• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Help me learn to play the Guitar please :)

Pagusas

Elden Member
So I've excelled at everything I've put legit energy into in life... except music. I was horrible at all my music classes when I was young. Now I'm older, have succeeded at most things I wanted to succeed at, but I still have this side of me thats mad I never "figured out" music. My father was musically gifted, but he died when I was 7.

So, I want to learn how to play a guitar, at least from a basic sense. I always loved sitting with my dad as he played when I was younger, i've always loved the sound, and I like that it can be something I can just play for myself. But I'm CLUELESS. I cant read music notes, I have 0 knowledge about strumming, notes, cords, whatever. So, before I go and binge YouTube for 12 hours strait, I figured I'd ask here.

I have nothing right now, so anyone know a good beginner guitar to purchase? Do I need a metronome? Anyone have any videos/lesson sites they recommend?

Thanks all :)
 
Check out Your Guitar Sage

Learn your major minor and 7th chords. And barre

Start playing songs you want.

Must have positive attitude!!!

And most importantly, make sure you can make adjustments. Doing something wrong over and over won’t help you. Figure out why it’s wrong.
 
F

Foamy

Unconfirmed Member
I work with a few guitar players and mentioned to them recently that I was thinking of learning to play and they all said these were very good starter guitars sets.
They sell for $300 on sale in Canada.





epi-lppfpk-eb_1.jpg




STRATAPHBSB-large.jpg
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Best guitar to get for beginners is an acoustic but you can can still go with electric if that’s what you really want.

First things first, lean basic chords like C, D, E, G, and A. Once you get those down you can learn ALOT of easy songs. Just look up online for songs in the major chords.

Next learn some power chords. If rock and metal is your jam then they are a necessity to learn. From there you can go into more advance techniques like hammer on, pull of and bends. Learning your scales is the next step from there they are very important for experimenting on your own.



Hope this helps :) good luck
 
Learn basic chords first. D, A, C, E, G, etc.

Strumming between E and C is pretty easy.

One you're comfortable switching between basic chords maybe try F major chord. Your fucken first bar chord. Gotta cover entire first fret with index finger. Don't use the flat of your finger to do this, use the corner of your index finger.

Once you've mastered these chords don't become a strumming bitch, move onto playing fingerstyle like your uncle trip.

Most importantly have fun. If you get frustrated, put guitar down and fuck off. Come back later and do it again. It will add up and you'll get better. Having fun is number one with learning guitar.
 
M

Macapala

Unconfirmed Member
Get a teacher!! I cannot stress this enough! People saying learning a couple of chords and how to read tabs is enough don't know what they are talking about. Musical instruments are NOT easy to learn. It takes years and years of disciplined practice to be able to play an instrument well.

On the other hand, if all you want to do is impress people by playing the opening riff to Sweet Child O' Mine. Then don't bother with lessons. Just fuck around with the guitar until you get bored.

I know this isn't a popular opinion, but it's the truth.
 
A
Get a teacher!! I cannot stress this enough! People saying learning a couple of chords and how to read tabs is enough don't know what they are talking about. Musical instruments are NOT easy to learn. It takes years and years of disciplined practice to be able to play an instrument well.

On the other hand, if all you want to do is impress people by playing the opening riff to Sweet Child O' Mine. Then don't bother with lessons. Just fuck around with the guitar until you get bored.

I know this isn't a popular opinion, but it's the truth.
A teacher is excellent if you wanna spend the money but there are a shit ton of great resources right on the internet if someone is able to be self motivated

Learning scales and learning how to improvise and read actual notation is something that would be great to learn from a teacher but if you wanna just play full songs off of tabs then Google is about all you need

That said if you can find a good teacher and you are that kind of serious about learning guitar, by all means go for it
 
M

Macapala

Unconfirmed Member
Yeah I feel you are limiting your potential by having the internet as your only resource. Getting lessons is the better way to go, but I can understand people may not want them as they can be expensive.
 

GV82

Member
Justin Guitar hundreds of freebie lessons in video form (also now theres playback video speed options on YouTube so you can slow it down a few steps too if you want to)

https://www.youtube.com/user/JustinSandercoe

His website has stuff written down too
https://www.justinguitar.com/


From very basic first steps on guitar to advanced stuff.

Plenty of other freebies on YouTube too from other guitarists from amateurs to pros
 
Last edited:

BadBurger

Many “Whelps”! Handle It!
Practice makes perfect man. Just have to keep at it.

I practiced for a few years, was able to play some really basic songs. Mostly stuff from the 90's where everything was like powerbars and shit.
 
See if you can achieve 2 weeks of practice before committing. I struggled most with the finger placements and building callouses on my fingers, after that it was pretty easy though. I'd played bass guitar (easier strings), drum kit, and piano before.

Trying to play a song while your fingers ache and your fingertips burn isn't fun. Overcome this hurdle and you're there, IMO.
 
Last edited:

Dark Star

Member
Easiest way to start is by learning power chords and playing easy stuff like Misfits.

I really like Songsterr because you listen to the tabs as well as read them. It's simple and great for jamming along to drums.

 
Last edited:
Honestly, either join a band or do something like Fender Play or Rocksmith. Your biggest issue will be having something to look forward to that gets you to pick up the instrument consistently, and these things all help with that.
 

JimmyJones

Banned
Shits impossible. I’ve been trying for years now and I’m still average. You need to practice all day every day, there are no shortcuts.
 
Bar chords are very difficult for me.
i remember how frustrated i was when i first tried a bar chord

i was using the flat part of my finger, you must use the corner of your finger

i got so good now i can straight up use the flat of my finger without even gripping the neck
 
I'll offer my insight as I've been working as a musician for the past 10 years or so. I'm primarily a drummer, but I play guitar, bass, piano, sing and a few other instruments as well. Lately I've been doing solo gigs as a guitarist at bars/pubs because it's good money and I don't have to deal with flake musicians anymore.

I learned all of the instruments by myself (started drumming in 2000, guitar in 2002) before youtube and readily available information online. I learned drumming entirely by ear and learned guitar from friends/tabs/chord books etc... Now I played drums for about 4 years before I decided was having a hard time getting to the next level, so that's when I started taking lessons. I got a great teacher who taught me jazz, latin styles, technique etc... that opened up multiple doors and made me pursue music seriously.

I work as a teacher during the day and teach drums but also a bit of guitar and piano. I truly believe that us teachers (the good ones at least) can really get you on the right track quickly and can help you progress rapidly if the student puts in the effort. However, I don't think we're necessary when you are first learning. I believe you can learn any instrument at a basic level by yourself and if you want to take the next step, start thinking about getting lessons. The downside is you will probably have some bad technique in your playing that you will have to unlearn, but that's okay. It won't take long to get rid of your bad habits and learn new ones if you put in the time and effort.

Music really isn't hard, it just takes a bit of practice. The more you put into it the more you get out of it. Don't give up on stuff if you can't do it right away because I can guarantee you, most people can't do it right away either. You just got to keep plugging away at it and you will notice improvements on a monthly or even weekly basis. Good luck and have fun!
 
Top Bottom