I got a guitar

[Sand Castle]

I just got my first guitar today. It's acoustic. Do any of you have any advice for someone who is just starting out? Any links I should see?

[Pretty Flaco]

Actually practice the scales. :tt2:
Boring? Yes.
Tedious? Yes.
Will it help you? Most definitely.

[#FF0000]

Scales are helpful. Chords are helpful. There's an excellent book called "THE GUITAR GRIMOIRE" you might want to look at. There's one with scales and one with exercises. Both are good.

If you want to play well then practice very very very slowly like you are playing in slow motion over and over and over again

Don't quit.

[Fawkes]

While tabs can be nice and convenient, don't become too reliant on them, it's better to try to learn things by ear, it will make you a much better musician. Scales and chords and all that fun stuff are helpful, just remember they are not rigid and there are no rules to music. The Guitar Grimoire series is great, but to be honest, they can be a little complex for someone just starting out. Practice things such as building up finger dexterity and just familiarity with the fretboard. One thing that's important, especially as a beginner, is only apply as much pressure with your fretting hand (the one that pressing the strings down) as is necessary to make the note sound, don't press too hard as it could cause pain and will slow down your playing, and it could (as was the case with me) cause more serious complications down the road. Stretch and warm up before playing, playing guitar is an athletic activity in that it engages a large amount of different muscles from your hand all the way to your back and not warming up will diminish the quality of your playing and could cause pain and complications.

Have fun and listen to anything and everything, and not just guitar, pay attention to how all the instruments interact with one another and try to analyze and possibly adopt techniques and stylistic flourishes from as many styles and artists as possible.

[Tablo]

My advice? Practice practice practice, and when you're done with that you gotta practice more.

[Fawkes]

Practice is definitely necessary if you wouldn't to improve as a guitarist, but try to play guitar (as in messing around and just jamming) as much as you practice. In other words, if you practice an hour and a half per day, try to just play around for about the same amount of time, but even more is better. You learn a lot of things from just messing around that you most likely wouldn't from running through scales and picking exercises.

[The Fighting_Crusnik]

Practice through the hellish stuff but then find music that interests you and is close, but slightly above your level so that 1, you don't get bored and 2, so that you're still improving even as you're playing through the fun stuff. :)

[La Comédie Noire]

Hot cross buns.

[mykittyhasaboner]

http://www.get-tuned.com/guitar_tuner.php

great site for tuning, especially if you don't have a tuner with a mic....

[Black Sheep]

Do you want a super mega grand tip?
FIrstly learn diaphragm breathing, and THEN:
When practicing scales, also voice the notes as well, with various phonetics (language barrier).

FOr example play C major scales, after each note you pick, say "laah" from the diaphragm.

That way you'll learn guitar and how to sing, at the same time.

[Sam_b]

Hope you've not bought one just to try and impress women

[Who?]

Hope you've not bought one just to try and impress women

uv4ZLUEe8xw

[gorillafuck]

Learn simplified versions of songs you like rather than stuff that most beginners learn like "Hot Cross Buns".

[Os Cangaceiros]

Learn two chords, steal an electric and start a band.

[Sasha]

I just got my first guitar today. It's acoustic. Do any of you have any advice

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/77/157163702_cb346c81c3.jpg

[Dóchas]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5QCs3PnQBc - Reason to learn guitar :thumbup1:

http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/ - Handy enough for tabs to get you started

[Sam_b]

Thanks for your imput Who?, but I don't know if you got the reference with regards to OP.

[Aurora]

Benefit concert for love?

[Sam_b]

learning my open chords for love

[Luisrah]

Get into musical school, so one day you'll be able to play this (6/7 years later, more or less):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfRLMopjDKA

And this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPfZVflJdp0

And this after 5/6:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAg8VHuXNKU

Totally worth it man.

But if you don't want to spend that much time, after 2 years, or even on your own you can learn this beatiful music:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jot7Q9n7L9U

That is, if you're into classical. Even if you aren't, you can be sure you'll get very good at playing if you get classes.

How the heck do you set the videos instead of links!?

[Martin Blank]

I just got my first guitar today. It's acoustic. Do any of you have any advice for someone who is just starting out? Any links I should see?

I just got one recently myself. My best advice is to skip tablature completely and learn to read music. Remember, music is a language, and learning it does affect you just like learning any other language. Tabs alone limit you because all you'll be able to play on an impromptu basis are the tabs; there's no room for any creativity, you'll never learn the nuances or the expression. It's like learning Spanish or French based on reading a dollar-store phrasebook.

