Beginning Guitar

UndertheMatt

I am 18 years old, nearly finished the Leaving Cert and I am seriously considering taking up guitar for the summer, seeing that I don't think that ill be able to find a job and I've always wanted to learn it.

Anyway, I was just wondering what guitar would be best for a beginner?

I was reading some of the other threads and got information on some of the things.

My mate was saying that Guitar for Dummies is meant to be good to learn with?! What would you recommend the best way to learn?

Cheers.

strobe

If you have cash to burn (I'm guessing probably not) then get lessons from a good teacher. That is the best way to learn.

If you know someone that has been playing for a while then talk to them, let them know you want to learn, most good guitarists love the instrument and would be more than happy to help someone starting out, and ask them if they will help you out to get started. If they are a mate ask them if they will come into an instrument shop with you to help you pick out a guitar. Basically the best way by a long long way is to have someone that knows the instrument sitting there with you one to one and showing you how it works.

If you aren't loaded or none of your mates play and are willing to help you out then you can still learn pretty good on your own. Youtube is a godsend if that is your position. Just type in "beginner guitar lessons" or something similar and you will find hundreds of videos dealing with everything from how to hold the pick to how to learn basic chords to how to play specific songs.

This forum right here is also a really good resource man, for specific questions, it has helped me a huge amount over the last couple of years. So anything you get stuck on or need help with don't be afraid to post up the question, no matter how small or big and you will get a lot of really good advice from people that really really know their stuff.

Good luck man, be patient, it takes time, in the beginning things might go pretty slow and you will have times when you think it is hopeless but stick with it. Most of all have fun. I absolutely fukking loved my first 3 or 4 months learning how to play. It was frustrating as hell at times but the first time you nail a little riff or chord progression it will blow your mind. You'll be walking on air for the next week.

UndertheMatt

Thanks mate for the long reply, and lots of info.

Much Appreciated.

Charlie3dan

I started playing last August and I bought "Guitar for Dummies" to get me started. It's very good starting off, learning chords and strumming patterns etc.
However, the songs in the book aren't exactly contemporary, so I found myself looking at ultimate guitar and the like for songs to play and I pretty much left the book behind after that.
I found it much easier to sit down and think "I'm going to try and play this song" rather than I'm going to practise x technique over and over again.

One word of warning, the stuff that's online isn't always acurate but you can certainly get yourself started just by typing "Beginner guitar lessons" into google as strobe said.

franamico

UndertheMatt wrote: »

I am 18 years old, nearly finished the Leaving Cert and I am seriously considering taking up guitar for the summer, seeing that I don't think that ill be able to find a job and I've always wanted to learn it.

Anyway, I was just wondering what guitar would be best for a beginner?

I was reading some of the other threads and got information on some of the things.

My mate was saying that Guitar for Dummies is meant to be good to learn with?! What would you recommend the best way to learn?

Cheers.

Hey,
Have a look at a course called Jamorama...

It's definitely one of the best ways to learn guitar with very little investment