Learning to play guitar...

[Kotowboy]

I used to teach people Zombie by The Cranberries as the whole song is just

Em - Cmaj7 - G - G/F#

and you can play all 4 chords with just 1 or 2 fingers.

[kirksnosehair]

I'm really not bragging but I've learned how to play so many songs over the years that it would take me hours to come up with a complete list.  Pretty much anything you ever heard on the radio from 1975 until now I've taken a swing at on guitar, piano, sax and/or bass guitar.  Call it the musical baggage of being just this side of 60

What's your breakdown in terms of "time playing"?  Meaning, in any given day or week, how much is guitar, how much is piano, how much is bass....  not talking recording, just playing.   (Does this make sense?  I'm basically going for, if you're going to pick up an instrument what is it most likely to be)?

I consider guitar to be my main instrument, but I was determined to learn piano correctly so about 5 years ago I took about 1 year of professional lessons, brushed up on my very long-dormant music reading chops and actually learned how to play the piano correctly.  Today I can pick up a song like "Piano Man" by Billy Joel or "Come Sail Away" by Styx in a few hours and be able to play them through without any major mistakes with maybe a week of practice.  Learning the piano was the best thing I ever did for myself in terms of really digging into music theory and learning more about how to actually leverage some of what I learned and put it to practical use on my group's next album.   


That said, as of this writing I can competently play clarinet, saxophone (any size, but I prefer tenor), trumpet, piano, guitar, mandolin and bass guitar and I've been dabbling in a bit of harmonica lately on a blues album I'm working on.  I don't have any plans to learn any more instruments, but I am playing every one of these on the album as well as a traditional Navaho Pan flute I bought on a reservation in Arizona back in the 00's.


But even though I started with the clarinet in 1973 and stayed with wind instruments all the way through primary education, I was always infatuated with the guitar because of my father playing it in his band, which I got to watch rehearsing every night in our basement when I was a kid, you know, back before we had electricity and indoor plumbing. 

[wolfking]

These days I just mainly put songs on to play along to.  The other day for instance was just jamming to some Priest and was working through some Tipton solos.  Ram it Down, Heavy Metal, I'm a Rocker, Hard as Iron.  Really fun songs to nail down and jam along to.  On Shot at Glory is a fun one.  KK surprised me with his work on that one.

[kirksnosehair]

These days I just mainly put songs on to play along to.  The other day for instance was just jamming to some Priest and was working through some Tipton solos.  Ram it Down, Heavy Metal, I'm a Rocker, Hard as Iron.  Really fun songs to nail down and jam along to.  On Shot at Glory is a fun one.  KK surprised me with his work on that one.

I used to love jamming along with Judas Priest songs.  Never cared for much of their output after "Screaming for Vengeance" although I LOVE "Firepower"

[wolfking]

These days I just mainly put songs on to play along to.  The other day for instance was just jamming to some Priest and was working through some Tipton solos.  Ram it Down, Heavy Metal, I'm a Rocker, Hard as Iron.  Really fun songs to nail down and jam along to.  On Shot at Glory is a fun one.  KK surprised me with his work on that one.

I used to love jamming along with Judas Priest songs.  Never cared for much of their output after "Screaming for Vengeance" although I LOVE "Firepower"

Defenders for me probably is the most fun album of Priests to jam along to.  Firepower though had some songs I learned too.  Traitors Gate is fun and Richie has a nice technical solo but Rising From Ruins is SO much fun to play.

[ReaperKK]

I was just hoping to get some tips and motivation when I started this thread. 

Guitar has always been a weird love/hate thing with me. There have been so many times I've said "fuck this and fuck this guitar" only to pick it up a few days later and nail that part I've been practicing for weeks, when that happens it is one of the best feelings.

As for first song, I think it was collective souls "December", I do remember the day I got my guitar i kept playing the Enter Sandman intro over and over. How my mom had the patience to listen to that, ill never understand.

