help starting on guitar (+Word of Advice)

[Robman?]

Ok so this is just my opinion, but..

When I started to play guitar (with no teacher), I used tabs to learn some songs and I thought it was the easiest/CLEAREST way. But then I got to a point where I found it really hard to catch the melody of some songs, so I got pretty frustrated and all. Then my father told me to learn to read notes, so I lend some books from the library. After couple of days I started to understand how to read them and started to play along Nirvana and stuff, and found it so much easier than tabs. These days I look at tabs only for some certain riffs etc.

But I think it depends on the person, which is the best way. But I really recommend people to learn the scales and chords and so on..

I agree
I only use powertabs and such, beginners dont usually realize that text tabs are useless, theres no way to learn the rhythm of a song from them.

[tim_m]

Well since i will be picking up playing soon i thought i'd post here. I'm going to be getting my first guitar for christmas and it will be electric. I've read a lot of posts saying its better to start on acoustic cause its harder to learn and all. I'm going with electric though i just don't have much interest in acoustic. I will be getting one of these three guitars. These are the ones the guys at guitar center recommended to me. The guy i talked to at guitar center recommended the one for $299. I don't know if ill be getting that one though. Its going to be a gift so the final say in which one i get won't be mine unfortunately.

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Ibanez,Electric-Value-Pack-Electric.gc

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Ibanez-ISJ20-Jumpstart-Pack?sku=512497

[gfish]

^^ Ibanez are supposed to make really good quality guitars for whatever you pay for them, so you should get a decent guitar. I was just wondering if you guys could suggest where to start with theory, like a book or website. Also a list of techniques and things to learn would be handy, like ranging from simple to harder techniques. I think would help a lot, because I seem to become stuck on what to learn, it also doesn't help that I have snapped my high E and have no money for new strings.

[Bill 213]

I started out on an Ibanez very similar to the ISJ20 and now that I look back, it was a crap guitar all around.  The sound was shitty, the hardware was cheap and the fretboard was super small. 

Just start out with an Epiphone Les Paul, SG or Explorer.  All better guitars which have a Jr. or lower end model in the same price range.  I'm pretty sure I've even seen Epiphone Les Paul Jr. starter packs for $199 or something.

[tim_m]

I started out on an Ibanez very similar to the ISJ20 and now that I look back, it was a crap guitar all around.  The sound was shitty, the hardware was cheap and the fretboard was super small. 

Just start out with an Epiphone Les Paul, SG or Explorer.  All better guitars which have a Jr. or lower end model in the same price range.  I'm pretty sure I've even seen Epiphone Les Paul Jr. starter packs for $199 or something.

All the newer Epiphones seem to have worse ratings and reviews then the newer Ibanez packs. The guys i talked to at guitar center didn't even recommend Epiphones. They both recommended either the Ibanez packs or the Squire ones.

[Johnny Rattlesnake]

I say that, if you are learning, you don't need a great guitar. Just one that is technically functional.
Does it have what you need? Who cares about the wood, you can't play anyways. Color, pick-ups,
whammy bar... all stuff that really depends on how you do. Should you learn on an acoustic? They only
say that because there are less distractions. If you are worried about what sound to get or what
pedal to push, you're missing the whole point of playing in the first place. I say, learn on a piece of
junk. Less money spent and you can guage from there. Not everybody makes it. Let's be real.
Sometimes it's not for everybody. I have my gear because I need it. These bedroom players might have good stuff but
it just sounds good in the bedroom. I play. And playing bad sounds horrible. Learning the basics is everything.

[tim_m]

I say that, if you are learning, you don't need a great guitar. Just one that is technically functional.
Does it have what you need? Who cares about the wood, you can't play anyways. Color, pick-ups,
whammy bar... all stuff that really depends on how you do. Should you learn on an acoustic? They only
say that because there are less distractions. If you are worried about what sound to get or what
pedal to push, you're missing the whole point of playing in the first place. I say, learn on a piece of
junk. Less money spent and you can guage from there. Not everybody makes it. Let's be real.
Sometimes it's not for everybody. I have my gear because I need it. These bedroom players might have good stuff but
it just sounds good in the bedroom. I play. And playing bad sounds horrible. Learning the basics is everything.