Start by learning basic classical guitar. A book recommended to me was Music Reading for Guitar by David Oakes. My wife, who was a professional and studied under Segovia for a brief time, is also writing a beginner book, based on what she's teaching me.

[Who?]

Thanks for your imput Who?, but I don't know if you got the reference with regards to OP.

I didn't, must have been before my time.

[Sam_b]

I didn't, must have been before my time

Hunger strike for lurrrvvee

[Lyev]

I would recommend starting a band (perhaps not immediately) and jamming with some friends.

[Admiral Swagmeister G-Funk]

Practice as much as possible. You will suck for ages, but eventually you will get the hang of it and be able to improvise.

Prioritize learning chords and scales over learning to play songs you like. I know so many people who can play solos from their favourite songs but couldn't improvise a solo to save their life as they don't know their way around the fret board. If you know scales and chords, and notes, then you should be able to learn most things by ear anyway, and you will be able to write your own songs or improvise.

Also, Uncle Sam is right about learning to read music, it would be worth your time. I haven't learnt to read music myself but wish I did, and aim to do so one day.

[Luisrah]

I just got one recently myself. My best advice is to skip tablature completely and learn to read music. Remember, music is a language, and learning it does affect you just like learning any other language. Tabs alone limit you because all you'll be able to play on an impromptu basis are the tabs; there's no room for any creativity, you'll never learn the nuances or the expression. It's like learning Spanish or French based on reading a dollar-store phrasebook.

Start by learning basic classical guitar. A book recommended to me was Music Reading for Guitar by David Oakes. My wife, who was a professional and studied under Segovia for a brief time, is also writing a beginner book, based on what she's teaching me.

Oh my god that must've been awesome! :drool:

[Sand Castle]

I'm sorry for abandoning this thread. I was away trying to practice. These chords are hard to memorize and I feel as if I'm missing something. I'm taking my first lesson tomorrow. I hope that sorts a lot of things out.

There will be no concert for love. Normal people would never love me.

I think it would be cool to one day play a free concert for people in jail, while in the jail. Like Johnny Cash, except not Johny Cash.

[kitsune]

The first thing you want to do is get a little fretboard orientation, and learn about chord voicing. Look up the CAGED system. It's a good place to start. You also want to learn some decent songs, even before you learn to sight read. Tab books are good for this. There are tons of instruction books and sites for beginners. Just google it and check around. Also check out forums for guitar playing, and you're sure to find plenty of advice there for beginners.

You want to learn about chord progressions, how music is actually structured. Develop an understanding of the fretboard and the way chords are built and their movement. Ted Greene's Chord Chemistry is a classic, and brilliant though horribly disorganized. His Modern Chord Progressions is a lot more accessible. Ear training is essential. Play What You Hear by Chris Standring is excellent.

Knowing scales and modes is good, but you should work to get beyond that and just think of notes as they relate to the root of the current chord. At that point you start to think musically, and not just in scale patterns.

[Proukunin]

Use youtube to learn chords and scales. Learn songs. then apply yourself.

Ive been playing for three years, but my friend has been playing for 6 and I can keep up with him when we are jamming,

Using penatonic and the blues scale can get you a long way. most guitarists use those two scales and they are very very easy to learn.

Starting off with learning all the basic major and minor chords is what I suggest though.

[Angry Young Man]

uv4ZLUEe8xw

The Acoustic's for people like that anyway. Don't go electric and that's what you become. Rather be a Judas than a wanker.

[Angry Young Man]

I didn't, must have been before my time.

Family Guy's before your time? Are you five?

Anyway, the context is Stewie (the homosexual, nee evil, baby) threatens someone by saying 'I'll do to you what douche bags did to the acoustic guitar.

[Sand Castle]

The Acoustic's for people like that anyway. Don't go electric and that's what you become. Rather be a Judas than a wanker.

Not necessarily. I know plenty of people who don't play acoustic guitar to get attention for sex or for the sake of being looked at. They just play it for fun with their friends who are also musicians. Sometimes they'll play it at small political events to draw people's attention to what we're doing (it may be hard otherwise). Then there are those who play it for donations, you've seen them. That may be the only option for a lot of people.

[NoOneIsIllegal]

Learn some simple chords. Get a fuzz box, chorus pedal, reverb pedal, and a delay pedal. Play awesome shoegaze music.