I just love answering these learn guitar questions. Here’s another:
Question: Okay, I think I am getting a guitar for Christmas, and electric of course! Yeah, so, on an electric guitar, what are easy songs for a beginner to learn?
I know this sounds silly, but does a guitarist in a rock band usually play chords or a riff? Is it a riff or chords that drive most songs?
I know I probably sound silly, but please answer.
I look forward to hearing your suggestions.
P.S. If it makes a weird difference in learning how to play (i wouldn’t think so) I’m 13. 
Thanks again!
It may be a little picky, but I like older rock songs – like 90’s and back. Sorry if that makes it harder. Though newer songs by older bands are good…
Someone put Stairway to Heaven – great song. (Led Zeppelin FTW!!) Thats the sort of music I like, as well as 80’s metal like Motley Crue, Scorpions and stuff.
Answer: Being 13 myself, I would recommend some earlier rock songs. Pink Floyd has tons of simple riffs that are fun to play. The first rock song I ever learned was Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd. It’s simple and has both riffs and chords. Fly Away by Lenny Kravitz is also a lot of fun to play and solo to. For a beginners, I recommend picking up a copy of Aaron Stang’s Guitar Rock Shop 1. He shows you how to play the riffs to a lot of hit rock songs and how to lead solo.
Answering your other question, guitarists in rock bands play a lot of both, but I find that the riff is what really hooks me into the song. HOWEVER, you should start by learning the basic chords (A, C, D, E, F, G, etc) and then learn riffs and stuff like that. Try to stay away from guitar tabs in the beginning, because being able to read music is a very valuable skill and will open doors for you to learn other instruments (like piano).
Hope this was of help to you. 
This week’s question is as follows:
Question: Ive learned a few easy songs like plug in baby slowly and seven nation army but where do i really start? Like what should i learn? Cause i dont really have a direction im just playing.
Answer: I’ve never had a formal lesson in my life and now I rock stages all over.
It’s all self motivation. Stray away from "I wanna start on this easy band and work my way up to Metallica and DragonForce" or something.
Best way to learn any instruments, look anywhere online for simple note explanations, learn your chords, maybe check out YouTube for picking and hand exercises to work on a little everyday. Only then, when you’re comfortable with notes, start practicing with some tabs of your favorite songs or playing with online backing tracks. Nothing is funner than jamming along to your favorite songs on your iPod.
Have fun man.
Another learn guitar question has come in this week. Let’s tackle it straight away:
Question: I can play
Crazy train
Eruption
Hot for Teacher
Sweet child o mine
Beat it
purple haze
all along the watchtower
Stairway to heaven
unholy confessions
master of puppets
one
and others i cant remember in suggestions? I have been playing for 2 years
Answer: Hey man,
Good job!!
Keep playing.
Now, I’m 13 also, and I play guitar.
Based on the songs you know, you should learn:
Enter Sandman – Metallica
Scream – Ozzy Osbourne
Smooth Criminal – Michael Jackson
Every Rose has its Thorn – Poison
Keep going strong!!
~~Torgera
What’s this week’s learn guitar question? Let’s dive straight in…
Question: I want to learn electric guitar but was told I have to learn acoustic first!
Answer: Although millions of guitarists learned on acoustic before electric, the notion that you have to learn on acoustic is faulty. You have a nicer learning curve if you start out on a solid body electric than with an acoustic, and if you have no immediate desire to play an acoustic it would be silly to start on one.
At one time aspiring guitarists also had to learn to make their own strings. Time moves on, and just because a previous generation did things one way is not in and of itself reason not to take advantage of today.
btw–I strongly advise beginners against starting on guitars with "tremolo" bars: Most designs make the guitar much more difficult to tune, and a beginner has enough to learn without this extra hurdle.
Keep it simple—Basic solid body guitar, basic practice amp—The frills will still be there when you have learned enough to know what you will want.
This week’s question is as follows:
Question: People are telling me you are supposed to learn electric guitar before bass, you can’t learn electric bass then guitar. I’m beginner and want to get a four stringed electric bass, but now i’m a bit confused on all of this. Help?
