Learning to play guitar

[bouncebounce crunch]

Tone deaf idiot (me) would like to learn guitar. lessons are very expensive, 2 times my hourly pay rate. is there a good learners dvd that sets you on the right track or am i just better off blowing the bag pipes as being tone deaf they sounds pretty good.

seriously what road should i take for guitar lessons?

Edited By bouncebounce crunch on 21/02/2017 10:26:34

[Jon Laughton]

Back in the mid 70s I had an American friend who was teaching himself to play guitar by ear...he just tried and tried eventually developing his own style. We kind of formed a band as teenagers are apt to do - it went nowhere: we were rubbish. He went back to the USA and carried on teaching himself by ear.....today his band, American Music Club, are acclaimed on that side of the Atlantic as he is as a solo artist with many albums to his name.....he is Mark Eitzel. (Google him)

So....Just go for it and believe in yourself BBC!

Me - I am just a boring so and so with a reasonably good career behind me but I am still the frustrated (v poor) rock singer at 58. There is always time I keep telling myself...ha ha

[bouncebounce crunch]

That is an exciting story Jon. thank you very much.

bbc

[Denis Watkins]

For our general well being BB, there are a number of things we can do to maintain our sanity, and very high on the list is learning to play an instrument.

Like flying, you can muddle on yourself and buy a sim,

But you move along more quickly with an instructor

It can be money well spent, and you only do an hour at a time, then practice at your leisure

[Michael Ramsay-Fraser]

I taught myself to play many years ago and got reasonably proficient without any instruction. I tend to play a finger picking blues style but have now probably forgotten more than I know.

I taught myself from various books that were about at the time but if I was starting now and wanted to learn by myself, my first port of call would be youtube. There are literally hundreds of excellent videos for new guitar players covering a variety of styles. Browse through them and take your pick of the ones you feel comfortable with.

Oh, and buy yourself an electronic tuner. There's nothing worse and more likely to put you off than an out of tune guitar.

[bouncebounce crunch]

thank you gentlemen.

My fingers just don't go where they should to make a decent sound. I know the parts of the guitar through reading and youtube but am not getting better.

the tuition hopefully will come my way as a swap. .... I teach you to fly with my model and you teach me to play guitar. Bureaucrats won't like that one will they?

[Cuban8]

I think the ability to play an instrument is something that you're born with, or in my case, you are not born with. Teaching just brings out a latent ability. My dad, grandmother, uncle and many of my cousins were,  and those still about are accomplished musicians, but clearly it missed me. My daughter reads music and got to a reasonable standard on the flute, so work that one out.

I did try the guitar as a teenager, but the gift wasn't there - the brain knew the sounds but the fingers just couldn't respond. Best I did was 'House of the rising sun' and 'Yesterday' but the effort to accomplish those simple examples was agony and frustration with no spontaneity or natural ability. Having fingers like a bunch of bananas was no help either. I'm not tone deaf, as I always made it into the school choir and back then could hold a note to the satisfaction of Mr Gray our music teacher.

I really envy people that have a musical gift for instruments, but that's life.

I worked with a chap who could play anything, strings, keyboards, brass, even the wire on a drawing board he'd play as a fretless bass - quite incredible.

 

Edited By Cuban8 on 21/02/2017 11:55:04

[Ian Jones]

BBC, get on with it!

As soon as I started work I bought myself a guitar, over 45 years later I still can't play it and due to pain in my hands these days I'm not likely to. A missed opportunity, hence my opening comment, do what you can when you can, tommorrow never knows.

About 15 years ago though I did attend evening classes at my local high school and did actually make some progress until health issues got in the way. The thing is it's a nice social way of learning and if a particular aspect is a problem then you have access to someone who show you the way right there and then. I suspect that had I been able to carry on that after a few terms of lessons that I would have been able to continue to learn on my own.

Some of the chord books can be useful (example 101 Beatles songs for Buskers), make sure the edition is one that actually shown the chord charts though, unless you already know a lot of them. Probably best bought online as they tend to be expensive in music shops.

As well as an electronic tuner, you can get a perfectly usable app on a smart phone to tune your guitar which works in the same way.

[bouncebounce crunch]

well i can play very very badly, Stairway to heaven and Smoke on the water finger picking basic riffs (You all Know the ones) the strumming is killing me. up down, up up down up down.

If there was a Got no Talent tv show I would definately be in the final..

[Michael Ramsay-Fraser]

There ain't no substitute for practice

IIRC, when I was teaching myself, I'd spend at least 2 hours a day, every day, at it.

Keep going, all of a sudden, it will click and everything will become so much easier.

[ted hughes]

There are lots of excellent tutorials on YouTube- flamenco, country, classical, rock, everything in fact.

[vic evans 1]

At last. Something I actually know a bit about.

I'm an old bloke who collects 60's Hofner guitares & has tinkered with guitars for years. I can fix 'em better than I play 'em but one piece of advice I give all wanna be guitarists is simple. " A good guitarists will get a good tune out of a rubbish guitar & great tune out of a good 'un whereas a newbie will find a well set up guitar easier to fret & a bad one with the strings high off the fretboard impossible to play"

You don't say what type of guitar you want to play. An accoustic will usually have thicker strings than a 'leccy job & will be harder to fret. Against this a solid leccy guitar listened to through an amplifier with headphones is better for marital harmony.

I have many types of guitar but my go to one is a cheapo accoustic Ovation copy fitted with light weight flatwound strings which hangs in the kitchen ready for me to pick up most days.

