I want to learn how to play guitar..help?

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Destiny B
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I want to learn how to play guitar..help?

Post by Destiny B »

I have no clue where to start. I want to learn how to play the guitar. Where should I begin? Are there any free websites that teach beginners? And what are all the notes on the guitar? lol thanks:)
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wareagle
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Re: I want to learn how to play guitar..help?

Post by wareagle »

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Cryptic Night
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Re: I want to learn how to play guitar..help?

Post by Cryptic Night »

You don't NEED a guitar teacher. I've never had a formal lesson in my life, and plenty people say I'm good. (Though, I can't read treble clef very well, but that's partly because I'm so used to bass clef)

Just look around online. Get Powertabs. That's a good program to start out. It shows tabs and standard notation. Some great lessons on their site.
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wareagle
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Re: I want to learn how to play guitar..help?

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Paul Wolfe
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Re: I want to learn how to play guitar..help?

Post by Paul Wolfe »

I'd recommend investing in Diatonic Theory and Harmony by Doug Doppler and Lick Library's Learn to Play Electric Guitar and Fretboard Navigator by Jamie Humphries. All three of these DVDs are excellent for getting started on guitar.

Danny Gill's Learn to Play Rock Guitar in 6 Weeks from Lick Library is also excellent.

Both Danny and Doug were students of Joe Satriani and are great teachers in their own right. Since you can't learn from Randy (as a teacher), Danny, Doug and Jamie are the next best thing.


Having a personal teacher is a good thing, but it can be intimidating. I prefer the DVD route because you can focus on little bits at a time until you master it and then move ahead.

Here are clips from Doug's DVD.

Here is a clip from Danny's DVD.
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Re: I want to learn how to play guitar..help?

Post by Paul Wolfe »

wareagle wrote:personally i think a teachers better. they fit to you and improve what you need as opposed to a general lesson...
Very true, personalized advice can do wonders.

One suggestion I've heard for video lesson learners is to take an occasional lesson from a teacher so you can have your progress appraised. In addition you can ask any question you might have and get personalized help.

When first starting, a teacher would be able to help getting your fingers ready to rock with personally appropriate exercises. Plus having a lesson plan to follow and a lesson each week can be motivation to keep at it when it's a struggle.
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wareagle
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Re: I want to learn how to play guitar..help?

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rice_pudding
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Re: I want to learn how to play guitar..help?

Post by rice_pudding »

depends... self-taught is a little subjective, any student needs to be willing to teach themselves, a tutor is only a guide. 1 hour of lessons a week wont get you anywhere in itself.

I for one am self taught and i've never found it a hinderance. BUT i was lucky to have invested in good books, was very driven, some level of self impposed curriculum is vital; i planned every hour of study and had a good idea of what, why and how i would achieve clearly defined goals. Discipline is essential...

i still have log books, detailing how much i practiced on each day and what i studied etc. Yes i was a freak :lol: :oops:

i had lessons once but found them too slow paced, i covered much more ground by myself.

its all really down to the indivudual, either way you'll only learn as much as you are willing to learn

Its already apparent from this short thread that there are many routes towards learning, the first step would be thinking about how you would like to learn???

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TheMrAxeman
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Re: I want to learn how to play guitar..help?

Post by TheMrAxeman »

its always good to have a teacher because they call you out on what your doing wrong and help you to change bad habbits
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rice_pudding
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Re: I want to learn how to play guitar..help?

Post by rice_pudding »

TheMrAxeman wrote:its always good to have a teacher because they call you out on what your doing wrong and help you to change bad habbits
Thats true, but i have mixed feelings about it. My belief is that everyone develops a different way of playing (position of wrist/thumb etc.), as a self taught guy I often look at my technique and say "WTF thats sloppy!?" BUT... it works :idea:

I've just had almost an entire year divorced from the instrument so you could say im re-learning, im also looking towards teching either part or full time. The process has made me re-evaluate the way individuals play. I dont think you can or should teach someone to play a specific way, after all how many "pros" have diabolical techique. The "right way" to play should never be more than something to "fall back on" when you encounter difficualty IMO.

The other day i had some trouble with a particularly nasty scallar run, so i "fell back" on classical wrist position technique, problem solved and the metronome went higher and higher :twisted: :lol:

Its a case of isolating the problem in a "Stetninian" sense. The way a musician plays (warts an all) is a key part of that "sound from the fingers" mojo everyone talks about, However when the going gets tough it seems some things have to be played a specific way. I think of it like a soldier under fire, amid the horror/confusion of a battelfield a soldier falls back to his training to get him through a given situation.

