there. thats how i learned. cant read music, but i can play by ear

vet93
01-28-2005, 11:12 AM
Practicing alone is great and that is how most people start....however, to really learn new things after you have the basic chords and strumming patterns down you need to meet regularly with a person or group who are better than you are now and who can show you some new things to practice on. I think you'll be surprised how quickly things progress! Good Luck!

Phantom Stang
01-28-2005, 08:19 PM
Try www.freeguitarvideos.com

JHS_c/o_06'
01-29-2005, 06:07 AM
Ive been playing for about 4 years now. And you have to work at it every day....at least an hour if you want to get anywhere. If your planning on having a career in music (like myself...lol...im gonna be a rock star one day) then you have to make time for it every day. Find you a starter video to learn some chords, it'll show you how to tune your guitar and strum. And just go from there. What probly helped me the most was i started the same time as a few of my friends did....and we were able to learn with each other and from each other. So if you have some friends who play, you can jam together, it never gets old. Yes your fingers will hurt, they might crack or even bleed. But...theyve got a million sayings why not to quit when it gets tough. So just start out slow, learn the basics, practice every day and never give up.

Ranger Mom
01-29-2005, 10:22 AM
My oldest son started playing a couple of years ago. His friend showed him "what is what" on the guitar and he found some online site that had the chords for different songs.

Everytime he comes and sees me now, he gets on here and sees what songs I have and then turns them up and plays along with them.

He is NEVER without his guitar and plays it a couple of hours everyday!

Good luck...you will have a blast!

cdlvj
01-31-2005, 09:44 AM
Spend some time looking at music theory and the scales. like the pattern to play C-Major scale. Then by moving down the neck, all the sharps and flats will fit in.

Then get yourself a program like Cakewalk, on Ebay you can find at a pretty good price. Find yourself some midi files of songs that you like, and you can concentrate on the parts that you want to play lead or chords. Excellent learning tool as you can play along with all the other parts - drums/bass/ etc.

cdlvj
01-31-2005, 10:09 AM
look at http://www.cakewalk.com, Sonar replaces cakewalk, and I have seen calkwalk version 9 selling for about $10-$15 on ebay. There is a special version for guitar.

The sonar retails for $499, but I would find a legal version of Cakewalk on Ebay, and then if it is really helpful go the upgrade route, and save a lot of money.

There are other programs out there, but I believe that these programs are some of the better ones.

shellman54
02-01-2005, 01:28 PM
well, the calluses on my fingers are coming around quite nicely. chords are becoming easier, still having trouble with the transistion.

BHKrystal06
02-01-2005, 03:57 PM
Originally posted by shellman54
well, the calluses on my fingers are coming around quite nicely. chords are becoming easier, still having trouble with the transistion.
I'm still looking for books for you. Sorry it's taking so long.

shellman54
02-02-2005, 02:21 PM
NO HURRY

BHKrystal06
02-03-2005, 07:26 AM
shellman -

try this:

http://guitarcenter2.guitarvision.com/Default.aspx

if it doesn't help tell me

Rabbit'93
02-03-2005, 12:14 PM
Shellman try this. It might help when changing chords. Don't play just practice moving your left hand from chord to chord. Go from one note to the other without playig a single chord. This will make your left hand stronger and you will begin to gain muscle memory. Plus when you play and mess up during a transition it tends to frustrate many. This way you can't hear your mistakes. I'm teaching my 7 year old right now:eek: . Just remember to be patient that it will take tons of practice to get where you want to be,

Phantom Stang
06-04-2005, 04:53 PM
It's been a few months, how are you coming along?:)

JHS_c/o_06'
06-04-2005, 05:59 PM
Originally posted by shellman54
well, the calluses on my fingers are coming around quite nicely. chords are becoming easier, still having trouble with the transistion.

Hey man, its good to hear that things are coming along. It's always good to welcome a new musician into the 'family'. But whatever you do, don't stop playing, even when you get discouraged. There might seem like you hit spots where your not getting any better or cant learn something new. Thats when you need to perfect the skills that you have already learned, THEN try and learn something new. Thats what i did....umm...about 4 years ago....now i can play almost anything.