12 replies to this topic

[wonderfullygifted]

I'm trying to learn guitar, and it's pretty hard.
I'd take a teacher, but I'm trying to learn by myself.

I figured if I could find some beginner songs that'll get me started.
But I'm like really really bad.

I can't play chords..and can hardly play tabs.

Anyone that could help me

[anwiii]

what kinda guitar are you learning on?

i would start with the basic chords in major. a-g

learn one. then learn another, and practice going back and forth between them. then learn another and practice going in order....and so on and so forth.

you're not learning any songs, but you are mastering the basic hand positions. once you have mastered this....maybe in a week or two, get yourself sheet music that just deals with major chords. play a few songs and get excited about how you can now play a couple songs, then learn the minor chords the same way you learned the majors and you can then expand your sheet music.

also, the very FIRST thing you will need to know is how to tune your guitar. it's good practice to tune it every day you decide to pick it up and play it. it's hard for me to teach you how to tune it. maybe there is a tutorial somewhere else if you can google it. but you always start tuning a guitar with the last string. which is the E string. my reference was always a piano so i had it pretty easy as long as the piano was in tune. there are cheap guitar tuners out there. i heard some people use wave files. you just need to tune that 6th string. after that it's easy but unfortunately, i can't explain it well....but it is very easy. takes me a total of about 20 seconds to tune a guitar. your first time may take you up to 3 minutes. the more you do it though the easier it becomes. you also have to have a good ear to tune as you will be using your low e string to match it up with a high pitch e on your 5th string and so on til you get to your first string.

anyway, yea, you need to learn to tune first, then learn the major chords, play some songs, then learn the minor chords. this should be good for the basics right now. also, don't forget to sing while you play and try to FEEL the music....

I'm trying to learn guitar, and it's pretty hard.
I'd take a teacher, but I'm trying to learn by myself.

I figured if I could find some beginner songs that'll get me started.
But I'm like really really bad.

I can't play chords..and can hardly play tabs.

Anyone that could help me

[wonderfullygifted]

I don't need to tune it, I have a tuner.

I'm using an electric guitar.

My problem isssss my cord is broken.
So I'll never even get to hear it play until I go downtown to fix it.


I'm going to think playing A-G chords.. is going to be like 1hour per day kind of session.

[rob86]

There are tons of beginner lessons on the internet to get you started, and tons of areas to start learning. The most important thing is to be in tune, if you don't have a tuner get one they are 100% essential and cheap.

If you like rock or punk music, you can check out what are called Power Chords which are easier to play than chords and are used in rock music, however don't get lazy and neglect everything else (like Open Chords, the A, G, E things) just because you can play some easy rock songs. It's a little bit motivating to actually play some real music though and this is your fastest way to do it. You can play power chords on acoustic, but they sound best on electric guitar.

As for chords in general, they just take a lot of practice. They seem impossible at first, but your fingers will stretch and become more flexible and it will become second nature. Just stick with it and practice. Your fingers will most likely get sore and develop hard callouses if they aren't you aren't practicing enough.


Kind of rushed for time right now, but I have lots of guitar information to share so it's hard to be too informative, just post again if you have more questions.

And yes, Guitar playing definitely takes effort. Don't be discouraged.

Maybe give some more information about what you're trying to learn.. acoustic? electric? rock songs? new rock? classic rock? country? electric blues? acoustic blues? What are your goals, casual camp fire folk singer or Guitar God?

[puneye]

I also wants learn Guitar. But problem is I am left handed and I can't learn what everybody learns (right handed way). I searched many times in google learning Guitar Left handed but not good information. As I am left handed I need to buy a Left handed Guitar ?? I am planning to learn myself (self learning) not learning from Guru. How hard it to me learn myself. I can give 2/3 hours daily for my guitar lessons. Give me suggestions.

[Jonnyabc]

I figured if I could find some beginner songs that'll get me started.
But I'm like really really bad.

I can't play chords..and can hardly play tabs.

First, let me say that you will obviously want to learn chords. I would recommend that you start in the key of G. For this key, you will use three primary chords: G, C, and D (or D7). We'll call the G the "first chord", C the "second chord", and D(7), the "third chord" Practice these (C-G-D). Although it may seem dumb and even degrading, "Mary Had a Little Lamb" and "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" are FANTASTIC starters. "Mary Had a Little Lamb" will start you off with G and D(7). After you master those two chords, add in C with "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star". Eventually, these three chords will become easy for you to learn and will allow you to add more chords to them.

At this point in your learning it will be time to scope out to other great things...try playing the same songs in other keys. In the key of G Major you have the three chords C-G-D. If you play in the KEY of C, your CHORDS will be F-C-G, and alternatively, if you play in the key of D, your chords will be G-D-A. The reason I put the letters in this order is to show you that each key that you play is only off by one chord: F-C-G-D-A-E-B. You play any key in the range of C-G-D-A-E, all the Major chords are there.

Not only will you want to learn chords in the Major keys, but the Minor keys as well. E Minor (initialized Em) is the chord that corresponds with the key of G Major. Em uses Am (A Minor) and B(7), so Am-Em-B. As you can see, this still follows the F-C-G-D-A-E-B format, except this time it is Fm-Cm-Gm-Dm-Am-Em-Bm. Remember that your 'third chord" will NOT be Minor (most of the time).

