josh answers:

Im a beginner in guitar too, and I use this book.

Hal Leonard: Guitar Method, Complete Edition.

The Complete Edition includes all 3 books in the series, its cheaper to get the Complete Edition because you get all 3 books and the 3 CDs that acconpany the books.

I like this book a lot ’cause it’s easy to learn from.

Hope this helps

josh answers:

I know you can get sheet music from frostwire, which is a free download program where you can download music, videos, documents, and much more.
You can download this program by simply typing it into Google, and following the steps.
Good luck with the guitar!

josh answers:

These aren’t necessarily beginner tunes, but go to thesession.org, find a specific tune or browse, then click on the “sheet music” tab.

josh answers:

Try here-

http://words3music.100free.com/sheets.html

http://www.tuneheaven.com/

http://pianotte.szm.com/

http://www.theperfectscores.com/free-popular-piano-sheet-music.php

http://www.fortepiano.szm.com/

http://www.music-buzz.com/showthread.php?t=7848

josh answers:

Hi, My son is going through the same thing. Check out Borders book store, I just bought The complete guitar book & DVD set (also comes with a stand) by Steve Mackay for $19.99. It teaches the basics for beginners. Your high school probably offers guitar lessons as a elective so check with your dean & see if you can get in this school year, if it’s already full, you can pre-enroll for next year. Also, if you go to most of the smaller music stores, the younger guys that work there are usually into this sort of thing & are more than happy to tell you anything you want to know. A lot of these guys work sell instruments during the day & have the band thing at night. Bigger stores are more into making the sale. He’s learning a lot. Good luck & follow your dream!

josh answers:

I started with a Fender, but it’s a CD 140… Get the fender one, they always stay in tune and they sound great! Plus the fretboard is really easy to handle!

josh answers:

I recently bought a fender DR-100 and it was one of the best buys in my life.I don’t know how it works for begginers since im an intermidate player.Best you do is go to the nearest music shop with someone that has knowlege of guitar playing and see what is best for you.
But i believe that the best brands for you should be:

Ibanez.

Gibson-Epiphone

Fender

These are truly the most reliable brands for any type of guitar.
Hope this helped and enjoy the magical trip of music as a guitarist

josh answers:

Man I want that. That means yes.

josh answers:

$65 isn’t enough. I think the cheapest startup guitar I’ve seen was a 100$ one.. But seriously you don’t want a startup guitar. Save up some more money, ask for cash for your birthday/Christmas/etc., and get one that’s at least $200. That way you won’t have to deal with cheap parts, low quality wood, etc.

Really, getting a cheap guitar to start is the worst mistake a budding musician can make.

For picks, I like Dunlop picks myself. Get nylon picks because they’re essentially plastic but they don’t break or wear down at all. And as for the brand of guitar… I personally like Fender and Taylor acoustics but the store will probably let you try out a few.

Seriously though you aren’t getting anything for $65 unless you buy some inexpensive wood and make the guitar yourself.

And bring someone who has played guitar for a while(not that kid down the block that smokes weed and plays Nirvanah all day), who is at least semi-serious about it. I’d say 3 years of playing should be enough to know what makes a good or bad guitar.

If you get a bad guitar, it will be frustrating and you won’t have any fun. Look at it this way, do you want to spend half your playing time just trying to keep the thing in tune?

Oh and lessons wise, just use Ultimate-Guitar.com and Youtube. UG is great, has thousands of lessons(most of which are high quality) for free, and has a great userbase and forum to ask questions to. Youtube has videos if you’re a strictly visual learner, and a lot of the lessons on there are pretty good.

