Best way to learn guitar?

[demonseed]

Hey,

So Ia m wanting to learn the electric guitar, alway have wanted to and I think I will try.  I tried once before (much younger) but I gave up.  I don't want this to happen again.  I have a friend who is going to do lessons with me about twice a month, but wanted to work on things myself via book? website? video's?  I have seen so many sites etc that claim they can teach me guitar but I am confused as to what is the best way to go.  Does anyone have any experience or recommendations?

 

thanks

Jim

[jcrowley30]

I always thought the easiest way to learn guitar was use guitar tabs, which don't require you to know or read music.  Here is a good site to get going with, just pick you favorite band and songs and start working at them in pieces.  I tried this for a while and felt like it was working https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/

[JayC]

Guitar pro is a great application to learn tunes and is also based around tabs. There's truly millions of songs to play along with.

There's also hundreds of video tutorials out there both on DVD and YouTube.

[damageinc86]

Get one of those simple beginner books that show you the basic chords first, to play like the old standard strumming songs.  That way you can start out just getting your fingers able to make a chord and switch a chord.  That is the building block of your dexterity.  Also throw in some simple old time tunes like johnny cash songs with simple strumming.  The key here is form, and honing your ability to switch chords and have your fingers land in the right spot within a fraction of a second.  It doesn't really matter that it's just 3 simple ass chords, it's being able to do it, and also get your ability to keep time back in action.  Then like jcrowley said, i'd get a tab book of one of your favorite albums.  My first tab book was Master of puppets - Metallica.  A pretty steep learning curve in terms of speed and stuff for a beginner, but I pounded away at that for months on end.  Eventually you just get it.  It's all about time and repetition, to get your  muscles to know what they need to do ;-).

[demonseed]

I will look into guitar pro, also the tab site no link was posted?  I am a metal head and thats ultimately what I would love to learn.

[JayC]

There's a lot of metal beginners/intermediate/advanced tutorials around...just do some youtube/google searches and you'll find plenty. Start at the beginners stuff and stick with it (I know it sucks but it's totally worth it) then move upwards. And if you practice with a metronome you will thank yourself later

 

Rocksmith seems to be fun as well, haven't used it myself as I don't play guitar but It's pretty much based around rock/metal (you can even hack a cheap plug to USB soundcard to get it to work and then get the game from the big world of interweb;) )

[Styphelus]

Unless you are planning to join a band, I say learning an instrument as an adult is useless. Why? Because what will you do with that skill? Play by yourself in an empty room?

 

If you learn a few basic chords you can take an acoustic guitar with you on a camping trip and play around the fire but otherwise I see it as a waste of time.

 

This is why it's important to learn as a kid. At least then you can jam with your friends in the garage and have some fun while growing up but as a full gown up...meeh!

 

Don't mean to be a downer, just being realistic.

[Retro Goonie]

The best way to learn is practice, practice, practice! That's how I taught myself.

 

I used these two great websites:

 

1. https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/

This is where you can find songs to play. They are all user submitted so may not always be 100% accurate but it gives you songs to practice with.

 

2. http://chordbook.com/

This has a guitar tuner (by ear) which is always handy but also shows you how to make/form the chords. Whenever you don't know how to make a chord...this is your go to place!

 

Unless you are planning to join a band, I say learning an instrument as an adult is useless.

 

Not at all! After I've had a hard or stressful day, there is nothing better than sitting back and playing my guitar and zoning out. Great way to unwind and relax/chill out!

[JayC]

Styphelus-> I actually have to disagree, at least to the degree that it's never too late to learn something and have fun with it. There are a lot of top notch musicians that started to play way down the line without having even tried an instrument before that. I play in bands sure and have played since a kid, but even if I didn't play in bands I would enjoy sitting alone playing just as much. But I think that's the difference in musicians and "normal" people lol...musicians don't give a shit if what they play makes it or not, wether anyone else likes it or not. Music is meant to be fun and you will learn something every time you play...I know it doesn't feel like it but trust me..you will.

 

Where I live there has been a movement of "older" middle aged people starting bands together and rehearsing and playing gigs, yeah I know it might sound like shit but if they enjoy it...who cares. Music is all about expressing yourself and that's how it needs to be, otherwise it's just not for you. But as you asked about how to learn to play guitar I already know you are interested enough to get it.

 

I don't know why a lot of people are so pessimistic around here nowadays...whatever the question is about there's always someone pointing out that it's pointless. Not very encouraging to say the least.

[Styphelus]

I don't know why a lot of people are so pessimistic around here nowadays...whatever the question is about there's always someone pointing out that it's pointless. Not very encouraging to say the least.

 

Not sure what you are talking about but that post was rather pointless 

 

I said it out of my own experience. "Learned" to play guitar in my late teens and it was fun for a bit but I haven't touched the guitar in well over a decade because i was just playing it for myself and had to question the reason behind it. If I want to hear the song I could just pop in the cd. I was never going to be as good or even memorize whole songs so why was I doing it? Seemed like such a waste of time. I decided to focus on other things that would actually give me results or that I could have fun with or share with others. Lets face it, none of my friends would want to hear me play and sing anyway.