[DoctorAction]

So, this has become the DTF Guitar Player's thread now then? let's do away with the whole Musicians subforum! (no seriously, I love discussing actually playing music and this is a fun thread, so I hope this can continue).

Oops! You know, I don't think I've ever looked at that subforum? 

In general terms, and including the covers band, I made a decision quite some time ago to stop learning much detail of other band's songs. I mean, obviously, you need to play other people's stuff to learn anything at all, really, but I prioritised my noodling and my personal style and enjoyment over rigidly learning note-for-note copies. This was a fundamentally great thing for me, and really opened the door to greater satisfaction.

I wish I could do that.  It's a mental block with me, a sort of hurdle.  In my head (I know, I know) I get discouraged if I CAN'T play it like they did.  But that's unreasonable, for a 100 different reasons, especially with studio tracks.   There are a couple tunes I just do however I can, sort of re-arrangements of what was originally played, but it's stressful to me.  .  (I laugh, but I'm not really kidding.)

Yeah, this is something I struggle with too. Most studio tracks have layers of guitars and punched in parts that you can’t just play with one guitar by yourself. I play acoustic, so in terms of playing a whole song, I can play all the underlying chords for a bunch of more basic rock songs, but that’s often not very satisfying because it doesn’t feel like I’m playing the whole song. Then when you get into trying to pick or strum a guitar part exactly the way it is on the album, that’s another story altogether.

A few things spring to mind:
1. I'm a really rough guitar player, but I don't care. Be your own cheerleader. What YOU want to achieve is king. I'm never putting out a hit record so the only one I need to please is ME.
2. It doesn't have to be complex. Look at Ace Frehley on the KISS debut, for example. Or Billy Duffy from The Cult. I'm not aiming to be John Petrucci or Yngwie Malmsteen. I'm aiming for basic but enthusiastic bits of Dave Murray / Alex Lifeson / Jimmy Page or something?
3. It ends up 90% relying on a "bag of tricks" - a collection of the same (or similar) little things that I've been playing around with forever and am confident with.
4. See point 1. 

[v_clortho]

I was 13 at the time.  I'd give my balls to be 13 again 

Your 13 year old self would not be pleased. 

[Stadler]

So, this has become the DTF Guitar Player's thread now then? let's do away with the whole Musicians subforum! (no seriously, I love discussing actually playing music and this is a fun thread, so I hope this can continue).

Oops! You know, I don't think I've ever looked at that subforum? 

In general terms, and including the covers band, I made a decision quite some time ago to stop learning much detail of other band's songs. I mean, obviously, you need to play other people's stuff to learn anything at all, really, but I prioritised my noodling and my personal style and enjoyment over rigidly learning note-for-note copies. This was a fundamentally great thing for me, and really opened the door to greater satisfaction.

I wish I could do that.  It's a mental block with me, a sort of hurdle.  In my head (I know, I know) I get discouraged if I CAN'T play it like they did.  But that's unreasonable, for a 100 different reasons, especially with studio tracks.   There are a couple tunes I just do however I can, sort of re-arrangements of what was originally played, but it's stressful to me.  .  (I laugh, but I'm not really kidding.)

Yeah, this is something I struggle with too. Most studio tracks have layers of guitars and punched in parts that you can’t just play with one guitar by yourself. I play acoustic, so in terms of playing a whole song, I can play all the underlying chords for a bunch of more basic rock songs, but that’s often not very satisfying because it doesn’t feel like I’m playing the whole song. Then when you get into trying to pick or strum a guitar part exactly the way it is on the album, that’s another story altogether.

