Current Events > Anyone here a guitarist?

(+) Yeah! (+)

I purchased my first one ever yesterday. :)

I'm not looking to immediately play any songs.

I first need to understand techniques, basic theories and lessons.

Where's a great place online to start these?

My current skill level so far was taking 30 minutes figuring out how to tune the guitar. :/

I mean, thats complicated.

I recommend learning a few Natural Chords and starting your Scales (Major, Minor, Blues, Harmonic, Chromatic)

as far as which guitar goes, understand that there is a pretty big difference between playing an Electric vs an Acoustic

Also, start learning some riffs from your favorite songs (Smoke On The Water, Enter Sandman, Ozzys Paranoid, The Trooper, Led Zeppelin, etc) & the natural chords will lead you to chord progressions (Heart of Gold, Wish You Were Here, etc) ~ and you can start playing with different Hammer-on/off techniques or tapping or whatever. Harmonics are awesome, and its easier to bend on an electric.

Dont be afraid to suck! You are almost definitely going to suck at first, but keep playing, ok??

Get mad at the thing, ease up, go hard, keep doing that bend even if it sounds awful until it doesnt ~~~~~~

You Can Breakthru.....

After you build your finger strength & get used to picking or strumming or fingering or whatever.

Step 1 is really just learning HOW to even hit the notes & getting comfortable evening holding the puppy

modes & keys & octaves and stuff. Writing this really brings me back. I used to make flash cards to help memorize the notes

arpeggiate

staccato

vibrato

woosh

Time Signatures

Circle of 5ths

There's a bunch of YouTube channels that should help if you're starting from literally square one. Justin Guitar has a whole series on "so you've just picked up a guitar?" tutorials and covers the really basic stuff like how to hold it properly and making shapes and stuff.

Also, its good to learn how to actually tune a guitar, but there's a smartphone app called Guitar Tuna that's a great guitar tuner.

After you've got a grip on the basics like holding your guitar, strumming, picking, etc... follow Xeth's advice in post #2.

Steffenfield posted...

My current skill level so far was taking 30 minutes figuring out how to tune the guitar. :/

That's fine, you'll be doing that so much that it'll be second hand nature.. you have a tuner I'm assuming? Make sure you always tune so your ear gets adjusted to what sounds right so later you know when it sounds wrong.

I'd learn some open chords first since that's a foundational skill and will build dexterity and finger strength, get a capo if you can.. the clamp style and any variation will work. Learn the string names and how the actual note system works.. the note names and how sharps and or flats work across all music

Then learn how to identify what fret is what note on what string.. how to build chords and scales should come after that and the concept of whole steps and half steps.

Of course you gotta eventually play something.. so I would learn how to read TAB (this is the system designated for guitar) and chord sheets/charts.

From there you should be all set to play things you wanna play and would be a matter of googling 'how to build a A minor 7th' for the purposes of learning a song you saw on Youtube or 'how to build finger dexterity or right hand dexterity' when you come across a song with difficult passages

This is a good website has a good intro to how music theory (the system of music that applies to all Western music) works as well as giving you basic markings of how sheet music works.. the sections on lscales, chord construction, and how intervals are designated directly tie to guitar.. the rest of it is if you wanna learn how to sheet music or want to delve into intermediate theory

https://www.musictheory.net/lessons

Try to avoid putting alot of pressure on the strings, I know you can't help it at this stage, but eventually the callouses come and you'll build up the hand strength to find just the right touch. Learning how to play barre chords will be the biggest accomplishment and one of the most practical ones, but it's value comes in the form of understanding the note names since it'll allow you to translate any major or minor chord you need without the assistance of a capo.

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RedJackson speaks the truth

DADGBE @metallica846

"That's fine, you'll be doing that so much that it'll be second hand nature.. you have a tuner I'm assuming? Make sure you always tune so your ear gets adjusted to what sounds right so later you know when it sounds wrong."

Yeah, it came with some digital tuner that can be clamped on the guitar.

I understood the concept but didn't know what keys belong on each string.

That's why it took me forever in getting it finally right.

Steffenfield posted...

I purchased my first one ever yesterday. :)

I'm not looking to immediately play any songs.

I first need to understand techniques, basic theories and lessons.

Where's a great place online to start these?

My current skill level so far was taking 30 minutes figuring out how to tune the guitar. :/

Learn a song you like.
That may sound overly simplified, but it's true.

That will build confidence, and the rest will come.
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Yeah and you gotta understand how the notes repeat when you go up an Octave

so... just because you tuned it to D doesnt mean you tuned it to the right D :) and thats ok! Sounds to me like youre doing great. Seriously.

Welcome!!

You all are getting me quite happy here with your responses.

I'll be saving each of them in Notepad for easy review after this thread disappears.

Thank you so very much. :)

Steffenfield posted...

I understood the concept but didn't know what keys belong on each string.

That's why it took me forever in getting it finally right.

