Topic: just started playing

Hi everyone!! ive just started playing and was wondering the best method for learning song,ie learn one at a time perfectly or learn 3 or 4 at a time to stop boredom???? ps im hooked smile)

Re: just started playing

Welcome to Chordie Dean!   Personally, I think learning a few at a time def. helps with the boredom issues.  The trick is sticking with songs that have the same chords so you don't overwhelm yourself as you perfect your fretting!  smile  Justinguitar.com is a great site that many of us here have used, still use, and suggest often (it's a free site with LOADS of info and you can even take the online training in an order that makes sense).  Whatever you do, keep going.  Nothings worse than getting your callouses built up then taking a break and having to do THAT all over again!  OUCH!  smile

Art and beauty are in the eyes of the beholder.
What constitutes excellent music is in the ears of the listener.

Re: just started playing

What she said.

Granted B chord amnesty by King of the Mutants (Long live the king).
If it comes from the heart and you add a few beers... it'll be awesome! - Mekidsmom
When in doubt ... hats. - B.G. Dude

Re: just started playing

Cheers for the advice 👍

Re: just started playing

Dean42, my suggestion would be to learn your chords, chord progressions and scales. Once you have learned to strum / pick with one hand and how to make the chords, move between the various chord positions and pick out the notes of the scale you are using with the other hand you will be well on your way to becoming a guitar GOD like the rest of us. By learning only 3 chords and how to move between those chords smoothly, you will be able to play thousands of songs. Learn to listen for the different beats or the tempo of a song as this will give you the strum pattern / rythem of a song. Keep your learning simple and your practice fun. Practice is something you need to do everyday if only for a few minutes. Keep at it and never be afaid to ask for help.

Nela

Re: just started playing

All great advice.  The trick is to stay hooked.  If you do that you will become a good player pretty fast.  We've all been through the exciting learning period, then quit for months or years, then pick it back up later.  I can vouch that this does not make you a great player.  Try to stick with it and practice every day.

You can see all my video covers on [url]http://www.youtube.com/bensonp1000[/url]
I have finally found happiness in my life.  Guitars, singing, beer and camping.  And they all intertwine wonderfully.

Re: just started playing

Welcome Dean!

I'll chuck another endorsement along for www.justinguitar.com. My daughter-in-law began playing earlier this year, and has been using this system with great success. Best of all, it's self-paced (unlike scheduled guitar lessons) so you can move along as your time and interest allows.

The best of success to you!

Re: just started playing

Want to keep from getting bored?  Check out ROCKSMITH 2014.  you do need a game system. they have a PC version but I have not heard many great things about it due to latency and a few other things. 

Chcek out the vids on youtube.  I cant wait to get something that helps me sound better and is fun at the same time.

My favorite guys on YT are Marty Schwartz and Brett "Pappastasch"   you can search for them.

“Find your own sound.  Dont be a second rateYngwie Malmsteen be a first rate you”

– George Lynch 2013 (Dokken, Lynchmob, KXM, Tooth & Nail etc....)

Re: just started playing

Been playing since time began.
I work on two or more new songs at a time. Lyrics are usually the problem. I jot the lyrics down on a small piece of paper with chords in red ink. As I go about my day, I pull my note out of my pocket when I can't remember a line. As I get bored with the first tune, I work on the second until I get bored again.

We pronounce it "Guf Coast".
Ya'll wanna go down to the Guf?

Re: just started playing

Hi Dean,

I am 6 months in and have recently crested the 30 song barrier and they are coming thick and fast now.  (2 months in I could play 1 song, 4 months in I could play maybe 10).

The key is to…

1)    Pick songs you genuinely like.  There is no point starting to learn Bad Moon Rising just because its easy if you don’t like the song.  You have to want to play it (this song incidentally is dead easy and an excellent choice for beginners if you like CCR).
2)    Definitely have multiple songs on the go….with different chord progressions….I would say 5 or six is a good choice. Even if you only strummed each song for 5 mins a time if you do all of them in a single sitting voila – you’ve hit your 30mins a day worth of practice.
3)    As you progress – lean towards songs that force you to learn things you are bad at.  I.E for a long time I struggled with the C chord (and still do sometimes).  So I picked half a dozen songs with lots of C chords in them (wont be hard – theres millions to choose from) and hey presto, after a couple of months I can play C a hell of a lot better and so now im doing the same thing with the dreaded F chord.

Don

Re: just started playing

yz that's pretty much the formula I followed and I just got some of the harder chord by finding songs I really loved. I have over the past  years  going back to most of my songs and learned too fingerpick most of them.

my papy said son your going too drive me too drinking if you dont stop driving that   Hot  Rod  Lincoln!! Cmdr cody and his lost planet airman

Re: just started playing

OK what  I  would  suggest  here  once  you  have learned  a  few basic  chords  practice  practice  practice  chose  a  couple  of  songs  you  like  and  feel comfortable  with .If  you  have  a  local open mic or folk club ,get  up and  play  nothing improves  you  faster  than performing .The two  clubs  I  visit  in the  UK  are  genuinely  helpful they  will  not  shoot  you  down  they  will  offer  support .Alternatively use You  tube and  put  your  songs  on here  this  community  is  the  best  and  the  people  here  will always  offer  good  constructive  advice  to  old  and  new  alike .Glad  to  have  you  on board Dean

Re: just started playing

Yeah there is nothing like actually playing to get you goin.  If you are lucky enough to know a drummer or an accomplished guitarist jam with them as much as you can.  Playing alongside another rhythm section is great fun and good for your development. 

If you cant do this then download backing tracks for your favourite songs - the proliferation of these on the internet is another eason why its much easier to learn guitar these days than it was 20 years ago. 

