Guitar players?

[DraggnRoush]

The internet age makes it SO much easier... when I was a teen in the 1970's you had to have a friend in the neighborhood who could show you licks & correct what you were doing wrong... now there's something on youtube for almost anything you want to learn (just beware the quality).

A couple of SOLID recommendations:

For proper technique: guitarprinciples.com (Get the book "Principles of Correct Practice for Guitar) this instructor REALLY breaks down what's involved in teaching your body to play guitar like nobody else does.

To learn songs & theory: justinguitar.com and nextlevelguitar.com - both have lots of free stuff as well as DVD lessons for sale that are quite well produced.

 

[mikeysgt]

I was self taught and never had a teacher show me scales. after years of playing I got serious about making my own music and even started up a band for a couple of years. played around town and even Hollywood a few times before I called it quits and took my schooling more serious.

kimmer- I have a few books laying around if you want them. you can have them if you just pay the shipping for them. one is a guitar scale book that's really good. I even have a few tab books laying around still I think. I'll let you know. I haven't picked up a guitar in a few years and have no need for these

 

[DDTCM]

Still have the pick I played with when I was 15......Im 36 now.

 

[06silverbullet]

i'm pretty decent not to brag, it's a pretty sweet guitar

 

[KIMMER]

I was self taught and never had a teacher show me scales. after years of playing I got serious about making my own music and even started up a band for a couple of years. played around town and even Hollywood a few times before I called it quits and took my schooling more serious.

kimmer- I have a few books laying around if you want them. you can have them if you just pay the shipping for them. one is a guitar scale book that's really good. I even have a few tab books laying around still I think. I'll let you know. I haven't picked up a guitar in a few years and have no need for these

Yeah, that would be great. Pm me a paypal addy. When I do get decent, i'll get a nice les paul Gibson, especially since they were born here in Kalamazoo, Michigan. I can read music a little, I'm a bit rusty but I use to play sax in school..Yeah I know, gay....but they didn't offer guitar in band and it was good for getting out of boring classes in middle school. I only played for 3 years and the sax sucked, but it gave me a feel for reading music. That's a hell of a collection Roper! My buddy has a couple sweet gibsons, a 59 les paul jr and a 68 les paul custom. His father in law use to work at Gibson.

 

[twinscrewed]

Wow, never even realized this section was here lol. Very cool, looks like there are some talented players here, with nice gear as well! I started playing when I was a about five. Didnt start really taking it seriously till I was twelve though. I've done just about everything I wanted to do with music...other than be able to support myself with it, and only it. Its a tough road unless you're extremely talented, and lucky....even as a session musician.

Out of everything I've learned, self taught, and from my years of schooling, I have a couple peices of advice for whoever is interested. First and foremost, which will im sure be obvious to most, but is often forgoten sometimes, HAVE FUN! Don't force yourself to play when you don't want to. Playing with love, and passion you have will come out in your playing, i promise! And on the technical side, someone said earlier that there is a difference between being a dude that can "play guitar" and being a musician. This is very true, in my opinion. That is up to you to decide for yourself as your playing progresses of course. The best thing you can do as a beginner though, learn the notes of the neck...all of them! Front to back. Its not as hard as it sounds, especially as they are all the same from the 12th fret on. Once you do this, it really opens things up, and it will help you to understand not only what YOU are doing, but what other people are doing when you listen to them. Tab is great, but its often incorrect. Learn to use your ears when you learn covers. The last thing I will suggest is to learn to read music notation. Its not as hard as you may think, and this is where learning the notes of the neck will really pay off...as well as it will with ear training.

I'd love to hear more from you guys, get your thoughts, opinions, influences, and hear about what you all listen to and play! You can learn something from anyone, i've learned something from just about anyone ive ever talked, or jammed with...still do!

 

[SonicBlur]

My advice is: PLAY. That's it. Don't overthink it. Just play.

A good tool is YouTube. Put on any song and just try to play along with it, don't worry if you mess up, it's all part of learning.

I have been playing for 15+ years, I'm no Joe Satriani but I love playing. I'm up to 11 guitars and counting, including my FIRST guitar I have ever built. It's awesome.

-Mike

 

[Natural1]

Learning to play guitar by song is not really easy or correct. Actual instructors will have you learning scales and such first, that way you can actually read music. It's like trying to speak a language before you can properly recognize and sound the alphabet. YouTube has some good videos for instruction, my father used it to learn, he plays a Paul Reed Smith, Mira and is getting pretty good.

