GUITAR PLAYERS: Beginner Need Advice.

[kuruptz]

Hey guys,

Ive had my guitar for nearly 2 years as i have always really wanted to play guitar i love the sound.
So i went and got an acoustic guitar for $250 from the local guitar shop its an ARIA acoustic guitar with steel strings( metal wateva u want to call them).

I got a resonably cheap guitar and steel strings as i want to just learn on this guitar and i thought hey might as well get my fingers used to steel strings.

The problem is i get VERY discouraged and its almost depressing when i try to play guitar as i no, NO songs and not even the basic and i REALLY want to be able to play its one of my dreams

I look up tabs at (mxtabs.net) and try to play the songs i really want to play but its always so slow and sounds NOTHING like the song(also it doesnt help that my guitar isnt tuned, dont have a tuner thing)

My goal is to be able to play songs like :
Red hot chilli peppers-Under the bridge
Eric claption-tears in heaven
Metallica-Nothing else maters
Green day- Good Riddence
Eric clapton -classical gas(for my GF)
3 doors down- be like that

those are just a few of the songs that i wish to be able to play, i seem to be going no were though, i no it takes time but spose i havent had the patience ive tryed for an hour once to try get "be like that" to sound like the song but cant even get 3 notes together before i stuff up and need to stop and readjust my hand to the next fret.

So what can i do to help me get started any help you guys can offer would be greatly appreicated as i dont want to just give up on one of my goals that i have not achieved in the 2 years ive had the guitar.

Thanks alot.

[kevincooper]

did the guitar store offer lessons? it'd be a good idea to have someone show you what to do, at least get a few so you understand what you have to do.

once your fingers get moving and your ears get listening, its all easy

[kuruptz]

Nah the shop doesnt offer lessons.

[OverDriven]

at least go to www.8notes.com and use their online guitar tuner.

you just need to practice, i can play all of those songs you mentioned and i didnt have lessons to help me. i actually started on good riddance, and nothing else matters, you just need to keep practicing dude, if you cant hack it then guitar isnt for you.

you just look like one of those people who want to be a rock star overnight, it wont happen unless you keep at it.

[yippy]

Go to www.cyberfret.com and click on First Fret, there are some beginner guitar lessons to get you started. Then just practice practice and practice.

[shredder]

Sounds like you need some basic training to give you some confidence on the instrument for a start. Trouble is that learning songs is not really ideal for some people, it's like learning to run before you can crawl. Like if you can't change between basic chords and stuff like that then you won't be able to do it when trying to play a song either. If you can't play in time when just playing one chord repeated over and over then you won't be able to keep anything LIKE time when playing a riff/song that contains more varied strumming/picking. Etc etc.

Some real beginners classical stuff (just fingerpicking basic chords) would probably go a long way towards training you to play stuff like Nothing Else Matters, Under the Bridge, Tears in Heaven etc.

Stuff like this (by Carcassi):

|-------0-------0-|-------0-------0-|-------1-------1-|
|-----1-------1---|-----1-------1---|-----3-------3---|
|---0-------0-----|---2-------2-----|---2-------2-----|
|---------2-------|-----------------|-0-------3-------|
|-3---------------|-0-------3-------|-----------------|
|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|


|-------1-------1-|-------0-------3-|
|-----0-------0---|-----1-------2---|
|---0-------0-----|---0-------2-----|
|-----------------|-----------------|
|---------2-------|-3-------0-------|
|-3---------------|-----------------|


|-------1-------1-|-------0-------1-|-0--------*|
|-----3-------3---|-----1-------0---|-1--------*|
|---2-------2-----|---0-------0-----|-0--------*|
|-0-------3-------|-----------------|----------*|
|-----------------|-----------------|-3--------*|
|-----------------|-3-------3-------|----------*|

Learn it in parts, all notes (except the last held chord) are the same length. Groups of 4 notes obviously, 2 groups of 4 notes to each bar. Tap your foot on the 1st note, the 3rd note, the 5th note etc continuing on - that's the beat. Play it as slow as you need to, to make it sound good/right. Remember that slow and accurate will always beat fast and sloppy.

Until you can handle stuff like this, there's little point expecting to be able to play most of the songs you mentioned.

[kuruptz]

thanks shredder

[kwax]

Originally Posted by kuruptz

My goal is to be able to play songs like :
Red hot chilli peppers-Under the bridge
Eric claption-tears in heaven
Metallica-Nothing else maters
Green day- Good Riddence
Eric clapton -classical gas(for my GF)
3 doors down- be like that

God I hate these songs.

anywho, I suggests you look up a nifty program called Guitar pro. Once you get that, you can then download guitar pro tab files off mosts tab sites( i like http://ultimate-guitar.com) and then within the program It has a funciton in it where you can slow down the pace and speed of the tab. From there you can learn songs in sections slowly and then speed it up as you get better.

