Attempting to guitar myself.

[Davricle]

So I am teaching myself guitar, and I was curious if anyone else out there who had done the same had any advice. I feel like I am learning from "Guitar For Dummies", but I would like a little extra help.

Anything at all that you could suggest would be just super.

[Jojothemidget]

Try Guitaretabs.com if you can't read the notes, reading the tabs might be easier for you.

[wipers]

Well I had a guy teach me songs every week. But I imagine if you learn some chords and can read tabs you should be able to learn songs on your own.

[Moss]

I would start with finger exercises, memorize some basic chords, then some simple strumming patterns. If you want me to explain anything specifically feel free to PM.

[sephir]

I will say this to everyone ever attempting to play guitar.
BUY A METRONOME

This single thing will be the bane of your existance, but it will improve your skills faster than any tip or trick anyone could show you.

Next, learn to alternate pick. Awkward at first, this will make playing anything and everything much much easier once you get used to it.

Guitar Pro is a wonderful piece of software that will help you improve your technique.

[Guyverarmor]

I would start with finger exercises, memorize some basic chords, then some simple strumming patterns. If you want me to explain anything specifically feel free to PM.

I have been self-taught guitar player for 10 years ongoing. Start with the quota above. Also, one of the the most easiest scales to learn is going to be the Minor Pentatonic scale. Same also, PM me if you have questions ^^

UltimateGuitar tabs website is awesome as well for tabs and lessons.

[Tekniklie]

You're going to need a weasel, some slices of cheese, and a good length of string. Once you have acquired these things, let me know, we'll go from there.

[Davricle]

You're going to need a weasel, some slices of cheese, and a good length of string. Once you have acquired these things, let me know, we'll go from there.

!

[Kilhart]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5QCs3PnQBc

[Nightfyre]

I will say this to everyone ever attempting to play guitar.
BUY A METRONOME

This single thing will be the bane of your existance, but it will improve your skills faster than any tip or trick anyone could show you.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Buy it. Use it. You'll hate it, but you'll love it because that goddamned tic is going to force you to stay in time. That will make you consistent and accurate and you will not be a shitty player who can't hold a decent beat and we will love you for it. Developing an internal metronome from that click is one of the most important things you can do.

That said, it's ok to be free with the beat at times. It's just one of those things where you have to learn the rules before you can break them properly.

Also, don't play on your own all the time. Make a point of playing with other people whenever possible, you'll improve faster and develop technique you can't learn solo. When you can't do that, play along to a jam track or a favorite tune on occasion.

[Davricle]

Hahahahaha

[Plow]

Scales, scales, and scales.


And then more scales.












Still more scales.

Spoiler: show

MOAR SCALES

[Davricle]

Okay, I have heard a lot about scales. Can you please tell me what I should know about them and how to apply it to teaching myself?

[Plow]

They're quite literally everything there is to guitar, once you master even the most basic scales you'll just plain understand the music better.

Think of it like basic English... grammar is how you strum/finger stuff to make the words(notes) differentiate themselves but sound good together, but you can't even get to grammar without developing a basic vocabulary and "phonics" (no phonics debate prz).

Scales are that vocabulary and framework of understanding notes, and how they fit together.

[Zalius]

i dont know why everyone hates metronomes, its like having your own private drummer for practicing. theyre fun and they keep you musical, and it keeps you practicing for something.

what exactly do you want to do? rhythm, lead, solo composition, studio work, solo room jamming, jamming with friends, etc? you're not limited to one, you can do it all, but it's going to take time. i can steer you in the right direction, but you need to know where you want to go, it'll save you a lot of time. be totally honest with yourself about what YOU want to do with the instrument and don't worry about what the haterz say.

do you have any musical background? you don't really need any, most basic music stuff can be taught in a week (notes - > intervals -> scales -> chords -> modes), and can be mastered within 6 months - 5 years, depending on how much time you put in.

the best part about guitar is that the better you get at it, the more fun it is, making you want to continue learning. its the first year of fuckdamnshit strumming and picking without any real emotional attachment to what your doing that makes it so boring for most people. my honest advice would be to figure out how to read tabs and play along to songs (my advice is to use free tabs+Windows media player and slow down music to 50% speed, practice from there and increase speed to standard tempo until you know how serious you are about the instrument)

any other questions, feel free to ask them in the thread or PM me. that goes for anyone, i'll keep my eye on the thread for a while


and, as always, the motivation:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUkEvXWk68c
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jY8wyKuLY2k
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RU1uwBNSCF0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qG74eVb6V10
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fH-ksko-2HQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AouNgDIluns

[Yeargdribble]

Pretty much what everyone has said. Metronome is probably the most important. Scales are important not only for dexterity, but for understanding how music works.

Once you know some basic scales and you start to play along with something it'll click in your head and because you know the scale you'll feel comfortable in that key allowing you to improvise pretty freely without just playing awkward notes.