Drop me an email if you need anything else or have any other questions.

josh answers:

Hey there … Do you have a problem …
Do you wanna play guitar … I can help you
i’ll give my best …
Just add me
M_tefo@yahoo.com
C’ya

josh answers:

Well, if you are unwilling to pay anyone to teach you what they spent years trying to learn and perfect, and you don’t think you can learn anything from you tube (those lessons are incomplete for a reason, so you can concentrate on learning one thing at a time) then, why don’t you do what the vast majority of people who now play guitar have done? Teach yourself! How do you do that? Well, do you know what songs you want to learn to play? Ok then, do you have those songs, so you can listen to them? Ok, then sit down with your guitar and listen to one part of the song over and over (just like you tube, you know) and the figure out how to play it by trial and error and practice it until you know it and then move on the the next part of the song and learn that. Too hard? Takes too much time? If that is the way you feel about it, I doubt that you really want to play guitar at all. When you love it so much that you pretty much live with that guitar and practice it every chance you get, then every time you practice you are training your muscles and your ear to remember the notes and before long, you can sit down with a new song and listen to it and pretty much know how to play it because your mind and your fingers have been trained to find a not that they hear and you can pretty much play anything at that point just by listening to it. If you’re not willing to do that, maybe you should just do something else that you do really love to do.

So, you want to play indie music. But, I can tell from you question that you have no idea what indie music is. The term indie stands for Independent. Indie music is music that is written and played by Independent artists (unsigned, not associated with a record label or has his or her own label) so, there is no genre or style of music knows as indie music. Indie music is all styles or genres of music that were created by indie artists. Just and FYI.

It would be a good idea, if you want really want to teach yourself, if you purchased the following books: http://www.amazon.com/Picture-Chord-Encyclopedia-Photos-Diagrams/dp/0634041584/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1280423384&sr=8-1-fkmr0

http://www.amazon.com/Music-Theory-Guitarists-Everything-Wanted/dp/063406651X/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_c

http://www.amazon.com/Guitar-Aerobics-One-lick-per-day-Developing-Maintaining/dp/1423414357/ref=pd_sim_b_5

Best tuner ($30) – the Intellitouch PT10 Tuner. Http://www.amazon.com/Intellitouch-PT10-Mini-Clip-Tuner/dp/B002KDHBRU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=musical-instruments&qid=1280423716&sr=8-1-catcorr – Be careful not to drop it. They are fragile. But the work great!

You can often get better prices online. Especially for things like books and tuners.

If you want a local deal, then go make friends with a local dealer. Most of them will discount your major purchases for you.

The bottom line is this. The guitar is NOT easy. It can be fairly easy to learn a few chords and sing a few simple songs. But, it is the second hardest instrument to master. Second only to the violin. If you intend to play professionally, then you need to take it seriously and spend all your spare time learning it. When my grandson was first learning the guitar, he used to take his guitar to school with him and instead of recess or lunch and on the way to school and on the way home, he was practicing the guitar. He taught himself everything. Then he decided to take lessons. At that point, he was already playing better than the teacher. Today, in only 4 years, he’s the most sought after guitar player in his high school. If you’re willing to pay the price, you can make millions of dollars playing the guitar. At that point, all the practice and the hard work, seems like it was really just too easy after all.

josh answers:

Harmony in music is based on relationships. Take the key of C major. The scale is CDEFGABC, you can build the chords up like this:

G A B C D E F G
E F G A B C D E
C D E F G A B C
I ii iii IV V vi vii I

Chords I, IV and V are called the primary triads and are major. The rest are Secondary triads. The secret to good “sounding” chord is that they are related to each other.

In a Major key chord iii is a very weak chord, like vii and should be avoided. A great chord sequence is: I, IV, vi, ii, V and I.

Primary chords are more important than Secondary. Chord ii is ok. It should be used before V (ii V I) his creates an excellent ending (perfect cadence)

try working out the chords in another key because this rule is the same in any key

josh answers:

YouTube is a very good option and it is free, but I think Jamorama (http://d6427jx9rdy7mjzhh9udk8ivep.hop.clickbank.net/ ), is a better option. It gives you everything you need to learn guitar in an in depth experience and will help you out for a long time. The cost is a little bit of a downside, but it really does a good job of teaching you quickly. If you don’t feel like buying a program though your best bet is going to be YouTube.

josh answers:

Here are a few good sites for you to begin with. This should keep you busy for quite a while before you go through all that they have to offer.

