IGX

Received an acoustic guitar for Christmas. Very excited and ready to get going. Fortunately, my musical heroes are 4 chord wonders (Ramones, Clash, etc.), so I don't need to study the Van Halen songbook.

Any advice on lessons? What do you look for in an instructor? I can afford private lessons, but see a lot of on line stuff available-much cheaper and much more convenient for a busy schedule. Thoughts?

Thanks in advance.

There is something positive to be said for taking lessons from someone who knows how to play jazz or classical guitar. It generally makes all the other stuff easy in comparison.

You can learn from books and DVDs, but you will get a big head start and prevent bad habits if you at least start out with a few in-person lessons.

I learned bass back in high school, this was years ago. Anyway, my bass teacher was cool. He told me on my first day, something to the effect of: "I am not here to teach you the bassline from whatever the latest Red Hot Chili Peppers' song is, on the radio right now. I am going to teach you how to read music, play notes, and also about rhythm."

And that made a huge impression on me. If you're opting for lessons, get a teacher like he was. Get somebody who can really get you into the nuts and bolts of it, even if this is just a hobby. Put what time into it that you can, do the lessons, learn about it and enjoy it.

Play with someone who is far better than you think you can be. If you have to pay them for it, do so.

Exact opposite of what the new dork said. Keep the guitar FUN and you'll keep playing it. Get a teacher who will show you some of your favourite songs. You'll learn them and play them over and over because it will be FUN. Learning how to read music, scales and all that stuff MIGHT be somewhere you want to go eventually. But what you want to do ASAP is get to a stage where you're good enough to give yourself pleasure (ho ho). Biggest mistake is getting an inflexible teacher with their own "method". You just need a few chords. If you're a self-starter sort of guy with a good ear, you could find that in 3 weeks, with some online lessons, you're playing a song you love (slowly) and you're away.

Learn the basic chords: abcdefg. Learn the whole chords, bar chords don't sound as good on an accoustic IMO.
After you've spent a couple of weeks learning chords, look up songs you want to play. Make sure you look up "chords" not "tab".
One of my favorite Ramones songs: http://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/r/ramon ... ys_crd.htm
It just takes a little time.
Have fun.

If there is ONE book that'll make your life a lot easier from the start it's guitar principles by Jamie Andreas http://www.guitarprinciples.com/

Don't get freaked out when you see 'her'. It's a guy who had a sex change but the info is incredible for starting without bad habits.

I've also heard good things about eMedia Guitar Method. Software that gives a lot of the structure you'd get from private lessons. Plus the ability to slow down licks and songs to get your fingers up to speed.

Putting time in up front is important-- your fingers and wrist have to get used to playing and being in a good position.

Turdacious wrote:Putting time in up front is important-- your fingers and wrist have to get used to playing and being in a good position.

This.

I've seen most people quit after a couple of days because their fingers/hands/wrists hurt, and they still weren't getting much beyond a series of dull thuds when they strummed a chord.

Get some lighter-gauge strings to start. Just like being in the gym, you will have to slowly increase your work capacity and build up some callouses. By all means, learn the basic chords -- start with G, C and D -- but also ensure you put some time in every time you pick up the guitar with some simple chromatic scales -- i.e. alternate picking, E string 1st finger 1st fret, 2nd finger 2nd fret, 3rd finger 3rd fret, 4th finger 4th fret. Move to A string and repeat etc. Think of it as a warm up.

Thanks. Great advice so far. Except Dr. Agkistrodon-that sucked and is the complete opposite of what I want to do.

Gav wrote:If there is ONE book that'll make your life a lot easier from the start it's guitar principles by Jamie Andreas http://www.guitarprinciples.com/

Don't get freaked out when you see 'her'. It's a guy who had a sex change but the info is incredible for starting without bad habits.

What's she's saying in the few videos that I've watched makes a ton of sense. This part about not starting on the first fret is very logical-that's where I've been focused for the last few days and it's uncomfortable as hell.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Svz3a3hRVw4[/youtube]

Get a shop to lower the action (height of strings over freeboard). Will make playing more fun and less pain. Light strings a good tip too.

