Learning to play guitar?

Aichuk · 11-11-2013, 07:21 AM

I know many people will disagree, but try to NOT read tabs as much as possible. Music is mainly about your ears, not your eyes. Try to pick up songs by ear and tune your guitar using your ear (if you get a tuner, then only use it to tune to the bass E). Yes, it won't be perfect and you'll make lots of mistakes but unless you're in a race (like you have to perform a concert in 4 months), you should take your time and form solid basics.

Learn some chords and learn to play in beat. Proper timing is essential in being a great musician. My teacher made me strum my chords in proper timing for 3 months just so I can get it done perfectly.

Decide what type of guitarist you want to be. If you want to be a blues or rock guitarist, then you don't necessarily need to learn to read music or know music theory (though it will help you). If you want to be classical/jazz then knowing theory and how to read music is a good idea.

It'll be best if you have someone to guide you or to tutor you or else you may ignore your mistakes or not learn the proper way. Find a person who teaches guitar and go to him.

I made a mistake of going to a guitar shop and buying my guitar without having someone who knows about guitars with me. If you don't have such a person, then ask the store people for help in choosing and if you aren't a very rich person, then a relatively cheap guitar will suffice. Ask someone to play all the frets to see if they make a proper noise and make sure there's no buzzing. Be careful about the action (distance from fretboard to strings). Too high will be hard to play and too low may make buzzing sounds.

I suggest you learn to play with your fingers first as there are more things you can do with your fingers than with a plectrum. Get a good tutorial on youtube or buy a book. First I suggest you learn the A minor, E major and D minor chords and practice playing with these. Fool around and experiment with your guitar and see what note 'sound right' when played together. Remember, everyone sucks at the beginning.

11-11-2013, 07:21 AM	#19 (permalink)
Aichuk Music Addict Join Date: Sep 2013 Posts: 91	Here's what I think I know many people will disagree, but try to NOT read tabs as much as possible. Music is mainly about your ears, not your eyes. Try to pick up songs by ear and tune your guitar using your ear (if you get a tuner, then only use it to tune to the bass E). Yes, it won't be perfect and you'll make lots of mistakes but unless you're in a race (like you have to perform a concert in 4 months), you should take your time and form solid basics. Learn some chords and learn to play in beat. Proper timing is essential in being a great musician. My teacher made me strum my chords in proper timing for 3 months just so I can get it done perfectly. Decide what type of guitarist you want to be. If you want to be a blues or rock guitarist, then you don't necessarily need to learn to read music or know music theory (though it will help you). If you want to be classical/jazz then knowing theory and how to read music is a good idea. It'll be best if you have someone to guide you or to tutor you or else you may ignore your mistakes or not learn the proper way. Find a person who teaches guitar and go to him. I made a mistake of going to a guitar shop and buying my guitar without having someone who knows about guitars with me. If you don't have such a person, then ask the store people for help in choosing and if you aren't a very rich person, then a relatively cheap guitar will suffice. Ask someone to play all the frets to see if they make a proper noise and make sure there's no buzzing. Be careful about the action (distance from fretboard to strings). Too high will be hard to play and too low may make buzzing sounds. I suggest you learn to play with your fingers first as there are more things you can do with your fingers than with a plectrum. Get a good tutorial on youtube or buy a book. First I suggest you learn the A minor, E major and D minor chords and practice playing with these. Fool around and experiment with your guitar and see what note 'sound right' when played together. Remember, everyone sucks at the beginning.