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[mortideus]

I've been looking to learn how to learn to play the electric guitar, but don't have any places that give lessons around here.  Is there any other form of learning media that is really good?  If so, any recommendations?

Also, is there any certain guitar that is good for beginners?

Thanks

[dalconnsuch]

if you can't take lessons get books, get the "guitar gremoire" it'll have thousands of scales in every key to memorize both in piano sense and guitar sense

i was classicaly trained but most of what i learned was through hours and hours of just playing scales scales scales learning
songs very rarely and buying book after book after book, i have about 50 different books on guitar alone, and i'm a BASS PLAYER!

get a book on music theory too

until then

cyberfret.com

just make sure to learn your theory, especially about keys and rhythm, thats the mistake toooooooooooooo many people make "i r gun' play songz now! what key? key your mom! what measurement? measure your mom!" hur hur hur

[E. Spaceman]

hey, this is appropiate, I am relearning to play the damned thing.

I just spent a while making random noises and then figured out (i think) the main riff for New Order/Joy Division's Ceremony

[dalconnsuch]

thats great practice too, just fiddling around till you figure out something you've heard before, just make sure you can be aware of what the notes are and what key its in, it'll come naturally through time but it'll be annoying and seemingly worthless in the beginning but its great great practice

and a good guitar to start out with especially if your uncertain if your gonna continue playing guitar is to just get a fender stratocaster, cheap, awsum, solid and excellent for learning, don't go over 200 dollars, seriously

[Spluff]

and a good guitar to start out with especially if your uncertain if your gonna continue playing guitar is to just get a fender stratocaster, cheap, awsum, solid and excellent for learning, don't go over 200 dollars, seriously

I don't know how you were planning on getting a fender Strat for less than $200, but please, hit me up if you have sources.

Anyway, theory is good, but don't burn yourself out straight away. When you find yourself playing guitar all the time is when it's time to really hit the theory - because that's when you'll enjoy it. If you were to pick up an instrument and straight away dive into modulation or other (relatively) complicated things it probably won't be too fun - and having fun is the whole point of playing.

[dalconnsuch]

A sharp music shop

corner of fourth and capital in renton washington

up for a cross country trip there?


c'mon, just cuz you do a google search and see all the signature strats being sold for a thousan ddoesn't mean it isn't out there

just gotta do a little huntin'!

[Spluff]

I'm lucky to see a Squier Strat for that much around here (but then again, that is AUD). Mexistrats tend to retail for about $400 USD from what I've seen, but you're right, I don't tend to look around that much.

[Ballard]

Dogg, I work at an independent guitar shop. You will not find a new non-Squier Strat for that amount.

As well, the Strat is not the all-encompassing guitar. It is not the best beginner guitar (there probably isn't just one), it's simply the most popular.

Also maybe 1 out of every 50 people who try your method of learning succeed. Everyone else will burn out quite easily, so I suggest you review what you tell greenhorn musicians.

[Nodaisho]

If you were to get a cheap guitar, I might be stating something you already know here, but don't buy without playing it first, quality can be really hit and miss. Play all the frets to make sure there are no dead frets, feel at the edges of the neck to make sure the frets don't just out too much, you don't want to slice your hand on a fret. Play it through an amp, if it buzzes loudly, try another, see if that helps. All of those things were problems with my first guitar, thankfully the guys at the shop were nice enough to send it back for a new one.

[Valrus]

If you don't have a guitar yet, get something else. Everyone plays the fucking guitar and it's not cool anymore. Get a keyboard or a cello or a bouzouki or for the love of God anything else.

[Lummer]

If you don't have a guitar yet, get something else. Everyone plays the fucking guitar and it's not cool anymore. Get a keyboard or a cello or a bouzouki or for the love of God anything else.

Yeah, because you're only doing it to be cool..

