Best way to learn guitar
 

I bought an acoustic guitar this spring and learned a few chords via the guitar for dummies book then summer came along and the unspeakable happened... I put it down.

Where do I go now? Private lessons? Online route? This is something I would like to do with my 5 year old son who has his own guitar.

Apple's Garage Band has a good series of starter lessons. I don't if there is a non-Mac version available though.

I will look into that. I did play with it for bit a few months ago when I bought a new iPad.

Take a look at Truefire, there's plenty there to keep to keep you busy. The hard part is committing to practice, more practice and more practice. I'm finding guitar time will have to take over TV time. I'd also recommend a good playing and well setup guitar.

What guitar did you buy?
Was there another thread here on what to look for while purchasing a guitar?
Something that is on my list of things to do...
Any opinions on what guitar would be easiest to play for a beginner?
Sorry for the hijack.....

I bought an Art and Lutherie cedar Dreadnaught in blue which is nla. It is made in Canada out of mostly Canadian woods. It was a grad gift and had been played twice so I got a screaming deal on it. It is pretty similar to a seagull s7 and made by the same company.

It might not be a bad idea to get the guitar checked out and have it set up properly. Have some friends play it, see what they think. If it plays like a dog, then take it to a repairman and get it set up as good as it can be set up. It might already be set up fine, or as good as that guitar ever will be. Also- get your 5 year old's guitar checked out. Make sure it can stay in tune, etc.- for example, my dad gave my daughter a guitar which cannot stay in tune and all the frets are cut in the wrong place. It was a thoughtful gift. It is worthless as a musical instrument, but she likes to make noise on it, so what the heck- however, I would like to get her a guitar that can at least stay in tune, and where I can tune it to open chords (open d, open g, modal tunings) where all she would have to do it strum and it would sound good.

With my daughter (3 years old), she really likes certain kids songs. We also take her to a childrens music class where all the kids sing, and they give us CD's of children's music which she listens to in the car alot. When we are at home, I will pick out some of the tunes (wheels on the bus, abcd song, etc) and we have a blast. My wife, not so much.
I play a *****en rendition of twinkle twinkle little star btw....

Anyway, the point is to find the music you enjoy listening/ participating in together, and let that be your guide in determining where to go next in your education. The good news is my daughter enjoys the musical aspect of it- not the guitar riffs, tone, and intonation stuff I listen for- which makes it easy for me to just crank out some basic chords and we both have fun.

Let the music you/ both of you like be your guide.

This is all you need.

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This will sound harsh, but I've never met a single person who has ended up actually learning any guitar when they tried to double it as a fun babysitting parenting activity.
Did you learn to work on cars while your 5 year old worked on a second car?

Learning a musical instrument is one of the most challenging mental and physical endeavors you will ever attempt.
You want to learn guitar? Hire a babysitter for your 5 year old. That is the first thing you need to understand.

I thought about this after I posted. I agree.

True. I used to play a lot. Then I had kids.

This.

Pick an easy song you like and go to Guitar Tabs With Rhythm | Songsterr to learn it. While you always have to put in the hours with rudiments, you'll only stick with it if you learn music that makes you want to practice.

There is pretty much something for everyone here:
Homespun Tapes
The DVD's available have multiple camera angles, slow speed descriptions and complimentary sheet music or tablature (fretboard diagrams).
Choose which style you like and go from there.
-C

Lots of good suggestions. Trying to learn guitar along with a 5 y.o. will be an exercise in futility. At that age they just don't have the attention and focus.

That said, Justin Guitar has a great beginners course, all free, with videos to help you along. Give it a try. Justin Guitar | Free Guitar Lessons

I've been sort of playing the guitar for over 30 years. Just never clicked with me. Check out the software called Rocksmith. I have learned more with that than I have any other way. You'll need an electric guitar, but you can buy a decent cheap one plus the software for what you'll spend on private lessons in a month or two.

Best way to learn is to dive deep by buying up a huge rig and then forcing yourself to justify it. I'm selling these if interested:).

