What's the best way...

[woody67]

....to learn to play an acoustic guitar?

My dear wife bought me a Fender Squier for Christmas and I'm itching to be the next Eric Clapton (or Philly of course) :wink: , but am finding it harder (and slower) than I first thought. What's the best way then folks? T'interweb, lessons, books, DVD's or blood sweat and tears?

Many Thanks

Mark :ho2

 

[jlawrence]

Firstly, how much patience do you have ? Can you already read music - though guitar tabs are a bit different ?
If you want to learn with the least bad habits then get lessons, if you just want to enjoy yourself get some books. Either way, learning a new instrument isn't going to be a short over night thing.

 

[pren]

I taught myself (bad habits and all) by picking a simple song that I liked and finding the tab on sites like ultimate guitar.

Tab's (tableture) great. You don't have to read any music score, just put your fingers on the numbers on the strings indicated.

If you start off with basic chords like A, G, E, D, C, you should be able to play quite a few songs for acoustic guitar.

Do expect to spend the first few hours making 'thunk, plunk, donk, buzz' sounds followed by much swearing. Also, your finger tips on your fret hand will hurt like a ***** until you build up some hard skin on them.

The other option, if you've got an electric and an amp - crank up the reverb. No-one will be able to tell that you can't play. 8) :lol:

Good luck with it! Don't give up. Don't try and run before you can walk. Beware of the guitar kit slope. It can get very costly it you let it! :lol:

 

[woody67]

Thanks Bryn - I'm typing this with my right hand as indeed, my left fingers do hurt like a *****! Thanks for the encouragement and tips. The only trouble is I'm raring to go on my new toy, but alas the garden incinerator awaits Christmas detritus!

Thanks

Mark

 

[pren]

If all else fails,

Got this for crimbo. A-W-E-S-O-M-E!!! 8)

 

[flying haggis]

If you start off with basic chords like A, G, E, D, C, you should be able to play quite a few songs for acoustic guitar.

If you can play a few basic chords like A,G,E,D,C, you could probably get a gig with Status Quo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Benchwayze]

....to learn to play an acoustic guitar?

but am finding it harder (and slower) than I first thought. What's the best way then folks? T'interweb, lessons, books, DVD's or blood sweat and tears?

Many Thanks

Mark :ho2

Find a teacher Woody. That's the best way. As for practice, when your fingers are sore, keep playing 'til they bleed. Then play some more. Takes about a month to get decent callouses on your fingers. That's when you get the bug!

best of luck to you woody..
John :ho2

 

[filsgreen]

Mark I bought a guitar about two years ago thinking that I would learn to play, STUPID BOY! Anyway I sold the guitar this year, but I still have the Guitar for Dummies book if you want it, just cover the postage.

Phil

 

[MIGNAL]

The best and easiest way is through a teacher, just make sure that they are good. They don't necessarily have to be a truly fantastic player but they really need to be aware of technical faults that make playing much more difficult.
Sorry but I simply don't agree with playing for hours just to sweat it and build up calouses. It's the last thing that someone new to an instrument should be doing IMO. It can even lead to serious damage of tendons. especially with older starters.
Failing that Google Jamie Andreas. In some ways it's a Classical approach but good or great Guitar playing relies on being relaxed with a more natural hand position - whichever style you wish to play. That's why really good guitarists make it look easy, in many ways it is, although it obviously requires a lot of training and dedication.

 

[Kalimna]

Congrats on the new guit And also for asking a question I know a little bit about!
A couple of things spring to mind -
if you don't have an electronic tuner, then get one. You may have advice to do it all by ear, and with practice that's fine. But as a beginner, having an easily tuneable instrument will, like using a jig to sharpen planes and chisels, make your life so much easier. And you are more likely to keep at it if you feel you are making progress.
Second, that whole 'play till you bleed' thing isn't just macho posturing - it really does hurt for a while, but persevere and it's worth it.
Third, reverb on an amp is good, but can highlight mistakes, overdrive/distortion is much better at hiding mistakes (who, me?).
Fourth, pick an easy song you like and find the tab (not too hard on tinterweb, but lots of lawyers have made it tricksier). TAB is easy to follow, but if you have difficulty finding it, just ask.
Fifth, find a good local teacher and have a few lessons. It will be worth it not to learn bad habits. I imagine 15-20quid an hour not unreasonable.
Sixth, when you have learnt a few chords and a song or two, sell the Fender, and get a proper guitar like a Gibson *ducks and runs*.

Enjoy - it's a far slippier slope than anything in the workshop Heck, it was because of building a guitar on a course that led me to woodworking!

Oh, and if you feel the need for a bigger amp/guitar, let me know as I am trying to reduce the 'collection'!!!

Cheers,
Adam

 

[flounder]

My son and I both started to learn last year and joined up to a course of lessons at the local 'Adult Continuing Education' college. It starts with beginners then goes on to intermediate and then advance. The advantages of the group lessons are it is more cost effective, because you have paid in advance it encourages you to go every week to ensure you get value for money and you soon realise that you are not alone in your struggles when there are half a dozen other people buzzing frets along side you!

