Want to start playing guitar

DarkDusk

Hi,
To cut a long story short, I really want to learn how to play the guitar. I've had a big passion for music and musical instruments (particularly rock) recently and when I see the legends (e.g. Hendrix) play so amazingly I get an urge to learn. I played the piano when I was 7/8 for a few years but didn't appreciate it at the time, whereas now I deeply regret giving it up after getting a Distinction in my elementary exam. I also played the button accordion for a few years but the instrument didn't really appeal to me.

My friend is big into the guitar and music and lately I've been picking his guitar up and experimenting with it. I managed to play "Twinkle Twinkle" flawlessly after about 30 mins of playing around, which I was quite proud about.

Just wondering what approach I should take. Should I go to lessons first to get a grounding in technique etc. and then go by myself from there?

Thanks a mil in advance guys, I'd really appreciate it if you should help me out.

endacl

Absolutely go for lessons. Tus maith, leath na hoibre - A good start is half the work.

No doubt this thread will be rapidly picked up by the 'ah just watch some youtube videos, sure player x, y and z never had a lesson in their life. And didn't Blind Badger Sillyballs not even learn on a guitar - he learned on an old tennis raquet with only one string'. This is bullsh1t advice, and is the reason why ex-players a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v and w no longer play. The guitar is the most given up instrument in the world, and a lot of this is down to the quality and or lack of teaching.

Even if you only go for a few months, a good tutor will give you a grounding in technique and a realistic and achievable programme to follow. They will help you overcome technical difficulties that will leave you frustrated when trying to figure them out yourself. They will help you overcome problems you're not even aware of before they become ingrained habits. They'll also tell you when you've 'got it' and are ready to progress. They will explain the theoretical underpinnings of what you are playing. You won't fall into the delusion that music theory is some mystical secret of the ancients, available only to the chosen few (those chosen few can be identified by the 'widdley-woodley sound they make when gathered in guitar shops, feeling superior yet vaguely insecure...:D), but is in fact entirely straightforward and simple to grasp once a few basic concepts are understood.

If you find a good tutor, intending to go for a couple of months, I suspect you'll stay longer than anticipated with him/her. A good tip for finding a good tutor by the way, is to avoid the Gumtree 'tenner a lesson' brigade. They will invariably talk a good game, but will in all probability reveal themselves after only a few 'lessons', to be about three pages ahead of you in the book. Or, in a worst case scenario, about three printouts from some dopey editorless tab website ahead of you! :rolleyes:

Oh, last tip! Don't fall into the trap of thinking in 'shapes'. You'll be stuck in them forever...

Good luck with it.

DarkDusk

endacl wrote: »

Absolutely go for lessons. Tus maith, leath na hoibre - A good start is half the work.

No doubt this thread will be rapidly picked up by the 'ah just watch some youtube videos, sure player x, y and z never had a lesson in their life. And didn't Blind Badger Sillyballs not even learn on a guitar - he learned on an old tennis raquet with only one string'. This is bullsh1t advice, and is the reason why ex-players a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v and w no longer play. The guitar is the most given up instrument in the world, and a lot of this is down to the quality and or lack of teaching.

Even if you only go for a few months, a good tutor will give you a grounding in technique and a realistic and achievable programme to follow. They will help you overcome technical difficulties that will leave you frustrated when trying to figure them out yourself. They will help you overcome problems you're not even aware of before they become ingrained habits. They'll also tell you when you've 'got it' and are ready to progress. They will explain the theoretical underpinnings of what you are playing. You won't fall into the delusion that music theory is some mystical secret of the ancients, available only to the chosen few (those chosen few can be identified by the 'widdley-woodley sound they make when gathered in guitar shops, feeling superior yet vaguely insecure...:D), but is in fact entirely straightforward and simple to grasp once a few basic concepts are understood.

If you find a good tutor, intending to go for a couple of months, I suspect you'll stay longer than anticipated with him/her. A good tip for finding a good tutor by the way, is to avoid the Gumtree 'tenner a lesson' brigade. They will invariably talk a good game, but will in all probability reveal themselves after only a few 'lessons', to be about three pages ahead of you in the book. Or, in a worst case scenario, about three printouts from some dopey editorless tab website ahead of you! :rolleyes:

Oh, last tip! Don't fall into the trap of thinking in 'shapes'. You'll be stuck in them forever...

Good luck with it.

Thanks a lot of that, great advice.

On a side note, shapes?

endacl

DarkDusk wrote: »

Thanks a lot of that, great advice.

On a side note, shapes?

If a tutor is showing you anything beyond the most basic beginner chords and scales and says something along the lines of "this is the E minor pentatonic shape" or "this is the C sharp flat 5 shape", thank them for their time and don't go back. Although, they're useful in the early days, they're a false economy in the long run.

Chords and scales etc are combinations of notes. The shapes they make are a by product of the notes that are played. If a tutor shows you a chord or scale, but can't tell you what notes you're playing, they probably don't know what they're talking about. This might sound a little complicated, but really its not! You'll see when you get there. Won't take long...

You'll find there's a lot of inverse snobbery and received wisdom in guitar. When you meet it, ignore it.

DarkDusk

endacl wrote: »

If a tutor is showing you anything beyond the most basic beginner chords and scales and says something along the lines of "this is the E minor pentatonic shape" or "this is the C sharp flat 5 shape", thank them for their time and don't go back. Although, they're useful in the early days, they're a false economy in the long run.

Chords and scales etc are combinations of notes. The shapes they make are a by product of the notes that are played. If a tutor shows you a chord or scale, but can't tell you what notes you're playing, they probably don't know what they're talking about. This might sound a little complicated, but really its not! You'll see when you get there. Won't take long...

You'll find there's a lot of inverse snobbery and received wisdom in guitar. When you meet it, ignore it.

Thanks for that, totally different than what I originally guessed the word meant!

beauf

There's great players who started with lessons, and indeed kept up lessons even after they were famous. But likewise there are great players who didn't. So it really doesn't matter. Lots of people who take lessons, in a variety of instruments, the OP and myself included, who drop the instrument regardless of the lessons. Not that dropping an instrument is that big a deal, you might return to it later. Indeed some players who started without lessons go back to learn the theory and even lessons later. The only instrument I kept up was the one I didn't do lessons in. But everyones different.

I think the important thing is to enjoy it, and if you enjoy the lessons, then sweet.

martinedwards

what music are you into?

don't buy an acoustic if you're into death metal....

don't buy a Les Paul if you're into folk.....

topcatcbr

My 2 cents.

Lessons at the start are great to get you going. They will offer direction and focus on the essentials. When you get to a stage your comfortable playing you can decide if you need or like to continue to take lessons. I am a fairly average armature guitar player and would love the time and money to spend on getting "good" lessons but I currently have neither and I find at the stage I am at you tube is a very good substitute. It's much better than 20 years ago when you had to try and learn from magazines and books.

Amerika

I would say start with lessons, and from a good instructor. Got my daughter an instructor, but wasn’t impressed with the results. Lucked out later on and hooked up with the quality control supervisor at CF Martin Guitar (local company) who teaches on the side, and for the same price in lessons. What a world of difference in technique and results. Felt a little odd though with her having a Taylor.