Rob
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Paul Wolfe
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Re: I want to learn how to play guitar..help?

Post by Paul Wolfe »

"The right way" is the foundation for building you're own style. I had difficulty with the classical wrist position and forced myself to adopt the 'thumb over the neck' approach. So many things are more comfortable now, but some must be done the 'classical' way to accommodate the necessary stretches.
classicalmetal
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Re: I want to learn how to play guitar..help?

Post by classicalmetal »

The thing is that a majority of people don't have the ambition or know how to study correctly on their own. Using books, videos and the web is all great but there is no one there to answer your question except maybe going on a massage board but even then they can't actually show you. They can just explain it to you. Also how do you know this person explaining it actually know what they are talking about.

A good teacher could answer a question or solve a certain problem you have had for months in five minutes of a lesson. You may need to put some work into it but you will be on the right track. If your are practicing something in the wrong way then you will just keep reinforcing it by repeating it. When you finally learn the correct way you will then have to work twice as hard because you will have to break your bad habits you created.

Over and over again I get these self taught students that think they are intermediate or even advanced players that don't even have some basic beginner stuff down. Sure maybe they can do these cool sweeps they learned online but they can't actually use it. There are usually always huge holes in their playing and bad habits I have to fix.

I used to be one of these do it yourself, no lessons type players when I was a teen. I did ok and even tried lessons a couple times but only lasted a week or two each time. I just didn't need the help! What an idiot I was! When I finally decided to get serious about my playing and went back to lessons I learned more in 6 months then I did years of doing it on my own. Any question I had the answer was there for me. I wasted so much time and I could have been so much better by that point had I taken lessons earlier.

Also for a complete beginner their is no substitute! They need someone their to show them how to hold the pick, fret the strings, get it to sound out clearly etc... This is very hard to learn from even a video never mind a book and if they are not doing it right who is going to tell them what they are doing wrong. They may start thinking they just don't have the talent when all they really need is someone to show them the correct way to do it.

So if you want to go about it the long way around and chance having big holes in your playing go it alone. Yes there are a few people that do it alone and get great but this is about 10% of the people that play. The other 90% need help. Just because you may think you are great does not mean it is so. Again I see this all the time with new students coming in. My advice to anybody is do yourself a favor and find a good teacher to help you out. At least to get a solid foundation. Then go it on your own!
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Re: I want to learn how to play guitar..help?

Post by Paul Wolfe »

Classical Metal, I agree, having a teacher is a tremendous advantage, but I know guitarists who have excelled without taking lessons from an instructor and they play brilliantly. It is possible to get ahead either way.

My recommendation is to check out some online videos and get a feel for what it takes to play guitar AND check out a teacher. You may only need a few physical lessons to form a foundation and then follow through with books and DVDs... or you may find the teacher suits you best. Ultimately, just start doing something and put in some time. Give it 6 months of honest effort and decide if guitar is for you or not. If you love it, you'll figure out how you learn best. If it's just a fun hobby you can take or leave, you'll figure that out, too.
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Re: I want to learn how to play guitar..help?

Post by Cpt Matt Sparrow »

Aside from the many famous self taught guitarists- ie Django, Segovia, Julian Bream, Paco de Lucia, Chet Atkins etc etc, there are many famous self taught composers too; such as Villa-Lobos and Leo Brouwer . Also the man responsible for some of the most iconic music in film history ; John Barry!! He was completely self taught.

I think the the term self taught is always not completely true anyway. Even so called self taught musicians, pick things up along the way from people etc!
There are many ways to skin a cat afterall!

Here flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucia talks on how music is learned in a gypsy environment
http://www.uniqsystems.com/pacodelucia/ ... raphy.html

Matt
Having a break from online activity for a while to concentrate on music. Please email if you need to get in touch. Matt
rice_pudding
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Re: I want to learn how to play guitar..help?

Post by rice_pudding »

Cpt Matt Sparrow wrote: I think the the term self taught is always not completely true anyway. Even so called self taught musicians, pick things up along the way from people etc!
There are many ways to skin a cat afterall!
Self taught usualy means consulting a book or dvd that someone has designed to educate you, inanimate objects are the teachers of the 21st century :lol:

Rob
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