This week’s question is a good one. Let’s have a look:
Question:Acoustic and electric.
All I wanna be able to do is play some of my favorite songs for fun.
Oh and if I’m ever a hobo I just wanna play in the street for money.
Plus it’s a babe magnet
Answer:Im 16 and I literally just started learning week ago. And yes, yes it is a babe magnet.
Question:I’m so excited, I’m getting a guitar soon and I’m saving up money for lessons(:
Is it hard to learn? How long do you think it will be before I get good?(I’m taking lessons soon)
I already play the cello and some piano and I caught on the both pretty fast…
Guitar players, could you explain to me how to strum and stuff also??? I’ve never understood how you do that!! Lol(:
Thanks so much in advance(:
Answer:Having a musical background with the cello and the piano is to your advantage when learning to play the guitar. Playing the cello should have given you the needed calluses already so that’s a plus too. Nevertheless, you will encounter difficulties as you progress and that is normal. You must remain confident and motivated to play the instrument.
With the guitar your fingers will rebel against having to form chords in awkward ways. You must train them and that will take many hours and patience on your part. Every guitarist has gone through this and you can as well.
Learning the techniques of strumming is best done with one-on-one instruction with someone proficient in the guitar. As you know, music is set apart with metric signatures and each time signature requires different approaches in rhythm. Remember, the first beat gets the stronger beat in 3/4 time; the first and third beats are strong in 4/4 time and cut time.
I might add that guitar music is sounded and played a full octave below the standard piano tuning. The Middle C on the piano is the guitar’s high C note.
Be patient, stay motivated and focused and you will do well.
A learn guitar question that should definitely interest you all this week
Question:I know no instruments(playing wise), and I am horrible at singing. I thought that I could learn guitar, but just to make it sure that it wont be wastage of money to purchase a new guitar, I thought of learning it on a pc simulator, do you guys think that it is possible to learn how to play guitar on a simulator? Given that I know only the spelling of guitar and no more about it. Please guide me.
Answer:noooo! playing guitar online is terrible. i tried, and you will not know anything. you will just strum random strings. theres so many chords you need to learn. i think you should learn it by hand and get lessons. i tought myself how to play guitar for about 6 months, and now im playing songs on my own. its really quite easy
This week’s question is a good one. Let’s have a look:
Question:I want to learn to play the bass, but as of right now I don’t have the money to. But what are some good basses, not too expensive but not too cheap?
And should I pay for lessons or teach myself how to play? The only thing I would need to get down is the frets.
Thanks for whoever helps
Answer:alot of people i see here post things such as ”i taught myself piano its easy”
let me say any instrument is easy (&these are most likely the ramblings of people who have only played their instruments a few months), but to properly play it & understand what the heck your doing (this helps your creative process when writing your own stuff or just in general) is another different matter.
i could be taught to recite out 10 basic piano tunes, but give me the likes of Mozarts music & ask me to use certain techniques that are heard on piano. i would fail (as would all the people claiming ”its easy” on their respective instruments)
eg most typical rock/pop bass-lines are pretty much easy & can be taught in a matter of days, however if you go to jazz/funk you will find the bass to be one of the hardest instruments in that genre to use due to it being so up-front.
eg most acoustic guitar songs use relatively simple chords thus by logic then the entire genre is ”easy to learn” however you can look further into the genre at the likes of Phil Keaggy/Newton Faulkner and see that there are ways to express in an even more difficult technical manner acoustic music
the problem with teaching yourself guitar (or any instrument) is that alot of people give up they get frustrated. (supposedly 90% of self taught musicians quit whilst quoting statistics are generally wrong i wouldn’t put it past being a damn high figure especially as its such a common method for a first timer to start out this way)
also alot of people can ”play” guitar, ie bang out a few songs & intros eg starirway to heaven. But there is a notable difference heard between a self-taught guitarist playing a song & a trained guitarist, the trained guitarist will know how to play the song rather than just play the skeleton melody (ie trained will understand note duration, muting & various other techniques that adds more to the song).
guitarists are a dime a dozen, everybody plays guitar (heck i play guitar) however a decent guitarist is hard to find this is where you can benifit from lessons as most people don’t take lessons thus their main experience is from playing live if they ever manage to as self-teaching doesn’t help confidence.
Lessons are definitely a great idea, a teacher can show you techniques & correct you. i still get corrected over things i do at my lessons.
alot of the internet resources aren’t that great, again it is alot of amateurs with bad technique posting who started out similar to you, or looking to make a quick buck, any person worth their weight on an instrument will tell you the best way to learn an instrument is through face-face tutoring hence why its such a staple practice in music/drama colleges.
every music autobiography i have read (& i read quite a fair bit of them as i LOVE music) the guitarist/any instrument, has gotten lessons at some point be that off others who got lessons when out playing on the scene, or took lessons initially.
there are a rare few virtuoso (ie talented) people who didn’t get lessons but even at that they start practicing with other people who have got lessons & learn off them.