Above all, don't turn it into a chore. Don't ever "practice". Just play. If that means the same 3 songs for 12 months an you love it, that's what you should do. Enjoy.

Gorbachev wrote: Don't ever "practice". Just play.

Took me about 10 years to realize this. The following 20 years have been great. At times only once/week jamming and at other times almost every day. Never took a single lesson and for the last 10 years I've hardly played anything but my own stuff. I was never interested in learning other peoples solos as I always felt that they should be personal expressions. Mostly just jamming and letting things flow and grow by them selves. For writing new material I like to get together with various drummers and just improvise and goof around on top of their beat and then combining different ideas.

The basis for all music is the ear and stuff like this can make a huge difference in a short time, although they are pretty fuckin' boring: http://www.earmaster.com/eartraining/

Free ear training: http://www.good-ear.com/servlet/EarTrainer

The best and most fun thing I ever did for my ear was taking singing lessons once/week for the past 2 years.

Gorbachev wrote:Get a shop to lower the action (height of strings over freeboard).

This is critical. Most fretted instruments come with a crappy factory setup and the strings will be too high which not only hurts beginners but also makes the intonation off. $50 to $100 spent on a professional setup will repay you well in comfort. And get a real luthier- do not just have the random guitar shop's guy do it. A pro will make sure the nut is rounded and comfortable, that the string slot heights are correct, that intonation is correct, that the frets are properly levelled and crowned, the fret ends smooth and rounded, that the saddle height and compensation are right. A host of things that beginners do not realize exist, but make your instrument play easier and sound the best it can.

I learned how to make and cut nuts, do fretwork, as well as set-up floating bridges (like on an archtop) after having a guitar shop do a half-assed job of putting on a new nut. But I have a dozen instruments, and like to fix up wrecks I buy off Ebay. If you just have one, pay a pro.

PC Polar Circle Person wrote: The best and most fun thing I ever did for my ear was taking singing lessons once/week for the past 2 years.

Don't remember who told me this, but I think it's true:

"If you can sing it, you can play it."

Schlegel wrote:

Gorbachev wrote:Get a shop to lower the action (height of strings over freeboard).

This is critical. Most fretted instruments come with a crappy factory setup and the strings will be too high which not only hurts beginners but also makes the intonation off. $50 to $100 spent on a professional setup will repay you well in comfort. And get a real luthier- do not just have the random guitar shop's guy do it. A pro will make sure the nut is rounded and comfortable, that the string slot heights are correct, that intonation is correct, that the frets are properly levelled and crowned, the fret ends smooth and rounded, that the saddle height and compensation are right. A host of things that beginners do not realize exist, but make your instrument play easier and sound the best it can.

I learned how to make and cut nuts, do fretwork, as well as set-up floating bridges (like on an archtop) after having a guitar shop do a half-assed job of putting on a new nut. But I have a dozen instruments, and like to fix up wrecks I buy off Ebay. If you just have one, pay a pro.

Conversely, some experienced players recommend starting with a cheap student model classical with ridiculously high action to learn chord formations, scales, picking and such. That's probably more for someone who wants to be a musician vs just learning to play for fun though.

Question; what kind of saddles do you like? I left my acoustic unstrung for a few months, and the saddle fell out, nowhere to be found. Gotta get a new one, and have never made one myself. Should I get a new nut too? I like the action it had but if I upgrade to a better saddle, should I upgrade the nut too? I like to play a lot of open strings so the nut is a big factor in my overall sound. The one I have now is stock Ovation (yes, I know I should just have a better guitar but that isn't in the budget for the next, oh, 20 years)

The most fun free ear training IMO: http://www.trainear.com/

bigpeach wrote:
Conversely, some experienced players recommend starting with a cheap student model classical with ridiculously high action to learn chord formations, scales, picking and such. That's probably more for someone who wants to be a musician vs just learning to play for fun though.

