I want to learn guitar

Knubje said:
Play with whatever becomes comfortable to you. The guy in the pic above is holding correctly for a standing position.

I play acoustic more and often sit down to play for my own enjoyment. Therefore I don't hold my guitar at an angle as above as it would be silly, but when I stand up I do.

Sorry to thread hi-jack but might as well ask while I'm here. I'm looking at learning a new song. My latest few have been Classical Gas and Stairway to Heaven, looking for a reasonably difficult but not stupidly technical song to learn.

I found Classical Gas reasonably difficult and it took about 2 weeks to learn the theory and I'm still perfecting it as a whole. Any suggestions? :D
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You tried 'Nothing Else Matters' by Metallica? Easier to play than Classical Gas and Stairway to Heaven but it sounds awesome.

sheeny71 said:
Just started learning, things going well using justinguitar lessons.
Also practicing smoke on the water. What thickness pick should I be using or does it not matter?
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It's really down to preference. When I first started out I use one of those ridiculously thin picks. It's not recommended, and there is a slight 'flappy' sound when you strum but I think it really helped me get the hang of strumming and rhythm. Trying to strum with a thicker pick at a beginner stage I found very difficult. Obviously I don't use picks that thin anymore.

I think .60mm are the best, but again, as I said, it is down to personal preference. I sometimes use something a little thicker for certain things I am playing.

SkeeterUK, perhaps don't worry about it now but you will eventually learn about something called string muting. For the riff to Smoke on the Water for example.. you say you are finding it hard not to hit strings you aren't supposed to.. well where string muting is concerned you'd lay your finger cross all 6 strings but only apply pressure to the E and A strings. That way the other strings are muted and won't ring out and you can also really concentrate on your strum and groove. String muting is a massive part of it guitar and if you think about it, how are guitarists on stage, jumping about and in the dark, supposed to avoid accidentally hitting strings they aren't supposed to? String muting is your friend. :)
 
Any left handed here? I know its not the same, but when playing guitar hero, I feel most comfortable playing left handed, and I progressed with my skill a lot faster than playing right..
I've looked about and there seems to be a lot of limitations when it comes to left handed electric guitars. Am I just better off learning right handed and joining the masses? Or seeking out a good left handed guitar if I can and playing how I feel comfortable?
 
Jonnybmac said:
Any left handed here? I know its not the same, but when playing guitar hero, I feel most comfortable playing left handed, and I progressed with my skill a lot faster than playing right..
I've looked about and there seems to be a lot of limitations when it comes to left handed electric guitars. Am I just better off learning right handed and joining the masses? Or seeking out a good left handed guitar if I can and playing how I feel comfortable?
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Learning to play guitar at the start wasn't comfortable me being right handed and learning a right handed guitar :) The learning curve is pretty massive and never ending regardless which way you go :D

I found it a strange concept that fingering (hehe) was done by my left hand even though I'm a righty. Precisely co-coordinating fingers onto strings and making chord shapes seemed hard.

Thinking back now it makes sense as my strumming isn't the best with my decent hand, god knows how awful it would be with my left!

I think it's all relative to what feels right and wrong and how you start learning.

I know Jimi Hendrix played his guitar backwards and upside down and lets be fair, he wasn't too bad :p

If you can find a guitar shop that does both I would suggest playing both (even as a learner) and seeing what feels right and go with it!
 
i can get hold of a right handed guitar to practice on as my friend doesnt play it and offered me it on the lend. maybe i should try doing that first and going with it. hes minus an amp though, can you plug them into pc's and use software amps or do i need extra hardware?
 
Jonnybmac said:
i can get hold of a right handed guitar to practice on as my friend doesnt play it and offered me it on the lend. maybe i should try doing that first and going with it. hes minus an amp though, can you plug them into pc's and use software amps or do i need extra hardware?
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That is possible, how it works I'm not sure as I haven't done it.

You will probably need an adapter for the guitar cable into your sound card some where down the line I'd imagine.

You could always play it not being plugged in, there is still sound albeit not very loud :)
 
Just looked, all you need is a standard lead and a conversion jack so it fits into your soundcard. Sound doesnt seem that bad really.. He has the leads, would just need a converter which can probably be bought at a local store.


