I’ve been meaning to pick up an electric guitar I got last year, but got a bit overwhelmed looking to figure out everything at once

So I thought to ask guitarists here what you would tip to start with, should I learn some certain scale, or some specific chords. Any in particular that makes sense to start with? The more specific the better to get me started

My goal: playing some single notes, basic riffs just to add little spice to some funk/disco/house tracks/beats, super basic only.

I’m pretty good rhythmically so i will get much done with very little
My level is total newbie

cheers

 

Last edited: Jul 3, 2022

Get familiar with holding a pick and striking each string. Downstroke going down and then pick upward going up towards you. Then learn all the basic open chords again practice picking in direction. Learn to strum the string by striking them in order from top to bottom and vise versa. Practice fretting notes just behind the fretwire and in proper positions. All of these concepts are googleable or youtubeable.

 

get a friend and start playing/learning together instead or else it will be a total waste of time and your guitar playing will only make sense to you and yourself only and when you record the guitar part it will make the song you make sounds super total noob and nobody wants to listen to it and you'll be clueless as ever what you did wrong and you'll be wondering for a reaaaaaaallly long time what it is you need to do.

Have you ever wonder among all the millions of guitar player in the world only 1% of them are "listenable", and whenever you randomly see people playing guitar it is hard to not notice that they suck at guitar but they (the guitar player) have ZERO idea that they suck, they even think they are good at it. Funny isn't it ? Guitar is weird like that.

If you start playing guitar alone, you will have trouble to connect with others (human and instruments) in the later stage. Play with a friend and once you get the hang of it, then you can start playing/practicing alone because at that point you will get an idea what type of guitar player you want to be and what you want learn deeper, chord or scales or to abandon all of them completely and play by heart. Good luck.

 

Start with basic open chords, then expand to basic barre chords (E/A/D types). Now you can play a lot of tunes, esp. if you sing.

A time honoured tradition is to start with 12-bar blues in E, and then learn the minor pentatonic on top of that.

 

 

Last edited: Jul 4, 2022

I recommend Justin Guitar on YouTube or grab his tutorial videos.

https://www.justinguitar.com/

 

At the beginning you really need a good teacher, because the first steps are very physical. The way you put your hand, the way and where you put your left thumb, how to hold a pick and a long etc...
You need someone to observe and correct you.
If you go the wrong way, you will have bad habit and it's very difficult to correct afterwards.

Once this is acquired, you can learn a lot from videos and so.

 

Like Olymoon said, it is important to grok the basics with an experienced player who can guide you on a well worn path in your introduction to the instrument. Once you get a handle of the rudiments you can forge ahead on a road of your own.

 

Excellent, I’m after extremely practical tips just like this. Going to check what open chords are ( I think I know though) and start with that 12 bar blues in E + minor pentatonic. I just need to check some basic finger positioning and get going

I assume there is a good reason why you chose exactly those tips. It’s Just the type of trampoline I’m looking for. Thanks

cool, that type of thing will be in the near future

see the way I function is I need something to get going directly, to get the fire going.
I always need to have something going on by myself fast

then when I have some little knowledge and practice of my own, then I take it from there to a more structured study . I function that way and it has worked for me, I guess it’s a character thing

 

Last edited: Jul 3, 2022

Couldn't agree more.

If you begin to play with an inefficient pick grip and that technique gets ingrained it's very difficult to re-learn how to play with a correct pick grip. This goes for the fretting hand as well. There are lots of self taught guitarists who don't have a traditional grip that still become great players, but for most people it's a huge advantage and time-saver to learn things like this from the get-go.

 

Truth be told, if you had the spark you could pick up any instrument and imbue your personality and innate creativity to make it your own (which you have the potential to do either way).

Elizabeth Cotton for instance picked up a guitar as a child and played it upside down, teaching herself her own technique.

 

I could not agree more. Because without good guidance you will get pissed off and quit. Also get ready for your finger tips to peel
it's normal until you build up callus.

 

dfghjkl;'

 

Last edited: Aug 12, 2022

I just get stoned and boogie

 

Ok, Im starting with @phumb-rehs suggestions. And will also follow these ten free lessons. I got through the first one just now. This will keep me occupied for a couple of weeks. thanks guys

 

Well, I think that each one will give you their opinion according to their experience.

I learned everything by ear. I never study music. learning Paul McCartney songs, I would listen to the cassettes, stop them, play them again and so on. Let's say my teacher (so to speak) was Paul McCartney on cassette.

