Hints and tips for guitar beginner

[Simbazz]

Best bet, go to the store you bought it from, and ask them. With mine, there wasn't a place for it to be tagged onto, so they drilled one and secured it.

If you have any queries etc. your best best best is the place you purchased the guitar.

Edit: Ive got a few guitars from over the years, my most used is the Ibanez,

My electric is possibly the most important thing to me, if I lost/damaged this, i'd possibly have to hurt myself,

And I've got a bass,

Thing with my bass is, is I bought it from one of those higher class pawn shops for like ?80 and its a genuine Fender which amazes me even more, no damage, no nothing. Probably retail in the ?200's.

 

[MasterBlaster76]

Best bet, go to the store you bought it from, and ask them. With mine, there wasn't a place for it to be tagged onto, so they drilled one and secured it.

If you have any queries etc. your best best best is the place you purchased the guitar.

Yeuch - I don't like the sound of a drill going anywhere near my guitar...still, I'll ask them.

@UK members, have you heard of this guy:

Guitar Taught

 

[Simbazz]

Yeuch - I don't like the sound of a drill going anywhere near my guitar...still, I'll ask them.

@UK members, have you heard of this guy:

Guitar Taught

Updated my post with my collection, some of it at least.

If I'm honest Steve, I don't like the idea of internet tutors, my younger cousin started a year or two ago and my uncle went into shops etc. to get a feel for the tutor etc.

Where I learn isn't a particularly nice place, run down building etc. but if it wasn't for me going there for years I'd probably find a better place, as I'm a firm believe that the better the surroundings the more you'll thrive.

I dunno if i'm a big fan of being taught at home as well, I want to be in a room were there are posters on the wall of chords etc.

I'm very particular

 

[MasterBlaster76]

Updated my post with my collection, some of it at least.

If I'm honest Steve, I don't like the idea of internet tutors, my younger cousin started a year or two ago and my uncle went into shops etc. to get a feel for the tutor etc.

Where I learn isn't a particularly nice place, run down building etc. but if it wasn't for me going there for years I'd probably find a better place, as I'm a firm believe that the better the surroundings the more you'll thrive.

I dunno if i'm a big fan of being taught at home as well, I want to be in a room were there are posters on the wall of chords etc.

I'm very particular

He's a member of this register:

RGT tutors database

(Geoff Jackson).

MasterBlaster76 added 6 Minutes and 44 Seconds later...

Best bet, go to the store you bought it from, and ask them. With mine, there wasn't a place for it to be tagged onto, so they drilled one and secured it.

If you have any queries etc. your best best best is the place you purchased the guitar.

Edit: Ive got a few guitars from over the years, my most used is the Ibanez,

My electric is possibly the most important thing to me, if I lost/damaged this, i'd possibly have to hurt myself,

And I've got a bass,

Thing with my bass is, is I bought it from one of those higher class pawn shops for like ?80 and its a genuine Fender which amazes me even more, no damage, no nothing. Probably retail in the ?200's.

Nice!

 

[sohum]

I have two electrics and an acoustic, but only one here with me in the U.S. The electric I have back home in India is a black Yamaha. No idea about the model since it was a gift to me. It looks something like this.

The electric I have here is a white Squier Strat:

 

[MasterBlaster76]

Looks very cool. I would've bought a black acoustic guitar if they'd had one, but mine looks cool anyway, and I've heard that non natural finishes can affect the sound quality - dunno if that's true.

Anyway, I've organised a visit from that tutor, in ten days or so. It's going to be great to get started properly. Right now though, I have a bit of a bad shoulder (hasn't been the same since '99 - it flares up occasionally) so I can't play much right now. I can almost change from G Major (which sounds nice and clear most of the time) to D7th now, but the D7th is often a bit 'buzzy' - fingers probably not pressing strings hard enough, because when I press harder, it's clear. Thing is, playing the D7th flipping hurts at the moment, because it's played on the thin steel strings (no nylon strings on this one) and my fingertips haven't toughened up enough yet. :o I haven't been trying to learn tons of chords, I'm trying to get the ones in my book right first.

Can you guys sing at the same time as playing guitar? That's my ultimate aim.