[Patrick]

No lie, I taught myself to play guitar by listening to the album Rage Against The Machine by, well, Rage Against The Machine. I was not doing the incredible effects-riddled solos that our friend Mr. Morello was doing (that motherfucker), but seriously, let's have a rundown of all the reasons it's the best goddamn album you can start out on:

1. For beginning guitarists, it is challenging, but it is not impossible to do a damn good job of spot-on playing every main riff to every song.
2. It's an excellent album altogether.
3. Just fucking listen to the riff during the verses of "Bombtrack".
4. A hell of a lot more fun than playing boring-ass scales all the time just because it's Rage Against The Machine, and the riffage is hellof cool-sounding and a lot more basic in structure, and therefore better for beginners.
5. Rage pretty much just uses pentatonic scales. Tom Morello's own words: "I pretty much just play the same dots on different strings."
6. JUST LOOK AT THE FUCKING COVER, DUDE, IT'S GOT A PICTURE OF A GUY LIGHTING HIMSELF THE FUCK ON FIRE HOLY SHIT THAT IS AWESOME

- P.S. dalconnsuch, I want whatever it is that you're smoking if it's telling you there's $200 Fender Strats available somewhere. That sounds like one incredible hallucinogen and I want it in bulk.
- P.P.S. On second thought, no, fuck that, I don't want to wind up disappointed when I come down off of my trip.
- P.P.P.S. That album along with private lessons from a well-reputed guitar teacher will seriously be all you need to start yourself off.

[De_El]

If you don't have a guitar yet, get something else. Everyone plays the fucking guitar and it's not cool anymore. Get a keyboard or a cello or a bouzouki or for the love of God anything else.

Keeeeytaaaaaaar!

For my part, I think it's important as a beginner not to be afraid to fuck around, and occasionally sound totally awful. If it sounds awful, you figure out what you did wrong, just put in more practice so you sound awful less often. I don't know what your living situation is, but when I was first learning to play guitar I lived in kind of a small house and my parents were around all the time, and being embarrassed at the thought of messing about, experimenting with the instrument, or sounding bad seriously retarded my development as a musician. So be shameless.

Also: ultimate-guitar.com has shitloads of tabs, lessons, recommendations and equipment reviews. Yay? I think so.

[sean]

Get a keyboard or a cello or a bouzouki or for the love of God anything else.

Do eet. Cellos are sex in the form of musical instruments.

They are hella expensive though. Only reason why I haven't gotten one myself.

Actually on topic: Get lessons for the first few months, at least. That way, you can be shown proper technique and build up finger strength. After that, you can stop and dick around and build your own style and shit like that.

[dalconnsuch]

No lie, I taught myself to play guitar by listening to the album Rage Against The Machine by, well, Rage Against The Machine. I was not doing the incredible effects-riddled solos that our friend Mr. Morello was doing (that motherfucker), but seriously, let's have a rundown of all the reasons it's the best goddamn album you can start out on:

1. For beginning guitarists, it is challenging, but it is not impossible to do a damn good job of spot-on playing every main riff to every song.
2. It's an excellent album altogether.
3. Just fucking listen to the riff during the verses of "Bombtrack".
4. A hell of a lot more fun than playing boring-ass scales all the time just because it's Rage Against The Machine, and the riffage is hellof cool-sounding and a lot more basic in structure, and therefore better for beginners.
5. Rage pretty much just uses pentatonic scales. Tom Morello's own words: "I pretty much just play the same dots on different strings."
6. JUST LOOK AT THE FUCKING COVER, DUDE, IT'S GOT A PICTURE OF A GUY LIGHTING HIMSELF THE FUCK ON FIRE HOLY SHIT THAT IS AWESOME

- P.S. dalconnsuch, I want whatever it is that you're smoking if it's telling you there's $200 Fender Strats available somewhere. That sounds like one incredible hallucinogen and I want it in bulk.
- P.P.S. On second thought, no, fuck that, I don't want to wind up disappointed when I come down off of my trip.
- P.P.P.S. That album along with private lessons from a well-reputed guitar teacher will seriously be all you need to start yourself off.

you like talking too much

[Ballard]

And you're an asshole who contributes nothing and didn't bother acquainting himself with the general tone of the forum.

I suggest you start being more respectful to the other posters and review just how much you contribute with each post.

[dalconnsuch]

And you're an asshole who contributes nothing and didn't bother acquainting himself with the general tone of the forum.

I suggest you start being more respectful to the other posters and review just how much you contribute with each post.

sure thing, becuase i didn't mention anything about anything

[Ballard]

Oh my, one post that pertains to the given subject. Would you like a medal?

