Learning guitar

L-M

After years of putting it off I pulled the finger out about a month ago and decided to take up the guitar. I've learned a few chords, eg, G, G7, A, A7, D, Dm, C, F etc. and I can play a few of the easier songs, I'm just looking for advice as to where to take it from here? Learn harder chords? Strumming better?

Charlie3dan

Look up the chords to some songs you'd like to be able to play. You should find a few songs that are easy to play or have a simplified version. You might pick up a new chord or two with each song and you might even find some basic finger picking techniques needed for intros to songs etc.

I bought the "guitar for dummies" book when I started and I found this good for learning the basics.

FlipFlop23

Just keep playing... getting a book is helpful, there are also tons of free instructional videos online...listen to music you want to play and pay special attention to the guitar parts. Eventually it will come ...

That Handsome Devil

www.justinguitar.com is great if you want some structure to your progression in learning guitar. The Beginners Course and Intermediate (that I'm using now) are really well done, imo. There's other bits and pieces that are also real fun aswell!

Ash.J.Williams

Limerick man wrote: »

After years of putting it off I pulled the finger out about a month ago and decided to take up the guitar. I've learned a few chords, eg, G, G7, A, A7, D, Dm, C, F etc. and I can play a few of the easier songs, I'm just looking for advice as to where to take it from here? Learn harder chords? Strumming better?

subscribe to a few players on youtube and you'll be inspired! This guy for example, easy to follow, no bulls**t, decent songs easy chords!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vVgtQa73MM

You will learn far more by enjoying your playing than by burying your head straight into theory.

GraphicsFactory

You Tube Lessons can be great if you find a good instructor. Justin Sandercoe's lessons are good.

Fowler87

Limerick man wrote: »

After years of putting it off I pulled the finger out about a month ago and decided to take up the guitar. I've learned a few chords, eg, G, G7, A, A7, D, Dm, C, F etc. and I can play a few of the easier songs, I'm just looking for advice as to where to take it from here? Learn harder chords? Strumming better?

Try learning a bit of theory too. Would recommend justinguitar also. Downloaded his practical music theory ebook recently, very beneficial

L-M

I find it hard to learn songs that I don't like but I suppose learning is learning!

Shreddingblood

Limerick man wrote: »

I find it hard to learn songs that I don't like but I suppose learning is learning!

To be honest man , I stopped learning songs about a year ago. I find it too restrictive. It's a good idea to learn easy songs when you're starting off, even if you don't like them just to get hand speed, tempo, techniques etc. But once I became an intermediate guitar player I found that I was getting bored learning off songs and I wasn't progressing as a player. When I started writing my own stuff and trying to make it faster, more difficult etc, that's when I became a better player.

lezard

Guitar techniques magazine is an excellent resource no matter what style you want to learn.
Perhaps a bit focused on the electric side of things but the acoustic/fingerstyle stuff is all top notch.

http://www.musicradar.com/guitartechniques

WealthyB

On the actual playing side, practice changing between chords until the cows come home. Practice playing these chords to a point where you don't need to look at the neck of the guitar to jump between G, C, D, Em, Am, Dm, F, etc etc .... No point in learning susMin7 chords or any of that shyte for now; stick to knowing how to play the Major and Minor of each chord.

Theory:
Learn the basics of Music Theory. I can't overstate how important this is. Know this and you have a headstart on most budding guitarists.
Learn the relationships between the chords.
Learn WHY so many songs have the same 3 Chords (known as the I-IV-V [1-4-5] Progression).

take the scale of G:
do-re--me-fa--so-la--ti----do
G - A - B - C - D - E - F# - G
1---2--3---4--5---6---7---1

Now, 99.999999% of all songs ever written in the key of G will invariably use the chords G, C and D.
Why? Because C and D are the 4th and 5th notes in the scale of G. This is the 1-4-5 progression.
This formula was one of the most basic fundamentals of classical music.
Guitarists will be nodding along here noticing you always play those 3 chords together.