 

[sohum]

Can you guys sing at the same time as playing guitar? That's my ultimate aim.

I have trouble with it with most songs but I think you can do it with practice. Once you get good enough to not think about chord changes and the like then singing should be a bit easier. It should be easier for you coming from a piano background because you already have experience performing complicated parallel tasks (each hand performing independently)!

 

[Simbazz]

I have trouble with it with most songs but I think you can do it with practice. Once you get good enough to not think about chord changes and the like then singing should be a bit easier. It should be easier for you coming from a piano background because you already have experience performing complicated parallel tasks (each hand performing independently)!

I'll categorically say that I dislike singing whilst playing, Its been about 8 or so months now but I was in a bit of a band or two, and I did play guitar but simple chord work etc. whilst our other guitarists did the complicated stuff. I'm not a good singer as it is, better guitarist, but I do ok and felt it a lot of work playing and singing.

My most enjoyable memory was in an acoustic set, something which is much easier to do playing guitar and singing, however, one of the hardest things i've done is helping out a friends band singing a bit of background stuff whilst playing bass, as its kind of two opposing rythems. Try bass, you'll understand

 

[Dutch]

The pentatonic scale is based on five notes (penta means five as in pentagon or pentagram). Variations of it are used in many forms of music.

The blues pentatonic is a nice one suited for electric guitar or modern acoustic guitar. It is quite easy to learn as well as the fret position just repeat themselves.

For example: eighth fret first string (C), fifth fret first string (A), repeat on the second string (G and E), third, fourth and fifth string seventh and fifth fret ( D C A G E D) and lastly sixth string eighth and fifth fret again ( C and A).

You can get a really nice bluesy quality if you bend the notes on the eighth fret a little or play them on the seventh fret and bend them up quite a bit.

Anyway thought I'd chuck that in there!


Singing and playing is a real art and has to do with the ability of not thinking of them as two separate jobs but as a whole; what your hand does enhances the voice and vice versa. I have sung and played both piano and guitar (not at the same time!) in many different situations and it takes a while to coordinate the two without one or the other detracting from each other if that makes sense. I have played many gigs professionally and even recorded a number of cd's. So I speak out of real experience. Don't worry they didn't really get anywhere and I am not famous!!

There is nothing wrong with on line tuition! It can save you a lot of money plus the fact you can repeat the lesson whenever you want! I have always found it pretty useful.

 

[Simbazz]

There is nothing wrong with on line tuition! It can save you a lot of money plus the fact you can repeat the lesson whenever you want! I have always found it pretty useful.

The only thing with online tuition is that it isn't one to one teaching, which I firmly believe learning guitar should be. When I was learning, I still am I suppose, I asked a bazzzillliiiooonnn questions and that helped me, plus, I had someone sitting across from me with a guitar showing me what to do (I'm lucky to be left handed, it was a perfect mirror effect as my tutor was right handed).

Not to say I haven't used certain tutorial sites for learning songs, I have, and they've been helpful, especially with certain songs where you look at the tabs and think "How the f***ing hell have they gone and done that," which happens regularly with me, maybe more to do with me than the music I play possibly.

 

[baggy_blogger]

Jamming with guys who are a bit better than you is a great way to learn.
With the internet now there are so many sources you can go watch videos, download tutorials. It's insane.

When I started guitar internet was only beginning to pick up (in terms of speed too) so I would download tabs with the chord declarations, listen to the songs figure out the strumming pattern and then play each chord, checked it sounded right and then put it all together with loads of practice. Eventually you force yourself to learn by ear, jam with other musos, watch guys at gigs, practice your scales/ picking/ strumming variations etc.

Some neat guitars there guys.

Singing and playing guitar...got to have good timing, a feel for the pulse of the song and then it's starting with simple songs and then progressing. Sometimes it blows me away how guys sing flawlessly and still nail their guitar playing, sometimes with leads at the same time.
Sting for example is bass player and my word when you see some of the stuff he is doing ON A FRETLESS BASS and singing sometimes some rathe different time feel songs, it's impressive. Determination, talent and practice.

 

[MasterBlaster76]

The pentatonic scale is based on five notes (penta means five as in pentagon or pentagram). Variations of it are used in many forms of music.

