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tradmanclimbs
Ice climber
Pomfert VT
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Its a lot more fun to play an accoustic arround a campfire then it is to screech away on an electric JMOP Lessons are key. You can learn without them but one lesson is worth 2 months of wankin arround doing stuff wrong. i took about 8 0r 10 lessons total and they helped a lot.
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k-man
Gym climber
SCruz
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It really depends on the type of music you want to play. But after banging around on a git-box for about 25 years, I finally picked up a small "guitar-case" instruction book.
Dang, I wish I had that thing 25 years ago!! It laid out the basics of scales and went into an easy discussion of the 16-bar Blues (1-4-5). That's what 90% of music is based on, and a great place to start with that ol' git-box.
Tab is great, but I say you gotta learn the basic blues. Then you can jam with friends, form a band, and become rich, famous, and a drug addict. I know, it worked for me!
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dirtineye
Trad climber
the south
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IF you want to cause yourself a lot of misery, try the self taught route.
Once you learn it wrong, it's very difficult to re-learn it right.
But finding an instructor who will do you the most good is a challenge too.
Some Classical technique will serve you better than anything else, no matter where you wind up.
Find a real music store, that focuses on guitars, close to you. That's one run by an individual, not a chain. One that does repairs and teaches lessons as well as sells instruments.
Don't rent. A satisfactory used beginner guitar will leave you with something worth having even if you decide not to play after all, and you can sell it if need be. That real music store I mentioned will set the instrument up correctly for you, often for free or very little money, if you buy it from them.
Figure out what music you want to play, figure out if you like fingerstyle or pick, rock or classical or folk or jazz , or some combination, then find the instructor who can help you with it, and take some lessons.
Now, lessons will only help so much, as the rest will come from you. Learn what you need, then go on your own or do maintenance lessons. How long this will take depends on you.
IF you want to play solo stuff, fine, but many people ant to play with other folks, so, if that's you, find some pals to play with.
LEARN TO PLAY IN RHYTHM FIRST. Most people try to play too fast and never get it right, or take much longer to get it, because they won't develop the rhythm. Music keeps time, it doesn't start and stop in jerks.
Give yourself a year at least before giving up.
Give yourself 2-5 years to get any good.
If you don't have the time to practice, unless you are a natural or a guitar idiot savant, you'll never get it.
DON'T TAKE ADVICE FROM PEOPLE WHO DON'T PLAY VERY WELL!!!! They do almost everything wrong, and they'll be a bad influence on you if you let em.
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mark miller
Social climber
Reno
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Go to Guitar Center and get a starter electric guitar( one with a fixed bridge will be easier to tune) with an amp kit and tuner, You should be able to take 10 to 15% right off their already good prices. Stay away from pawn shops unless you really know guitars, there values and neck wear you will probably get took at a pawn shop.
Check out ultimate guitar pro tabs on the web. They have great beta and videos for all levels. Play 15 min everyday day( at least) a lot more effective then 2 hours on Saturday. Stick with it. There are many good players here on supertaco that can answer your questions as they arise.
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the Fet
Knackered climber
A bivy sack in the secret campground
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I started out on electric but should have started on acoustic. Electrics are fun and easier to play, but not very portable, and an acoustic is great to learn some songs to play on your own or around a campfire.
I only took a few lessons and learned stuff from friends, but learned a lot thru books and the Internet (lot's of free stuff on the internet). If you want a paid Internet/computer course Jamorama is good for $40.
Get a decent guitar. 'Beginner' guitars are worthless. A good guitar is easier to play - wouldn't that be good for a beginner?
I recently bought a Johnson JO-16 Acoustic Guitar for $300. What a deal. Sounds good. Easy to play for a steel string acoustic. Very comfortable neck and body. I should have bought one like that 20 years ago. A more expensive guitar can be better, but anything cheaper just isn't worth it IMO.
If you are really only intested in scorching leads and playing with a band then an electric makes sense, but you can keep an acoustic guitar your whole life and it sounds good on it's own, anywhere. Nylon string acoustics (classical guitars) are easier to play, but aren't good for rock/pop/country/jazz sounds.
Learn the E Major based barre cord. You can slide it up and down and make a cord for any note. The most common notes/chords for rock are where the dots are on the fretboard.
Then go to guitar center and play it on a bunch of guitars in your price range to find out what you like and what fits your fingers.
For lead/single notes learn the minor pentatonic scale. Just play these notes going up and then down.
Of course there's tons more to learn, but learning barre cords and the minor scale will allow you to start playing quickly and they form the basis of tons of popular rocks songs.
I recently realized after playing for 20 years that I need a wide neck. I bought a new electric and a new acoustic and can suddenly play better than ever before.
Some good advice above: buy a tuner, practice for about 20 minutes a day (not for hours) and you'll learn better and toughen up your fingers.
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dirtineye
Trad climber
the south
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Now that at least three people have said 15-20 minutes a day, I must protest.
You will never be any good at that rate.
Try applying this idea to climbing. "Only climb 20 minutes a day."
H3LL, apply it to anything, see how far you get.
How much you practice/play per day will be determined by your interest, and your wish to improve.
The major things that will make your fingers hurt are 1. a bad setup job, and 2. over gripping. If you've got tough hands from climbing especially if you use your fingertips, then a properly set up guitar will not do much to hurt your fingers until you've played a lot more than 20 minutes.