A few things spring to mind:
1. I'm a really rough guitar player, but I don't care. Be your own cheerleader. What YOU want to achieve is king. I'm never putting out a hit record so the only one I need to please is ME.
2. It doesn't have to be complex. Look at Ace Frehley on the KISS debut, for example. Or Billy Duffy from The Cult. I'm not aiming to be John Petrucci or Yngwie Malmsteen. I'm aiming for basic but enthusiastic bits of Dave Murray / Alex Lifeson / Jimmy Page or something?
3. It ends up 90% relying on a "bag of tricks" - a collection of the same (or similar) little things that I've been playing around with forever and am confident with.
4. See point 1. 

I'm with you 100% on this concept/idea.  I'm capable enough to play with others or to play in front of people, but I'm not pushing the envelope on the instrument, nor do I have the time and incentive to do so.   It does get a shade frustrating when I can play, say, a portion of a song but not another (Hallowed Be Thy Name comes to mind; for whatever reason I have trouble with that intro the way Dave plays it so cleanly), or when a particular skillset eludes me (I'd love to be able to play that sweep-picking arpeggio thingy that Yngwie does; watching him do it live from the front row a year or so ago was a revelatory experience), but I get most of what I want out of the instrument at this stage of the game.

[Skeever]

This thread inspired me to make this:
https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=56174.0

Take heed, guitar guys!

[MinistroRaven]

PAWN SHOPS.   

I would NOT recommend buying at a Pawn shop for a beginner who does not know what he is buying.  Quick way to end up with a lemon.

Not as argument, but for discussion purposes, I think that's true of anything above an entry level guitar.  We have three (used to have four) pawn shops around me, and one more around where my daughter used to go to high school, and I would often stop in to kill time (you can often get video games and CDs for a couple bucks, tops.  Especially CDs.)   You rarely see any Gibson guitars, and only occasionally will you see a Fender, and that's 99% of the time a Mexican strat.  I'd stay away from those if you don't know what you're looking at.  They are there for one of two reasons:  the coke dealer wouldn't take it in trade, or they couldn't move it at a guitar shop/to a collector.   

But I'll bet if I walked into those four shops today, two of them would have a Squier strat that is in very good working condition, and was a starter instrument for someone that either moved on to something better or decided that motorcycles were more fun.   Epiphone too, though less so (since the Epiphone guitars are more expensive to start with).   

Either way, he said he's looking for an acoustic, so you're probably more right than I am, in that you probably do need to be able to see if the neck is straight, or the body is warped.  But you can still probably find an Ovation Celebrity (if you don't mind the curved back) or a Yamaha for cheap.

Are mexican strats bad? I ask because just today I bought one that was first purchased on 1996. I don´t know to play guitar, but it was a good deal, and it might lead me to learn to play it.

[Architeuthis]

These days I just mainly put songs on to play along to.  The other day for instance was just jamming to some Priest and was working through some Tipton solos.  Ram it Down, Heavy Metal, I'm a Rocker, Hard as Iron.  Really fun songs to nail down and jam along to.  On Shot at Glory is a fun one.  KK surprised me with his work on that one.

I used to love jamming along with Judas Priest songs.  Never cared for much of their output after "Screaming for Vengeance" although I LOVE "Firepower"

Defenders for me probably is the most fun album of Priests to jam along to.  Firepower though had some songs I learned too.  Traitors Gate is fun and Richie has a nice technical solo but Rising From Ruins is SO much fun to play.

We used to play Electric Eye in our cover band a few years ago. It was a lot of fun.  We would close our set with four heavier songs and they were Electric Eye, Two Minutes to Midnight, Holy Diver, and Working Man.
I kind of miss those days..

[T-ski]

Seeing this thread bumped reminds I’ve all but given up on this quest.

Maybe it’ll help to rejuvenate me.

[Lonk]

Are mexican strats bad? I ask because just today I bought one that was first purchased on 1996. I don´t know to play guitar, but it was a good deal, and it might lead me to learn to play it.

Depends on the guitar. The usual issue I've encountered with Mexican strats is the neck is rough and dries quickly. Other than that, they aren't bad guitars.

[Elite]

Seeing this thread bumped reminds I’ve all but given up on this quest.