As somebody said those ”guitar for dummies” are great, however that is as a side tool to reference to. not to just teach yourself, at a glance you learn the basics but when you study those books they can get quite complicated & a teacher can clear any questions you have.
a teacher also encourages you to practice & gives you set goals.
Don’t get me wrong you can learn by yourself but if you are in any way serious about wanting to play music & want to get to a good level, i’d DEFINITELY suggest lessons. Also alot of people seem to start their music career out on guitar as it is such a famous instrument & lots of people own guitars in some form. Don’t be suprised if you feel like quitting guitar because everybody plays it after a few months it happens to alot of people, it doesn’t mean you aren’t musically talented.
PS try not to ask people to give you the chords to a song, its better if you can work them out yourself it creates an ear for certain notes. however make sure what you are playing is correct.
PPS: i read here an answer off somebody who was in a music college, she roughly said ”the teachers would cringe when they heard that a new ’self-taught’ musician was coming to the colllege, because the teachers all knew he/she would have to be retaught due to them having bad technique”
Rory Gallagher- Cradle Rock (Live ROCK/BLUES unbelievable guitar playing)
Rory Gallagher-Young Fashioned Ways (Live cover)
”Rory’s death really upset me. I heard about it just before we went on stage, and it put a damper on the evening” Jimmy Page (Led Zep)
Sources: bassist
experience in music (ie reading books, being out there etc
What’s this week’s learn guitar question? Let’s dive straight in…
Question:heya guys!
well, as you probably guessed by the question, I want to start learning acoustic guitar. I just want to know a few things:
1) is it hard for a 17 year old to pick up on?
2) is it possible to play if i’m going to be self taught and just get small advice from a few friends. i don’t have money for lessons and i really don’t want to take a music class at school because i do not feel comfortable knowing i will have to perform in front of the school to get my marks
3) can you get a cheap-ish beginners pack at shops? roughly how much will it be? (I live in australia)
I attempted to learn bass but i got over my metal style music after a while and because i was sort of pressured into buying a bass. I love the sounds of an acoustic guitar and always have, always will so i don’t need to worry about losing interest in that.
i think thats about it for now.
and just serious answers please =)
Answer:OK, as a fellow-Aussie, I have to say that Aussie girls can do anything,
1) so no, it won’t be hard for you to pick it up if you are prepared to practice.
2) Yes, of course you can learn by getting a hold of a self-teaching guitar course. These are available online or in music stores. I am a self-taught guitar player and I’ve been able to do ok.
3) I would recommend that you get a steel-string guitar to learn on, because it’s harder on your fingers to play one – what, you say….make it harder ?? Yes, because if you learn to play on a steel string guitar then you will be able to play a nylon string guitar easily (easier on the fingers) as well as a steel string guitar, but if you just play a nylon string guitar, and all that you have around is a steel string guitar, you won’t want to play it.
Does that make sense – it should.
Palings, etc should be able to get you started with a good steel-string guitar for under about $80.
Of course, you always try Cashy’s (Cash Converters) but be careful if you buy a 2nd hand guitar.
Make sure that the neck is straight and that the action (how hard you have to press the strings down to touch the fretboard) is comfortable – you don’t want a guitar that is made out of banana wood with an action that means you have to work out just to push the strings down.
Really good Australian guitars like Cole Clark (Victorian company) and Maton (played by Tommy Emmanuel) will cost you over a thousand dollars at least, but don’t spend heaps until you’re sure that you like it and you’re going to keep it up.
Good luck – it’ great fun.
Robbo.
I just love answering these learn guitar questions. Here’s another:
Question:Hey, I love bands like August Burns Red, All that Remains, Bullet for My Valentine, Bring Me the Horizon, As I lay dying and etc. And I really wanted to start and learn how to play guitar for songs like this. I have no experience with the guitar, and I do no intent to spend money on lessons, I already have an amp, guitar and etc. I just need to know where I can go to play guitar, and especially guitar for the type of music I like. Thanks!
Answer:I play pretty much the same stuff, well. Go buy a book or two on guitar, I used Mel Bay, go through the whole series, I think there’s 7. By then you should be good. But while you’re doing all of this, learn as many songs as you can by artists you like. I found All That Remains, As I Lay Dying, Job For A Cowboy, The Black Dahlia Murder, and August Burns Red to be very helpful with technique. Also learn as many types of music as you can. I always find myself using things used in other genres such as Jazz, Funk, Blues, pretty much anything. Also learn a lot of scales, as many as you can, Major, Natural Minor, Harmonic Minor, Melodic Minor. Then start with modes. Modes are godsends when you know the exact sound you want to create.
We’ve had a reader question come in on the subject of learn guitar. Let’s take a look:
Question:i’m 26 now isnt it too late to start ?
is it good idea to start learn both at same time ? or should i pick one and master in it ? if then which should i pick first?
money is not problem. i can afford private teachers.
