Question for the guitar players out there...

[libereco]

I was wondering if any of you think i have a realistic chance of teaching myself to play the guitar......

I really want to learn to play....but i sure as hell won't take any lessons.

So, should i just buy a cheap guitar and try to find some.....ehm....tutorials.
or is there no chance in hell i'll learn it. ;)

[Victoria]

Sure, you can teach yourself! There are many book out there that you can learn from, or you can just do what I did, check around on the internet. I don't know theory or how to read music, but I did learn how to read tablature and all of the basic chords. Or if you know anyone who can play guitar, just get them to teach ya the basics. I think that you have a very good chance of teaching yourself, thats how many people learn to play guitar.

[Derar]

i started playing guitar by my own , i used the internet ..... got few basic lessons from the net , learned hot to understand tabs , and just started playing using tabs of any song that i hear.
honestly the first 2 months r a pain in the ass , its the hardest period , as soon as u get over this period , u can call urself a guitar player ..... u will then feel more comfortable with playing , and develop ur skills slowly...
i've been playing for 11 months now ..... and im still learning .... belive it or not , it took me 2 years just to start !!!!
And if u need any help comrade , just ask .

[Rob]

I started off taking lessons, then it kinda fell apart, but they were very helpful for me. You might want to just to learn notes, keys, and tuning. Other than that, you should be able to handle it on your own.

[Nickademus]

yes no problem there. i taught myself to read and play music (when i was about 5) and have since then taught myself all but 1 of the instruments i play. one of those instruments is bass guitar. so yes. you can teach yourself. its hard learning from the internet and things like tabcrawler because it doesn't teach you to read music, although it does teach you to listen. anyway, good luck

[I Bow 4 Che]

Umm I TRIED to teach myself to play but just couldnt. I kept listening to people better than me and trying to play like that bt it didnt work. i didnt know the notes and strings and it pissed me off. I begged my parents to give me lessons and a HUGE improovment occured...so I couldnt teach myself how to play but I guess Im younger and all the instruments I play are so different from the guitar (I play the french horn =P)

Goodluck though...perhaps think of renting a guitar first or something just to see how fast things work out

[vox]

Hey there,

First off, lessons are probably a good thing. But I'm biased, my father taught guitar and played in a band. He put food on the table doing that, so I'm all for lessons. However, I taught myself how to play, though whenever I had a question I could ask my father about it. Plus, there were a ton of music books in the house, which made it much easier for me than the average person.

I taught myself using tablature, but then realized I really had to learn how to read music. So I did, and you can, too. It just takes a little commitment, is all. I practiced a lot, not because I had to, but because I wanted to, so I learned the notes, the chords, the chord forms, the keys, all that good stuff, and now, I can play. I could never, I think, make a living doing it, but I can play well enough to make me happy, and it sounds okay, and that's enough for me.

But then, I'm not a musician. I can just play a bit of guitar. If I wanted to be a musician, I'd have to play a LOT more, and practice all of the time.

Imagine being raised in isolation, and then learning how to write. You have to master the technical skills of making letters on a page, first, and then you learn how to make the language flow together nicely. Same with an instrument. First, you have to master it technically, then you can write poems with it.

vox

[Kez]

Thats exactly what im gonna do, get a guitar this week, teach myself
learn some mint angelic upstarts music
then pull totie

comrade kamo

[Avamatha]

Bombom...
I used to take lessons, what did I learn? Nothing. Well, maybe some basic's basics. But then I found a video from library. Now I can play guitar. (Badly, but can...) Wopee!

But lessons are good if you find a good teacher. My teacher was one great man with greater sense of humor, but these teachers are... well, you can't find them very easilly.

[Michael]

If you really want to play the guitar then you will play the guitar.I started with a book with basic chords and scales,and a cheap Squire by Fender.The point is that if you find it difficult just keep up the practice.There is a lot of stuff in the web.I changed three guitars,so I suggest that if you really want to play then buy a good guitar.It will help you the most.