Http://www.theguitarsuite.com/Beginner/Picking-Hand.html

http://www.guitarknowledgenet.com/lessons/lesson_page.php?lesson=15

http://guitar.about.com/library/weekly/aa071200a.htm

http://www.howtotuneaguitar.org/lessons/

josh answers:

Ok, well it is normal for a beginner’s ring and pinky fingers straying, but you have to control that. I suggest http://guitar.about.com/library/blguitarlessonarchive.htm <—– that website. Its got some good stuff. For strengthening your fingers the best thing for it is to just play. Practice with the best technique you can, meaning on chords try not to hit any other strings, and try to push down the strings your fingers are on hard enough so they ring clearly. Www.ultimate-guitar.com has a few lessons, along with tabs and chords for songs. But I wouldn't recommend going there until you feel comfortable with playing and switching between chords. You can also find some video's and lessons on YouTube. Thank god for youtube!

josh answers:

There are visual aids that show where every note is on the neck. There are also chord dictionaries. If you’re just starting out, I suggest that you at least take a few private lessons.

josh answers:

Www.justin-guitar.com – Same as guitar.about
www.guitar.about.com – Lets you see pictures of chords.

Youtube.com/Justinguitar
Youtube.com/justinsandercoesongs

josh answers:

Well, you see, I only play a bit of guitar, mainly violin, but we have to learn music theory as well. The point is to be able to understand the music more, as in, where to play louder, softer, gradually dimmer, etc. When you see Vivace or Andante or something like that. That way, you can put your own “soul” into what you’re playing.
If you can’t read music, what’s the point in playing? You should be able to read music in order to start playing the piece.
And for the notes C, D, E, F, G, A, and B, if someone randomly asks you, “Can you start playing this piece from the note D” or something like that, you’ll know where to start. Or when you’re practising scales. If the person says, ‘please play A minor scale” and you don’t know your notes properly, you can’t exactly know what to play.
Yes, I know learning this stuff isn’t exactly fun, (Believe me! I’ve had experience) but it can really improve your skills. Guitar is a really cool instrument, and every musician needs to know their theory, right?

josh answers:

Here are links to click on for three interesting sites. I’ll keep looking:

http://www.zentao.com/guitar/guitar-lessons.html

http://www.supersonic.net/guitar/lessons.htm

http://www.harmony-central.com/Guitar/Lessons/

http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/lessons/

This one looks fun:

http://www.chordbook.com/guitarchords.php

http://www.howtoreadguitartabs.org/

josh answers:

Hello there,

Too late? It’s not even 10:00 yet. Never too late to learn to play guitar.

Tabs are a shorthand method of writing guitar music. There are limitations to tabs, such as no convention to write rhythm. However, because tabs are so easy to use they are quite popular now. Whether you read the notation for a song or the tabs, the song will be the same. Being written in tabs does not mean that the song is dumbed down. Someone may write a simplified version of a song in tabs and post that on the internet. It is common to find simplified versions of songs. But that is not because it is written in tabs.

To be the best guitar player you can possibly be, you need to learn the basics. You’re in luck there. It is a lot easier to learn to play these days compared to when I learned (shortly after the dark ages). There is a lot of good instructional material available on the internet. Here are some examples.

Don’t know how much you have learned so far, so I will start at the beginning. Here is a link to a video lesson at Youtube. This guy has a series of 12 lessons available there at Youtube. You can find the other lessons in the related videos section. He covers the basics very well. You can learn a lot from him. He uses an electric in the videos, but most of the material translates well to the acoustic.

