Guitar

[Lockeownzj00]

Yeah, yeah, don't go thinking I'm this awesome guitar player. This is a guitar help thread. I've been trying to learn for a while now, and let me say--I'm a complete and utter noob.

I have no previous musical experience, but it seems everyone who's played guitar says it's easy. Not so for me ._.

I've tried online lessons, and good ones, too. I ask people for help, but you know how it is--"copy me: *insane solo*"

I try to look at tabs, and I sort of understand them. See, one of my family-kind-of-friends was over a few weeks ago, and he's been playing for 25 years. He says that the traditional way of going to a rigid class and learning, say, Yankee Doodle doesn't help you any. He said the best way is to gear your learning to what you want, and that's how you learn to play your style. Simple songs don't do much for you. If it requires an alternate tuning or chord play, do it, he suggested, because that's the style you want.

He suggested finding a flexible teacher, or just trying to figure it out myself. Believe me, I've tried. I've been trying to look for incredibly easy, but fun songs, preferably by bands I know. I've found a few, even some that you're supposed to be able to play with 3 chords. The thing is, I'm not hearing the tune, even at 1/15th of the normal pace.

I guess I'm asking if anybody has suggestions, or something like that. Maybe it's out of tune? I wouldn't know. I have a little tuner thing, but I have no idea how to work it. That is, I don't know which chords or notes it wants me to strike to test.

I guess I'm not musically inclined, but I do truly want to learn this instrument. I've been stuck with 0 progress for almost a year now. Maybe it's best to find a teacher, but that might not be for a while. How did people teach themselves this before it was easier to get teachers and lessons? o_O

Hmm...I'm kind of rambling, but I'm just saying what I think. Maybe if I showed some of you experts a song, you could tell me if it was feasible/tips? Any ska masters out there (my inevitable goal)?

I really just can't construct things myself since I only 'know' 1 or 2 chords, and it hurst my fingers like hell :<

Pity me. I said pity me, you fools! I mean... :<

[CheshireThief]

Hmm. Find a song you want to learn that doesn't sound too complicated. Then, learn to read tab, or figure out how to play the song in power chords (power chord is the root and the fifth.... example: to play an A power chord, use the 5th fret on the low-e string and the 7th fret on the A-string).

[Lockeownzj00]

:| greek to me...I've heard about power chords before, though...can you elaborate?

Can you tell me if this song is hard?

http://www.taborama.com/archive/tab....na%20Libre&i=1

:O

[CheshireThief]

To start off with, that might be a little hard. A powerchord is just a 2-note chord, you use the same shape for it everywhere. I have a program that may help you out, if you know anything about sheet music. It's called Powertab. I think you can still find it online, I just don't remember where.

[Nietz]

Maybe Guitar Pro can also help you. A least you can visualize the song tab being played in real time and try to play along, or slow it down, if you want. Here you can find a big archive of both popular and alternative musics trasncribed into Guitar Pro files.

[Lockeownzj00]

Ahh, thank you! Don't wanna wake up the family, it's 1 now, but I'll try this stuff tomorrow...hope I get some luck :|

[The Devil Himself]

Check out www.powertabs.net and their forums, http://forum.powertabs.net

[RaiRai]

I've been waiting to learn myself ever since my band days a couple of years ago. I have my friends accoustic sitting behind me, but a thumb injury has prevented me from playing. Thing is, I don't actually want to learn the whole lot. I just want to learn to play one or two songs. So slowly, very slowly - once my hand has healed, I'll be learning those songs. If I like playing, I'll learn some more, but I'm not gonna start off wanting to play 'November Rain' or something to those standards. =3

Your best bet is to just play around for a while. See what you're capable of on your own or with use of a music book or site. (Also invest in a decent plectrum. Yummy.)

[synkr0nized]

Locke, please keep it up and practice and all that.
I did for a little while. My fingers stretched, they became more flexible, and then I stopped doing things. All of them. For almost two years.


I now have a guitar sitting in my room somewhere collecting dust.
Do me a favor and don't let this happen to you, however you can.

[Windrift-RPG]

Hey Locke. I am a very experienced guitar player, and I am fully versed on music theory, and I play many instruments. I remember *everything* you are talking about, so don't feel like you're doing something wrong. You're in a very normal stage of learning, but one advantage you have is that you really want to learn. When I first started I couldn't play a damn thing and I had absolutely zero comphrehension of how the guitar or music itself worked, but I'll tell ya, I REALLY wanted to play, and that is what got me through that phase. I ate, drank, slept, and breathed guitar for years. Within a year or so I could play most anything off the radio, and within several years I was capable of doing some rather tricky things. From there I went on to actually teach classical theory and multi-genre guitar lessons.

Unfortunately, I'm going to have to disagree with your friend of the family. He has been playing 25 years and well, after 25 years anyone can learn guitar on their own. But why wait 25 years? I have jammed with MANY guitarists, both young and old, talented and crappy, experience and unexperienced. I will tell you, without fail, the guitarist that took lessons learns at a rate 100 times quicker than the others. When I first started, I jammed with this guy that had been playing many years, and I considered him my guitar idol. When I began taking lessons 2 months in, my skills easily doubled, and within 1 year of playing I could keep up on rhythm with him. After 2 years, he couldn't even touch my lead guitar.

What I recommend to you is take lessons. You don't have to learn how to read notes, and you don't have to learn Old MacDonald, but what you DO need to learn are some fundamentals that will get you going. These things you must know:

The name of each piece of the guitar.
The name of each string, as number and letter.
How to read tablature.
The name of most basic chords, and how to play them.
And practice the powerchord.

These will lead to how to tune your guitar yourself, and how to play on your own. Any half-capable teacher will get you going on all of that in 1 lesson or 2 tops. It's well worth it.

From there, I recommend not being taught a "style" of play, but I recommend learning THEORY. Learn HOW your guitar works, learn HOW music works. It is a humongous shortcut through much frustrations and stress, and it will leave you able to play professionally in ANY genre you want to. You won't be 40 years old, only understanding how to play Ska chords cause you spent 25 years learning that and nothin else. Instead you'll spend 2 or 3 years learning theory and you'll absolutely blow everyone away with what you can make your guitar do.

If you have any guitar or music questions, like some you have posted in this thread, feel free to ask me. You can respond here, or PM/E-mail me, whichever. Hope my past experience helps!