Answer:It is never too late to start learning an instrument. Age should not be a problem, the question you should determine is your dedication to apply yourself to spend full attention to practice daily with no distraction .
Both instruments that you mention are considered of the strings category and both have their music written in the treble clef of the musical staff. The four strings of the violin are tuned G-D-A-E (from low to high) and the six string of the standard guitar are tuned E-A-D-G-B-E (from low to high).
As a child I learned to read music and took lessons at a music academy to learn the violin. In my 70’s (I am now 79) I decided to learn the guitar. Picking up the guitar was easy for me since I already knew how to sight read music and I have advanced enough on my own to be a player in a guitar ensemble in my area.
Before you venture into either instrument find a good music teacher that can help you in sight reading since you will need it for playing either instrument and particular the violin.For violin I think that you should find a qualified violin teacher if this is your prefer instrument at this point.Unlike guitar that on my experience I found an easier instrument to get started on your own if you know music, the violin is one where you should have a good tutor from the very beginning.
As for learning both at once – I cannot make an opinion on that subject but I would think that you could progress faster concentrating on one instrument at a time. Once you get comfortable with sight-reading and have six month studies on one of the two instruments then maybe you can try to start learning the second instrument.
If you can practice not less than one hour a day -besides your lessons- you will most likely find that addidng another instrument will also require another one hour of application without distraction. That is two hours a day. If at age 26 you can find the time to do that, more power to you. Go For It!
I just love answering these learn guitar questions. Here’s another:
Question:i want to learn to play the guitar, but i dont want to take lessons or classes since i dont have any money, does anyone have any tips on learning to play on your own, just anything i can do, read, watch whatever.
Thank You!
Answer:For the sake of taking your side on the economic issue I suggest that you start by visiting your local music store and pick up a booklet for beginning guitarists, such as Hal Leonard’s Beginning Guitar Method Book One. Inside are instructions in tuning, maintenance, basic chords, and, most important, basic music theory and accompanying exercises that will get you into learning music notation.
While at the music store, pick up a comprehensive chord book of at least 2,500 chords and how they appear in music notation.
Learn the Chromatic Scale for each string and the moveable chords, such as F, Fm, Bb, Bbm, Ab, C#, etc. These chords, all beginning in the first fret, are moveable and become new named chords as you progress up and then down the fretboard.
There is no instant success at guitar playing; just a steady, on-the-course pursuit of improving each day until you have mastered quick changes of chords, produce good tones in those chords, and have developed appropriate rhythm techniques.
Last, but crucial to your learning process, is building up the needful calluses that must come if you wish to play the guitar. Expect about two weeks until the fingertips begin to toughen up for you. Without them, chances of progressing on the guitar are almost negligible.
You will have to spend a little money to get started, primarily for a beginner book and a quality chord book. If you can move beyond the painful fingertips and still feel determined to play the guitar, then you can do it.
Another learn guitar question has come in this week. Let’s tackle it straight away:
Question:So, I reeeaalllly wanna learn. I have an old electric in my house with the amp but while playing around with trying to tune it, i broke 3 strings lol =P. I wanna learn how to play guitar myself because I don’t have the money for guitar lessons. How should I start and go along? I know and can play a few chords like G major, C major, E minor, D minor because my friends likes to show me and let her play on her guitar. Should I start like that, just memorizing all the chords?
Help appreciated =]
Answer:you could watch free lessons on the INTERNET, YouTube for example (go on and type how to play "the name of the song" on guitar)(or how to play the AM chord)(or "beginner guitar lesson number 1" and they will start from the complete bottom for complete beginners its easy to follow) or "freeguitarlessons.com" (i think that’s what its called) online lessons are helpful and some of them explain really well that’s how i started
but you could start by finding a song you like that has those chords in it and start by practice to move your fingers from chord to chord in tempo. then when you reach that level you could start learning more chords, as to not confuse your self by taking in too much information at one time. you just need to practice ALOT and try not to get bored because everything at the beginning is difficult and a pain when you cant do it at the first, second or third trial you just need to stick to it the first parts the hardest. GOOD LUCK!
A guitar lessons question that should definitely interest you all this week
Question:I’m 17 years old. I’ve been playing for about 3 1/2 years. I can’t ’shred’ on guitar or anything like that, but i know many chords and the notes. I thing i could do beginner lessons. I also know how to read guitar music. I don’t have a car so it would have to be out of my apartment, but i don’t know where to hold the lessons. The living room? Also, i’m kind of shy. but i really need some money.
Answer:You shouldn’t really teach, unless you know the proper way to do things. If you’ve been taught from a pro teacher, then I’d say give it a shot, but you need to know at least your basic theory to get by. You can’t just randomly shout out chords to teach these people. You can’t just teach them one or two scale shapes, unless you are able to fully explain what a scale is, and how it works… etc.
If you can work from a beginner workbook, then you may be able to get by. Just make sure you understand the material before attempting to teach it.
