jasonresno

I just bought an electric guitar, so I'm fairly new to playing. I want to get right into it and start learning, don't worry about time or anything. I have plenty of free time and determination. So what are some steps on how to play the geetar?

ratbastid

Take a lesson. Seriously. Nothing and I mean nothing will get you playing faster and better than having a live instructor sitting with you, teaching you and working on your form. I took guitar lessons for about three years, and I wouldn't have done it any other way.

Look in your local newspaper's want ads under Music Instruction. If you live in any decent-sized town, somebody will be teaching guitar.

There are books and things too, I guess, but I'm telling you. Lessons.

Hampshire

you see, i have been playing for 2 years now and i have never taken a lesson in my life. I have seen my peers who have been taking lessons for over 4 years just slowly progress. I have find that lessons hold you back because of the school type environment. I guess its just the way i learn. Whatever way suits you best, go for it! i also suggest to make up small fingering exercises to strenghin the little muscles in your hands. Also, find an instructional book. The one by joe satriani is really good.

Fly

practice,practice,practice...........the best advice i can give.


play til your fingers bleed.

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Rinndalir

I'm all for doing it the hard way - learn to read music, because while tabs are great nothing beats being able to read actual sheet music. I also think its better to learn on an acousitc, the strings are harder to hold and much more unforgiving. Once I got it down I borrowed my friend's electric and was totally shocked at how easy it was to play compared to my acoustic.

TheWalkinDude

Rinndalir's right. A guy I know only ever plays the electric, and when he tried to play my acoustic he could barely make a sound.

I started learning on an acoustic, and while that's the type of guitar I usually play I'm a much much more versatile guitarist than I would be if I'd taken the easier route.

Janey

I started to learn on accoustic too. it's true, the strings are harder to fret, and so when you switch to electric, it's like walking on the moon!

Plus it's almost impossible to do pull offs on the accoustic. You pretty well have to twang. You can also use accoustic to maintain your callouses.

My fav site for learning online lessons is; www.wholenote.com click on the lessons tab!

and practice all the time.

jasonresno

Thanks guys

zfleebin

First thing I would do is start working your left hand. A good exercise for this is to play each of the first five notes on every string. Start by playing low e open then play low e with your pointer finger on the first fret then with your middle finger on the second fret keep going till you play low e with your pinkie on your the fourth fret. Then go do this on a-d-g-b-e and back. This is a good practice routine and will help you build up left hand speed. A couple important things to remember are 1= when you hold a string down only use the very tip of your finger and make sure you are holding it down hard enough so the string doesnt buzz when you play it 2= use the strength of your finger to hold down the string and not the power of your thumb (you will know you are doing this if your thumb is free and relaxed and can be moved without it sliding roughly on the neck 4= do not choke the guitar, this means leave some room, the more the better, between the palm of your hand and the side of the neck of the guitar 5= this is probably the most important actually so remember this ***the key to the guitar is to learn everything slowly comfortably and precisely first and then to increase the speed . This is important because when you learn to play something precisely and comfortably speed will come naturally. People that try and learn things fast the first time around are less efficient and many times will stress their hands out by trying so hard to play fast. Good guitarists are just as comfortable playing something fast as they are playing it slow. Now get practicing and give us some feedback on how it goes.

jobu

i would agree that having someone teach you in the begining is the way to go. you will end up learning a lot of little tricks that can't be learned in a book. also, try and sit down with as many people you know that play instruments and play together. this should help a lot with your rythm. lastly, if you want ot be good you have to practice. there is no other way.

Hektore

When I first started to learn to play I got what I think is a pretty good intro from

http://guitar.about.com/library/blgu...sonarchive.htm

Also, like other people said lessons can't be beat, If you can't get them hook up with a friend who knows how to play. I couldn't get lessons at first but my roommate played bass and just having him around helped a lot. Books and webpages are good resources, but you can't ask them questions. Also with an instructor they should be able to point you in the right direction for solid resources.

Another big tip, pick some easy songs to start with, take your time, and try not to get frustrated. Everyone learns at their own pace, by picking easy songs to play you notice your progress sooner because what you play will actually sound like something quicker. I think the best advice I've heard so far is from a sign on my instructor's door that reads "Think ten times, play once."

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guthmund

All good suggestions.

In addition, I would say find a group of folks who are better than you and hang out with them.

When I was starting out, I was lucky enough to live near a music store where impromptu 'jam' sessions would break out regularly. I cannot tell you how much I learned from just watching and trying desperately to keep up.

At first, I was extremely intimidated, but you get over that and most musicians, I've found, are quite accomodating and more than willing to share their knowledge.

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John Henry

As far as lessons go, I've seen mixed results. The one thing to watch out for is that too much overly-formal training can result in a very stilted style. It's good to learn from other people one way or another, though. I prefer to pick up bits and pieces from various friends and relatives.

Do finger-walking excercises with your fretting hand when you don't have your guitar available: Just walk your fingers back and forth along a table or your leg in each possible pair combination. This increases co-ordination amazingly. I only discovered this last night and I wish I'd started when I first learnt to play. I did about half an hour last night and my playing was noticeably improved this morning.

Tune your guitar properly and play it clean. This may sound silly, but you learn to play well through feedback (the neural sort, not the electromagnetic sort). You will gradually adapt to play what sounds good to your ear. If you play out of tune, everything will sound crappy and you'll just give up. If you play with effects all the time, you won't be able to hear your mistakes, so you'll never improve. For the same reason, if you're into drugs at all, try to play straight at least some of the time.

Being focussed is always a good thing, but make sure you experiment with different styles and techniques occasionaly as this will help to broaden your understanding of music. Likewise have a pootle on other peoples instruments occasionaly, whether they be guitars or otherwise.

If you have an ultimate goal in mind, start learning as many elements as you can as soon as possible. For example, if you want to sing and play, start learning to do the two together straight away. It might be hard, but it's easier than trying to tack the singing on later on.

Play with other musicians as much as possible. There are far too many bedroom guitarists out there who just learn sequences of notes from their favourite solos, but have absolutely no sense of timing and can't comp. to save their lives.

Use other people's music as a study, but don't just learn it as a repertoire. John Lennon supposedly wrote a lot of his songs by trying to play other people's songs and getting them wrong, so don't be afraid to experiment.

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FloydianOne

I took lessons for about 4 years, however I dont think lessons would have done anything if i didnt practice like everyday. I would generally spend one or two hours everyday just playing songs that I liked, tabs really help get you started.... but challenge yourself, dont play easy stuff, and dont stop trying to get a song down until you have it perfectly. After gettingi comfortable with playing I would recommend buying some books on different styles, and buy alot of music to get the feel. My music collection grew exponentially after I started playing guitar, and it wasnt just in one area I started listening to all types of music from rock to classical.

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lordpoopshank

Also interested in learing. On a completely serious note, is that Gift of Music with Esteban stuff I see on TV a complete load of BS? Anybody ever seen his instructional video?