Likewise if you're playing in the Key of C, you'll see C, F and G being the natural progression.

do-re--me-fa--so--la--ti---do
C--D---E--F---G---A--B---C
1---2--3--4---5---6---7---1

Again, F and G being the 4th and 5th notes in playing the Key of C.
And again, guitarists will be nodding along here too. They know this, but most starting off without music theory do not understand the WHY of it.

Now, make the 2nd note in the scale a Minor Chord, and the same for the 6th note, and you have:

C - Dm - F - G - Am

Play those chords together. They sound right. The classical composers were bound by a mathematical formula. Why? Because it worked.
It still does today, and will do in another 100 years.

Going back to the key of G:
do-re--me-fa--so-la--ti----do
G - A - B - C - D - E - F# - G
1---2--3---4--5---6---7---1

Minor the 2nd and the 6th, and use with the 1-4-5 and you have:
G -Bm - C -D - Em.
Again, play those together, Hell, just play G - Em - C - D and see how right it sounds.
Play those chords and you have "Knocking on Heaven's Door".
Mix them around and you have about hundreds, thousands, hundreds of thousands of other songs as well.

Learn every scale. Learn the notes in every major scale. Then apply the formula for every scale.

Once you understand this, if someone asks you to play a song you're not entirely sure of the chords for, you will get 80% of them right using this classical formula. Get the starting note, and the 1-4-5 and the minor 2nd and minor 6th will come. They'll be in the song, trust me.

Status Quo (yeah, shyte band but I'm just making a point) make a career out of playing the 1-4-5, and you would be amazed how many songs written throughout the ages use this progression as the foundation of the song.
Early Rock n'Roll had nothing BUT the 1-4-5 progression. Even the best songwriting partnership of all time, Lennon and McCartney used this formula as the standard during the early Beatles (or Chuck Berry influenced) years.
However that's over-simplifying their work I know, because they also had a knack of completely going off skew with a progression you'd never expect that worked so beautifully, but that's why they are revered (especially by fellow musicians) as they still are today.

Now there's always exceptions in songs like what the Beatles did so well; of course there are. But the 1-4-5 (and minor 2nd and 6th formula) is the rule as opposed to the exception.
Learning the exceptions is one of the most exciting things, it was for me, and I'll leave that journey to you. And anyway this post has already become a monster I didn't even intend on starting in the first place, but it's a subject I'm very passionate about. (can you tell?)

So many guitarists I know would have been so much better, so much quicker, if they just understood some of the most basic stuff about scales and the classical chord progressions.

And if none of that works, pour lighter fluid over the guitar, set it on fire and trash it and just go get Guitar Hero instead :P

ciaranmac

Limerick man wrote: »

I find it hard to learn songs that I don't like but I suppose learning is learning!

The trick is finding a new song that you like and which also pushes you a little beyond your comfort zone as a player. Then you play it until everyone who lives in your house is sick of it, and hopefully you have it right by then.

WealthyB

Limerick man wrote: »

I find it hard to learn songs that I don't like but I suppose learning is learning!

But why would you learn songs you don't like? When I taught guitar one of the first things I did was find out what style of guitar they wanted to play - Jazz, Trad, Rock, Metal.... and from there it was just a matter of giving them songs to learn that had increased difficulty.

It's a simple thing to say but if you love a song you're going to practice it more.

So many people gave up the piano when they were in their teens because they were sick of playing the same 3 classical pieces to death over 9 months for their Grade Exam, only to ditch the pieces the following year for another 3 x pieces they couldn't relate to either.

veee

Play everyday and you'll improve, that's the best advice I think.

Ash.J.Williams

here's a tip!

Instead of just playing a note for example G, play a lower note say F# and bend it up to the G....it's a good habit to learn and practice and will benfit you greatly when you get better!

then of course pratctice bending an F to a G and so forth...

L-M

What do you mean by bending it up to F?

Just said I'd keep ye updated! I invested in a cappo which I'm bloody delighted with it

I can play a few songs actually, whilst reading the chords and I've been giving tabs a good going over.

