New To Playing The Guitar:

Elbow

Hey all

Decided to take up the guitar for the new year, anyone got any tips or tricks to help me on my way

Thanks

thecatspjs

get lessons

don't be intimidated, cause it can be hard at first but it's totally worth it!

learn songs you enjoy to listen to

get a big mirror so you can rock out and see how cool you look

Elbow

Not sure bout the big mirror or the looking cool bit :P

partyatmygaff

If you want to condition your finger tips extra fast just get some medium sandpaper and run your fingertips along them until it hurts slightly.

Do that for a week and you will have almost perfect callouses.


:pac:

rcaz

partyatmygaff2 wrote: »

If you want to condition your finger tips extra fast just get some medium sandpaper and run your fingertips along them until it hurts slightly.

Do that for a week and you will have almost perfect callouses.


:pac:

Or just play until it doesn't hurt anymore, and then keep playing :rolleyes:

nialljf

thecatspjs wrote: »

get lessons

You don't necessarily need lessons. I just learned open chord shapes, then keys/scales, and took it from there. Jammed along to my favourite CDs a LOT, I think that helped a massive amount

rcaz

nialljf wrote: »

You don't necessarily need lessons. I just learned open chord shapes, then keys/scales, and took it from there. Jammed along to my favourite CDs a LOT, I think that helped a massive amount

You don't need lessons at all, but they can really speed up your learning. You can pick up simple stuff pretty easily, but you can't learn complicated/theory-based stuff like jazz or something by 'jamming'.

partyatmygaff

El Pr0n wrote: »

Or just play until it doesn't hurt anymore, and then keep playing :rolleyes:

Well yeah obviously but that takes at least 2-3 weeks until your fingertips get used to it. Painful fingers turns away a lot of people from guitar.

rcaz

partyatmygaff2 wrote: »

Well yeah obviously but that takes at least 2-3 weeks until your fingertips get used to it. Painful fingers turns away a lot of people from guitar.

But sanding your fingers is much more enjoyable??

partyatmygaff

El Pr0n wrote: »

But sanding your fingers is much more enjoyable??

No it's obviously not enjoyable. It's not as if you need to vigorously grind your flesh down to the bone an hour a day to condition your fingers.

Running your fingers along sandpaper for a minute a day after playing guitar can help if your fingers aren't properly conditioned yet.

It's a bit primitive but it speeds up the process.

rcaz

partyatmygaff2 wrote: »

No it's obviously not enjoyable. It's not as if you need to vigorously grind your flesh down to the bone an hour a day to condition your fingers.

Running your fingers along sandpaper for a minute a day after playing guitar can help if your fingers aren't properly conditioned yet.

It's a bit primitive but it speeds up the process.

I just thought, when you're actually playing, you're getting something back from it. Sanding doesn't seem too rewarding.

When I went from 10s to 12s, I would hold the sharpish corner of my highligher against each of my fingers in turn under the desk in school until they went numb. Didn't actually help that much, just playing the damn thing was much better.

partyatmygaff

El Pr0n wrote: »

I just thought, when you're actually playing, you're getting something back from it. Sanding doesn't seem too rewarding.

When I went from 10s to 12s, I would hold the sharpish corner of my highligher against each of my fingers in turn under the desk in school until they went numb. Didn't actually help that much, just playing the damn thing was much better.

You kinda highlighted my point right there (No pun intended )

As much as I would love to be allowed to play guitar during my free time during school and the like I can't. Now obviously I amn't going to be carrying around sandpaper in school for making callouses on my fingertips but there are times when you simply can't pick up the guitar and play.

Playing the guitar is the best way to get callouses, no doubt about that, but you can do things like that to speed up the process.

rcaz

partyatmygaff2 wrote: »

You kinda highlighted my point right there (No pun intended )

As much as I would love to be allowed to play guitar during my free time during school and the like I can't. Now obviously I amn't going to be carrying around sandpaper in school for making callouses on my fingertips but there are times when you simply can't pick up the guitar and play.

Playing the guitar is the best way to get callouses, no doubt about that, but you can do things like that to speed up the process.

Yeah, I think you'd get funny looks bringing sandpaper around in yer pencil case

Demeyes

Youtube is your friend, a very useful place to see how to play things and get you on the right track. If any of your friends play already I'd recommend you get them to show you a few pointers like a couple of chords and how to hold a pick correctly. Once you know a few chords you can start learning some songs to play. I'd also recommend learning to read tabs as it's a fantastic way to learn songs when you start.

Dord

Don't sand your fingers, what a ridiculous suggestion!

If you can afford it, get some lessons. Along with learning the instrument and how to play they'll help you avoid common bad habits. If you can't afford it then I would suggest you go to a music store and look for a book with some lessons in it. One with a CD is very helpful as this gives you something to play along with.

Other than that you can find quick "lessons" on youtube and many other sites around the internet. For chords and scales I find http://www.jguitar.com is very good. Easy to use!

rcaz

Dord wrote: »

Other than that you can find quick "lessons" on youtube and many other sites around the internet. For chords and scales I find http://www.jguitar.com is very good. Easy to use!

That's a savage site!! Thanks for posting

Grolschevik

Listen to music you like.

Try to play it.

Buy books, watch instructional videos, learn theoretical stuff.

Don't trust internet discussion forums.

partyatmygaff

Grolschevik wrote: »

Listen to music you like.

Try to play it.

Buy books, watch instructional videos, learn theoretical stuff.

Don't trust internet discussion forums.

Sandpaper works, honest!

Dord

Grolschevik wrote: »

Listen to music you like.

Try to play it.

Buy books, watch instructional videos, learn theoretical stuff.

Don't trust internet discussion forums.

I wouldn't say that quite as rigidly. I think it's important to take everything with a pinch of salt. On the internet things can be misinterpreted, people can act like they have knowledge but have none and there can be a lot of bad advice. On the plus side there is a wealth of information out there that IS valuable. This applies to anything and not just music.

marwelie

Just over a year trying to learn myself. Obviously you have to practice, I must admit I hate doing it , but it gets much easier when things start to sound the way they should. Buy the Dummies Guide To Playing The Guitar too.

Havent tried www.jguitar.com myself but I'd highly recommend www.justinguitar.com. If you can't learn something using this site give up and buy a tennis racket

Grolschevik

Dord wrote: »

I wouldn't say that quite as rigidly. I think it's important to take everything with a pinch of salt. On the internet things can be misinterpreted, people can act like they have knowledge but have none and there can be a lot of bad advice. On the plus side there is a wealth of information out there that IS valuable. This applies to anything and not just music.

True. I meant to say 'don't uncritically trust'.

Dave!

I'd say get some basic lessons to get you started, and then immerse yourself in all the info on the internet

There's really tonnes of stuff out there, it just takes time and commitment