Lol, yeah -- learn the note names.. it goes from A-G but there's sharps and flats in between except for B-C and E-F. This'll make alot more sense if you know the string names (pro-tip: the 12th fret of your guitar is where all the open strings are found but an octave higher) so if you play your lowest string and hit the 12th fret of that string it'll be the same note.. you'll know if you have the concept of what note is where correctly if you can count from your open string note 'E' (the lowest, thickest string) from fret 1 to that 12th fret octave and still be on an E by the time you get to the 12th

Keep this in mind when you start studying notes

~ I agree with what everyone else posted here as well, any of this advice will get you going forward

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No problemo. Just passing on the torch

~ once you kinda formulate some personal comfort, you need to hook up with another musician (who isnt gonna break your balls) and an instructor (who isnt gonna funnel you)

Maybe even get with someone of a similar skill level to your own :)

and as far as gathering knowledge goes. Yeah; keep watching those videos & reading and just kind of assembling yourself. Um, when I started I learned a lot from the Jack Black tutorials. The importance of alternating picking & this that & the third. So, yeah

Actually, yes, like.... Jack Black had a profound influence on me. I found him easy to listen to. When he said something it came across & felt genuine.

Learn to flourish. Restrained in restriction
You can add or subtract notes as you like
All that matters is that it sounds good
BREAK THE RULES
music is a language

Were always a student

Great art is not made.... it is stolen.

@Proto_Spark

Justin Guitar has been great so far.

I'm going to rifle through all 79 of his basic courses on YouTube.

Depending on my talent afterwards, I'll probably sub to his $70 a year mobile app.

Thanks for the mention on him.

When youre holding down a chord, you dont have to strum all the strings at once.

In fact, many great melodies are played by hitting individual strings out of a chord form. So, instead of doing one big strum.... you can hit only the first 3 strings, or only the last 3, for example. And, try just hitting the E string by itself.... and then the A string (with the chord held down) and then the D, and move up and down to create music. This is called an arpeggiation. Its a little lazy but its beautiful. Moonlight Sonata can be played that way.

Crazy Train is addictive, easy to learn the intro, and a little harder once he starts hitting the chords. So, thats a good goal for you in the long run.

Sweet Dreams & Mortal Kombat are actually realllly simple & similar to Crazy Train. Its just the minor scale, basically. A lot of music uses that template. Black Sunshine, like you name it. The Final Fantasy battle music, Seek & Destroy, etc

Grateful Dead has expert chord forms, but theyre challenging, but youll learn some nice chords with Jerrys music

Try splicing pieces of other songs together as well as learning full pieces

@Xethuminra

Is that strum technique needed for the four chord songs?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOlDewpCfZQ

If I turn out not to be all that great, this will probably be my fall back on playing anything decent.

You can use it anywhere.

A technique away keeps the dr away

Four Chord Song ~ glad were on the same page ^.^ Youll be great!!

#alltheory

metallica846 posted...

EADGBE

Memorize that.

Every Acid Dealer Gets Busted Eventually

That's how I learned to memorize it.
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D AD GB E

same thing but with a dropped D

hehehehe Ad Gb

No, but I want to get back to learning at some point.

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DeathVelvien posted...

No, but I want to get back to learning at some point.

Do it, it's free and enriches your life in ways you'll never know

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Learn the pentatonic scales and you'll start jammin in no time

Tbh learning proper technique is more important than learning any scale when you first start out. Make sure you're holding everything correctly, make sure you're picking correctly whether it's with a plectrum or with your fingers, make sure you're playing uniformly. Tone is like 80% hands, 20% the rest. I say this unironically while owning like at least $3k worth of pedals lol
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Yes.

Music is an art form like none other. I gave up drawing for it. Its shapeless.

Smashingpmkns posted...

Learn the pentatonic scales and you'll start jammin in no time

Tbh learning proper technique is more important than learning any scale when you first start out. Make sure you're holding everything correctly, make sure you're picking correctly whether it's with a plectrum or with your fingers, make sure you're playing uniformly. Tone is like 80% hands, 20% the rest. I say this unironically while owning like at least $3k worth of pedals lol

Not necessarily. As a guy with 3k worth of pedals, Im sure you know this. Whats most important is your act.

My hope is that perhaps one day I could play a few cover songs from my favorite artist, Novo Amor.

Seems like a simple enough wish on this. :P

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jlzo5anNcRQ

Soul > Technique

Unless youre in an orchestra or something imo

Covers are great. Lots of people do them. Its all our dream to be like our favorite artists. Remember, youre your greatest fan.

Never could afford one worth having.

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a-c-a-b posted...

Every Acid Dealer Gets Busted Eventually

That's how I learned to memorize it.

Eat all day get big easy
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PrettyBoyFloyd posted...

Never could afford one worth having.

The best guitars are the little ones you find in some random shape with no known origin

PrettyBoyFloyd posted...

Never could afford one worth having.

I got mine on Facebook Marketplace.