The blues pentatonic is a nice one suited for electric guitar or modern acoustic guitar. It is quite easy to learn as well as the fret position just repeat themselves.

For example: eighth fret first string (C), fifth fret first string (A), repeat on the second string (G and E), third, fourth and fifth string seventh and fifth fret ( D C A G E D) and lastly sixth string eighth and fifth fret again ( C and A).

You can get a really nice bluesy quality if you bend the notes on the eighth fret a little or play them on the seventh fret and bend them up quite a bit.

Anyway thought I'd chuck that in there!


Singing and playing is a real art and has to do with the ability of not thinking of them as two separate jobs but as a whole; what your hand does enhances the voice and vice versa. I have sung and played both piano and guitar (not at the same time!) in many different situations and it takes a while to coordinate the two without one or the other detracting from each other if that makes sense. I have played many gigs professionally and even recorded a number of cd's. So I speak out of real experience. Don't worry they didn't really get anywhere and I am not famous!!

There is nothing wrong with on line tuition! It can save you a lot of money plus the fact you can repeat the lesson whenever you want! I have always found it pretty useful.

I learned the E Minor Pentatonic from a youtube video (and I know it off by heart now), so I have to agree there. Still, I have a consultation organised for the 25th, just to set me off on the right track. From there, I'll probably take one lesson a month, at least until I've finished with the drama school attempt. If I get any recalls, I'll need to keep taking acting lessons to work on the new material that'll be needed.

The only thing with online tuition is that it isn't one to one teaching, which I firmly believe learning guitar should be. When I was learning, I still am I suppose, I asked a bazzzillliiiooonnn questions and that helped me, plus, I had someone sitting across from me with a guitar showing me what to do (I'm lucky to be left handed, it was a perfect mirror effect as my tutor was right handed).

Not to say I haven't used certain tutorial sites for learning songs, I have, and they've been helpful, especially with certain songs where you look at the tabs and think "How the f***ing hell have they gone and done that," which happens regularly with me, maybe more to do with me than the music I play possibly.

I think everyone should have a few lessons at least with someone, just to get them started and to make sure that no bad habits have crept in, because if they have and you leave them for a long time, they can be a real swine to get rid of down the line...

Jamming with guys who are a bit better than you is a great way to learn.
With the internet now there are so many sources you can go watch videos, download tutorials. It's insane.

When I started guitar internet was only beginning to pick up (in terms of speed too) so I would download tabs with the chord declarations, listen to the songs figure out the strumming pattern and then play each chord, checked it sounded right and then put it all together with loads of practice. Eventually you force yourself to learn by ear, jam with other musos, watch guys at gigs, practice your scales/ picking/ strumming variations etc.

Some neat guitars there guys.

Singing and playing guitar...got to have good timing, a feel for the pulse of the song and then it's starting with simple songs and then progressing. Sometimes it blows me away how guys sing flawlessly and still nail their guitar playing, sometimes with leads at the same time.
Sting for example is bass player and my word when you see some of the stuff he is doing ON A FRETLESS BASS and singing sometimes some rathe different time feel songs, it's impressive. Determination, talent and practice.

I'd love to jam with others (not yet, but when I've learned how to string a few chords together), but I don't know anyone else who plays the guitar, which is a bit of a pain.

 

[StinkyBoHoon]

I always found just learning to play any songs I liked was the easiest way. take more difficult ones by playing them slow first.

don't always just go straight to the internet to learn it though, if you have a feel for it, and an inkling of how to play it give it a go without. You'll learn a bucket by learning songs through ear.

I believe people should be natural when they learn and pick out what they find interesting. Who are your favourite guitarists? learn what makes them stand out from the crowd.

 

[Magz]

One thing I will say is, a big fuss is made over equipment, but a huge amount of the tone comes from the player, the way you strike the strings, the angle you hold the pick (if you use a pick) the amount of force you use to fret the notes.

 

[Dutch]

One thing I will say is, a big fuss is made over equipment, but a huge amount of the tone comes from the player, the way you strike the strings, the angle you hold the pick (if you use a pick) the amount of force you use to fret the notes.

totally agree: a good player can make a crap instrument sound beautiful: (like me!)