Maybe it’ll help to rejuvenate me.

What made you stop?

[MinistroRaven]

Are mexican strats bad? I ask because just today I bought one that was first purchased on 1996. I don´t know to play guitar, but it was a good deal, and it might lead me to learn to play it.

Depends on the guitar. The usual issue I've encountered with Mexican strats is the neck is rough and dries quickly. Other than that, they aren't bad guitars.

This one seems to be in very good shape. Now I am on the market for an amp. What would be your advise?

[HOF]

So how often do people change their guitar strings? I’ve had my acoustic guitar for almost six years and have never changed them. Never broke a string so never felt the need to. The strings do feel kind of cruddy though. I’d have to take it somewhere since I have no idea how to do it myself and it looks complicated. Am I going to damage my guitar if I don’t? I imagine it might sound better if so do, but I don’t have anything to compare it to, so it sounds fine to me.

[Elite]

So how often do people change their guitar strings? I’ve had my acoustic guitar for almost six years and have never changed them. Never broke a string so never felt the need to. The strings do feel kind of cruddy though. I’d have to take it somewhere since I have no idea how to do it myself and it looks complicated. Am I going to damage my guitar if I don’t? I imagine it might sound better if so do, but I don’t have anything to compare it to, so it sounds fine to me.

Changing strings isn't complicated at all, but I've done it dozens of times. You're definitely going to hear (and feel) a difference, especially on an acoustic guitar. In general it will sound brighter and fuller and the playability will go up a ton as well; you might have gotten used to your strings feeling stiff and murky, but that's not how strings are 'supposed' to be.

How often you change strings depends a lot on how often much you play your guitar, but also other factors like your house's humidity levels, or whether or not you keep the guitar in a bag or case. I would recommend keeping steel-stringed acoustics in a bag or case at least. Back when I had just one guitar I would use for everything, I'd be changing strings every month or two. Now it's down to about every 6 months, but also dependent on whether or not I need the guitar in question for a recording or a gig. Changing strings is always a nice moment, because the guitar will sound better because of it. If I'm playing a guitar daily, I'll still change the strings every two months or so. There's contrary examples as well; my jazz guitar has flatwound strings and they can last a lot longer.

In short though, change your strings (at least a little often) and the guitar will sound better. Especially after 6 years. It'll feel nicer to play as well. Take it somewhere if you must and if you do, ask to give the fretboard a good cleaning too.

[Evermind]

And I think it's actually not that difficult to change strings on acoustic guitars (compared to classical at least). It's a little scary first time especially if your guitar is expensive but the process is very intuitive.

[MinistroRaven]

https://www.iwanttoplayguitar.com/#shopify-section-1587766972104

Thinking about enrolling to this one!

[Elite]

If you have the option to go to a private tutor (in real life, preferably), I'd always recommend that over video lessons.

[MinistroRaven]

If you have the option to go to a private tutor (in real life, preferably), I'd always recommend that over video lessons.

I will try to find one, thanks for the advise.

[Lonk]

Now I am on the market for an amp. What would be your advise?

Since you are just starting out, you don't need anything expensive or big. I would recommend a small modeling amp where you can get a variety of tones from it without the need for pedals.

Line 6, as bad as their reputation was, have improve their amps a lot in the last 5 years or so. The Line 6 Spider series that wont cost much are descent beginners amps. Fender and Marshall also have a few inexpensive options for amps, so worth looking into those. Just my opinion.

So how often do people change their guitar strings? I’ve had my acoustic guitar for almost six years and have never changed them. Never broke a string so never felt the need to. The strings do feel kind of cruddy though. I’d have to take it somewhere since I have no idea how to do it myself and it looks complicated. Am I going to damage my guitar if I don’t? I imagine it might sound better if so do, but I don’t have anything to compare it to, so it sounds fine to me.