I'll be aiming for this :P

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSMuc5PA9J4

Thanks again for the help lads, greatly appriciated.

coup1917

WealthyB wrote: »

On the actual playing side, practice changing between chords until the cows come home. Practice playing these chords to a point where you don't need to look at the neck of the guitar to jump between G, C, D, Em, Am, Dm, F, etc etc .... No point in learning susMin7 chords or any of that shyte for now; stick to knowing how to play the Major and Minor of each chord.

Theory:
Learn the basics of Music Theory. I can't overstate how important this is. Know this and you have a headstart on most budding guitarists.
Learn the relationships between the chords.
Learn WHY so many songs have the same 3 Chords (known as the I-IV-V [1-4-5] Progression).

take the scale of G:
do-re--me-fa--so-la--ti----do
G - A - B - C - D - E - F# - G
1---2--3---4--5---6---7---1

Now, 99.999999% of all songs ever written in the key of G will invariably use the chords G, C and D.
Why? Because C and D are the 4th and 5th notes in the scale of G. This is the 1-4-5 progression.
This formula was one of the most basic fundamentals of classical music.
Guitarists will be nodding along here noticing you always play those 3 chords together.

Likewise if you're playing in the Key of C, you'll see C, F and G being the natural progression.

do-re--me-fa--so--la--ti---do
C--D---E--F---G---A--B---C
1---2--3--4---5---6---7---1

Again, F and G being the 4th and 5th notes in playing the Key of C.
And again, guitarists will be nodding along here too. They know this, but most starting off without music theory do not understand the WHY of it.

Now, make the 2nd note in the scale a Minor Chord, and the same for the 6th note, and you have:

C - Dm - F - G - Am

Play those chords together. They sound right. The classical composers were bound by a mathematical formula. Why? Because it worked.
It still does today, and will do in another 100 years.

Going back to the key of G:
do-re--me-fa--so-la--ti----do
G - A - B - C - D - E - F# - G
1---2--3---4--5---6---7---1

Minor the 2nd and the 6th, and use with the 1-4-5 and you have:
G -Bm - C -D - Em.
Again, play those together, Hell, just play G - Em - C - D and see how right it sounds.
Play those chords and you have "Knocking on Heaven's Door".
Mix them around and you have about hundreds, thousands, hundreds of thousands of other songs as well.

Learn every scale. Learn the notes in every major scale. Then apply the formula for every scale.

Once you understand this, if someone asks you to play a song you're not entirely sure of the chords for, you will get 80% of them right using this classical formula. Get the starting note, and the 1-4-5 and the minor 2nd and minor 6th will come. They'll be in the song, trust me.

Status Quo (yeah, shyte band but I'm just making a point) make a career out of playing the 1-4-5, and you would be amazed how many songs written throughout the ages use this progression as the foundation of the song.
Early Rock n'Roll had nothing BUT the 1-4-5 progression. Even the best songwriting partnership of all time, Lennon and McCartney used this formula as the standard during the early Beatles (or Chuck Berry influenced) years.
However that's over-simplifying their work I know, because they also had a knack of completely going off skew with a progression you'd never expect that worked so beautifully, but that's why they are revered (especially by fellow musicians) as they still are today.

Now there's always exceptions in songs like what the Beatles did so well; of course there are. But the 1-4-5 (and minor 2nd and 6th formula) is the rule as opposed to the exception.
Learning the exceptions is one of the most exciting things, it was for me, and I'll leave that journey to you. And anyway this post has already become a monster I didn't even intend on starting in the first place, but it's a subject I'm very passionate about. (can you tell?)

So many guitarists I know would have been so much better, so much quicker, if they just understood some of the most basic stuff about scales and the classical chord progressions.

And if none of that works, pour lighter fluid over the guitar, set it on fire and trash it and just go get Guitar Hero instead :P

Fantastic post...
which id known the basics 20 years ago....!!! i think im gonna dig out my theory and learn some scales properly....:-)

G-Money

I bought that For Dummies book myself but didn't stick at it. I was playing on an electric guitar at the time but didn't sound great. I'm thinking of buying an acoustic and giving it a real go.