Ok...confused? Let me summarize...in the Major KEY of G, you will play the CHORDS G, C, and D(7). Along with those, you should learn the related Minor KEY of E, you will play the CHORDS Em, Am, and B(7). If we wanted to play in the KEY of C, the six chords would be C, F, and G(7), and Am, Dm, and E(7).

But problem is I am left handed and I can't learn what everybody learns (right handed way). I searched many times in google learning Guitar Left handed but not good information. As I am left handed I need to buy a Left handed Guitar ?? I am planning to learn myself (self learning) not learning from Guru. How hard it to me learn myself. I can give 2/3 hours daily for my guitar lessons. Give me suggestions.

If you are saying that you don't think you can learn left-handed, that's a misconception. I AM LEFT HANDED. In all reality, I think the guitar is better made for the lefties, because there's a lot more skill level, initially, that must go into coordinating your fingers into a chord. The advantage of righties is that they are better at picking.

However, if instead you wish to play with a left-handed guitar, IT IS NO DIFFERENT THAN A REGULAR GUITAR, EXCEPT FOR ONE THING: The strings are reversed. The advantage that you would have by learning it this way is that you will look at someone playing a chord as if you were looking into a mirror instead of sitting next to the person. The huge disadvantage is that you will have to look at chord charts and think about it before you can play it that way. Another problem is if you do not have your guitar with you, because it is difficult to play the same piece on both hands (but not impossible).




Hope this helps both of you! Let me know if I'm making sense and can tell you any more! Remember, anyone can show you how, but you have to be the one who finally does it.

Edited by Jonnyabc, 14 February 2010 - 11:31 PM.

[wonderfullygifted]

Okay, just so everyone knows, I don't know if this develops over time but it's REALLY awkward to play the guitar.. like my fingers just can't reach the cords, or whatever. My fingers are short, I guess but I see little kids play it.

Would my fingers have anything to do with not being able to play the guitar?

It's just so awkward when I play the guitar, like my fingers don't reach then when I adjust them.. one of the strings I place my finger ontop of isn't properly pressed down so I have to do that again, and then maybe my finger might be touching another string.. it's so hard.

[anwiii]

hahaha yea, it is awkward at first. that is why you need to practice practice practice. i would think at least an hour a day is good. how long your fingers are shouldn't make too much of a difference so don't use that as an excuse also, your fingertips may be sensitive at first, but they will get used to pushing in the strings.

you need to practice your hand positions so your fingers aren't touching any strings they shouldn't be when strummin' the chords. you'll get used to it over time. just be patient. you might want to try to arch your fingers more. that will be a little more difficult with shorter fingers, but it's not hard. just takes practice.

[Jonnyabc]

To put it bluntly: Get used it...it'll soon pass (and then it'll seem as though your hand grew or the guitar neck shrunk because you will then be able to reach most of the strings with ease. Everyone has this issue when they begin (I can't imagine many people who don't). anwiii is right that your fingers will be sensitive and that you want to try and arch your fingers a bit more (this can be both painful and difficult for a beginner).

Here's the part about your fingers...eventually they'll grow calluses which will be beneficial to you. They might start as blisters, but let them pop, and play again (that probably sounds a little grotesque, but it's the only way to get them to form). Basically, you're looking for several dry layers of skin to form on top of each other (you'll begin to feel them when you start to play). The two primary advantages are that they will help your fingers from aching at the end of a full half-hour stretch of playing, and second, it actually helps the sound of your guitar, since they will be stiffer and flatter, which will give the guitar strings a bit more of a metallic sound to them. Look for them on your four left fingers and the outside of your right thumb, depending upon how you strum.


Just as a side note, remember not to play bow and arrow with your strings...they can break easily enough, and it doesn't take a lot of force to make them sound notes. Don't use a pick at first if you or someone else thinks that you are prone to strumming too hard.

[wonderfullygifted]

Oh, that's another thing.

Should I use a pick? Or should I use my fingers?

I'm more use to my fingers, coz i started out that way..

but I think a pick is proper to play other songs.
I guess I better start practicing !

[cunny]

which type guitar are you playing? In beginning stage dont use electric guitar. It is easy to play. dont worry. well practice to correct way using your finger in the chords.

Edited by moderator, 05 June 2012 - 11:55 AM.

[Illustrious]

I don't know if this helps but I learned how to play the ukulele before I played the guitar because I thought the guitar was harder. In my opinion, playing chords on the ukulele is extremely easy since the strings have a much lesser tension then those on the guitar. After being able to play several chord progressions on the ukulele, I gave the guitar another try and amazingly, it was a lot easier to play than before.

If you have trouble playing chords, I suggest that you play a chord over and over again until you get your fingers calloused from repetition. It will help a lot. For bar chords, I spent around 2 weeks placing my fingers across my guitar between commercials.

[Iniyila]

hmm learning guitar is very easy and only needs practicing a lot. i have playing guitar from 4 years ago and now i can play "Astronomy" from "Blue oyster cult" completely right. my only problem is my hands which gets wet after 10 minutes of playing which annoys me a lot, but anyway there is no song longer than 10 minutes so it's not a big deal. actually i have two teachers and i should say the first one was the greatest teacher i have ever seen, he showed me for learning electric guitar there is no need to learn classic one first (which most of the teachers i have seen suggest first to go for a classic one) and i started with electric from the beginning. my second teacher is youtube! and the best part of it is a great youtube electric guitar player which has "KillrBuckeye" username and he's covers are just great.