Korean Job Discussion Forums

[camelina]

Hi guitar players,

Just bought my first guitar yesterday, in an effort to find a new hobby. I've never really held a guitar so needless to say last night was pretty interesting. My boyfriend was going bonkers on his bass as im twinking away at mine, singing Lisa Loeb's "stay" jokingly.

Finally he sat down and semi explained 'tab' reading to me. Been on some sites and right now I am perfecting my Mary had a little lamb and the beginning of Deep Purple's "smoke on the water".

Can anyone tell me good websites to learn to play the guitar. My bf says I don't need to learn to read music, and tab is the way to go.

Any advice for a newbie to the guitar?

Thanks!

[camelina]

Wow everyone after 10 hours I can't thank everyone enough for your help!!!

Luckily for me I did come across something on my own.... so if this is useful to anyone else, let ME SHARE some information:

http://www.guitarnoise.com/article.php?id=78

[Tiger Beer]

Hi Camelina.

Your boyfriend is right though that you don't need to read music and that guitar tablature is all you need.

So whats on your list of songs you want to practice and play?

[eamo]

The best way to start IMO is to get a chord chart of the basic root chords. Let's say, E, A, D, C, G, F. That's enough to begin with.

Then check a website for easy songs you like which use those chords. For example, Knocking on Heavens Door is only G, D and A minor/C all the way through. Play the music and strum along.

That's how I learned about 20 years ago. In fact, that's where I still am!!!!

[camelina]

Hey guys thanks!

I just learned E and E minor tonite.... Im a pretty slow learner, plus my fingers have permanent guitar string lines in them and are throbbing in pain. I also perfected my deep purple beginning and a brand spanking new version of mary had a little lamb

Tomorrow's goal is A and A minor.... try and learn and remember two a nite.....

btw... is there a surgery where one can get her fingers stretched?????

Id like to learn to play Name by the goo goo dolls, My favorite song, and then some basic Green Day as their stuff seems pretty simple.

[eamo]

It's amazing but after a couple of months your fingers will stretch to those strings you thought you could never reach.

Then it's time to try barre chords!! Ouch!!

[Tiger Beer]

Actually I am now thinking about my first three chords.

I learned A, C & E. These were the chords to 'Wild Thing'. When I first started, it was really hard to keep my fingers on the right chords, and the transition was really hard. I think it took about a month of practice to get my fingers to do that easily.

Once I got one song down and the transition it needed.. I went to learning other chords.

[AdamH]

Practice, practice, practice. In a week or two your fingers won't hurt anymore, though they might look a bit battle-scarred.

http://www.mysongbook.com/

is a pretty good website with lots of tabs for all kinds of music.

Put on a CD/MP3 etc of a few simple songs you really like (i.e. you can stand listening to them over and over ad nauseum), print off the tab, and learn a few seconds' worth at a time. Take your time and don't feel put-off if something takes hours to sink in; it's much more rewarding to get something sounding right than to just rush through it.

Once you've gotten a few basics down, start seeing if you can work out things by ear alone - it's excellent training and your playing will really come on leaps and bounds. "Stay" is a pretty good song to try after a few months as, IIRC, it has at most two guitar parts and the recording is nice and distinct - provided that you have a reasonable quality stereo and good headphones. These are definitely worth the investment.

Hope this helps.

[Harpeau]

Here are a few ideas. Talk to your boyfriend about possibly lowering the "action" of your guitar buy using an allen key to turn the trust rod of the guitar. High action may be why your fingers are hurting. As well, it might be just that you need to develop calasis.

Get a good Keiser capo. It'll add to your chord knowledge.

Check out "horse with no name" by america. It's only a couple of chords.

Get your friends to teach you various ways of placing chords on a fretboard. You just might find a few creative easier ways of doing something.

Learn music. If you have the time and inclination, then do it. Learn tabs and chords, but also learn to sight read. It can only help you become a better artist.

www.tabrobot.com is a good place to find some cool songs. They search many different sites so that's really cool.

What's the make and model of your guitar? Does it sound alright?

All the best on your journey. Keep on strumming!

Harpeau

[camelina]

Mmmm thank Harpeau but you might as well be speaking Chinese to me with some of that terminology. If you read my original post, yesterday was the first day I ever held a guitar. Make and model is some cheapy starter guitar I picked up in Songtan... sound aight, got a tuner with it and all, and Im keepin my baby in check.

So.. it looks like "knocking on heavens door" is the going favorite...
Can someone give me a good link to a tab of that song... Ive found a few, but would rather have one that i know is right on.

Any other songs that are recognizable, easy (3 chords max) for a beginner to learn?


I guess the chords i learned tonite will be of no use to me.

[the saint]

http://www.olga.net/

all the songs you'll ever need... some in tab, some in chords... your b'friend might enjoy the bass stuff there too

[trevorcollins]

[drgoo]

A good setup is the best thing for making it easy to play from the start. Setting up a guitar involves both the neck relief (adjusting the truss rod) as well as bridge and nut height. If you can find somebody who knows what they're doing it'll be the best thing for you.

I paid for the majority of my university education playing the guitar. I used to put cigarettes out on my callouses as bar gags. Marriage put a HUGE damper on my musical life, but now I'm back in it, gigging weekly and recording.

Keep playing through the pain and you'll either develop callouses and strength, or you'll suffer debilitating damage that could prevent you from ever working again.

In any case, enjoy the new hobby. It's a terrific way to express yourself and be creative.

All the best,
dg

[Harpeau]

Great advice drgoo.here This guy can help you set up your guitar with a nice low action. He does all my guitars and I've always been satisfied with his work. His name is Mr. Won (bottom left) and he's usually there after 2pm most days (except Sunday). He charges between 5- 20k won. I highly recommend him.

All the best!