The main thrust of my post is to get yourself a guitar with a good action ie light & low strings which are close to the fretboard without buzzing. Get it set up right & be prepared for sore fingers for a few weeks. The finger tips do get harder & the fingers more flexible if you stick at it but a little & often on a well set up guitar is the key.

lessons are easy to come by on youtube & you'll soon find a system that suits your would be style. Four chords gets you hundreds of songs & after that the worlds yer Lobster.

Good luck. It's a great way to pass away a few hours & you may just be surprised to find that a bit of effort on a well set up guitar will soon have you banging out a tune. Please don't try with a badly set up guitar as you will never keep it up. In the right hands a half decent cheapo guitar can usually be set up to play well enough to get a newbie playing.

[David Davis]

I'd echo Vic's remarks, a poor guitar is much more difficult to play than a well-set up moderately priced one. Curiously enough I play an Australian Maton CW80 six string. It's not a cheap guitar and I've owned it since 1979. I also play a Fender Telecaster if asked to sing in a band.

[Braddock, VC]

This puts me in mind of a john wayne film in which one of his sidekicks incessantly plays one tune on a jews harp.

JW asks if knows any other tunes he replied don't know this one yet that's why I keep practising.....

[Jimbo565]

BBC

Sell you this one for £2500.

[Robin Colbourne]

As someone who can only just get 'Flower of Scotland' out of a penny whistle, I'm not in a strong position to comment first hand, although my son is a professional guitar teacher so I can repeat what he says.

Firstly, after the first few lessons an at least semi-decent guitar is a must. Secondly, setting up the guitar right is important; he often spends a significant part of a twenty minute lesson with the children he teaches, getting the guitar properly tuned. Thirdly, as Michael R-F says, practice, practice, practice, and finally as Denis Watkins says, a tutor will help you avoid bad habits and progress much more quickly in the early stages.

My son mostly teaches lead and bass, although here in his version of the Game of Thrones theme he is playing acoustic (all are him playing the same guitar, he just did some wizardry to put them on the same screen):

 

Edited By Robin Colbourne on 21/02/2017 13:49:28

[XK50]

Take a look at Justin Sandercoe's FREE Beginner's Course:

https://www.justinguitar.com/en/BC-000-BeginnersCourse.php

Best wishes,

John

[Phil Green]

Its one of those questions that you already know the answer to... find some material and practise, practise, practise!

My suggestion would be to skip the theory and learn a party piece straight away. Something you personally like thats a bit challenging. Stick with it until you can play at least a good section of it - that is so rewarding.
Play purely for your own enjoyment - its not surprising that kids who spend half their lesson on tuning dont stick with it.

You dont need an expensive guitar - my two faves are my Dads first-attempt accoustic build, its rough but sounds lovely - and an old tele I bought in the street outside Cash Converters from a lad who was disgusted with their offer but happily took an extra £5 from me. My posh ones remain unused in their cases, they just dont have any appeal.

/2p

Cheers
Phil

 

 

Edited By Phil Green on 21/02/2017 18:38:11

[Tim Hooper]

Posted by XK50 on 21/02/2017 13:56:47:

Take a look at Justin Sandercoe's FREE Beginner's Course:

https://www.justinguitar.com/en/BC-000-BeginnersCourse.php

Best wishes,

John

I'll second that! Justin's YouTube video lessons go all the way from how to hold the thing to advanced jazz.

**LINK**

[Plummet]

Bouncebounce Crunch,

I don't know how old you are, but if you are in the age group you might look up the U3A in your area. I know that there is a guitar group in our local U3A - and my beloved has been learning the Ukukele (sp?) with another group for some time.

**LINK**

Cheers,

Plummet

[Martin McIntosh]

Anyone want to buy a Mexican re-issue Strat. or an old but good Sqier? I love them but have no sense of rhythm although the fingering is not a big problem. No chance of flying to music then.

[Former Member]

[This posting has been removed]

[Tim Hooper]

BBC,

I was talking to a 67-year old at my local ukulele club last night, and hesaid he'd never picked up any musical instrument in his entire life until he was 62. Now he's a proficient uke strummer, and loves it!

Basic advice from me (who has no inate musical talent or skill, but has been strumming guitatrs for 30 years or so);

1. £100 should get you a nice, new, shiny guitar (acoustic or electric) from a proper music shop shop - already set-up, and demonstrated.

2. Buying online and/or second hand is always a gamble, so if you're buying alone then I'd be very careful indeed.

3. A 'Snark' digital tuner (or similar) shouldcost around £10, and will save lots of heartache.

4. Pick on online tutor (ie Justin), and commit yourself for several weeks effort beofre you see any discernable progress. Gentle, but frequent practice is the key. A few minutes, several times a day, is better than tryng beat the thing to death for an hour or two.

5. Master 3 or 4 basic chords, and get yourself some favourite, but simple songs to work on. Having done that, add another chord, and expand your repertoire as you go.

6. Accept that your fingertips are going to be a bit sore to begin with. Accept the fact that you'll come up against brick walls now and then - don't be discouraged.

7. Find others to play with - you'll learn a lot!

8. Report back here!

Tim

[Phil Green]

Pete Christy plays in a Uke band

[XK50]

Tim's advice is good, and the way into the guitar, for me (in my 60s, too), was the ukulele.

In this, Jim D'Ville's website:

http://www.playukulelebyear.com/category/26-basic-ukulele-lessons/

was very helpful, especially in regards to a little bit of theory - chord progression, 12-bar blues etc - so you have a basic idea of what's going on.

In following Tim, Jim and Justin, BBC could find it's turned out nice, again!

John