I've played with people who have studied music, and they tell you, "no, the arm doesn't go there" "not the big toe, it shouldn't be seen", etc. And the truth is, it's all very subjective.

I have taught guitar for a while. And the first thing that happened when I gave them to study the scales or the chords, was that they got bored.

I think the best way to learn is to play what you like. because that will encourage you to keep playing. If you rely only on theory, you will get bored.

What you can do is this.
Take out the songs that you like the most, if you can get them out by ear, the better, because you are going to develop it. If you learn to play by watching tutorials, you're going to get stuck. Or you can agree a little by ear and a little by looking at tutorials.
Then what you can do is, once you get the song or riff out, figure out what you're doing. I explain?
Let's say you take out a plucking you like, then find out what scale it belongs to, and what chords you're doing etc.

Learning to play music is good, but if you don't, you develop your ear. you will stagnate

If you learn to play by ear, and you don't learn music, you won't know what you're playing, and that will limit you.

It is best to combine the two.

I hope you serve my experience. Cheers!

 

just play a lot, everyday, a lot, try to reproduce what you ear, search the notes on the fretboard, listen to guitar oriented music, a lot.
learn the instrument too, how this thingy makes the sound that way. Know your gear ! :D
teacher will try to impose his views and make you lose time with stuff you dont care.
I'd play alone first, then use a teacher when you know what you need or want to learn from them.
even if you just want to play little things you will need lotsa practice, a lot, to have confident strokes, picking or whatever.


learn the pentatonic minor scale

 

Last edited by a moderator: Jul 3, 2022

Depending on how old you are, if your around my nephews ages then I'd recommend Rocksmith.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/221680/Rocksmith_2014_Edition__Remastered/

Think Guitar Hero with the real instrument.

Ok, it won't teach you how to read music but repeat your favorite songs a few time and you'll learn the patterns to play them on your own.
it also has some mini games to practice techniques and scales.

There's a newer version coming out later this year if your willing to wait

If your my age or older, then it's a case of finding a gitarist and learingn from their books and videos.

The main obstical to get over is keeping your focus in learning.
it's best to do this by keeping your self enjoying it. If that means only learning 15 seconds of each song, then only learn 15 seconds worth.

You have to remember an instrument is just a tool to make a sound. For you to learn how to use it will, take seconds but learn to use it to do what you want takes months of practice.

 

Tip 1: Play a little bit everyday until you get callouses on your fingers. Only then you can really start. Forget watching any video before this (except on posture and holding your pick), you will just hurt your fingers lol. Alternatively get a nylon guitar. Also, buy a foot rest, best investment you can make.

Tip 2: I hope you didn't buy an expensive guitar, because you should learn how to adjust the action, neck, intonation and changing strings as soon as possible. The chances are low of you damaging your guitar while learning these, but it's still possible, so use a cheap one.

Tip 3: Eventually, when you got your callouses and positioning your fingers at the string you want feels more natural you can really start learning.

You can use a video like this as a roadmap to see how far you've made progress over time.

Tip 4: You don't need any guitar friends or teachers, fuck that. I learned it all by my own too and the only thing I'd wish I'd done earlier was having more courage and being more confident in the path I'm walking. Honestly, if your music theory skills are halfway decent and you found a few shapes for scales you like and know a few strumming patterns then you're already better than the average guitarist. Just takes a couple of months if you start from zero, which is probably not even the case for you.

Bonus Tip:

True, but proceed with caution. I hate how frustrating it was not knowing anything about guitars, but eventually figured out that most guitars derive from a handful of classic models anyways.
Wasted so much time researching guitars, should've just learned practical things instead.

Very good idea actually because that's also what the top guitarists do. When they hit a plateau they seek advice.

Isn't this sort of contradictory? And all the friends I tried making when I started out were significantly worse than me lol, maybe just bad luck. Guitars aren't made for getting (guy-)friends but picking up girls

 

Last edited: Aug 5, 2022

Ultimately, the guitar is an artificial limb. Initially it feels strange and alien, and you can't get it to do what you want. For most, they learn a few things here, and a few things there and are content at that. For some, like Olympians, it's a lifelong hands on experience until you are at one with it, and it becomes YOUR voice. Anything YOU can think, you can automatically play.

You need the inner voice 1st though ;)

Good choice and good luck!

 

Last edited: Aug 5, 2022