Guitar for Beginners

Archive for November, 2009

I am planning to take guitar lessons for 45 minutes per lesson a week but don’t know how many lessons I should take in all as in not taking any more lessons. I know it all depends on the person’s learning abilities and on the lessons but I want to know a precise amount of lessons to take because they are a little pricey.

That’s the problem with learning from someone, you never really know how many lessons you need. Try going with an instructor that has a set plan like a ‘12 weeks beginners course’ because they usually have a good gauge of what you need for basic proficiency, this also prevents you from burning out your wallet.

How many lessons you need really depends on 2 things:

1. The level of proficiency you want, what skills you want to learn
2. How much money you have, how many the lessons cost etc.

So try to find some middle ground. I’m self-taught using guitar videos and books so didn’t have this problem… good luck!

Alrighty so I want to learn how to play guitar and I’m not sure where to start. Some advice would be amazing and if you know any websites that can teach you without paying please mention them. I’m looking to learn by myself but I guess I could take lessons. I guess I should just get used to picking and just using both hands then learning cords ? I’m not sure.

Thanks =)

PluckandPlayGuitar has free video based lessons for absolute beginners and assume you know nothing or close to nothing.

It takes you step by step through the basic guitar chords one by one. There’s also lesson on guitar scales, techniques and some easy songs to play.

http://www.pluckandplayguitar.com/

Hi, I’ve been playing guitar for about a year and I’ve only been playing chords on like the first
five frets. I just have these questions.
1. How can I make a normal E chord play on a higher fret?
2. Is there a rule on the guitar for chords?

Please give a detailed explanation how to play chords on
higher frets. My friends play on really high frets and I want
to learn the same. If you could explain, Thanks.

Learn the fretboard-go to the website provided
Go to the second website provided-it gives you a list of chords and how to play them.
Chords come from scales. You should go to google and type in scales and keys.
Scales and keys are the fundamentals to creating music on any instrument and practicing scales will make your fingers a lot faster.=)

I have looked on many guitar tab websites, but I could not find a tab that had 5 stars. Since I do not have perfect pitch, I cannot tell if a 4 star tab is really close. So what tab do you guitar players use?

Check out this site. You have different versions of paranoid and all good.

http://www.chordie.com/song.php/songartist/Black+Sabbath/index.html

I am getting a guitar for Christmas this year and I am really excited. I am 20 and have always been interested in playing but could never afford the instrument.

I know for sure my parents are getting me an acoustic guitar this year. I was wondering if anyone knows how long it will take me to learn how to play the guitar? Will I be able to learn it on my own or will i definitely need lessons?

In my case, it worked out that YEARS ago my guitar instructor would ask me to bring in recordings of songs for which there was an interest on my part to learn to play. This happened on cassette – before CDs EVER appeared on the market. It was just a matter of watching him learn the bass lines to the songs, and then figuring out the chords from the base lines and the fingering from the chords.

After a while of watching HIM do it over-and-over again for a year or so, it dawned on me that it was easier for me to learn the songs on my own! My parents would pay the the guy ten or 15 dollars for a half-hour lesson. Just keep your wrist as low as possible, and you will be fine!

My suggestion would be to take the lessons for a month, see if you are getting better at playing the thing as the month progesses. Then set a goal for three months. Then set another goal of six months. Learning on an accoustic is MUCH more difficult than learning on an electric, but it is the better option because you will ALWAYS be able to play the electric if you LEARN on the acoustic. Learning on the acoustic keeps you honest! *grin*

Oh! The LAST song my fingers learned to play on the guitar was this song by Everlast – the name eludes me, but it was sort of a bluzy song. It worked off a D-minor, Dsus4, Fmaj7, and C. The rest of the chord progression eludes me now, but if you were to put a guitar in my hands, my fingers would remember the song in an instant.

Oh! Someone else mentioned tuning! Want to know an EASY way to tune your axe? Use the FIRST note to AC/DC’s Highway to Hell! That is the TRUEST A-note in rock-n-roll!