Question; what kind of saddles do you like? I left my acoustic unstrung for a few months, and the saddle fell out, nowhere to be found. Gotta get a new one, and have never made one myself. Should I get a new nut too? I like the action it had but if I upgrade to a better saddle, should I upgrade the nut too? I like to play a lot of open strings so the nut is a big factor in my overall sound. The one I have now is stock Ovation (yes, I know I should just have a better guitar but that isn't in the budget for the next, oh, 20 years)

I've never ever heard anybody good say to start with high action. I don't agree with that at all.

Good old bone is fine for nut and saddle. No need to get fancy with corian or tusq or ivory. Bone transmits the vibration much better than plastic and is traditional for a reason. If the nut you have now is plastic, it's a cheap and easy upgrade.

If you want to learn how to do this kind of stuff, you can get nut and saddle blanks for a couple of bucks each from stewmac.com. you can shape them with a hacksaw and sandpaper if you have to, but a sander will really speed things up. Files to cut nut slots are tougher, but you can get by with a set of torch tip cleaning files.

PC Polar Circle Person wrote:

Gorbachev wrote: Don't ever "practice". Just play.

Took me about 10 years to realize this. The following 20 years have been great. At times only once/week jamming and at other times almost every day. Never took a single lesson and for the last 10 years I've hardly played anything but my own stuff. I was never interested in learning other peoples solos as I always felt that they should be personal expressions. Mostly just jamming and letting things flow and grow by them selves. For writing new material I like to get together with various drummers and just improvise and goof around on top of their beat and then combining different ideas.

The basis for all music is the ear and stuff like this can make a huge difference in a short time, although they are pretty fuckin' boring: http://www.earmaster.com/eartraining/

Free ear training: http://www.good-ear.com/servlet/EarTrainer

The best and most fun thing I ever did for my ear was taking singing lessons once/week for the past 2 years.

I pursued the classical guitar like a madman for 2 years (2 hours of playing scales every day, for a start), and if I were to start over again, this is the advice I would give. Technical finesse and being able to read/sight read music is important for anyone who isn't a natural prodigy, but learning to play by ear and by "feel" is 10 times more important IF you are going to be anything other than a classical guitarist - and even if you ARE going to be a classical guitarist.

I've just started in person lessons-so far so good. I'm learning quicker in that setting that off the web or by books.

Next question for you: how long did it take you to develop calluses, and is it normal that the tips of my fingers are tingling pretty much constantly? I stayed with the wire strings (not plastic).

Thanks.

About a week of playing a few hours per day. For me, my fingers and hand hurt longer than the tips. Some chord formations aren't exactly natural positions for your hand and it takes time to get accustomed to them. Keep at it because it happens "all of a sudden" and the instrument is even more enjoyable when it does.

So you didn't take all the great advice to have your guitar tuned, tweaked, rebuilt, filed down, and restrung before learning to play?

Amazingly stupid suggestion really. Thousands and thousands of people have learned to play, and play well, without any fancy crap and without having the action lowered. Ridiculous.

Yes it's normal to have finger pain. You're pressing down hard and often on thin metal wires with your fingertips. It takes awhile but gets easier with time, like anything else.

protobuilder wrote:So you didn't take all the great advice to have your guitar tuned, tweaked, rebuilt, filed down, and restrung before learning to play?

Amazingly stupid suggestion really. Thousands and thousands of people have learned to play, and play well, without any fancy crap and without having the action lowered. Ridiculous.

Yes it's normal to have finger pain. You're pressing down hard and often on thin metal wires with your fingertips. It takes awhile but gets easier with time, like anything else.

You're an idiot. A guitar setup is cheap and not "fancy crap". There's no need for extra pain, and the action as guitars leave the factory not only causes unneeded pain, it causes incorrect intonation. That makes the guitar not sound right. Setups are a completely normal part of buying a new instrument. There is zero benefit to making the process harder than it needs to be.

lasalle wrote: is it normal that the tips of my fingers are tingling pretty much constantly?

If your fingers don't return to normal feeling in between practices, they're not recovering from the pressure damage. You've increased the volume of practice too rapidly. Back off, and then gradually increase practice times. Why give yourself constant tissue and nerve damage?