Plus, if you are into it and feel like you are getting somewhere and having fun, you'll play til you can't bear to touch the strings anyway.
This is a tune I named for John Gilbert's wife, Alice.
http://s32.photobucket.com/albums/d13/Climbingoldguy/video/?action=view¤t=AliceCgilbert.flv
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the Fet
Knackered climber
A bivy sack in the secret campground
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Yeah dirt's right. I meant 20 minutes or so per session (maybe a few sessions per day) in the beginning. When your fingertips toughen up you may be playing for hours at a stretch.
It's better to learn a 20 minutes a time 3 times a day vs. 1 hour all at once, I think that's what people were getting at.
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the Fet
Knackered climber
A bivy sack in the secret campground
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Wow, really nice song Dirt.
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dirtineye
Trad climber
the south
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What, that old thing? That's my camp guitar, LOL, NOT! How can you tell it's a Blanchard? It sounds good and it looks good!
Yeah 20 minutes at a time will help, if you feel the need to rest.
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mojede
Trad climber
Butte, America
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Pretty song, Dirt--flows nice.
Did anybody besides me watch Munge's video ?
If he is serious (why knott?), then he wants to play METAL.
Repeat: METAL !
Munge, learn the pentatonic scale and play in fifths, worked for Metallica.
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mojede
Trad climber
Butte, America
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True, eKat, but some of this new Metal makes me wonder a bit about people learning the ENTIRE fingerboard by tones, hehe.
I like the principle, though, and it did help me with my measly playing when starting to noodle around.
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tradmanclimbs
Ice climber
Pomfert VT
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Even if you want to play metal you need to have an accoustic so you can do something other than wank arround with an amp or headphones. look how many accoustics Slash has.
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Minerals
Social climber
The Deli
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METAL!!!!!!!
And, some Lamb of God, no less!
“This is a motherf*#kin’ invitation... the only one you will ever need...” RRHHHOUGHHH!!!!
-Redneck
Munge, you should find an axe and an amp and come up to Reno sometime and jam with Shack, Mark, and myself. Seriously! Mark is already being slowly converted... he just got a METAL guitar, and it plays sweet! There is no such thing as too much distortion...
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hafilax
Trad climber
East Van
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I had years of piano, choir and violin before picking up my father's old classical. We had bought my father a book of 101 Beetles songs. I grew up on that stuff so I sat down and figured out how to play as many of the songs as I knew. Since the songs were familiar it was easy to make up strumming rhythms and to know where the chord changes were.
I got bored with that and wanted to learn some more modern stuff so I sat down with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Blood Sugar Sex Magic and started figuring those songs out by ear. Lots of cassette rewinding later I still have my own versions of those songs programed into my brain.
Soloing has never interested me so I never spent much time on scales and honestly don't feel I'm missing out on much. It's not what I enjoy.
A lot of people lack much self motivation and paying someone to force you to practice for a bit is often the best way to stick with something. On the other hand, instructors are great but they often teach you to play like everyone else (not necessarily a bad thing). Many of todays innovators are self taught with horrible technique but if it sounds good, who cares.
I've watched many people buy guitars and then never play them. It can be frustrating starting an instrument and no one approach works for everyone. I think the best recipe for success is to keep it interesting and fun. If you aren't playing enough at home or you're stuck in a rut and losing interested, hire a teacher or buy a book. Most people start off with an acoustic although they are the most painful to learn on so start with a lighter gauge of string. Classicals are easier on the fingers but the necks are often too wide to learn barre chords and thumb techniques like Hendrix used. By all means get an electric (with a good setup) and rock out if it keeps you interested.
I've been playing in a band for a few years now and it's been a lot of work but even more fun. I love playing by myself most but it's great to get everyone singing along around a camp fire, deafening everyone from a stage or even piquing an ear at an open mic. To me it's all about having fun.
My last advice: If you want distorted electric it's hard to beat a Line6 Pod with a good set of headphones. You get all the classic tones plus some that are impossible and more effects than you'll know what to do with. If you get a pretty transparent amp it sounds great as a pre-amp. I love my tube amp and my stomp boxes but it's loud and expensive. If you have a computer they have great interfaces for recording and playing along with CD's as well.
PS: My dream is to get a Blanchard some day.
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mark miller
Social climber
Reno
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Dirt I was trying to say playing a little everyday is better then 2 hours only once a week.
Hell we both know if you want to get good you need 8 hrs a day of structured practice, theory , ear training, improvisational studies.........and deep pockets.
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Shack
Big Wall climber
Reno NV
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Like Mark said, go to guitar center.
Check out their used guitars too.
Preferably you would want to go with someone who knows guitars.
Find a good quality electric with a fixed bridge as Mark said, not a cheapo...buy used if you're budgetarily constrained.
Make sure the neck is straight and not bowed forward, back or wavy.
Set it up with light gauge strings like .009's.
Get an electronic tuner.
You can even adjust the neck, polish the frets and adjust the height of the bridge
to make it play easier.
Having a guitar that is easy to play and stays in tune goes a long way towards success instead of utter frustration.
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mark miller
Social climber
Reno
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Shack isn't "utter frustration. " a dairy farmer plea? Are we on for some Chillin an Aidin on Thursday?
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Shack
Big Wall climber
Reno NV
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We are on for Thursday, Mark.
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