Tune your fifth string to THAT note, my tiny brain can still hear the note even though it has been years since my ears have heard the song. If you learn to do this, you will be able to play ANY guitar you find because that note will resonate in your head to the point where you can use its resonance to tune ANY guitar.

BTW, you tune the balance of the strings off the A-string.

My plan THIS week is to learn Mark Antoine’s Madrid which is a GREAT guitar song. It sounds like it has TWO guitars in it – maybe three. My plan will be to start working on it Monday morning. It is such a sweet song – an instrumental too.

Actually, since you provided us with TWO solutions, your question should read, "Which is the better and faster way to learn guitar: with an instructor or on my own?"

The answer to the question really boils down to how much time you are going to invest in learning to play the beast. You going to give up once your knuckles and fingertips are screaming at you to stop, or are you going to ignore their pleas and just keep playing? After about month-six, you can start practicing your Townsend-like windmills, if you want. Start slowly, or your right hand will be screaming in pain too as the strings open up some skin as you start whaling on the axe! Walk before you run, always, Grasshopper.

I have a guitar, and I dont even know how to play it. I dont want to take lessons so i was wondering if anyone has used the lessons On Demand on comcast and if they would help me learn at the least tyhe basics! Also which ones because there are multiple ones i think? Thanks!

well if you don’t want to take lessons, your not going to get very far with the guitar. If you plan on getting good at guitar, you have to have loads of interest and motivation to play it. I’ve taken both piano and guitar lessons and it is way better then online lessons. The first few lessons you feel very nervous, but that soon goes away…and once you get better, then you will really enjoy guitar lessons.

I took a guitar class a few years ago. Gave up. But I kind of get the gist of beginning. Any tips?

I totally agree with Kab that a private instructor is the fastest way to learn and the best way to stay motivated, but only if you have the right instructor. When I started learning there was only one instructor in the area that gave lessons in the odd time slot I needed. He was a great player and a great guy, but I just didn’t like his teaching style. I took about 4 lessons and quit. I then decided to try the highly acclaimed "Learn and Master Guitar". It is supposed to be the best, but I hated it. The songs were like Mary Had A Little Lamb and lame crap like that. This was a $249 DVD set and I sent it back for a refund. At that point I was ready to just give up and sell my gear. Then I saw the very inexpensive Rock House "Learn Rock Guitar". The beginner DVD is only like $17.99, but I got the beginner, intermediate and advanced set for $39.99. These were the DVD’s that kept me from quiting and I’m really glad I found them.

http://books-videos-music.musiciansfriend.com/product/Rock-House-Learn-Rock-Guitar-Beginner-Intermediate-Advanced-Package?sku=942719

I am starting to write songs mostly country, what are three good guitar chords that most people use for songs? What are the most popular chords?

Key of G = G, C and D7

Key of D = D, G and A7

Key of A = A, D and E7

Key of E = E, A and B7

I want to learn classical and neoclassical guitar (preferably Mozart or Beethoven) but I just can’t find accurate guitar tabs for it. Most of what they have on the guitar tab website are inaccurate. If anyone can help me out, I’ll be greatful!

Unfortunately, the internet tablature community caters more for rock and metal heads and less for more refined forms of music…

I’ve been using this one for a while and most of these tabs are pretty spot on as far as I can tell.

I am going to start to learn to play the electric guitar after Christmas (self-teaching). Where can I see the chords or songs to base my learning off of?

Casey…. If you have no prior music training, I suggest you find a qualified guitar instructor. You may be able to teach yourself, but there are things that you just cant learn from a book or on your own. You probably should start with an acoustic then progress to the electric, but that is just a matter of opinion. What is important is that you invest in a guitar that is of good to excellent quality. Please don’t try to learn with one of those k-mart or wal-mart pieces of sh!t. They really fret hard and cause extremely sore fingers, and will do nothing but discourage you from learning.Go to a music shop and pick one out with the help of a professional. Get one that will stay in tune longer than after the first strum on it.