Yeah they all come with what i need except the cheaper pack doesn't come with headphones but i can get those separate. I'm gonna need them too since i'm in an apartment. I'm not aiming to be a great guitarist and join a band or anything. Its just gonna be a hobby for me a chance to learn and play songs i like. Thats my main reason for wanting to learn. If i improve enough ill definitely look into a better guitar and amp then in those packs. You're right though no sense getting something really good at first cause you don't know what you are doing or how good you'll get. I hope i get pretty good at least. I'm getting a pretty late start at guitar at age 30.

[ryba]

http://www.powertabs.net/

My favorite guitar site. Has a really cool community forum as well.

I strongly recommend it to every guitar player, be it a beginner or advanced. Before I found it I was quite frustrated, it kinda changed my life.
Its powertabs are the most accurate/professional tabs you can find on the Internet due to the approval system that each of has to go through.

Hello, guys!

I added a couple of links so that no one has problems finding GN'R-related tabs on there:

powertabs.net:

g'n'r tabs,

snakepit tabs,

gilby clarke tabs,

duff mckagan tabs,

vr tabs

[Jdog0830]

Ive just started playing bout a month ago i played a few times before but never comited till i got this sweet Fender Stradicaster it was made in Mexico but it was used and when i got it it had a ton of upgrades that make it play like the American made Version and its neak looked like brand new all 4 only $300 i go back there now 2 see it something like that could happen again but the only good guitars costed like a thousand bucks

[Layflats]

I've got two words for anyone that seriously wants to start playing guitar...

Mel Bay

[D]

I thought about going back and taking some guitar lessons

being self taught, I feel i missed a few things a long the way..... So i'd love to go back and pick up a few technical things, i missed out on.

then again, maybe it will kill my entire style of play, so i don't know.

would love to get better with my pinky

[bugado]

Ho guys, this topic is awesome very thx to help 

[makane]

You guys should check out this guys stuff;

http://www.youtube.com/user/pebberbrown

He's got some basic theory/discussion about techniques and some very advanced stuff. Overall I think players of every level can pick out something useful.

yeah, and btw. this guy teached BUCKETHEAD to play for years.

[Jdog0830]

http://www.youtube.com/user/pebberbrown

He's got some basic theory/discussion about techniques and some very advanced stuff. Overall I think players of every level can pick out something useful.

yeah, and btw. this guy teached BUCKETHEAD to play for years.

Now I am intersted.

Thanks for the link!




Joe

[One.In.A.Million]

I know this may sound corny coming from someone on a GN'R fan site. But my honest opinion is that you can't get a better band to jam to, if you are just learning guitar. I have played guitar for 6 years, and I only play Guns N' Roses, and my playing has improved immensely since I started.

So at first choose a GN'R song with an easy chord progrssion like Used To Love Her or maybe You Aint The First. Then once comfortable start taking on more songs with trickier patterns.

Also a good way to get a feel for soloing, is to pick out little riffs or fills in songs that appeal to you. Like Sweet Child for instance, and repeat and repeat until you are confident playing it. Then as part of your warm up for next time, play everything you did the day previous. If you do this, things will start to stick and you will find yourself open to much more stuff you never thought possible.

Then once you have gained some knowledge of chords, have some fun by re-arranging different positions for certain sounds.

For example this is a basic C chord.

------0-----
------1-----
------0-----
------2-----
------3-----
------X-----

But you can re-arrange this chord as a power chord which looks like this.

--------------
--------------
-----5-------
-----5-------
-----3-------
--------------

This is a technique that Robin Finck used alot, he played chords in different positions but achieved the same sound. For example the breakdown after the solo in patience, it starts with a D chord which looks like this.

-----2--------
-----3--------
-----2-------
-----0-------
--------------
--------------

But during GN'R live performances Robin changed this to a power chord position, which was situated on the 7th fret.

----------------
---------------
-----7---------
-----7--------
-----5---------
----------------

This is a helpfull thing for beginners to learn, as it will open your mind to the possibilities of what you can do. So I would say practice alot, keep things fresh, and always listen to Guns N' Roses.

What more can I say...