Good work on the finger picking Dino - I havent dont much of that....just a little bit in the sounds of silence by simon and garfunkle.  its tricky (fingerpicking) but sounds very nice.

Re: just started playing

YZ250 wrote:

Yeah there is nothing like actually playing to get you goin.  If you are lucky enough to know a drummer or an accomplished guitarist jam with them as much as you can.  Playing alongside another rhythm section is great fun and good for your development. 

If you cant do this then download backing tracks for your favourite songs - the proliferation of these on the internet is another eason why its much easier to learn guitar these days than it was 20 years ago. 

Good work on the finger picking Dino - I havent dont much of that....just a little bit in the sounds of silence by simon and garfunkle.  its tricky (fingerpicking) but sounds very nice.

You might want too try Down on the corner,by credance clerawater and some other credance tunes.  Also I found that Crossroads by Eric Clapton is pretty east if you play it in an unpluged way and slower.

my papy said son your going too drive me too drinking if you dont stop driving that   Hot  Rod  Lincoln!! Cmdr cody and his lost planet airman

Re: just started playing

I love credence Dino - I would be keen to learn several of their songs.  Up around the bend is a fave...who'll stop the rain is a begineers song too isnt it?

I LOVE crossroads by Eric Clapton - i'll definitely grab some tab for that.  I have been learning a lot of blues tracks since I began - this would would be a nice addition to my repetoire.

Re: just started playing

yz sorry I should have said Crossroads  in the Cream version,its only three chords and eric still is the guitar player

my papy said son your going too drive me too drinking if you dont stop driving that   Hot  Rod  Lincoln!! Cmdr cody and his lost planet airman

Re: just started playing

All good - its basically the same song....12 bar blues in A yeah?  What chords do you use to play it?  7th chords or a shuffle?

Re: just started playing

YZ250 wrote:

I can play C a hell of a lot better and so now im doing the same thing with the dreaded F chord.

Don

You might want too try Down on the Corner

That's a great song to practice the C-F/ F-C change. One of my favorite songs to play.

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[b]Today Is Only Yesterdays Tomorrow[/b]

19 (edited by dino48 2014-08-22 19:45:48)

Re: just started playing

YZ250 wrote:

All good - its basically the same song....12 bar blues in A yeah?  What chords do you use to play it?  7th chords or a shuffle?

I use the Cream version that we have here on chordie so you can pull it up from there, 7th choards  e7,b7 and a7. take a look at the song. You should check out Todays Friday blues post by badeye He posted Mississippi john hurt and You can learn a lot about fingerpicking from him I did. I do Crossroads about the speed he is but you can go slower or faster. Most of credence is pretty easy,Born on a bayou is another good one too start.

my papy said son your going too drive me too drinking if you dont stop driving that   Hot  Rod  Lincoln!! Cmdr cody and his lost planet airman

Re: just started playing

Thanks Dino and Uncle Joe - ill look at the songs mentioned.

Re: just started playing

have fun yz!

my papy said son your going too drive me too drinking if you dont stop driving that   Hot  Rod  Lincoln!! Cmdr cody and his lost planet airman

Re: just started playing

Hello everybody,
I'm also a newbie here. I'm wondering should I learn chords or songs first when I started learning how to play guitar ?

Re: just started playing

guitarclub124 wrote:

Hello everybody,
I'm also a newbie here. I'm wondering should I learn chords or songs first when I started learning how to play guitar ?

Welcome to Chordie and the world of Guitar!

Actually both kind of HAVE to come together...... otherwise it just seems boring and painful.  You will find the chord charts referenced on the song pages to assist you in getting the chord forms right, and the rest is practice and more of the same until you develop muscle memory of the chord shapes and positions that make the charts moot.

  Start out with the easy versions (and you will find them kind of indexed on the left side of the screen) in the "Public Books" section.  Start your own "My Songbook" and add the ones that you are familiar with and/or would like to learn. As you advance you will find it helpful to learn scales and such, but most of the "formal music" stuff is optional for back-porch-campfire playing.

Listen to recorded versions (you tube is good for that) to get the feel of the timing and when the chord changes occur.... it's good to "play along".

Visit here often and seek advise when you have queries, but above all have fun with your music, it's a journey that will give many years of pleasure which you'll never outgrow. The Chordie Community is friendly, supportive and pleased to make your acquaintance.

Welcome Aboard!

Doug

"what is this quintessence of dust?"  - Shakespeare

24 (edited by Strummerboy Bill 2015-08-20 02:37:35)

Re: just started playing

Doug,

Since gc124 is just joining "the world of guitar", and I myself have been in that state of being for quite a while, I was wondering if instructing  our new friend to learn the fretboard and the pentatonic scale is taught by us, or is it mostly an "it's up to them" kinda thing? I'm not being ostentatious, just curious.

If someone had come to me years and years (and years) ago and told me, "Here, you yoyo. That's the way you do it......." wink , I wouldn't have learned all the bad habits I developed.

Thanks

Bill

EDITED TO ADD: I love Mark Knopfler's playing, but I miss Dire Straits smile

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Re: just started playing

Guitarclub...

I like Justinguitar.com method. Free beginner lessons structured to get you playing songs quickly.

It's important, though, to decide whether you want to learn to play guitar (which requires a lot of scales practice and theory) or whether you want to learn to play songs on the guitar (which you can do with a few chords). You can do both in the fullness of time. Justimguitars approach is the latter. He gets you to strumming songs quickly.

Granted B chord amnesty by King of the Mutants (Long live the king).
If it comes from the heart and you add a few beers... it'll be awesome! - Mekidsmom
When in doubt ... hats. - B.G. Dude