Just Pickin on a 6 string...

[45dotACP]

So, in keeping with my typical new years resolution, I have decided I'll learn a new skill this year. Last year was the art of shaving the old fashioned way, and this year, it's music. I suspect it'll take more like a lifetime and less like a year, but my Dad's got an old Guild Dreadnought with all his gear laying around not getting any love and he says regular strumming will keep it from warping. So here's the question:

How?

There's a lot of information out there, but I'd sure like any recommendations as far as where to start, what books to read and any good websites with a minimum of derp. I'm learning the C-A-G-E-D system of open chords right now, but I like things to make sense. Any resources for music theory that are sufficiently dumbed down? Thanks in advance.

[JAD]

If the first or second answer isn't "professional instruction" then this site has been hacked.

[Totem Polar]

Professional instruction, yes. Trust me on that.

That said, the first order of business is goal setting: what style of music do you want to learn? Guitar isn't like, say, cello--where there is a generally accepted genre and pedagogy; guitars outsell all other instruments combined each year. There are *many* different approaches. CAGED chord is one good start: learn them, learn to move and modify them, and you're largely set in terms of one element of music (harmony). CAGED can literally be applied from Bach to Rock, as the old saying goes.

So back to goals: can you name three things you want to be able to do on guitar that you can't do now, or is it more of a "don't know what you don't know" situation currently?

[Range1]

Good professional instruction is always best. I started playing with a guitar some years ago. My son is gifted with being able to pick up any instrument and being able to play within a few minutes. He was picking out recognizable tunes on his Fisher Price piano at around age 4 or 5. He and his brother are the only ones in the family with any musical ability. I can't really even carry a tune, but do enjoy messing around on the guitar in private. No lessons will hepl that. With all that said I found the FastTrak guitar series books with CD to be extremely helpful. No they won't come close to replacing real instruction, but the price was right for my goals and taught me alot in a short time.

[Totem Polar]

Ps: PM sent.
:D

[Irelander]

I've played guitar for many years. I am self taught. I first picked up the old Mel Bay guitar book way back when and that got me a good start. That is where I would start. That will get your feet wet and let you know if professional instruction is necessary.

[orionz06]

Definitely need a goal or you'll be the guy shooting cans on the berm, unless that is the goal and that's cool too. I own the can shooting realm of guitar. Picking up a guitar with the idea of wanting to play is like saying you wanna learn a new language.


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[Reno Sepulveda]

I disagree with all the professional instruction advice. This isn't life and death this is something you're supposedly doing for fun. Learn the basic chords G,C,D, A-minor and E-minor and get a good capo. This equipped you will be able to play dozens of popular songs. So start playing them and also try to sing along as you play. Get that down and start plying with other people that are better tha you are. Have fun.

[will_1400]

Another guitar hobbyist here. Finding a guitar teacher to help you with the basics like chords, various muting techniques, etc, is very helpful. Personally, I took a basic guitar class in high school as a blow-off course for easy credits (classical focus which helped me when I started learning metal). To my surprise I found I enjoyed it and took to teaching myself by looking up tabs for my favorite songs and just practicing them over and over until I could get through them smoothly at about 1/2 tempo (or 1/4 if the tempo is very fast or the passages are complex) and build up my speed from there. I also recommend figuring out what genre of music you want to focus on since different genres tend to focus on different techniques. Being good at galloping heavy metal riffs doesn't exactly translate easily into something like folk or country.

Best of luck to you in the new hobby.

[MVS]

For me the parallels to the gun world are huge. There are natural talents, but most aren't. Skill is more important than equipment but there is a minimum level of quality to make playing easier and more rewarding, it is best to get good professional instruction and so on. Mandolin is my main instrument but I also play guitar. Back when I was really into it I messed with bass and Dobro as well. Much like competing in the gun world, I felt I made my best progress when playing with a group. Early on that can be just getting with a small group of people and jamming. You will of course want to have some chord progressions down pretty well first. Now that I don't play out, I don't practice as much or learn nearly as many new tunes. I have vowed to getting back to practicing more this year again. In the beginning I would practice about 2 hours a day during the weak and 6 a day on weekends.

[Plan]

I taught guitar professionally for a few years in a prior life before going into LE. I've been out of the game for awhile now but I'll throw some ideas out there.

If I were a new student starting out today, I would probably take something of a multi-disciplinary approach to it, trying to seek a balance between an understanding musical theory and keeping it interesting by having fun and not losing sight of your ultimate goal. I would definitely consider taking professional instruction to gain a basic understanding of theory and some of the more subtle dynamic elements that are very hard to learn from a book or video. But just like a shooter that takes classes without practicing on their own, the lessons are a lot less useful without hours of accompanying practice.

Buying/using decent equipment will save you headaches and subsequent practice time. I would definitely recommend seeking out a qualified luthier in your area and having your guitar properly set-up. This can drastically affect the playability of the instrument. If you have any specific questions feel free to PM me.

[UNK]

I went through this same phase once. I rented a guitar and took professional lessons. My instructor had a degree in Music specializing in guitar. He told me that its easier to learn correctly the first time than to overcome improper techniques. It's a lot of fun and satisfying results. Budget lots of time for practice.

[peterb]

Learning an instrument as an adult is painfully slow compared to how fast kids learn, but it's worth it. My mom took up ukulele last year at 83 and syas it's changed how she hears music.

I spent a lot of time looking for the perfect beginner book that would make learning easy. I finally found that no magic book would substitute for practice time.

Do have the setup checked, and consider light strings. A high, stiff action is miserable to learn on.

Do try to find someone to play with. Playing with someone, no matter how badly, is much more fun than playing alone.

There's an app called "The amazing slow downer" which can slow down songs to make learning easier. There are also a lot of metronome and backing tracks available to help with strum timing and make it more fun.