[libereco]

thanks for all the tips...

i think what i'll do is borrow guitar from someone and try to start off by looking over stuff from the net.
and at some point i'll then buy a good guitar. (hopefully)

[I Will Deny You]

I know next to nothing about guitar but I know a lot about acting and performing, so here's my advice:

Rent the cheapest guitar you can find, and try teaching yourself on the internet. But you should definitely get lessons within a month. I take group acting classes and there'll be plenty of times when someone will come in who obviously has a ton of talent, but just doesn't know how to interact with other people. Even when they deliver monologues, they don't know how to work an audience.

I know these aren't concerns right now, but if you want to play in a band lessons will be a huge help. And if you want to be good at sitting around and jamming with your friends, you probably won't be any good at it unless you've at least had a friend teach you. Interacting with people will become what it's all about, even if that's not the case at the moment.

[MJM]

Here's my advice from a semi-self taught guitarist.
1)Make sure your first guitar has good action(the gap between the fret board and the strings should be nice and close,it may even pay to remove the lower bridge to close the gap).
2)Latch onto a friend or friend of a friend who plays a little.
3)Pick one or two songs then learn them even if you go nuts trying.
4)Buy a tuner if you have no sense of pitch,this will come over time it may even take years before you can fully trust your sense of pitch, but once you can you can play any song after a few tries.
5)I recommend steel strings to start, the nylon ones can roll around under your fingers a bit too much for a learner.

Remember : persitence beats resistance ;-)

[Kez]

I just just got a guitar, six strings
made in canada
DONT HAVE THE FOGGIEST HOW TO PLAY IT
i gonna check some guitar sites out

Does anyone know a site for getting the music for famous music? Not like notes, ut the finger diagrams
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah this so retarded

comrade kamo

[Zippy]

Guitar Tablature can be got from numerous sites. Zippy's favourite is www.tabcrawler.com.

Zippy. :)

[celticsocialist]

Fuck getting a guitar Libereco, as you can see from the replies to this post there are already too many guitarists. Get yourself a bass, there is a lot more satisfaction to playing the bass, and although you dont get the same acknowledgement as a guitarist it is more in demand if you have any ideas about joining a band. A good bass player makes all the difference to a band (especially if he/she has a good understanding with the drummer)

[MJM]

Thats right right celticsocialist there is world wide shortage of bass players.There's not enough drummers either, so if you want to get in a band the bass or drums is probably the go, but the chicks like singers and guitarists in my experience.
But it's about the music, not the fame and fortune eh...

[red head]

www.harmonycentral.com (a bit hard to navigate if you don't know exactly what you're looking for)
www.guitar.com
and a second recomendation for www.tabcrawler.com

[Tricky]

Oh noooooo.....this question brings back horrid memories!!
I really wanted to learn how to play, my family bought me an acoustic guitar for my birthday - and I struggled valiantly to no avail....
I managed a couple of easy chord songs, but as soon as I tried to sing along, it became an abomination....hehehe
I think that part of it is natural talent also, think Im better off sticking to my artwork.....and LISTENING to music - the music industry is better off without the likes of me in it..... :D

Peace,
Tricky

[Binson]

I started learning guitar last year its better to get the advice and expertise of a guitar teacher. Only a true teacher can tel u about theory and beat also they can play u. If u gonna buy a guitar get a old squier not the new mexican ones there crap. The korean and japanese ones rock!!!!!

Binson Hope

[munkey soup]

Get a Bass!!
I got one about 4 months ago, and through constant practice, I'm already 10x better at it than when I first started. All without lessons!(lessons are probably good if you wanna learn notes though, all I can read is Tablature). The bassist is the backbone of any band. I've even come up with some nice, short bass lines.

[vox]

"A good bass player makes all the difference to a band (especially if he/she has a good understanding with the drummer)"

'Tis true. In fact, I should probably play bass insted of guitar, for all I hear is the bass, anyway, and what it could be doing.

Instead of that, however, I've picked up the guitar again, and the piano, which is a truly wonderful instrument. I even wrote a bit of a song last night, all sad and blue and soulful and junk.

I do, after all, play acoustic guitar, rather than electric, which is almost an entirely different instrument.

vox

[kingbee]

ive played for a while- never had lessons, but i should- i dont know any theory which is a bummer when playin with others. one piece of advice that ive heard- educate your ears, and your hands will follow. thats what i hate bout nu metal- tonnes of people just playin power chords- boo!boring!