Marshall 1987 50W Plexi Clone Handwired | eBay

EVH 5150 III 100W Head Ivory Perfect Condition Free Shipping to Lower 48 717669555931 | eBay

This is what I've been telling myself. Says the guy with 2 very nice guitars and 2 low wattage boutique amps whose playing leaves a lot to be desired. Not to mention I've been looking for more.

I will say that I have shown more interest than ever and believe I'm on the verge of really being a serious student, it's something I've always wanted to be.

For the basics you can get a decent start on Youtube. MartyZSongs and YourGuitarSage are two channels that do a lot of basic songs and instruction. Justinguitar as mentioned above is also good. The websites will generally have some beginner lessons for free and then you start having to pay for access. If you just want to strum some chords those are good resources. I haven't joined any of the websites but I would think they have good material and they don't seem to cost too much.

If you want to get into soloing and such then I would learn the pentatonic scales with the blues notes. Important thing is to put some time into it daily. Shoot for 30 minutes a day but if you can't fit it in even 10 minutes of running scales is better than nothing.

I've suffered from the same issue, getting started and then putting it down for several months. It's devastating to your skills.

You should play a minimum of one hour per day, every day, no exceptions. That's the bare minimum it will take to get anywhere at all. Better yet is a few hours a day and, if you're a tv watcher, always have a guitar by the couch to plink on while watching tv. One you get good, you can maintain your chops with one hour a day, but you won't progress with less than two hours per day. I have a gig tonight, I've been playing all these songs for 20-25 yrs. and I still feel totally unprepared because I only played about 10-12 hours in the last week.

I remember Dan Crary was once told us in a class that music wasn't so much a destination as a journey. He said that regardless of if you went pretty far in life, or if your musical destiny was just making a clearer sounding C chord, that the enjoyment and satisfaction was from the experience.

At the time, I played guitar a considerable amount and I thought of how "pathetic" making a C chord sound better would be in the great scheme of things. Now that I am older and with (kid) and don't play so much, I get just as much satisfaction from making that C chord as playing the complex stuff.

At a party tonight, I met a musician and we were talking about playing lindsey buckingham and Leo Kottke type music. It would take me about 30 minutes to really re- learn "never going back again" (correctly-as opposed to just winging it), and maybe a little more time for Kottke songs- but, honestly, I have just as much fun making playing with my daughter.

As I told him- Being a black blues singer is probably NOT a realistic career expectation for me (being a white upper middle class geek), so I might as well enjoy the ride!

Have fun!http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1447543766.jpg

I am watching you, Sugarbritches.

You know, my kids are grown up, I have skinnied down costs. Single, and I have a Buddy Guy Strat. It's a Mexico Strat and not the same as the US Clapton signature Strat, but it ain't bad at all.

Would be cool to layer in an attempt at artistic expression across the back half of my life............

Bob, a MIM Strat is good enough to headline Madison Square Garden.
If they are good enough for Kurt Cobain and Buddy Guy, they are good enough for you.

Do you have an amp? What are some of your favorite bands?

Have a small Fender amp.

Favorite? Tom Petty as well as The Pretenders as far a listening to an entire album. That said, depends on the life passage. Bowie was big for a while. Rush. Across all time, Zeppelin has been listened to most but I really like the guitar work by the Pretenders and Petty. Best I can do in short.

Plenty of country but traditional country. Not Hank Sr. traditional, but Jones, Strait, Alan Jackson. Surely there a good new songs but the chick in a pickup truck lyrics make me yak.

Kids turned me onto newer stuff that is not heavy metal but getting close. Prodigy, etc. Here's is probably my favorite:

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And one for fun:

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There is only way I have ever seen someone become proficient on guitar. If practicing feel like work, you will never spend the time necessary to get good. All the proficient musicians I know got good in their bedrooms as teenagers, playing for hours because it was fun. There are no shortcuts. They say it takes 10,000 hours to get good, and that appears to be accurate.

Play play play. That's how it works.

