Like... Two weeks haha. I come from a musical family and seem to have a knack though. Look up Orange Goblin's Beginner's Guide to Suicide. The slidy guitar parts? Almost got them down perfect.

Do you know how to read tab? If yes I can shoot you a tab of BOS to save you some time. Both the main riff and the bridge are super fun to play.

Yeah I can read tab. No need to send it over, I'll get it on my own, but I appreciate it. I wanna master that OG song and Ballad of Dwight Fry before I move on.

Another goal... Singing and playing. I'm finding it very ****in difficult.

That's very hard at first, you gotta train your voice not to follow the strumming. over time you'll learn how to do it.

i learned how to do it playing 'Come as you are' by Nirvana, that song is tough to play & sing if you're just starting to play the guitar.

Another thing to try is to sing and play while watching TV. It's weird but having the TV as a distraction lets your natural instincts take over.

Good feedback. Main question would be how much I should spend on a practice instrument. I don't care if it sounds bad or whatever, just enough to get the gist of playing the guitar. I can spend $100, but I can spend more if I can justify it.

The other day I picked up a friends acoustic/electric guitar, tuned it up and started noodling a bit, and was amazed at the quality and sound it had. I liked it enough to ask him if he wanted to sell it since I've been in need of one. He said he paid $100 for it, so I told him I'd give him $120 but I wanted to do some research on it first. I really thought I was getting a great deal. I took a few pictures, and the next day I decided to take a look and see what they actually go for. It turns out it was a Kona, and they sell them at Walmart and Target for around $130 for that model. I called him immediately to tell him of my findings, and that I won't be pulling the trigger on that sale.

It shocked me a little bit, but they are great guitars for beginners if you want to start with an acoustic, which I'd recommend. They also have electrics, and starter kits that come with pretty much everything you'd need.

KE2BPK

The Guitars||and amplifiers

There are other good names too like Yamaha, Ibanez, etc, that go for around $100 as well as starter packages from other various companies (like the Luna Guitar kit I bought for my daughter a few years back that came with a small Line 6 amp, with some amp modeling), just take a look into Musicians Friend or Guitar Center, but judging from what I played on the Kona, I'd personally go that route, and recommend it to anyone just starting out. I've been playing guitar for over 30 years, and have taught many students, so I do have a bit of experience.

Even though it may be beneficial for a novice (especially with getting a feel of the strings and the instrument) and help build finger strength, it's easy to develop bad habits that way (poor fingering, for example). It's like studying while watching a movie. Practice must be meaningful and free of distractions. Pay attention to what you play.

I was referring to being able to sync up singing while playing. But ya, I get your point. Both are very beneficial though. I use to practice while watching TV all the time. Finger exercises mostly but if a commercial came on with music I'd try to jam along. It's a great way to play in styles you'd normally not be exposed to.

i do that all the time then i wind up learning songs no one cares about, like, i learned the inspector gadget song.. why?? im never gonna play that to anyone!

But this is something you can only do when you've developed an ear for music and improvisation.