Yeah as others have mentioned, it depends how often you play them, but the most I wait to change them is 6 months. I usually have a few packs around just in case.

[T-ski]

Seeing this thread bumped reminds I’ve all but given up on this quest.

Maybe it’ll help to rejuvenate me.

What made you stop?

This is going to sound so ass backwards…..

We did some rearranging of rooms when my wife started working from home a year and a half ago. The room I used to piddle around with the guitar became my sons bedroom, his old bedroom became his game room, his old game room became my wife’s office and I was given the basement to create a man cave.  I’m actually pretty pleased with how my man cave came out, but again it’s in the basement, so the guitar is out of sight, which turns into out of mind after time.

So what I thought would give me the freedom to continue learning actually did the opposite.

I still continue to watch video tips and really pay attention to guitarists when they play to try and pick up on things, but the physical part of playing just isn’t happening.

[Elite]

Watching videos without actually playing has never made anyone better at playing guitar

5 minutes a day is better than half an hour a week, but of course the enjoyment has to be there as well. I play at least an hour, often more, every day and I don't even have to think of it. It's just what I do.

[TheBarstoolWarrior]

forgive me if this is in the wrong section, but the "Musicians" section didn't look as active, so....

I want to learn to play the guitar.

Sounds simple enough but I could use some good suggestions pertaining to equipment, lessons, etc.

Heres my story.  I'm 47 years old, played sax through high school (mostly for fun, not much practicing).  I did play the cello way back in 5th grade, but I doubt anything has been retained since then.

I'd just like to learn some basics, piddle around and just see if its something I can do.

Thanks for any leads you can give me.

Realize I am over a year late to this (LOL) but would be curious to know how you are doing with guitar. Like you, I played sax (started at 10y); I never really connected with it. A few years later I found guitar, which spoke to me instantly.

I think starting out with open chords (C,D,G,A,E) and learning a 3 chord song is the best way to get the wheels turning. It's challenging but also achievable and gratifying and in a week or two you'll find that you can play very basic songs already.

[LithoJazzoSphere]

So how often do people change their guitar strings? I’ve had my acoustic guitar for almost six years and have never changed them. Never broke a string so never felt the need to. The strings do feel kind of cruddy though. I’d have to take it somewhere since I have no idea how to do it myself and it looks complicated. Am I going to damage my guitar if I don’t? I imagine it might sound better if so do, but I don’t have anything to compare it to, so it sounds fine to me.

Changing strings isn't complicated at all, but I've done it dozens of times. You're definitely going to hear (and feel) a difference, especially on an acoustic guitar. In general it will sound brighter and fuller and the playability will go up a ton as well; you might have gotten used to your strings feeling stiff and murky, but that's not how strings are 'supposed' to be.

How often you change strings depends a lot on how often much you play your guitar, but also other factors like your house's humidity levels, or whether or not you keep the guitar in a bag or case.

Also on how much you sweat and how acidic it is.  It additionally makes a bigger difference in tone on acoustics than on electrics.  Tuning and intonation can also be affected when the strings get old.  That said, I don't change my strings nearly as often as I should.  I have a number with Floyd Rose or other floating bridges, and that's a bit more involved. 

[DoctorAction]

If in doubt, change strings. I used to do it monthly when I was playing one guitar all the time but now do it a few times a year as I float between a few.

Makes a huge difference, though. Wakes the whole instrument up.

[HOF]

Thanks guys, sounds like I need to get mine changed for sure. Maybe I can get someone to show me and then I can keep up with it myself.

[DoctorAction]

Thanks guys, sounds like I need to get mine changed for sure. Maybe I can get someone to show me and then I can keep up with it myself.

Find a YouTube video. No drama.. Easy peasy. 

[Stadler]

Are mexican strats bad? I ask because just today I bought one that was first purchased on 1996. I don´t know to play guitar, but it was a good deal, and it might lead me to learn to play it.