But yeah, main tip for learning long songs that has alot of finger work is to practice it in sections. Cut the song up and learn each section untill you remember it off by heart. PLUS another tip is that all these chords are a certain shape and pattern. You make these certain shapes and patterns with your hand and fingers. Your hands and fingers work via muscles right?
So to me, When i do a certain chord or riff/tab, its all muscle memory as i like to call it. You do certain shapes with your hands and eventually it sticks in your memory. So yeah think of that when learning chords. Muscle Memory =]

good luck and keep at it

[shredder]

kuruptz: That's right, muscle memory, and because of that it's also good to train your fingers to do things in the most efficient ways possible, eg. when changing chords to do it such a way that requires minimal movement from your fingers, your fingers shouldn't get tied up when changing chords because they should all be moving smoothly to a different position (or staying in the same place) without needing to cross over or do anything too strenuous usually.

But yeah muscle memory 'remembers' the bad stuff you do as well as the good which is why people will always go on about taking it slow and practicing properly where possible (you don't have to, but you'll probably get better faster in the long run if you do go about things properly).

[AxlOz]

what everyone here is saying is pretty accurate. To put things in perspective for ya, no matter how good you get, you'll always wanna be better, and there'll always be someone better than you, so dont be discouraged by the frustration in learning how to play, use it as motivation! I've been playing for twelve years and it can still drive me nuts! Which brings in my next point - Whatever you do with it, enjoy it. Try and learn these songs because they make you feel good and remember the feeling when you start to get frustrated again. The reason anyone plays any instrument for more than a short while is because they enjoy it and this will get you through the frustrations. So if you find a new song that sparks you up, try learn it too! Even a few bits of it! Then you might find yourself able to play 20 small bits out of 20 different songs, but the key here is that you learned 20 different things, which will help you learn more things from more songs and probably also the original 20 you started on. So play whatever you want to gain a rise from.
I remember how happy I was when I learnt the acoustic intro to Dead or Alive back in the day. Had no idea of the rest of the song, but I was sold on learning the intro! The rest came later when I decided i should finish it off..
So chin up dude! Enjoy embarking on something that 99% of the world cant do, But only coz they dont try!

[kuruptz]

Wow those last fews posts have helped me alot and given me alot of motervation.

THANKS!

Im going to try learn that tab that shredder put up, because the songs i want to play are too hard at the moment, anyone else suggest some other songs to get my hands moving and that i should be able to learn(really basic).

Also i dont no HOW that tab is ment to sound so how do i no if im playing it right :S? ( i dont have the song)

BTW should i use a pick or my fingers?

[kuruptz]

ok trying to play this part of the tab and my fingers keep touching the string below it!! on the 3 and 2 part like im holding the 2 and the bottom of my finger touches the 0 so it makes the 0 sound crap, ive tryed for 15 minutes but cant figure out how to prevent this i dont have fat fingers either :S its so frustrating and i no you are going to say keep practicing but if i cant figure out how to get it going without the bottom of my finger touching the string below in 15 minutes i think i need advice.

|-------0-------0-|
|-----1-------1---|
|---0-------0-----|
|---------2-------|
|-3---------------|
|-----------------|

[itsmydamnation]

pick or fingers is completely up to you. When you start a pick will be harder then fingers, But you can get some really cool finger patterns going with a bit of practice. On the other hand you can only really play any fast rock/metal guitar with a pick. So it really depends on what you want to learn, that said in the grand scheme of things which one you choose to learn first will have little consequence so long as you take the time to learn it right!!!! But then again nothing can beat the sound of dust in the wind or the bards song by finger picking on a steal string guitar.


i have terrible technique because for to long i would take the quickest path to get what i wanted. now after having a break for a few months (crazy work + oblivion +BF2 = little guitar time) so i have decide that im going to start again, get the lessons i nether bothered with and get my technique right.

i guess I’m trying to say, learn from the mistakes other people have made...... i didn't

edit: one thing i will add, once you know something, make sure you can play it with your eyes closed and completely relaxed, this really allows you to focus on the mussel movement rather then the movement itself and it really helps you get a good sound.

[itsmydamnation]

Originally Posted by kuruptz

|-------0-------0-|
|-----1-------1---|
|---0-------0-----|
|---------2-------|
|-3---------------|
|-----------------|

ok first
index fingue on the 2nd string first fret
middle on 4th string 2nd fret
3rd finger on the 5th string 3rd fret

your thump should be somewhere around the back of the fret board, not up the top. this forces the palm of you hand further away from the fret board and you fingers come down more perpendicular to the fret board.

[AxlOz]

and dont get lazy, use the little finger sometimes too! One of my bad habits..