Bob, I'm assuming you played to some degree in the past, and are now revisiting the guitar.
What level did you get to in the past? Did you learn to play any riffs by those bands?
Did you ever learn a compete song playing along to a CD? Did you ever play with people?
Rush, Bowie, Zep all have very accessible riffage for the beginner player.

Nuttin'.

There is the opportunity in my life situation where there may be a window of time daily that I could devote to learning how to play.

I just bought a MIG welder and after tackling a ground clamp issue, laid a decent bead on thin sheet metal. That gave me a stiffie. If I can tackle a simple chord and the thrill is close to the MIG welding adventure, then who knows?

As one member mentioned, if it seems like work, it ain't gonna happen. I don't know yet as I have not tried.

I spend at least an hour each day practicing. Half of that time is just turning on the radio and playing along or working out a complex piece. If you play along to things you enjoy, it makes the learning process fun.

Rock n roll and country music, for the most part, is simple music to learn and play. Make a list of the songs you like and just make noise along to them. Sooner or later, it will click and that leads to even more discovery.

An MIM strat will work just fine. Just get it setup right. Also check out ESP's LTD line and Schecter. Fantastic guitars for the money.

I'm a full on wanabe, and have absolutely no business telling anyone how to learn. I've been playing for a few months, and bought an inexpensive used acoustic to start. I injured my left index finger, so I set it down for a couple months while that healed. I also realized in that time that most of what I wanted to play required an electric. I bought a Gretsch Electromatic and a little practice amp, and its rejuvenated my practice. I decided to learn a couple of songs I like that I knew would be easy. I've got Social D's Prison Bound down ok, a basic version, and sorta learned Bush's Glycerine (power chords baby!) this week. I've enjoyed playing more than ever. I've got a friend who plays, and we are getting together on Thursday nights to play and help me learn a bit... I guess I would say, learn to play what you like. I play because I like to make music for me, and it makes me happy.

Learn timing. You need to be able to play in time with a recording, a metronome, or whatever. Otherwise, it's near impossible to play with another person. I'll play with a guy that knows 4 chords and can keep time, but a guy with poor timing? It's frustrating for everyone.

+1 get a metronome.

Not as a "guitarist" but as a long-time brass player...

+1 Get a metronome Rhythm is everything!

My next song to learn. I know the chords, so it should be fun. I just learned 3 songs just by learning this I-VI-IV-V progression. BTW is a metronome a meteosexual gnome?

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Bob,

1) Name a Petty, Bowie, Rush, and Zep song you'd love to learn.

2) Take your guitar to a local shop for a "setup". It will be $50.
If you are inspired to do the DIY, I can direct you there, as well

3) Is there an "overdrive" channel on your Fender amp?

This is partially accurate.

I took group lessons, self teaching and now 15 years later, I'm re-learning from Rocksmith video game. I'm just never going to be great at playing guitar since I can't and will probably never be able to get those big 4 finger stretch chords.

That said, in regards to your 10k hours. Here's a Ted Talks 20 hours rebuttal:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MgBikgcWnY

And I feel like this is true because I took up swing dancing this year. And I found it so much fun that it really didn't take me very long to learn.

Then again, I don't think I had a solid 20 hours of good guitar instruction...Maybe there's hope even though I have a LOT of bad habits by now.

Another to try after that one is Angel mine by The Cowboy Junkies. Kind of the same fretboard rotation, just throw in an F and an Am.
Angel Mine by Cowboy Junkies - guitar chords, guitar tabs and lyrics - chordie

Learn this stuff early and often. If you get it right from the start, you won't have to correct it later. This lesson really is good.

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I'll check the amp. I'll take the guitar to a shop for a setup.

You recommend a song to start with.

IMO- Have lessons from a live teacher, on an acoustic guitar. Learn good technique on the wooden box, then electrics are easy. The opposite is not so. Get a really good book, like the Mickey Baker Book. ve been working through that for 40 years. And ofcourse, there is no 'quick', and there is no end.