--> Share things you've learned about guitar

[Ande]

I not only say it, I can prove it!

(But I'm a tiny little, teensy weensy bit better now than I was last Tuesday...)

Best,

Ande

[GuitarFlame_com]

Good tips, just that regarding the equipment not everybody can afford spending much money on it. Get the guitar you can afford, well, a bit too generic, even if I get the point

[Ande]

I've said it before, and will again- you learn a LOT faster playing a $100 guitar than you do saving for a $500 guitar.

(I'm the proud owner of two $40 guitars. I am saving to move up the scale, but am glad to have something to play while I save...)


Best,

Ande

[spides]

looooong post so forgive me if i repeat.

Know the fretboard better than you know yourself. You should look at it and see A's and D's and F#'s. Not fret8, fret4 and fret6. Think the Matrix "I don't even see the code. All i see now is Blonde, brunette, redhead"

draw up three circle of fifths/cycle of fourths every day for two weeks, from memory. If youve got that etched on your brain, as well as the notes of the fretboard, you'll likely never hit a note you didn't mean to again.

Don't think of chords as shapes to remember, think of them as specific groups of notes played together to get a certain response.learn your chords like a pianist, start with root position triads from a root 6, 5, 4 and 3 and build up from there. It wont be long before you can find any chord within two frets of where you are instantly.

[BluezOldy]

As I read through the eighteen pages, I couldn't help but wonder what happened to all those really enthusiastic people who posted in the first couple of years but only had single digit post counts.

Did they find a forum better suited to them? Give up the guitar?

[TRGuitar]

Well, I've been on here over a year and I was amazed by the people with posts in the thousands that I have never heard of. There are some there too that I haven't heard from in quite some time.

[fredramsey]

I've said it before, and will again- you learn a LOT faster playing a $100 guitar than you do saving for a $500 guitar.

Unless the $100 guitar is so hard to play it frustrates you...

[Ande]

All guitars are hard to play, and frustrate me!

But I know what you mean- high action, warped necks, poop sound, none of this really helps the learning experience. Get a guitar you're gonna like, and like to play.

I've met a lot of people who dream about the guitar they want, and aren't playing any. That ain't cool. I've learned a lot on my two crappy guitars...can't wait for Christmas, though!


Best,
Ande

[stellabloo]

...[500 days and counting ]

Change the strings regularly! And learn how to do this properly so the strings stay in tune.
If you have a $100 guitar new strings only help slightly, but if you have a $200-$300 guitar like mine or even a $10 000 guitar, please remember that it will still sound like poop when you have tired strings that are out of tune.

Last time I put on extra durable strings - which was really a mistake unless your calluses are the size of marbles - and right now I am using Martin steel strings "Silk and Steel" which is like having a whole new guitar

One really good piece of advice I got from this thred was to put together a little kit - spare strings, wire cutter, pin puller - and stash it in the guitar case. Another good tip was to tune the guitar at least EVERY DAY if not every time you sit down. With a cheap electronic tuner and a fresh set of strings, there is no reason to sound like poop [unless your guitar truly IS a piece of poop in which case please accept my condolences].

[DylanBarrett]

Hi all,

Yup, I'm in agreement with the $100 guitar rule.... I decided to learn the guitar about 8 months ago, but just in case I decided that this music stuff wasn't for me, I bought a Stagg Western Acoustic kit for about $100 so it didn't matter much if I just hung it on the wall after a couple of weeks....

I'm in love with my guitar - it may be cheap but it sounds sweet to me and I'll always keep it. In eight months i've only changed the strings once although I'm sure they need changing more often - I sort of make myself 'earn' new strings. A bit like buying a better (or more expensive?) guitar - I need to earn it, so, when I think I've reached a certain level of competence, I'll maybe think of buying a better guitar, but until then....

I'm actually going to change my strings shortly because one of them is falling apart and I value my eyesight...I'm going to invest in a string-winder though - great little tool which I've only just learned about...I've also found out that different manufacturers of strings sound different, so, there's another variable...

Hi Stella - so, this is where you're hangin' out nowadays - congratulations on your gratuitous use of the word 'poop'.

Rock on!

D

[ShadowRaptor]

This is an excellent thread ...

I started playing about 15 months ago - I will be 61 next month. One of the 'lessons' I have learned in this life is that the next time around, I'll start learning music as soon as I am old enough to hold a guitar!

I seem to be gravitating towards my classical guitar, so I picked up a beginner's book the other day. The first thing I learned has to do with the fingernails on my picking hand. I have been trying to keep the nails on my right hand longer to use as 'picks', but the author advises keeping these nails short and learn to play using just the fingertips.

I coached hockey for many years and I used to tell the guys to practice with the same intensity as they play. I guess this applies to learning music as well.

[DylanBarrett]

Hey Rob

I'm in full agreement - if there is such a thing as reincarnation - might be strange seeing a chipmunk or mighty oak strumming on a strat - the mind boggles...

My mum would be proud of my nails - as a kid I used to get a cuff round t'ears for biting my nails - now I can't keep them short enough on my fret hand - trimming them regularly and it does make a different - a slight growth of nail can buzz a string that would normally (well, as normal as a beginner does) sound sweet.

As for the strumming and plucking hand - i've tried growing my nails but eventually one of them breaks and that's it! Off they all come. I'm coming to terms with the fact that when I want a soft strumming sound I use fingers and for the sharper sound I'm going to have to use a pick - but that definitely IS another story.

Practice practice practice - most definitely. And enjoy!

Rock on!

D

[spides]

I'm hoping i get reincarnated as a mahogany tree and converted into a Les Paul.

[Vic Lewis VL]

I'm hoping i get reincarnated as a mahogany tree and converted into a Les Paul.

I'm just hoping to be reincarnated as a guitarist............



Vic

[Ignar Hillström]

I hope I won't reincarnate at all. That'd really be the bummer of the year.