Poll: The Beginners Guide To Guitars, Other Musical Instruments And Equipment Sticky

Which First Guitar

  • Yamaha Pacifica 112

    Votes: 90 37.7%

  • Squier Standard Stra

    Votes: 59 24.7%

  • Ibanez GRG170

    Votes: 11 4.6%

  • Epiphone Les Paul Special II

    Votes: 36 15.1%

  • Ibanez RG321

    Votes: 24 10.0%

  • Epiphone G400

    Votes: 19 7.9%
  • Total voters
    239
dmpoole said:
You have to have enthusiasm for the instrument or else you won't get anywhere.
However, like my cousin, you can be enthusiastic but have no sense of rhythm.
He can play all his chords but no way on this planet can he strum in time or change the chord in time and you can't teach it.
So everybody can learn chords but timing is in-built.
If you are the type of person that claps out of time and thinks everybody at the karaoke is great then don't bother.
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OK maybe I am rooting for the underdog but someone without good rythm could pick it up with hard work and a metronome.

I have not had the greatest rythm in the world but I have gotten better just simply counting out 4/4 time with a crotchet chord strum to a metronome and increase the tempo slowly.

It can be done but it just takes time.

Anyone can learn to play guitar. It just takes more work with some people than with others. As long as the determination is there and the willingness to practise you can do it.

Never underestimate the power of the human mind to adapt and evolve.
 
Drak_nyen said:
OK maybe I am rooting for the underdog but someone without good rythm could pick it up with hard work and a metronome.

I have not had the greatest rythm in the world but I have gotten better just simply counting out 4/4 time with a crotchet chord strum to a metronome and increase the tempo slowly.

It can be done but it just takes time.

Anyone can learn to play guitar. It just takes more work with some people than with others. As long as the determination is there and the willingness to practise you can do it.

Never underestimate the power of the human mind to adapt and evolve.
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Not wholely true... you need fingers if you wanna play more than drop D powerchords and seven nation army. And timing isn't everything. Timing is something you pick up i find. When you start you concentrate so hard on the fingering you don't have any concept of timing at all. Timing only needs to be spot on for band playing. solo stuff you just need to know roughly how long a second is.
 
Skilldibop said:
Not wholely true... you need fingers if you wanna play more than drop D powerchords and seven nation army. And timing isn't everything. Timing is something you pick up i find. When you start you concentrate so hard on the fingering you don't have any concept of timing at all. Timing only needs to be spot on for band playing. solo stuff you just need to know roughly how long a second is.
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I fully agree with you mate. You do need your fingers too.

I was merely commenting back about DMpoole saying you need to have inbuilt timing or else dont even bother picking up the instrument.

I say you can learn rythm and timing.

But yes I do agree that you need to learn your fingering but then there are chromatic excercises that you can do to mix learning rythm and also to practise smooth fingering.
 
Drak_nyen said:
I say you can learn rythm and timing.
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Thats the point - you shouldn't need to be taught timing because it should be built in. If you have to learn to keep in time then it keeps you from learning your instrument. I've seen this so many times in the last 35 years that you know you are on a loser if the person has to learn timing. I've known many people to be in time with themselves but no way can they keep in time with the rest of the group or with a song playing.
I agree that it shouldn't stop you from learning an instrument though.
 
Im planning on getting a guitar, I was just going to get one of them Standard Squier Strat Guitars in the starter pack which comes with a 10watt amp, leads, carry strap, spare set of strings and a intro book thing.

bout £120, but Im not sure, is this recommended?
 
That'll probably be the Squier Affinity Strat. (cheaper than the standard)

I picked up a Squier Standard Strat a while ago for my birthday, very happy with it. I've always been semi-interested in guitar (I've been a drummer for about 12 years now) so I decided to act on my interest and try and learn it. :)
 
Anyone know of any good books for self-teaching?

I started with Guitar for Dummies which I admit is a very good book. If you nothing about guitars then it's a great start. It's a bit limited on musical theory tho and it looks easy to outgrow.

EDIT: Can anyone recomend a decent cheap amp for a standard bedroom, marshall preff due to they are the only amps that have never failed me when recording bands.
 
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Any advice on learning the bass. I've been practising on th eguitar for a few years now but a friend of mine is forming a band and basically said if I can learn the bass then I'm in.

So any tips for playing bass and any equipment advice would be appreciated. Equipment wise, we're looking at a low budget for the Bass and Amp.
 
Actually bass sorted, got a good deal for my mates Jackson. Now I just need the amp.

*edit*

got the amp as well now. 25watt Marshall practice amp. Will get a bigger one when we move onto gigging.
 
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Most of the tab sites have gone or are now charging... It was the royalties ppl complaiing that they were being accessed and dled for free and therebye depriving the artists of royalites..
 
noooooooooooooooooooooooo DO NOT GET THE VTONE AMP YOU WILL REGRET IT FOR THE REST OF YOUR DAYS, its the worst amp Ihave ever played, 2 of my friends have them and they are both 7 shades of the smelly stuff
 
dmpoole said:
If you are the type of person that claps out of time and thinks everybody at the karaoke is great then don't bother.
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Rubbish, a good music teacher can sort that out, no problem. :)

dmpoole said:
Thats the point - you shouldn't need to be taught timing because it should be built in. If you have to learn to keep in time then it keeps you from learning your instrument. I've seen this so many times in the last 35 years that you know you are on a loser if the person has to learn timing. I've known many people to be in time with themselves but no way can they keep in time with the rest of the group or with a song playing.
I agree that it shouldn't stop you from learning an instrument though.
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I'm no guitarist but I've been playing music for a long time. One thing I know is that it doesn't matter how good you think your timing is, practice makes you better. The best way to improve your timing is by practicing various exercises. With the piano, scales and arpeggios are a great method and for the record I do not agree that you shouldn't need to be taught timing. You personally may be lucky that you are skilled enough that your timing is beyond reproach but I guarantee that there are many professional musicians who have to make a lot of effort to ensure their timing is up to scratch.

If every musicians didn't need to learn timing, there wouldn't be such a thing as a metronome now would there? :p
 
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I picked up a cheap electric some time ago and gave up within a couple of hours read of the "Guitar for dummies" book. I have ALWAYS wanted to be able to play guitar, both acoustic and electric, but i find it impossible to place my fingers to play some chords, i physically cannot fit them on the frets. This really put me off, but i dusted it off again last night and want to give it a proper go. Am i wasting my time with this guitar, or is this a problem that everyone has at first?
I struggle with most chords i have tried, but A.... what the hell? I dont even have big hands/fingers :D
 
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