I don't know how fresh you are or what type of guitar you have. I'd personally suggest acoustic if it's an option. It'll tear your fingers the hell up, but it's certainly easier to learn on acoustic and then play electric than the other way around. Expect a good deal of time to be spent waiting for your fingers to get calloused enough to be reliable about keeping the string pressed hard against the frets.

If you're starting electric and get all good and think you're a badass, one day you'll pick up an acoustic and look like an idiot when it starts buzzing all over the place. If you don't have the option, just be aware that the action is gonna be a lot stiffer on an acoustic.

If you wanna feel cool and be able to jump into damn near anything quick get yourself a capo and learn G, D and C for starters and you'll be able to play 90% of pop music though you might have to learn a handful of new chords along side those 3. It's not anything to write home about, but you'll feel personally accomplished being able to play along with music you know and it'll keep things fun.

You need practice to be a little fun so you can keep it up.

Also, playing along to songs you know will be a nice break from the metronome, but will instill the same sense of rhythm and also gives you a harmonic background sot hat your ear can start to hear when you are and aren't in tune. Your guitar can be in tune with itself and completely out of tune with everything else.

[Moss]

I don't know how fresh you are or what type of guitar you have. I'd personally suggest acoustic if it's an option. It'll tear your fingers the hell up, but it's certainly easier to learn on acoustic and then play electric than the other way around. Expect a good deal of time to be spent waiting for your fingers to get calloused enough to be reliable about keeping the string pressed hard against the frets.

Strongly agree with this.

[Zalius]

They're quite literally everything there is to guitar, once you master even the most basic scales you'll just plain understand the music better.

Think of it like basic English... grammar is how you strum/finger stuff to make the words(notes) differentiate themselves but sound good together, but you can't even get to grammar without developing a basic vocabulary and "phonics" (no phonics debate prz).

Scales are that vocabulary and framework of understanding notes, and how they fit together.

very vague stuff, but worth knowing i guess

scales are only a single part of a much bigger picture. scales are become less and less necessary the better that you get and the more you understand interval relationships. Timing, phrasing, and physical ability are all much more important, but scales are a good starting point (though simply learning a scale without knowing how to use it is pointless, which is why so many guitar teachers are bad)

scales are a good way to get a controlled emotional quality out of sound. Major scales are bright and happy, minor scales are dark and sad. Modes have qualities like anger, optimism, hope, etc, and most other scales are derived from the major scale by changing some of the intervals.

anyways, a scale is (usually) a group of 8 notes found between an octave. the A-G# (12 note) scale is what we use for standard western music, and musical keys are simply representations of the root note (the note that a scale begins on).


overall dude, you're not going to understand too much about what's going on with some basic knowledge of music. most of it is intimidating at first, but once you beat the basics it's all the same (more or less). without it, you're just going to keep asking people with a basic education questions, and they'll give you basic answers without really being able to elaborate on the level that you need, because most of the stuff is simple and intuitive to them.

i've got tons of bookmarks, vids, etc, that i use, read and watch everyday. i put in between 3-8 hours a day between listening, playing, and learning, and most of my extra cash goes towards musical advancement. i know how hard it is to be the only one of your peers, family, friends, etc to actual have the desire to learn this stuff, but it only gets easier with time.

your goal is to get to the downhill. unfortunately, that means you have to walk uphill for a while. if you don't have the motivation, you'll be likely to give up, even if you're a lot closer than you think you are.

[sephir]

Zalius I would disagree with you on the importance of scales - in particular the importance of modes. Knowing what notes are in which key all over the guitar can be the one of the most important aspects of playing. Being able to shift horizontally or vertically down the fretboard and stay in tune is absolutely essential, and no matter how fast you can play, if you hit the wrong note - everyone will notice.

In every interview I have ever seen with Joe Satriani talking about tips and tricks to learning guitar, he talks about the importance of modes and how they are essential.

Hell I've been playing for close to 11 years now, and I'm still discovering new patterns in new keys and am constantly trying to add these licks to my musical vocabulary.

[Nightfyre]

no matter how fast you can play, if you hit the wrong note - everyone will notice.

Only if you draw attention to it. Playing the wrong note and making it sound good is an art all its own. There are exceptions, of course.

I agree with Zalius. Scales/modes and their arpeggios are fundamental building blocks for anything you'll play. As you progress though they'll take a backseat to other aspects because by then you should have them down pretty well and be able to see the patterns on the fretboard. At this point you're progressing from a basic understanding to a deeper understanding based on intervallic relationships and suddenly the entire fretboard opens up because you can progress beyond scales or rather move among them in a way that is still musical.

On the other hand, I disagree with the assertion that modes have specific emotions... or rather, I disagree with the implied limitations that description places on them. Colors or overtones (not in the sense of harmonics of course) strike me as better descriptors.