This week’s question is as follows:
Question: I want to start playing the guitar and i need to know a good, easy song that a 12 year old can learn in a day. I have been thinking Lazy Song but idk if its hard. plz help!
Answer: Start off learning riffs so some good ones would be
Kinks-You Really Got Me
Deep Purple-Smoke On The Water
Lady Gaga-Just Dance
White Stripes-Seven Nation Army
They’re easy you’ll have no problem if you practice.
We’ve had a reader question come in on the subject of learn guitar. Let’s take a look:
Question: I was really into learning how to play my guitar last summer, but school and personal reasons kind of sidetracked me for awhile. me and my friend want to start a band, and they want me to be their guitarist (electric). im just wondering if i can get decent at playing the guitar in a few weeks if i practice for like 5 hours or more a day
I would appreciate if you would just answer the question. that’s what this website is for isn’t it? to be helpful? lets be machure guys….
Answer: Practice your arse off. Might take more than two weeks to get up to performance standard. Don’t pressure yourself with a time frame or you’ll miss out on all the joy of playing. Have fun!
We’ve had a reader question come in on the subject of guitar lessons. Let’s take a look:
Question: I know a lot therefore I have a lot I could teach. I’ve been playing the guitar since I was 5 and I am now 33. Are there any legal issues involved? Times are hard right now and many people have asked me if I would give lessons but I never wanted to do that. I know tons of chords and scales but I can’t read sheet music. Whatcha think?
I’m sensing a lot of haters that had to actually attend school to gain musical significance. I’ve always been told it was a gift, so maybe my method of teaching wouldn’t benefit anyone for the fact that it came pretty easy to me. I was playing top 40 music by age 11 and maybe people just aren’t capable of doing what I do. You people do understand that great music was created and taught way before theory and sheet music was invented. Music never gets better, it just changes.
I can learn and teach anything I can hear on the guitar, so students may not be able to give me sheet music they want to learn, but if they give me a recording, that’s all I need. I don’t know random chords on the guitar, I know pretty much every chord in standard tuning with the exception of some 9th’s or diminished chords and what not. Thanks for the replies.
OH! I absolutely would explain that I’m not teaching them theory or sheet music… I would be teaching them time signatures, chords, scales and many finger picking techniques I have learned over the years…
OK. Started learning sheet music today 03-16-2011, just so I’ll have it under my belt.
Answer: What’s stopping you from reading sheet music?
Another learn guitar question has come in this week. Let’s tackle it straight away:
Question: I have been playing the guitar for 7 months and I take private tutoring. Is I much harder/Easyer or is it almost the same in learning??
Answer: Stick with guitar. The theory is the same. They are tuned the same.
But, if you want to be able to play bass and guitar fluently, you’ll ahve to learn a couple of things on guitar:
Rest stroke.
Rest stroke is when you use your index and middle finger to pluck the strings. place your index and middle fingers on the A string (5th from the bottom). stroke the open A string with your middle finger but dont lift it up, let it rest on the next string (the E string, 6th from the bottom). Then stroke the A string with your index, let it rest on the E, and move your middle finger back to the A string to keep it from ringing out indefinitely. That’s rest stroke.
Slash chords
D/F#
C/E
those are chords that make the bass play a transition note (a note that sounds well when going from one chord to another) while the guitar plays a different chord. This comes either with experience or with memorization. Once you are able to identify what slash chord you are able to play instead of the note you are supposed to be playing on the bass, your bass playing will sound a whole lot more harmonizing.
A guitar lessons question that should definitely interest you all this week
Question: Does anyone know a good website or video for teaching beginners the basics of playing the guitar?
Answer: He teaches all styles and is very thorough. Good luck!
http://www.youtube.com/user/rockongoodpeople
What’s this week’s guitar lessons question? Let’s dive straight in…
Question: i really want to start playing the guitar, so i’ll have to take lessons since theres no way i’ll be able to teach myself. so are guitar lessons fun? and how do i convince my parents to let me take lessons? they always knew i wanted to play the guitar so i dont see why not?
Answer: Guitar lessons can be very fun with the right teacher. But, it is not just about fun. You must be willing to practice. I am sure that if you explain to your parents that you would like to learn the right way and you would like to take lessons, they would agree. You must agree that you will practice on a regular basis and not just give up right away.
Taking music lessons is very beneficial to your mental development. It has a tremendous positive impact on math, reading, language, dexterity, reasoning, and much more. The benefits of music lessons are well documented. It can actually raise your I.Q. level by several points. These are things that every parent want for their kids.
Just simply ask them if you can take guitar lessons. Call your local music stores and find out the rates and times available. Show them that you are willing to work at it and they should be willing to do it.
Keep the learn guitar questions coming! I liked this one:
Question: Hi 
Ok, so I have decided I’d like to play the bass and I’ve been playing the guitar for about 2 or 3 years now, so would that make playing bass a bit easier?
And also, I have tiny hands so would that affect the difficulty? Haha, silly questions but I need to know. Thanks :3
Answer: Tiny hands don’t matter. There’s a very tiny girl in a band in my local area, I laughed when I heard she was switching from guitar to bass because any normal bass isn’t that far off being taller than she is, but aslong as you can shift around the fret board with ease it shouldn’t be a problem.
There are people in the world playing 7 and 8 string basses with average sized hands, and the neck on some basses is finer than some acoustic 6 string guitars. so a person with small hands will have no problem playing a 4 string. You might have to make more exaggerated movments when going from one string to the other but with speed and strength, there is no reason why you can’t be a brilliant bassist.
Your experience on guitar should help, altough chords are out of the window when it comes to bass (there are bass chords but they don’t sound that good).
Well here’s a question I just had to answering straight away:
Question: I haven’t been playing the guitar for very long, but I already love it. But now my mum made me to stop taking lessons because apparently I don’t practice, but I honestly have been practicing everyday in my room. I don’t know what to do now, I really am going to miss taking lessons, my mum and I have never gotten along, and I don’t know what I’m supposed to do now, should I just accept her choice?
Answer: Prove to her that you are actually practicing by doing it somewhere where there is no way she can’t notice- my parents usually can’t hear me practicing music in my bedroom. Although it does seem like she is trying to make excuses, so it’s unlikely she actually doesn’t think you’re practicing.
If it comes down to that you have to quit lessons, guitar is one of the easiest instruments to learn by yourself. I have been playing for around six months on both acoustic and electric and I have gone to a guitar camp and stuff but I’ve never had formal lessons, I find music on sites like http://www.ultimate-guitar.com and learn the chords and such online too, it’s hard to get technique by yourself but with a little bit of occasionally mentoring by anyone you know who plays guitar will go a long way. Many of the world’s greatest guitarists were self-taught.
If you continue to work on the instrument by yourself, who knows, maybe your mother will see your dedication and let you start lessons again? If not, you’re still learning the instrument.