Answer: I think you should play piano first if you’re younger (below ten) for about a year. If you’re above ten years old, then you should play bass or regular guitar.
(the reason you should learn piano first is so that you can learn the scales and learn about music)
There’s no such thing that you have to learn guitar before bass. The advantages:
Guitar:
- do solos
- play alone (without a band)
Bass:
- easily get into a band (because there are MANY more guitar players than bass players and all bands need a bass player)
Keep the learn guitar questions coming! I liked this one:
Question: how hard would it be for someone who knows how to read music(ive been playing alto saxophone for 5 years) to learn electric guitar?
Answer: nope but I suggest starting with the accoustic…..when you learn chords….like bar chords…….its kind of cheating….cause its easy on a electric to get the sound. But if you learn on a accoustic it will be better…..it will make you a better guitar player…trust me….I learned with accoustic and the first time I tried electric it was easy….also knowing notes won’t be too hard….cause I believe both use the trouble cliff (guitar does anyways
What’s this week’s question? Let’s dive straight in…
Question: how hard would it be for someone who knows how to read music(ive been playing alto saxophone for 5 years) to learn electric guitar?
Answer: If you want to play faux-thrash metal then you can learn all you need to know in about 5 seconds assuming you have hands. I have a friend who has had trouble with the gat though, not so much with the technical side of things but more with the creative side. He reckons learning to read sheet music and learning theory for piano etc has ruined him for guitar but he’s still a damned good classically structured player in my book. A lot of the skills you use on other instruments are transferable though so it won’t be too difficult for you. The problem is most guitar music is in tablature form so you’ll want to learn to read that at some point.
I’ll tell you the strings are a pain (literally) to get used to untill you get some calluses on your fingers, also you need to develop lobster claw strength in your fret hand. Another tip I’ll give you is try to practice on an acoustic guitar, those are much more brutal to play on so it will develop your hands for bar chords etc. Practicing an hour or two a day you’ll get fairly good in about 6 months. There’s a fair few techniques and tricks you need to learn to play more complex pieces as with any instrument so don’t expect too much too soon. Just give it your all and don’t forget to explore the whole board for better ways of playing pieces.
A tough learn guitar question this week. Let’s dive straight in
Question: ok, i have a electric guitar! and i want to learn how to play it but mom want get me lessons so how do i go about learning?? any websites or stuff that could teach me chords and stuff??
plus, i already know how to tune it so i can skip that step
Answer: Well personally, I think you won’t do as well if you don’t get lessons. So i’d say, ask some friends if they can show you the basics. If not, then you will have to buy lessons yourself.
Learning an instrument is expensive.
This week’s question is a good one. Let’s have a look:
Question: Hi. Im a complete beginner with playing any musical instrument. Recently i brought a cheap electric guitar to begin to attempt to learn how to play it but i have no idea how . I cant afford lessons atm so if anyone could show me a site that teaches even just the basics for free it would be a huge help
Answer: Youtube!
There are SO many tutorials on here, tailoring to all levels and requirements. Type in anything you could want to learn, I dare you! ‘D Chord on Guitar’ for example….I bet you will get loads of videos that will teach you it.
Beyond video tutorials which are I suppose more like real lessons, you can’t go wrong with websites like Ultimate Guitar and Chordie. I’m sure they have all sorts of video and readable lessons you could look at. If I’m honest, I’ve played Guitar for six months and I’m by no means amazing, but I do well by simply watching videos of how to play songs, or just looking up how to play chords and experimenting. It’s as simple as that ! You’ll soon start picking it up. But remember…practice what you learn!
Hope this helps,
Rose
Another learn guitar question has come in this week. Let’s tackle it straight away:
Question: I Have an electric guitar. When I pick it up and play a few chords I feel good and that this will be fun, but after a while I get discouraged and put it down. I am having problems with the A barre chord and changing from one chord to another
Answer: You have to really want to learn to play and you have to realize that it will take a significant amount of time and practice. Don’t even listen to the people who say you can learn to play guitar in a couple months. They have no idea and they have a very negative influence on people who really want to learn to play and think they can’t because it takes them more than a few days to learn to play some chords.
