Can Anyone Play Guitar
- Thread starter ShaunB-91
- Start date
jamesriley94
New member
I do a little.
Where you start depends entirely on what you want to play.
Do you have any musical knowledge on other instruments?
Where you start depends entirely on what you want to play.
Do you have any musical knowledge on other instruments?
Not really no, erm maybe a little bit from doing music in high school but I gave the subject up once I got to year nine, I'm 21 now...
Feronix
New member
I guess the best thing you could do is taking lessons, though we all know these can be expensive. I would recommend getting 2-3 lessons though, you won't *have* to continue after that (although it would probably help you learn faster) but at least that way you get someone to show you exactly how things work, like how to hold it, tips and tricks and what not. Those things are just easier to learn face to face than from the internet.
If you don't know how to read notes I gues there are always tabs. Do learn how to read them though, if you only use tabs, you won't have a very high learning curve. Besides, tabs are made by people like you and me. They know how to read notes and then take the time to tab it out for beginners, they often contain errors so as I said; They might help you in the beginning, but they won't help you learn very much.
Maybe you have a friend or family member that plays and is willing to help you out for a bit?
If you don't know how to read notes I gues there are always tabs. Do learn how to read them though, if you only use tabs, you won't have a very high learning curve. Besides, tabs are made by people like you and me. They know how to read notes and then take the time to tab it out for beginners, they often contain errors so as I said; They might help you in the beginning, but they won't help you learn very much.
Maybe you have a friend or family member that plays and is willing to help you out for a bit?
SuB
The Webmaster
I've bought one a few years ago after enjoy Rockband type stuff, but very quickly realised it's more difficult than i thought
Recently got into playing rocksmith which i'm told is one of the best learning tools out there. It doesn't teach you in the traditional way at all, and some people look down on that. But turning it into a game and making it work this way is really good I've found. I can play a few songs fairly well, definitely learning stuff as I go.
It does make it fun I find, which is a good thing
Of course, you need to invest in a guitar and a cable for it (but if you were going to learn anyway, this isn't an issue).
Worth a look, it's still fairly cheap on steam, although the new one isn't a million miles away from being released....
Recently got into playing rocksmith which i'm told is one of the best learning tools out there. It doesn't teach you in the traditional way at all, and some people look down on that. But turning it into a game and making it work this way is really good I've found. I can play a few songs fairly well, definitely learning stuff as I go.
It does make it fun I find, which is a good thing
Of course, you need to invest in a guitar and a cable for it (but if you were going to learn anyway, this isn't an issue).
Worth a look, it's still fairly cheap on steam, although the new one isn't a million miles away from being released....
jamesriley94
New member
Start by learning a few chords.
Websites like ultimate guitar are useful for just getting chords for songs you like and playing along to them. Ignore strumming for now, just do a single strum at each change or you'll get into a mess.
Just get used to playing a chord, then finding your way to the next one to play that on time. You'll soon be able to do this way more fluently and then you'll pick up strumming patterns.
I would agree with Feronix to start a couple of lessons maybe, but it depends how good you really want to be. If you can play pretty much every chord and be able to change to each quickly, then you'll soon start enjoying playing along to songs, and then you'll be able to progress to tabs and solos if you want.
Websites like ultimate guitar are useful for just getting chords for songs you like and playing along to them. Ignore strumming for now, just do a single strum at each change or you'll get into a mess.
Just get used to playing a chord, then finding your way to the next one to play that on time. You'll soon be able to do this way more fluently and then you'll pick up strumming patterns.
I would agree with Feronix to start a couple of lessons maybe, but it depends how good you really want to be. If you can play pretty much every chord and be able to change to each quickly, then you'll soon start enjoying playing along to songs, and then you'll be able to progress to tabs and solos if you want.
Feronix
New member
That really depends tbh...
But as I said, you only have to take a few to learn the basics. You'd be surprised by how many people actually HOLD their guitar wrong because they don't know any better :mellow: It would give you a great headstart over teaching yourself.
SPS
Moderator
A video game that teaches you how to play guitar, there couldn't be a better solution.
Feronix
New member
That depends as well. A music school is usually cheaper than private lessons, but having private lessons the teacher focusses only on you, not a (small) group so you'll learn faster.
You'll just have to look around for something locally.
Yea I wouldn't bother with Rocksmith tbh. It doesn't really do anything that you cant just do on your own by learning the instrument normally. Youtube has a lot of tutorial videos all over it which is a good place to start. Generally I would agree with the statement about lessons. It's definitely a good idea to at least have a few so that someone can help you to get to grips with the instrument itself. I found that for the first 3 years I was playing, I progressed so much more than I have since simply because I had lessons. Even though my lessons were basically just running through exercises from a book with my teacher telling me what I was doing wrong and how to correct it they sort of force you into practicing at least for the duration of the lessons which to me was invaluable. Unfortunately I had to stop due to not being able to afford them anymore. If you can afford lessons, then I would definitely go for it as they are extremely useful. That being said there are a lot of great self taught guitarists out there. Best thing to do is to get a guitar and and just try it out. Look up some chord shapes and basic beginner guides on youtube and see how far you can get. The Rockschool grade books are also quite useful in learning how to play.
SuB
The Webmaster
p.s. Rocksmith comes with some nifty lessons and useful hints tips and a chord book and stuff, techniques videos and training etc.. It's a very resourceful little game...
oh no, nothing apart from rythm, timing, hand positioning, chord positioning, strumming techniques, learning sections of songs at your own pace and speed, introducing games to make you learn kinestetics and more advanced techniques more naturally...
and not to mention it's actually quite fun, rewarding and adapts to your skill level pretty quickly and will actively push and encourage you to do better... without paying x per hour to do so?
oh no, nothing apart from rythm, timing, hand positioning, chord positioning, strumming techniques, learning sections of songs at your own pace and speed, introducing games to make you learn kinestetics and more advanced techniques more naturally...
and not to mention it's actually quite fun, rewarding and adapts to your skill level pretty quickly and will actively push and encourage you to do better... without paying x per hour to do so?
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SPS
Moderator
No tutorial video will actively give you feedback.
Also you can't recommend lessons and say the reason against rocksmith is that it isn't free
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No tutorial video will actively give you feedback.
Also you can't recommend lessons and say the reason against rocksmith is that it isn't free
Not trying to argue this, just curious, but what feedback does it give? If it is just whether you were in time or not or if you are playing the correct notes, I don't really see that as a reason to buy it as most people are gonna be able to tell those things by themselves especially over time with learning. It can't tell you whether your technique is correct as it cant see you surely?
I will admit I don't know a huge amount about the game, Is there something I'm missing about the way it interacts with the user?
I also said that I would recommend lessons if he can afford them, that would apply also to rocksmith if he wanted to get it. I realise the way I structured my response wasn't the best.
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