Learning how to play Guitar!

[$teauA]

So I've finally decided after always saying that I would pick one up and learn how to play that this year I will learn how to play. Before I got my acoustic for Christmas you have to understand that I never before in my life played a guitar other than just messing around (not knowing what I was doing).

I bought a couple of starter books and at the moment I'm freaking addicted. I can't stop playing. I can't wait to learn new chords and play chord progressions over and over until I can't feel the tip of my fingers anymore.

My question to all you guitar players out there is about how long does it take before you can switch easily from chord to chord without a noticeable pause and without of course looking at the fret board? I mean I know that the more you practice the easier and easier it gets but how long was it before you could do that? I practice anywhere between 30 minutes to 3 hours a day (mostly 30 minutes to an hour though because sadly I don't have that much free time ).

I don't have guitar lessons, I'm teaching myself everything and using those books to help me along. Should I find an instructor?

If you have any helpful tips that you think will help me out please post them here. Thanks.

 

[champdave]

One of the most important things when you're starting is not to play too much. If your fingers start to hurt then stop for a while and let the skin regenerate.

Learn your chords, and the bar chords too. How long it takes to get comfortable changing chords without thinking about it varies for everyone I guess. Find yourself some relatively easy songs with basic chords (think Wish You Were here - Pink Floyd, Move On - Jet etc) and that'll improve your transitions to no end.

 

[Bobby]

Cool, I'm gonna take piano lessons even though I'm probably too old to be starting, but oh well, I need to expand my horizons.

Good luck, man.

 

[VanTheMin]

u'l ltake like 5 months to get used to the acoustic one
i made my bitch take classes..payed for her and got her to be a pro...
and eventually broke up :P

 

[ShearerM4]

Great stuff. Did the exact same a couple of years ago. Always wanted to play the guitar, so just bought one and started learning thanks to the magic of the internet.

It's simple practice really. Play a little bit every day, try and find out new chords. Try and force yourself to get to grips with bar chords because at first it seems pretty hard.

Getting an instructor can help a lot I guess, although it can be time consuming. A very good way to learn new stuff is with the help of friends. If you know someone who is very good at guitar or has a lot more experience, don't hesitate to go over with your guitar so he can teach you a few tricks.

 

[The Don't]

A mere 15 minutes practice (at least) a day is all that's required to improve. Don't try and learn new chords before you're really used to the easy chords (A, C, D, E, G) because it'll demoralise you. Oh and remember that even if you're moving really slowly between chords, don't worry, the most important thing is getting your fingering right. Moving really slowly between chords is much more beneficial than trying to move between them quickly and ending up making mistakes, it still trains your brain to get used to the shapes regardless of how fast you transition.

I can't remember how long it took me to be able to move from chord to chord without any pause, but you'll be surprised at how quick you improve.

 

[rony31]

it takes 10 years of practice to be considered an expert. good luck, Alex. I've always wanted to do that as well, but never got around to buying myself a guitar... hoping my sister goes and buys one and never uses it so I just mooch off her

 

[Run DMB]

the most important thing is getting your fingering right.

*snicker*

Good luck Alex! I tried to learn how to play, self-taught, and failed miserably. There were two main reasons for this:

- I'm lazy and I didn't practice regularly enough
- I have stubby fingers

Incidentally, I recently found out that my grandpa once tried to learn how to play the guitar, and quit for precisely the latter reason. F*ckin' genetics. I blame Mendel.

It takes me an eternity to switch between chords, and I can't even play F. I learned how to play a few guitar solos, though, so that's what I do to impress people who are much too easily impressed. But if you don't use my half-assed approach to learning guitar, you could be playing at a decent amateur level in a few months.

 

[rony31]

my sister just bought guitar hero... that's a start

 

[MaestroZidane]

Good luck on that..

Cool, I'm gonna take piano lessons even though I'm probably too old to be starting, but oh well, I need to expand my horizons.

Good luck, man.

Same here bobby.. Although this past year that I went out and bought myself a small piano, Wok became hectic. Now I'll see If a can continue learning with the spare time that I have..

 

[$teauA]

Great advice from all of you guys, thanks

@ The Don't: 15 minutes really? I find that hard to believe and honestly I like doing it so much that I'm afraid if I tell myself to do it for 15 minutes I'll end up fingering the same chords over and over and over again for like an hour . I'll keep that in mind about the transitioning from chord to chord. I just hate that I have to look at the fret board every once in a while to make sure that I'm doing it right (:/)


I learned how to play the intros (well not 100% but most) of Smoke on the Water, Nothing Else Matters (I have some trouble with the pull-off notes) and Thunderstruck (this one is soooooo much fun, I almost want to buy and electric right now).

I'm gonna try out the demo for Guitar Pro 5.2, I've heard it's great and makes reading tabs MUCH easier.

btw here it is:


No name yet, don't know if I should though since it will most likely be replaced in 6 months or so.

 

[Back Door Skip]

My uncle got me a guitar when I was about 13 or so, and I'd go weekly so he'd teach me how to play guitar. But I was too clumsy or so it seemed. Then later I realized it was because I was left handed... Big duh moment.

 

[Joe]

My uncle got me a guitar when I was about 13 or so, and I'd go weekly so he'd teach me how to play guitar. But I was too clumsy or so it seemed. Then later I realized it was because I was left handed... Big duh moment.

Uh I'm left handed but learned to play on the right because that's all I had.

 

[yoyo913]

For me learning guitar was at first a 6 month fast progress then years of slow progress.

 

[Nettles]

good on you, it's what I'm planning on doing 10 yrs from now. i'm learning swedish thanks to the "magic of the internet" (not like they'd hav lessons for that here). teaching yourselfs great, you can go at your own pace, that's how most people learn guitars these days. and learning the piano's a bitch, not even fun, guitar's definetely easier.

btw if anyone knows any other good onilne swedish 'resources' like subtitled films or audiobooks or someat then let me know.

 

[Fernandez]

That's great Alex . Do you have sites that you would recommend for beginners? I have an acoustic guitar right now, but its hard to get started.

 

[theo]

yeah some sites please, I'm getting one too.

 

[The Don't]

http://www.jamorama.com/index_spx.php

I recommend it Especially with that deal!

 

[Nettles]

actually, one of the sites thats gonna help you out the most, maybe not right away but once you start to get better, is this site:

www.nowplayit.com

it's pretty much downloadable demos of members in the band teaching you how to play one of their songs. and goin down the list, they've got bands like Athlete, Blur, Coldplay, Idlewild, KT Tunstall, Lilly Allen, Morrissey, Radiohead bunch of older ones etc. and it lets you preview a song's demo but you have to pay a few pounds to actually download it, worth it though if you really wanna learn to play those songs.

 

[$teauA]

blues chords are so awesome. you can just throw two or three together in some simple progression, add some depressing words and bam you have yourself a blues song

i have some f*cked up calluses on my fingers though (:/)