Http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxhxIV0I5T8&feature=related

Next is an article about how to read tabs. The more common way of writing guitar music these days is in what is called tab

http://www.howtotuneaguitar.org/lessons/the-basics/how-to-read-guitar-tab/

For starters, I will skip a source to learn notation. I think you should learn to read notation as you go along. But there is a lot to learn about how to play a guitar and you cannot learn everything at once. As you progress, look for a site with a good explanation of notation. I suspect Whole Note. Com will have one. They have a good music theory lessons section.

Here is a link to a chord chart. It is several pages long. You can look up how to finger various chords with this. Download this PDF file to your computer. It comes in handy when you need to look up a chord.

Http://www.guitarnotes.com/guitar/notes2/ultimate11.shtml

When you are ready to start learning some songs, you can search for the tabs. Just Google the name of the song and the word tabs. A common site you will see with guitar tabs is 911 Tabs. There are many, many others. Also, at Youtube search the song name and the words lesson or how to play. There are a great many good video lessons on songs there

Later,

josh answers:

Learn to read tab

then

www.activebass.com

i used that alot when i started out playing the bass they have all different levels and styles on there if you click on the’Lessons’ options

hope this helps you

josh answers:

Ok iv been playing guitar for quite some time now and i first started learn “Tabs”, those are the really easy way to start things off, and once u learn those gt to ultimateguitar.com and type in whatever song u want to learn and then the tabs for that song will pop up.

josh answers:

Garage Band does not teach you how to play the guitar.
Time does. Pick it up and play it(over and over and over)

josh answers:

These are the BEST guitar lessons I’ve had! I learned the basics along with music theory as a back up. It is fun and easy.

josh answers:

Check out this link… There are lots of programs you can use, this shows quite a few of them. Http://www.guitar-online.com/learn-play-guitar.htm

josh answers:

A good amp with lots of effects opens you up to plenty of metal songs. That almost always sounds good really loud. However, if you have an option to get lessons, i’d go with that. They will teach you techniques that you may not grasp otherwise. I wish i’d have had lessons.

josh answers:

I learned acoustic guitar first rather than electric because it is harder to play and once you know how to play a hard instrument when you switch to electric it will be very easy. Also they are generally cheaper and have a better sound for a cheaper price.

Good luck with the lessons but just keep patience in mind.

josh answers:

Hello there,

Squire is a company owned by Fender. Fender started making guitars under the Squier name in Japan in 1982. Those were inexpensive guitars targeted for the beginner and casual player market. Since then the production of Squier guitars have moved around alot. Presently, Squier Strats are made in Indonesia or China. Fender Strats are made in Mexico or California.

Squier has many models of Strats and the quality of them vary greatly. Up in the ball area at the top of the headstock should be the series. Down along the tuners, the logo will say Squier in large letters and by Fender in small letters. Some of the Squier series include the Bullet, Affinity and Standard.

Squier Strats are not as good as Fender Strats. They are not intended to be. They are made using cheaper processes so they are affordable for beginners. Those cheaper production processess do lessen the quality. A Squier Strat depending on the model sells for $120 (Bullet Series) to $250 (Standard). A Fender Strat MIM sells for $500. A Fender American sells for $1000. You would not expect a $120 guitar to be as good as a $1000 guitar. While a Squier Strat is not as good as a Fender Strat, that does not mean it is a bad guitar. If you compare the Squier Strat to similarly priced guitars from other companies, the Squier is among the best. For a beginner guitar, you did not make a mistake. It is a decent quality guitar that is inexpensive therefore affordable for beginners.

The Squier Strat looks very much like a Fender Strat. You would have to know the differences to spot them. If you take care of your Squier Strat, it will last you several years. I have Squier Strats from the mid 80s. They still play just fine.

Later,

josh answers:

Have you tried an actual TEACHER? You know, back in the days before youtube, people actually learned from *gulp* other people! If you’re actually serious about playing guitar, then you won’t mind dropping the money to pay for lessons.

Otherwise, either live with crappy sound, or give up.