Thanks for your help :)
 
Well I got myself an accoustic and ive been hammering it for 3 hours straight, want to play more as im addicted but my fingers are really hurting now and need a rest. think its because its a right handed restrung to a left to the strings are quite hard to push down. Started out with an easy song which i really like and got the intro off although i keep getting confused with the strumming direction sometimes and its hard going onto the 3rd chord.. practice practice practice.

I'm using a site ive found which i find quite useful as you can preview the song over the tabs to help you

http://www.songsterr.com/a/wa/song?id=35053
 
Massive thread revival here, but I'm also trying to learn guitar now. Seems like this thread was becoming a place for people to chat about their progress, so may as well post here rather than start a new thread.

I've tried playing guitars from a very young age, my Dad taught me some chords, but I never really learned properly. I bought an Ibanez GSA60 a few years back, got a crappy amp with it, and played a bit, but lack of progress annoyed me too much. I then played a bit with my Dad's acoustic which I kind of kept for myself when he died. I know the basic chords (E, G, A, D, C, F) and can switch comfortably between them all relatively quickly and accurately (C harder, and F really struggling with as I find it hard to do barre chords).

I know some basic bits of songs, but really looking to get better now. Just been playing my Ibanez without an amp as I chucked the crap amp it came with. Just bought a Line6 UX2 to hook up to my PC though, so will post my progress when/if it happens :)

Skeeter, how you getting on now, nearly a year down the line?
 
Gave up pretty much, tho been watching K-ON anime and think i might try the guitar again after watching that lol. I do like guitar and the sounds it can create, its just difficult learning on my own and with being a bit larger than most its a bit hard to handle the guitar well thats my excuse lol.

Wish i was more social and maybe find some group that gets together to learn and stuff but i wouldnt know where to start. Thought about the collage down the road but duno if they teach guitar there or just general music.
 
Possibly, i was going to try some bloke for a introductory lesson of £10. But i wimped out.

Money is a bit tight with it being christmas and all. But maybe when it starts getting warm again next year i might consider lessons. Duno how many as i cant afford to do a lot. Actually how many would ppl say a total novice would need you reckon? 3, 5, 10, a million :p ?
 
I too bought a acoustic and a electric (pacifica) and amp, few years ago. Never got round to learning. But really fancy it now.

So in the new year I shall have a few lessons to get me on the right track.

I have played the piano and organ for the last 34 years so I can read music very well, still play the piano frequently as well.

Just love the sound of acoustics at time. Just need some guidance as when I try to play i get a 'buzzing' kind of noise as not holding the strings down correctly and also it really seems to hurt my wrist/fingers on left hand after a while.

This maybe down to just being something I have to get used to, bending my fingers in a different way, stretching them etc.


Just think I will have a few lessons to steer me in the right direction.


Also, does one use a pick or not. Is there a advantage or not? what is best to learn with?
 
The vast majority of electric players use a pick, but there are notable exceptions. I would say it would be advantageous to learn with a pick but not to get too discouraged if you struggle. I'm a right klutz with a pick myself, but I still soldier on.

With the acoustic it's the other way round. Certainly work on your finger style there!
 
ScarySquirrel said:
Massive thread revival here, but I'm also trying to learn guitar now. Seems like this thread was becoming a place for people to chat about their progress, so may as well post here rather than start a new thread.

I've tried playing guitars from a very young age, my Dad taught me some chords, but I never really learned properly. I bought an Ibanez GSA60 a few years back, got a crappy amp with it, and played a bit, but lack of progress annoyed me too much. I then played a bit with my Dad's acoustic which I kind of kept for myself when he died. I know the basic chords (E, G, A, D, C, F) and can switch comfortably between them all relatively quickly and accurately (C harder, and F really struggling with as I find it hard to do barre chords).

I know some basic bits of songs, but really looking to get better now. Just been playing my Ibanez without an amp as I chucked the crap amp it came with. Just bought a Line6 UX2 to hook up to my PC though, so will post my progress when/if it happens :)

Skeeter, how you getting on now, nearly a year down the line?
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With the F chord, don't bother barring it. Just sack off the low E string.

I would do simple things like 1-2-3-4 on every string, try to alternate pick (this means a downstroke followed by an upstroke)

Also, get your power chords down.
 
Ive been making good progress on the guitar over the last week or so. Im quite impressed with myself. :)

Next year rocksmith will be released...have a google.
 
Gave up on my guitar about a year or more ago. Could barely do the chords right. Patience and practice, 2 things i aint got.
 
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