 

If someone wants to do it, by all means do it, but guitar is something that takes years to be good at and requires a lot of time and dedication.

[demonseed]

Thanks for feedback please keep suggestions coming. I know it will be difficult to learn but hey I always wanted to do it...... I think I will try.... I have a work test I have to study for first then I plan on the guitar idea or woodworking )

[damageinc86]

Yeah, it actually went the opposite for me.  I learned around 15 years old, and played in bands.  Opened up for Exodus, and Black Label Society here, played a shitload of local shows,....and after a while, the music business side of it, and the general difficulty of sustaining a band, members, van, non-dedicated individuals hindering progress, logistics, booking shows, etc., etc., all sucked the fun out of it after a few years.  Don't get me wrong, it was amazing to actually play some pretty killer shows, but it's just as fulfilling to nail a song practicing in your room by yourself.  It's all relative, and there's nothing pointless about learning, or re-learning a skill.  A skill is a skill.  That's worth a lot.  

 

I can understand the wanting results thing, because that's why I had to take a hard look at continuing the band given all that was working against it, and the overall cost.  In the end I sort of hung it up, or put it on hiatus until further notice, and concentrated on other things that brought me joy and a better return on investment so to speak.  But in the end, the initial investment was well worth what I got out of it.  Amazing times, and great memories.  You can have that on a small scale as well.  I remember when my practice regiment used to consist of running through a death angel and sepultura album all the way through, back to back.  Once you start nailing that stuff, the feeling of accomplishment can be a very positive force in your life. Not to mention it keeps you sharp mentally.  Making those connections is very good for dexterity as well.  Especially some fast metal.  I tried rocksmith, and maybe it's because i already know how to play guitar, but I got frustrated as hell with it, because it didn't really help show you how to play the actual song, because once it detected that you missed notes it dumbed the "tab" down and took notes out so that you were basically playing rockband again.  

 

I would seriously just get an actual tab book off ebay of a classic, like kill 'em all, arise, a slayer album or something, and just sit down with the songs and see if you can play like 20 seconds at a time, pause it, go back, try to play it again.  pause it, go back,...now just listen to it,...absorb it.  go back, try a little bit.  I mean,...I can't begin to tell you how many times I had to rinse and repeat that process for one damn song, to really understand what was happening in it.  Thousands at least.  But each time you get quicker, and better.  

[JayC]

And if you get bored playing songs that already exists you can write your own stuff. That has always been a very good way express myself and be creative. But sure there are always people that practice and never get better, I think everyone can learn guitar...but not all can get good at it and it has nothing to do with the amount of practice...some people just have it. But everyone needs to practice to get the technical side down.

[Yeuxkes]

It's weird that nobody seems to mention Rocksmith. It's a program/game similar to Guitar Hero but uses a real guitar instead of a cheap simplified Activision toy. The software is available thru steam but you'll need the Rocksmith Real Tone Cable to hook up the guitar to the PC. I can't tell how efficient the program is at teaching you how to play guitar but have seen numerous streams of guys and gals enjoying playing their guitar. Off all the possible solutions out there I believe this might be the most fun way to learn how to play on an actual guitar.

[JayC]

It actually was mentioned earlier, but I've never used it myself...btw, you actually don't need the original cable to get it to work, you can get a cheap plug to usb cable and use asio4all to get it to work. There's a lot of videos around on how to do that.

[demonseed]

I would like to learn to play songs and sometime make my own. I have an exam to study for April 3 then I plan on learning.  I was looking at rocksmith but it looked more like a game than teaching me how to read music or tab? Anyone have any experience with that? Also looking at the site Guitar Pro. There is so many options.  I guess I want one that is easy, fun, and keeps me trying and wanting to do it. I don't want to get discouraged as I am afraid I will.

[demonseed]

I have a spare pc I could use but wondered . Does it only let you play their songs or can I add my own? What cable is needed?

[JayC]

You mean for guitar pro?

[demonseed]

Any of the pc programs. Rocket smith gets great reviews but I want to learn tab and j am not a fan of how you can't turn off vocals. It looks like a big boy guitar hero? I have seen guitar-pro, yousician, rocksmith amongst others. Plus books and YouTube. like the idea of fun to keep it interesting however I still want to learn at the same time.......so many options...... I have time to decide just want to make good decision. You guys have given me some great suggestions. If anything else comes to mind let me know.

[Metalzoic]

Best way to learn guitar?

From a hot naked chick.

[JayC]

As I don't play guitar myself (other instruments) I cannot comment on guitar pro myself, but a lot of my friends have learned guitar great with guitar pro, and there are like millions of songs to download and play along to. I don't know if it teaches you to read tabs but I know it uses tabs. So maybe try it and see what you get out of it. (lot of torrents for it )