I may be a rather whimsical person but here goes...

 

I'd really like to learn guitar a little... I have some musical knowledge in the sense that I can play the piano at a decent level.

 

Regarding guitar, I have no experience... for all intensive purposes I've never held one in my life.  I hear you can be relatively 'self taught' and can get into 'professional' music almost immediately, something you can't do in piano (took me 30 hours of direct memorization to learn the Fur Elise!)  

 

If there are any 'guitarists' reading this here's my question... What should I buy and how do you figure I should go about learning what I need to know... I'd prefer to do all this for rather cheap being as this will only be a rather minor hobby unless I really like it...

 

ps - please take into account that if I don't particularly like guitar I've wasted my money... 

 

Thanks for the help

Matt 

hey buddy - i can give some advice - i was, among other notorious things, a concert guitarist - first, here's the breakdown on relative expense - but keep in mind that the 'style' you want to learn will be the major factor in how much you must spend

 

the cheapest set-up is an acoustic guitar - just like with any instrument, you can find something for a 'few' bucks, all the way up to thousands - keeping in mind you basically get what you pay for, i would NOT suggest trying to find the cheapest - but that isn't to say you have to spend big bucks to get a decent starter guitar - an acoustic is the 2nd most versatile guitar, allowing you to play most any style - one nice thing about an acoustic is it comes ready to play - there isn't any other hardware you need, such as amps, etc, which helps keep the start-up cost down

 

probably the most popular starter for most is an electric guitar - these can be also be cheap, but the cost can start rising quickly as you add the peripherals to it - this is also the easiest to learn, since (and i know im going to piss a lot of readers off with this) it doesn't take a quarter of the talent to play an electric compared to an acoustic - fortunately, this isn't just my opinion, but the opinion of any true afficiando of the instrument - if you want to learn quickly, go electric - if you want to get bored with the instrument just as quickly, go electric - it is very limited in scope and style - if you can move your fingers fast and have enough warblers, vibratos, etc to cover up your lack of technique, then you can become a rock star overnight

 

finally, there is the classic guitar - this is the instrument of choice for those who want to truly master the instrument in all it's wonderful versatility - unfortunately, they are also the most expensive - once again, you don't have to destroy the wallet to get started, but you will have to spend more than you would for an acoustic - this is by far the most versatile of the guitars, capable of handling any style - but it is the most 'technique' driven guitar of the bunch also - you do NOT have to have 'formal' training from a teacher to learn classic technique, but you should most certainly purchase some good books on the subject

 

if you want to hear what a master on the classic (sometimes called spanish) guitar can do, here's a link you should try - this man is considered by the vast majority of guitarists to be the premiere player in the world today - toward the bottom of the page you will see a list of his many 'albums' - click on any one and you can hear one to two minute snippets of all the songs on that album - 5 albums you must definately check out though are:  The A.R.T. of Edgar Cruz, Reminiscence, Classical Demands, Throw Another Tape on the Fire and Those Were The Days

 

http://cdbaby.com/cd/edgarcruz5

 

have fun and let me know how it's all coming along for you,

Art

 

Well... a few days ago I was over at a buddy's place and he has a really old, what he seems to indicate really nice (it's more or less solid red, I think it's ugly :P), electric guitar...

 

He was trying to teach me 'The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows' by Brand New... I just couldn't get the hang of making some of those sounds...

 

Anyways, I suppose the way to go would be to buy an electric maybe... something on the cheaper end ... lemme know if I'm right so far :P 

You may feel like you're being seduced by this particular guitar, but let me add another strong voice to what Sarthe's saying: get an acoustic guitar first.

Electric guitars are meant to be played in a band. Acoustic guitars can be a band in themselves. Electrics are louder, but acoustics have more of a dynamic range, and more of a tonal palette. When a singer/songwriter is all alone up there on stage, do you ever see them performing on just solo electric? No, that's when they reach for the acoustic.

Also, accessibility is a big factor. The more you play, the better you get. And you'll play more when you can just grab your instrument, lean back on the couch and strum away. Firing up an amp and plugging in is just more of a deliberate act, and it tends to happen less often. I have a lot of guitars, but the one I play most is the acoustic I have hanging on the wall from a leather strap. I can pick it up, play, and put it back a dozen times a day.

Finally, it's much easier to make the transition from acoustic to electric than it is the other way around. That's because the acoustic has a thicker neck. If you get the hang of that, the thinner electric neck is a breeze. 

If you truly want to see if the guitar's your instrument, get an acoustic first. If it becomes a real avocation, you'll probably develop of "quiver" of guitars, including an electric one. 

Okay that's what I'll do.  I'll pick up an acoustic... will I be needing any 'accessories' to go with the actual guitar?  Oh and what type.. I hear there are different types of acoustics?

Yeah, forgive me for being so totally clueless, I've just never payed any attention to my guitar playing friends :P.

 

 

Get one whose aesthetics appeal to you. There are different shapes, with the most common being the "dreadnaught". The key is something that feels comfortable. I personally find dreadnaughts too large for my taste, and tend to gravitate toward the also-popular "OM" style (the terminology is drawn from Martin Guitars, but applies to most manufacturers). 

If you're buying a used one, look out for cracks in the body. They actually don't usually hurt the sound quality, but will eventually need repairs as they tend to spread.