Depends on the guitar. The usual issue I've encountered with Mexican strats is the neck is rough and dries quickly. Other than that, they aren't bad guitars.

This one seems to be in very good shape. Now I am on the market for an amp. What would be your advise?

I have a Mexican Strat, and I like it.  It's a little unforgiving in how the neck plays, but I like it.

There are a lot of good, inexpensive amps out there; it depends how serious you are and what you're hoping to achieve.  Fender makes a quality solid-state amp that you can probably get used for $100 or less.   You jump price points if you want to get right in at the tube-level.

Others here will know a LOT more than I do about this, though.

[Stadler]

So how often do people change their guitar strings? I’ve had my acoustic guitar for almost six years and have never changed them. Never broke a string so never felt the need to. The strings do feel kind of cruddy though. I’d have to take it somewhere since I have no idea how to do it myself and it looks complicated. Am I going to damage my guitar if I don’t? I imagine it might sound better if so do, but I don’t have anything to compare it to, so it sounds fine to me.

Changing strings isn't complicated at all, but I've done it dozens of times. You're definitely going to hear (and feel) a difference, especially on an acoustic guitar. In general it will sound brighter and fuller and the playability will go up a ton as well; you might have gotten used to your strings feeling stiff and murky, but that's not how strings are 'supposed' to be.

How often you change strings depends a lot on how often much you play your guitar, but also other factors like your house's humidity levels, or whether or not you keep the guitar in a bag or case.

Also on how much you sweat and how acidic it is.  It additionally makes a bigger difference in tone on acoustics than on electrics.  Tuning and intonation can also be affected when the strings get old.  That said, I don't change my strings nearly as often as I should.  I have a number with Floyd Rose or other floating bridges, and that's a bit more involved.

 Not quoting anyone specific, just using the "strings" discussion, but... do you wipe your strings down with anything? Any fluids?  Can you "clean" strings, or is the only good way of doing that to just replace them?

[Lonk]

I used something like this before.



You pretty much slide that thing up and down the neck (of the guitar). It helps if your strings are old, but I usually just change the strings before it gets to the point that this would make a difference. I know there are products are well to condition the strings (Dunlop makes a few different ones), but those I never used before.

[Skeever]

Are mexican strats bad? I ask because just today I bought one that was first purchased on 1996. I don´t know to play guitar, but it was a good deal, and it might lead me to learn to play it.

Depends on the guitar. The usual issue I've encountered with Mexican strats is the neck is rough and dries quickly. Other than that, they aren't bad guitars.

This one seems to be in very good shape. Now I am on the market for an amp. What would be your advise?

I have a Mexican Strat, and I like it.  It's a little unforgiving in how the neck plays, but I like it.

There are a lot of good, inexpensive amps out there; it depends how serious you are and what you're hoping to achieve.  Fender makes a quality solid-state amp that you can probably get used for $100 or less.   You jump price points if you want to get right in at the tube-level.

Others here will know a LOT more than I do about this, though.

What don't you like about the neck? Jagged fret edges? There's no harm in taking a bit of sandpaper to those I don't think.

Another great affordable amp is the boss katana. They've got really great "clean", "classic rock", and "all out metal" gain stages.

I'd avoid tubes unless you're playing with others or have the space and ability to blow the windows out. I have a 20-watt Marshall tube head and a 15-watt Fender Blues Jr, and both are way too loud to crank at home. You're not getting any of the benefits of playing with tubes if it's just at bedroom levels, unless you're looking at the boutique market of very low wattage tube amps.

[Elite]

Not quoting anyone specific, just using the "strings" discussion, but... do you wipe your strings down with anything? Any fluids?  Can you "clean" strings, or is the only good way of doing that to just replace them?

Washing your hands before playing solves a lot already, so I always do that. Just making sure they're not greasy or dirty before playing. I also often wipe strings with a cloth after playing as well. I don't even know if this helps preserve them a little longer, but there's no harm.