Whichever way you choose I wish you the best of luck!

 

[Kalimna]

Re : the playing for hours thing.
I think there are a couple of reasons why playing for a long time, as a beginner, is quite useful. To start with, however you look at it, pressing hard on a taut, thin piece of steel wire (ok, not so much of an issue with nylon strings, but thats a different case) is going to hurt the soft, sensitive area on the pad of your fingertip. The only way to alleviate the discomfort is to develop thickened-skin pads (calluses) on the tips of your left hand fingers (assuming you are right handed). The more you play, the sooner these pads develop, and the sooner you can get on with learning to play the instrument without thinking about any pain. Its not like learning to play a keyboard or a wind instrument - you really do have a direct contact with the bits that make the actual notes. Ive been playing guitar for around 16 years, and if I leave the guitar alone for even 6 months (yes, it does happen these days!) then my fingers hurt when I pick it up again. So, yes, I thiknk calluses are important. Please don't think I advocate bleeding fingertips however, that way lies the madness of Spinal Tap
As a further plus point, playing for many hours will more rapidly develop the muscle memory allowing you to think about the relationships between fretted notes (be it a single note tune or a chordal progression) rather than where your fingers need to be, if that makes sense?
Obviously, a little common sense is required too, in that if you can't move your arm because it aches too much, then chances are you have overdone it slightly.

Cheers,
Adam

 

[MIGNAL]

Sorry Adam but I have to disagree. Even good well experienced players are now advised not to practice for more than 45 minutes at a time without some form of break. It;s not that they can't do it but it is just sensible advice. Don;t forget we are now much more aware of these issues than we were even as little as 20 years ago.
If I teach a beginner I advise 5 minutes at a time, for the first 2 weeks. They can go back to it 10 or 15 minutes later but the tendency is for novices (and indeed some people who have been playing many years) to use the so called 'death grip'. It will ruin anyone's playing.
The Callouses still develop but it takes a little more time. It's also less painful..

 

[Kalimna]

Yes, I take your point there. I was certainly not advocating the 'death grip'! And taking breaks in between brief periods of playing is nothing short of sensible.
Having said that, you still need to put the hours in if you want to improve and play well (and playing well is not exactly my forte!). If those hours take months instead of weeks, but leave you comfortable and not in pain, then that cant be all bad.

I stand by my 'get a good tuner' and 'learn a favourite/easy song' advice tho

Cheers,
Adam

 

[Benchwayze]

Woody,

I have a spare 'Intellitouch' electronic tuner.

You clip it on to the head of the guitar, and switch the tuner on.

Play a string, and the display tells you what note the string is tuned to.
You tune the string until the readout is the correct one for the string, in concert pitch. Job Done.

I have two, because I thought I had lost mine. I replaced it, and then found my original. So this has had little use and here is a perfectly good one. With Instruction Sheetl and still in its box, if you feel so inclined.


They retail at between £35.00 and £45.00

£30.00 including MAINLAND postage if you want first dibs.
Just let me know via PM.

Regards John
:ho2

 

[JamieAndreas]

A great many people fail at guitar because they do not know how to practice. All the methods out there merely give you content, stuff to play, they do not teach you how to actually train your fingers to do it. So, some get it, many do not.

"Learning guitar" really means teaching your fingers to make particular movements easily, so you need a method that teachers you according to how the body learns.

Anyone can learn guitar and be good at it if you know how to practice according to the laws of body learning. You can learn more about it here..


www.guitarprinciples.com

and here is a great free report on what learning guitar really is about, and why so many people struggle with it....


http://www.guitarprinciples.com/shop/pdf/prin_superior

 

[Stormsinger]

Find a teacher, either for one-to-one or group lessons, it really will help more than trying to teach yourself at the start as you'll get that immediate feedback to help you progress.

Practise - yes you need to build up callouses, no you don't need to make your fingers bleed to do so. Be sensible and if you start to feel pain, either from joints or the tips ofyour fingers against the string on the frets, then it's time to take a rest, or leave it until tomorrow. Don't give yourself problems that will affect your day-to-day life through learning for a hobby/interest.

Tuning - personally, I think you're better to learn to do it by ear rather than use an electronic tuner, but then, that's the way I learnt 30 odd years ago. It doesn't necessarily make you quicker using an electronic box of tricks, I know someone who uses one and still takes him nearly an hour to get his guitar in tune. I can have my guitar in tune within 2-3 minutes, but again, that's all down to practice. My other reason for learning to do it by ear is that I think it makes you actually listen to the sound you're producing, and that you ultimately become more sensitive to hearing when one (or more) of the strings is slightly out when you're playing as well, so that you are aware of the need to retune a bit quicker.

However you decide to do it, have fun and enjoy yourself