Some good cheaper brands: Blueridge, Guild, Washburn. Worth the money: Martin, Yamaha.

One really important thing to understand is the difference between laminated and solid guitars. Laminated is essentially plywood: it's sturdier, but because it's sturdier it vibrates less and therefore doesn't sound as good.

Really cheap guitars are ALL laminated. Decent middle-grade guitars have their back and sides laminated, but the top is solid wood. Expensive guitars are entirely solid wood.

Most of the sound is shaped by the quality of the top, not the back and sides. So if you find a guitar with a solid wood top but laminated otherwise, that can be a good choice. Lots of pros use a solid top/laminated back and sides model for gigging, as they're more durable than all-solids.

Hope this helps. One more thing: as soon as you can, put fresh strings on that puppy! Makes a world of difference. My personal choice are "coated" strings like Elixir, which cost a bit more but last longer and are easier to play.

Good luck! Keep me posted. 

Sweet thanks! 

Update -

 

As promised here's an update of how it's going...

 I found my sis's old guitar (very cheap piece of garbage but hey!) and did a little online research regarding how to tune it... it took FOREVER and as I worked my way down (starting at the '6th' string, although this makes little sense to me)... 

 

Anyways, I tuned all the way down to the second string (it all sounding perfect, at least according to the 5th fret rule thingy) ... I made it down to the second string, which I had a very hard time tuning for some reason, I ended up breaking the string and for all I know the guitar ... the metal thingy pulled out of the lower part of the guitar!

 

So basically I've blown an hour and never played a note :P.

 

Terribly frustrating.  and my sis is gonna KILL me.

 

Kinda stuck, again,

-matt 

When i first learned it took me a long time to tune the guitar. but no it takes me like 1 minute. You can put the peg back into the guitar, not broken.

 i learned the basics of the internet, alot of free training matieral on the net.

Old strings will eventually break when you tune them.  It adds a little excitement to the tuning....

Oh and for advice:

Once you get an acoustic you'll be able to play songs you know within a couple hours.  It'll be rough, but definately recognizable which is why many people find guitar easy to learn.

Having a friend show you how to hold a pick, strum, and where to put your fingers on the frets would be helpful, but you'll be fine on your own after that.

Find a tab for a song with only a few chords, example "Knocking on heaven's door" (only has 3), memorize the chords, and copy the strumming pattern from the song.

You shouldn't be too discouraged by the string break. That old guitar needed a new set of strings anyway, so you'll be doing your sister a favor. That "piece of metal" you're talking about was probably the bridge pin, which isn't metal. No harm. Go to this site: www.frets.com, and read all their beginner guides toward changing strings, etc. 

Hang in there. Keep on keeping us posted. 

K.. went to town, bought an accoustic guitar today... it was more or less the cheapest one there ... a laminate accoustic by Fender.  I really liked the way it sounded and so I bought it... it was that or a 400$ one that (imo) didn't sound better anyways.

 

I found the tabs for my favourite song and got right to work on learning them... I can't make a clean sound for the life of me.. my fingers are too fat :P.

 

oh and is there any way to stop your hands from dying of pain?

 

http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/tabs/s/sick_puppies/all_the_same_tab.htm ... here's the song I'm learning btw... it's not the easiest but I absolutely love this song.

 

 

to get your hands used to playing do little and often instead of long sessions.

Well.. I tried tuning it for the first time (working from the 6th down) and broke the first string and couldn't tune the second.

 

I played piano before.. I have a good ear... I have NO clue why I can't tune this friggin thing... never been more frustrated over something for as long as I can remember... I think I may drop the hobby before I begin... 

Okay, I went and bought a new set of strings.

 

I researched (on about.com) how to restring the guitar and I was pleasantly surprised with a 10 page illustrated guide to doing so.  

 

1.5 hours later, my guitar is restrung... I realize it took me way longer than normal but now I know how to do it and next time it should be easier... I'd guess I could do that all again in 15 minutes.

 

Now as for tuning this thing... it's taken about 30 minutes but I have 5 strings (all but the thinnest) tuned.  Tuning the '1st' string is very difficult and I'm worried I will break it...

 

to make life easier I downloaded an electronic pitch sensor... it's making my job easier but I'm still worried I'll break it...

 

oh and after getting the first 5 strings set perfectly my dad turned on the lawnmower right outside my room!!!!!! apparently my pitch sensor is reading that...

 

and yes, the lawnmower sounds like a G# note :(.

 

Anyways, pretty excited.. ready to learn some acoustic songs! ... any suggestions?

 

-matt 

This is all great advice people!  I've only started learning myself and have found the above to be really useful :-)

 Also I'm following the lessons at http://guitar.about.com/  which have been a great help for an absoulte beginer like myself!

Another Update for the world :).

 

At this point, I have tuning down pat... worst case scenario I use an electronic tuner.

 

Chords, I know quite a few and although I'm not quick at finding them I have a half dozen at least memorized.

 

Now as for songs... I know the first guitar part (the intro, it repeats all the way through) to Be Like That by 3 Doors Down and that's ALL I know.. are there any simple, 1 guitar accoustics that I could learn?  Any good ideas?

 

Look forward to your replys.

Matt 

i play a 12 string acustic. never did anything professionally, but ive been at it sence 1964.  six years ago i wrote a song and i think its going to be a hit.  first of all, how do i protect my song from someone taking it, and how do i bring it out