Awesome father bought his ungrateful son one who never even bothered to touch it.

I think he sold it to me purely out of spite for his son. :D

Xethuminra posted...

The best guitars are the little ones you find in some random shape with no known origin

I thinking more like a Gibson Memphis ES-335 Bigsby.

I know Ibanez and Gretsch has similar versions but they're still pricey.

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PrettyBoyFloyd posted...

I thinking more like a Gibson Memphis ES-335.

I know Ibanez and Gretsch has similar versions but they're still pricey.

I got this little Fender Malibu I really enjoy playing tbh

I mean the shit is just too pretty to look at.




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Hollow Bodies are top tier

I love my Firebird

Xethuminra posted...

Not necessarily. As a guy with 3k worth of pedals, Im sure you know this. Whats most important is your act.

What? I was talking about tone.
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He cant have tone on something he cant even play, but sure

Id agree more if he were clearly a youngin

For tone? Sure. How you hold the pick, the angle of your strike, where on the strings youre hitting, how close your finger is to the fretbar, all that matters. How hard youre picking, etc. But, honestly? It varies from song to song anyway.... so.........

Really, whats more important?

One trick pony > No trick pony

Looking back at rock, cant we admit a technical musician has just as much of a chance as a sensationalist with little technical skill? Heck, half these guys can *barely* play to begin with tbh ~ A lot of live shows are just pre-recorded now. We know this.

consistency & being able to create the same tone over & over again is important for real play

Xethuminra posted...

He cant have tone on something he cant even play, but sure

Id agree more if he were clearly a youngin

For tone? Sure. How you hold the pick, the angle of your strike, where on the strings youre hitting, how close your finger is to the fretbar, all that matters. How hard youre picking, etc. But, honestly? It varies from song to song anyway.... so.........

Really, whats more important?

One trick pony > No trick pony

Looking back at rock, cant we admit a technical musician has just as much of a chance as a sensationalist with little technical skill? Heck, half these guys can *barely* play to begin with tbh ~ A lot of live shows are just pre-recorded now. We know this.

I always liked the Mark Knopfler style.

Maybe bare thumb or thumb pick.

Anyway most great guitarists don't know a damn thing about notes or sheets.

They just make it do what they want it to do at the moment.


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Thank you.

and the Dire Straits are goat

Xethuminra posted...

He cant have tone on something he cant even play, but sure

Id agree more if he were clearly a youngin

For tone? Sure. How you hold the pick, the angle of your strike, where on the strings youre hitting, how close your finger is to the fretbar, all that matters. How hard youre picking, etc. But, honestly? It varies from song to song anyway.... so.........

Really, whats more important?

One trick pony > No trick pony

You have tone the second you pick up a guitar. Its gonna be bad most likely but that's why proper technique is important.

Dunno what that one trick pony stuff is referring to tho.
Xethuminra posted...

Looking back at rock, cant we admit a technical musician has just as much of a chance as a sensationalist with little technical skill?

Not really.
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@Xethuminra

For getting the best sound with picking at the strings, do I need to let my fingernails grow out grossly on my dominate hand like this guy?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OliaQJP_PK8

By the way, cheers on all you have brought to this thread.

You seem like such a great guy.

Glad to be following you. :)

man i miss playing guitar, i haven't in years

what kind of guitar did you get
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vu8Ifq8GaAI

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Smashingpmkns posted...

Not really.

Then were not living in the same reality.

Half these guys only start sounding good after they get picked up.

I take it back. More than half! Lol

tbh, you really only need like 1 good musician in your band, good chemistry between the members, and singer who can control the crowd. Any producer worth his or her salt for real-for real can account for some shoddy technique. What they cant account for is stale music with no act. On the other hand, if your technique is godly and youre willing to play whatever they say and you get it, yeah man, thats a thing. If thats your thing.

I can't think of any popular guitarists that doesn't have basic guitar playing technique down. I'm not saying TC should be working on his sweeps lol
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Fair enough. Then I completely agree with you.

However, I think you should know that tends to be the implication whenever anyone brings up technique & plectrum style......

Cool person to bring up for this classic little tangent weve gotten into is... Michael Graves. Extremely divisive, precisely because he rides the line. When popular bands find a technically proficient replacement singer who has no soul...... the crowd tends to hate it, man. Why is that?

Steffenfield posted...

@Xethuminra

For getting the best sound with picking at the strings, do I need to let my fingernails grow out grossly on my dominate hand like this guy?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OliaQJP_PK8

By the way, cheers on all you have brought to this thread.

You seem like such a great guy.

Glad to be following you. :)

Thomas is a great guitarist! Obviously if you want to play fingerstyle then I highly recommend growing your nails out and shaping them round. Ive been playing fingerstyle for about 3 years now. First 7 years I was using a guitar pick and playing rock/metal. I still do but not nearly as much. He does sell tabs for that song.

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Im glad to be following TC, tbqh. I am lost lol

TC still has a future