Also, realize the people in the videos KNOW WHAT THEY’RE DOING. If you want to get your finger positions just like them, you’re going to need to practice… A lot. Not just sit there for the length of the video, but like… Hours. It takes TIME. Don’t expect perfection from yourself. EVER. I doubt even Slash expects himself to be perfect.

josh answers:

I would suggest a beginners book such as Hal Leonard or something like that. Before you really learn songs, you will start with simple exercises, and the basics of reading music. You will probably also find very basic tunes. You should also learn the basics like tuning your guitar and changing strings etc. Then you will begin with the basic chords and strumming.
A lot of guitarists don’t bother learning how to read music, but if you take the time to learn, you will have a much easier time down the road- tablature is a good shortcut, but if you plan on playing with other musicians, or want to learn more about music theory, reading real music is very important.
Once you get the basics, you will probably want to get a chord book or chart to use as a reference, and you can find many instructional videos on youtube.
One last comment- Even though it is possible to teach yourself, taking a few lessons at the beginning will help you get started on the right foot. If you don’t do that, at least try to play with some experienced guitarists so they can help you out- it’s very easy to pick up bad habits that can be hard to fix later on if nobody points them out.

josh answers:

Spend a few bucks and go get some lessons. There are many teachers that are very good with learning disabilities.

josh answers:

Your Guardian Angel by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus is pretty easy

josh answers:

Yes its a good guitar. I also have one bought about a year ago it sounds great is just like the gibson one. Although it’s quite heavy so i wouldn’t recommend it if you’re small or can’t carry heavy stuff but otherwise it’s a good guitar and i don’t regret buying it.

josh answers:

Try www.chordie.com. I love that site for looking up tunes with lyrics and chord patterns.
You can look up songs by title or by artist. Most songs posted have the guitar chords printed over where the changes are, so if you find songs you know, look for the ones with simple chords and go from there. There’s a great number of songs with just a few simple chords (G,D,C or what have you) that you can practice on. Not all songs in the world are there, but there are sooooooo many to pick from.

josh answers:

I think you could learn by people on youtube, there they have many instructional videos. Type your key words into their search to find them.

~ good luck!

josh answers:

Don’t know but if all fails you can try typing in “new jose ferrer guitar for beginners” or something of that sort into a search engine and try searching that way. Gl!

josh answers:

You’d be surprised, youtube has great videos for beginners.

josh answers:

Hello

I agree, you can’t find a complete organized course of bass lessons on line for free (and you probably never will).

I have created a course of very affordable step-by-step bass lessons, available through my website:

http://www.creativebasslessons.com

There you will also get a number of free bass lessons online – including bass videos.

Enjoy your next steps,
George

josh answers:

It’s best that you learn the chords ( which you can do from you tube)a and that way you will figure out how to play the song

josh answers:

I have posted links to similar questions I have answered. I think you will find everything you need, but if I left something out, just give me a shout.

josh answers:

Ha! I had a few. I can’t remember most but one was by Canadian artists including Alex Lifeson of Rush & Rik Emmett from Triumph. “Beyond Borders”.

josh answers:

It’s for everybody who plays. They have tab, articles and interviews with current guitar players who are popular… For example Zakk Wylde. They give tips and tricks, so all in all it’s a pretty good mag.

josh answers:

Guitar One…comes with tab, lessons, and a DVD each month.

josh answers:

Go to GuitarMasterClass.net BEST SITE EVER FOR GUITAR

josh answers:

Guitar Player magazine was excellent for providing riffs both in tablature and notation and while I was subscribed to the magazine I gained much from it. I finally canceled my subscription because I grew weary of the nasty photos on the covers and within of players that needed to dress up and get the earrings out of their ears, noses, and mouths.

Acoustic Guitar magazine is a fine one to subscribe to. It offers excellent venues in playing complete songs, using music notation more than tablature.

Guitar One, in my opinion, was simply another nasty looking magazine bent on attracting the heavy metal, grunge people that flail away at the guitar and who are bent on making noise rather than music.