For someone with 96 posts, you launch far too many personal attacks.

I would suggest you read the rules. For example, it's generally accepted as poor form to quote the post above you.

[dalconnsuch]

hey, you want respect start givin it, the only personal attacks i've ever given have been to those who personally attack me or somebody else or say something completely bias under no statistical evidence

i'm actually a very nice guy, really i am, i'm just not nice enough to be nice when someones being an idiot or a jackass, whether to me or anybody else, i know, its a vicious circle that never ends, obviously i'm no better, but nor are you are ye? personally attacking me above there

[Spluff]

SFJMDYJHHIADFHSGNWQSGJMLATYAQQDFHSJLOMDGJ

Here are some capital letters. Use them.

[dalconnsuch]

SFJMDYJHHIADFHSGNWQSGJMLATYAQQDFHSJLOMDGJ



SFJ MDY   QSG?

....


QQDFH?

it feels like a cooodeeee

[tomselleck69]

first rage album

So anyway, this is not bad advice. Playing along with the album will give you control over power chords and at least one non 4/4 time signature (I think?) as well as basic pentatonic stuff, which you will later find out is an integral part of guitarsmanship. Do this as a supplement to a good, traditional how-to-play-guitar resource and you will be on your way to something.

Also: resist the urges to buy tremolo and whammy pedals and to do everything in Drop-D at least until you have been playing a while.

[Nodaisho]

Anything by AC/DC is also pretty simple, TNT, Dirty Deeds, and Highway to Hell would all be very easy beginner ones, some of the songs are more complicated, but still not very complicated at all. They also have the benefit of being really really fun to play.

[MadassAlex]

I would honestly advise against learning RATM.

Since it's in drop-D tuning, you'll learn to play primarily in that tuning, while you should be learning to play in standard tuning. I personally think that you should learn a very simple song like Breaking The Law by Judas Priest while learning some basic chords from a book or a Beatles song or whatever, since the complete versions of chords provide the basis for the legendary power chord.

[Nodaisho]

Beatles songs are good to start with, that is true.

I suppose that if you want to know what songs would be good to learn, tell us what bands you like, and some of us ought to know songs from them that are relatively easy to learn.

[David_Dovey]

BREAKIN THE LAW



BREAKIN THE LAW

[sean]

Psh. If your playing bass, you gotta learn with the blues.

It's mandatory. It says so in the rulebook.

[dalconnsuch]

Psh. If your playing bass, you gotta learn with the blues.

It's mandatory. It says so in the rulebook.

i agree, blues is essential for any player, even a kazoo player, same with jazz on my opinion

and theory

theory just makes sense, knowing what notes your playing also makes sense, make it a habit of just randomly finding notes on the fretboard
cows make sense too

[Patrick]

(relevant information)

you like talking too much

[KickThatBathProf]

The ONLY song you should ever learn on guitar is Brain Stew

It's the greatest song in the universe



Also, Kurt Vonnegut would cry at the use of grammar in your sig

[nothingrevolutionary]

youtube, dude. there's alot of bullshit on there (but duh), but there's also some pretty solid lessons, and through the magic of video you can actually see someone excute the techniques instead of just guessing from a book.  justin sandercoe has alot of stuff on there that i found really helpful.
try to learn as much as you can by ear.  sheet music is a good thing to be able to read and you'll need to learn it eventually, but you need to build your ear, too.  another good thing is when you've got all the structure down on a particular album, go back and try to improvise around it.  this strengthens your ear and your sense of rhythm, so on, so forth. 
scales are good, theory's good, exercises are good, but remember that music is supposed to be fun.  you want to push yourself forward and learn and all that, but don't try to go so fast and so hard that you frustrate yourself.  take your time, grasshopper.

[dalconnsuch]

(relevant information)

you like talking too much

your a man? all this time i just thought you were a whiney little bitch who talks before thinking

[David_Dovey]

Don't quote pictures please.

Also, YOU'RE.

YOU ARE

YOU'RE

[MadassAlex]

your a man? all this time i just thought you were a whiney little bitch who talks before thinking

I would just like to comment on the irony inherent in this phrase:

This phrase contains irony and is highly amusing.

