Guitarists

[JimboNZ]

I've just started learning guitar (part of the teaching course ) so I went out and got an acoustic guitar of my own and been practicing a bit. Do any of you more experienced guitarists have any tips for a beginner? Good websites to go to? Exercises to do?

At the moment im finding transitioning between chords kinds clumsy, and my fingers are kinda short, seems I have to really stretch them out sometimes.

Any help appreciated

[Brianemone]

I found that my fingers limbered up with time and practice. I used to practice changing between chords back and forth.

[fluxcore]

Uh yeah, just keep practicing.

As long as you do it regularly, you'll notice improvements all the time. Just have fun with it.

[Mriceguy]

I'm trying to learn guitar as well. If you're teaching yourself like I am I think you need to get yourself a book. I bought Alfred's Basic Guitar Method Complete which has been quite helpful and I'm still working my way through it.

But the key ingredient to learning guitar is perseverance. If you put off practice more than once, you're more than likely gonna find it harder to go back to.

[Vivasanti]

ive played guitar for nearly 9 years now, learn some scales namely the major/minor pentatonic blues/major scales start with those first 2 and keep playing them over and over also learn all the major chords just start with G/C/D etc

and also play stuff you enjoy playing, if theres a song you like practice the intro or a section thats easy to play once you get some notes down it will give you a motivation boost to try harder/ play more.

Also make your own stuff up, heres a riff ive been working on its a drum and bass ditty still a bit ruff but you get the idea http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2csHv3w4rQU

Learn to read tablature it will make learning very easy if you dont like reading music

[Vivasanti]

also get Guitar Pro and get tabs from http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/ you can slow down songs/make your own its very very easy to use and many guitarist swear by it, ive used it for a long long time and its hands down the best program for learning.

[WaxerNZ]

I dont know about guitars but my cousin and I just got back from buying him drum kit.

[JimboNZ]

Cool thanks for the tips guys. I learned to read tabs over the weekend and found: http://www.gametabs.net/

Legend of zelda tabs go! I can already play the start of zeldas lullaby pretty well

[Vivasanti]

Nice ive always been a sucker for game tunes, espesh the street fighter themes, keep playing what you want to play and you will always enjoy it.

if ya ever have any questions pop me a pm and ill always been keen to help.

[Wugga]

Originally Posted by JimboNZ

Cool thanks for the tips guys. I learned to read tabs over the weekend and found: http://www.gametabs.net/

Legend of zelda tabs go! I can already play the start of zeldas lullaby pretty well

Ohhh their site layout has changed since I was there last. Pshhh Zelda theme, Sonic 3, Ice Cap Zone is where it's at.

[JimboNZ]

Originally Posted by Wugga

Ohhh their site layout has changed since I was there last. Pshhh Zelda theme, Sonic 3, Ice Cap Zone is where it's at.

Yea, Ill give that a go in a few years maybe The zelda tunes are relatively easy

[Wugga]

Originally Posted by JimboNZ

Yea, Ill give that a go in a few years maybe The zelda tunes are relatively easy

Yeah, I think it needs multiple guitars too. Might try to get Gar to do the bassline, once he gets over this heavy metal phase of his...

[FaceAche]

Originally Posted by JimboNZ

At the moment im finding transitioning between chords kinds clumsy, and my fingers are kinda short

If you're changing between two chords, try and find a common note between the chords that you can pivot your hand on. Like if you're going from D to E, your index finger can stay on the same 1st-fret-G-string note for both chords, so you can pivot the rest of your fingers around this note when changing the chord.

Economy of Fingering!!

Everything Vivasanti has said is also good advice, but i'd also like to add experimenting; just put your fingers on the fretboard and make some sounds. Experiment with it, find something that sounds good to you and work on it, expand it etc. Theory is great, but don't get bogged down with what's musically acceptable!

I remember a guy i was jamming with a few years ago yelling "You can't go to that chord?!?! It's not musically resolute!!", and me screaming back "Yeah i know!! Cool eh?!?" with a big "fuck-you" grin on my face.

[VictoryFist]

Get a really cool looking guitar and let it play you, INSTANT POON MAGNET!

[JimboNZ]

I tried playing a few different chords tonight. I had problems with the G chord and in general any other chord that involves me stretching my fingers out across the neck. I have kinda short fingers so I can't arch my fingers and sometimes I end up ruining the sound because my finger flesh is touching another string slightly. Any tips?