 

[classix_stang289]

damn, i havent picked up my guitar(s) and jammed on my drums in months.


BTW, IMHO its best to learn on an acoustic before going on to electric. I currenty have a Ibanez electric, Ibanez acoustic and Ibanez 5 string bass. Looking for a beautiful Jackson guitar, maybe soloist with a skull graveyard theme on the body. Love them!

 

[twinscrewed]

damn, i havent picked up my guitar(s) and jammed on my drums in months.


BTW, IMHO its best to learn on an acoustic before going on to electric. I currenty have a Ibanez electric, Ibanez acoustic and Ibanez 5 string bass. Looking for a beautiful Jackson guitar, maybe soloist with a skull graveyard theme on the body. Love them!

Bummer, I just sold my Jackson custom shop Warrior. It was a great guitar, I just really never played it. Thought it was time for someone else to get use out of it! U.S. made Jackson's play so nice. I just ordered a Bernie Rico Jr custom about 3 weeks ago...can't wait for that monster!

To comment on what someone said about learning covers as not being easy, or correct. There are a LOT of people that start that way, and there is nothing wrong with it imo. Some of the greatest, virtuoso players started the same way! And some people never stop playing covers, which there is also nothing wrong with. Not everyone can write music. Not to mention, if everyone just got a music teacher right out of the gate, there would be a whole lot of boring players. Its important to learn music theory, but its also important to know when to bend, or even break the rules! Some of my favorite guitarists are heavily educated in music theory, and some of them have never been formerly trained, and can't read a lick of music.

 

[Legend Shaker]

Hey Kimmer,

I am a self-taught player and took it to the professional recording level. It does require dedication (practicing daily probably kept me out of ALOT of trouble when I was young...)

I started out by learning basic chord progressions (major, minor, 7th, etc.) simple scales and then I met a person who gave me a book on "Bar" chords technique (Harvey Core? [Actually, very well written]). This really helped move me forward fast. After having developed these basic skills, I continued to learn by ear, and started to learn "licks' and lead guitar techniques, riffs, etc., and continued to learn more songs, started playing with a band, on and on, however, with the amount of information on the net using tablature... man, what I could have done with that back in the day! 10 years effort could have been reduced to less than a year...Eventually, you will develop some strong, fast fingers, with finger tips covered in calluses and it just keeps getting easier...

Dont give up!

 

[classix_stang289]

Hey Kimmer,

I am a self-taught player and took it to the professional recording level. It does require dedication (practicing daily probably kept me out of ALOT of trouble when I was young...)

I started out by learning basic chord progressions (major, minor, 7th, etc.) simple scales and then I met a person who gave me a book on "Bar" chords technique (Harvey Core? [Actually, very well written]). This really helped move me forward fast. After having developed these basic skills, I continued to learn by ear, and started to learn "licks' and lead guitar techniques, riffs, etc., and continued to learn more songs, started playing with a band, on and on, however, with the amount of information on the net using tablature... man, what I could have done with that back in the day! 10 years effort could have been reduced to less than a year...Eventually, you will develop some strong, fast fingers, with finger tips covered in calluses and it just keeps getting easier...

Dont give up!

Thats why i believe you should start off learning on an acoustic due to the heavier strings

 

[Legend Shaker]

I agree...That is what I started on...Big fat neck Goya G Classical. That will make a man out of ya...LOL

 

[RedMosesSC]

Thats why i believe you should start off learning on an acoustic due to the heavier strings

Generally, cheap acoustic guitars have crappy action (strings are high from the fretboard) this turns alot of people off from playing guitar. cheaper Electric guitars are much easier to play when compared to cheap acoustics. A proper acoustic guitar is NOT cheap. The nice thing about acoustic guitars is you dont need an amp, the nice thing about an electric guitar is you get to feel your notes through the amp.

 

[gtpony]

You can get the chords and tabs for most songs on the net. Think of a couple
of songs that you really really like, enough that you would spend the time to learn them. Try not to pick difficult stuff. Then lookup the chords & tab; since you already know the songs melody well, you will recognize how it should sound as your learning the notes and chords. If you like Neil Young or Bob Dylan stuff, it's a great place to start.