[Patrick]

dalconnsuch: You can do one of two things to make this an enjoyable experience for everybody. You can either ship up, shape up, and start shitting me Tiffany cufflinks, or you can leave so the rest of us can have civilized discussion and try to help the OP learn to play some fucking guitar so we can GET ON WITH OUR LIVES. Seriously, the first thing I ever said to you was in a private message. It was giving you basic helpful advice on how we do things in this forum. Instead of heeding it and developing into a good poster, you blew up in my face, accusing me of trying to be the king of the forum.

Listen up, dude. I am not the only one who thinks your posts need improvement. I tried to be nice and I tried to help, but you have done NOTHING but continue to be a dick to not only me but to a lot of people I respect on this forum and whom I consider to be my friends (most recently your attack against Ballard).

Seriously, stop being a douchebag. This isn't even about your intentional disregard of forum policy. This is about your attitude and how you treat other people. Nobody loves a troll, so stop being one.

tl;dr don't be a fuckbag and we'll be nicer to you.

[Lummer]

Well, I started out learning a lot of Cure songs, that worked fine too.

But! For the love of god, get a teacher early on in the process. If only I had started lessons like two or three years ago, my chops would have been so much better now, so don't make the same mistake as me.

[Nodaisho]

I am sorry, what are "Chops"?

[IronOxide]

To start Patrick, don't be a douchebag just because somebody else is being a douchebag.

Now that that's over and done with forever and ever, my advice for learning guitar as a musician in general is to know what notes and chords you're playing. The fact of the matter is that nobody likes the guy who can only read tab, and he's not a good musician. It can be a good tool, but only if you learn something from it.

Also, try out a variety of styles if you're going to start by learning songs, as all of them will help with different skills.

And while I agree that you should learn scales and stuff, don't burn yourself out on them. You should know them eventually, but you don't have to have them all down pat in three weeks.

Also, "Chops" are the amount that you can play something physically demanding quickly. On a horn, it is your lips, on a guitar or piano, it is your fingers.

[valley_parade]

Hey, to get back to the "what guitar should I get" thing...

Telecaster. *nod*

[Nodaisho]

Ah, okay. Thanks oxide.

How about he tries guitars out at a store and finds which one he likes best within his price range?

[psyne]

I'm learning to play acoustic. My roommate has an electric and a bass, though, I've played on them a little. I don't like the sound of his electric, though. Don't remember the make, but I'm pretty sure it's pretty low-end. The bass is Fender Precision, though. I like it.

Ironically, even though I can play bass mediocre-ly and ditto for chords on guitar, I can't fingerpick guitar at all. I've got a brain block or something.

[Patrick]

Nodaisho: he will like the Telecaster. HE WILL LIKE IT.

[Nodaisho]

I dunno, even if it felt great, Teles look too plain, in my opinion. My teacher has a cool custom one, but that is custom, and he has changed a lot about it.

[IronOxide]

Everyone ever agrees that the Telecaster is the only thing that Fender makes that you should bother with.

And if everyone ever agrees, do you want to be excluded from that group.

[negative creep]

ahem.

[Patrick]

DAMMIT THOSE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE A SECRET UNTIL YOU'VE BEEN PLAYING MORE THAN 2 YEARS

[dalconnsuch]

my old jammin buddy tobias was really into telecasters, and i gotta say his custom telecaster is a hell of an instrument if i was more into guitar i'd get one

but alas, i'm the low end

[Nodaisho]

Everyone ever agrees that the Telecaster is the only thing that Fender makes that you should bother with.

And if everyone ever agrees, do you want to be excluded from that group.

I don't really care, and by definition, if I disagreed, everyone ever would not all agree. Besides, misters Murray, Gers, and Smith all seem to love their strats. I saw a really nice looking... either jaguar or jazzmaster at the store just now, but it was a squier, so I decided against that.

I have been lusting after a Les Paul or SG-shaped guitar, any good ones out there that are good for a price no higher than $500? I don't really know who makes what all that well.

[2HourHiatus]

Nearly everyone can sound interesting with effects. It's really good to learn how to play with a clean tone first, before you get pedals. If you can sound interesting in clean then your set.

[Thrillho]

Ah, okay. Thanks oxide.

How about he tries guitars out at a store and finds which one he likes best within his price range?

Sure, as long as he then buys a Telecaster.