Thinking About Buying A Guitar!

[Coach]

Originally Posted by flamesfan55

Thanks to everyone for the help with buying a guitar, I ended up buying a Norman Acoustic last night. Any tips on where I should start with learning how to play?

You could learn yourself just by reading tabs online, and you might want to learn a few songs this way first. But ultimately I suggest taking some lessons. The theory you learn from taking lessons can be very valuable.

[MarchHare]

Originally Posted by flamesfan55

Thanks to everyone for the help with buying a guitar, I ended up buying a Norman Acoustic last night. Any tips on where I should start with learning how to play?

Congratulations on your purchase! Now comes the hard part, learning how to play...

A few valuable tips for you I wish I had known when I first started playing 19 years ago:

1. Don't give up no matter how much your fingers hurt (and they WILL hurt). We've all been there, but you'll build up callouses over time at which point playing will become painless. [Edit] To clarify, you can and should take breaks when the finger pain becomes too much, but don't become frustrated and give up forever. The pain does eventually disappear, trust me.

2. Buy an electric tuner and learn to always keep your guitar in tune. You can get one from any music store for about $20, or if you have an iOS device (iPhone, iPad, etc.), there are several on the App Store. This one is my favourite.

3. Taking lessons from an experienced instructor is absolutely critical if you want to learn how to play properly and avoid bad habits. If you can't afford lessons, this website is a suitable alternative with a selection of free video classes for absolute newbies (never played a note before) all the way up to experienced veterans. Here's a link to his beginner's course. Take your time and don't move on to the next lesson until you've completely mastered the current one.

4. You WILL suck and sound like crap. You WILL think that switching quickly between chords is impossible and you'll never be able to master it. Just stick with it and keep practicing, and it will eventually click.

5. Don't skimp on learning scales and music theory. This may seem more boring compared to learning how to play recognizable songs, but a solid foundation will set you up for long-term success.

6. If you want to learn songs, one of the best ways is to search YouTube for "how to play X on guitar". People have uploaded free video lessons (of varying quality) for just about any song you can think of.

7. If you don't have one already, BUY A GUITAR STAND. If you listen to only one piece of my advice, be sure it's this one. Making this simple $9.99 investment is the single biggest thing you can do to become a better guitarist. Why? Because you'll be much more likely to pick up your instrument and start playing if you keep your guitar visible and easily accessible on a stand rather than in a case in your closet. I cannot stress this point enough.

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by MarchHare

7. If you don't have one already, BUY A GUITAR STAND. If you listen to only one piece of my advice, be sure it's this one. Making this simple $9.99 investment is the single biggest thing you can do to become a better guitarist. Why? Because you'll be much more likely to pick up your instrument and start playing if you keep your guitar visible and easily accessible on a stand rather than in a case in your closet. I cannot stress this point enough.

Keep your guitar by your TV couch or computer chair. When a commercial comes on or you are waiting for something to download or load on your computer, you will be looking around for something to do (kind of like when you are in the can and pick up a the shampoo bottle to read the ingredients). If your guitar is nearby, you'll pick it up and start playing.

I learned guitar this way pretty much, eventually I got to the point where when my TV show came back on or my computer was finished downloading whatever it was, I forgot about it and was still playing guitar.

[troutman]

One more tip - don't play folk music:

[fredr123]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

Keep your guitar by your TV couch or computer chair. When a commercial comes on or you are waiting for something to download or load on your computer, you will be looking around for something to do (kind of like when you are in the can and pick up a the shampoo bottle to read the ingredients). If your guitar is nearby, you'll pick it up and start playing.

I learned guitar this way pretty much, eventually I got to the point where when my TV show came back on or my computer was finished downloading whatever it was, I forgot about it and was still playing guitar.

Ha! Hack&Lube poops in the shower. Or showers in the toilet. Either way.

[sclitheroe]

Learn & Master Guitar is a fantastic DVD/book course ...it costs more than what you wanted to spend on a guitar I think, but as far as at-home lessons go (and a great online community to boot), it's excellent value. I think you could learn everything you'd get from an instructor from this course and be OK, in terms of the scope of material the course covers (an instructor could keep going, obviously, but I think for the basics this course nails it)

[MarchHare]

Originally Posted by sclitheroe

Learn & Master Guitar is a fantastic DVD/book course ...it costs more than what you wanted to spend on a guitar I think, but as far as at-home lessons go (and a great online community to boot), it's excellent value. I think you could learn everything you'd get from an instructor from this course and be OK, in terms of the scope of material the course covers (an instructor could keep going, obviously, but I think for the basics this course nails it)

There's one big advantage of having an in-person instructor over video lessons: feedback and personal advice tailored specifically to your problems. If you're starting to form bad habits, a DVD- or web-based course won't identify and correct them, but an instructor will. Likewise, if something isn't quite clicking for you, a real instructor can explain things multiple different ways until you get it, but with a pre-made video, what's recorded is all you get.

I don't want to imply that pre-recorded lessons are bad, and there's certainly great value in the course you suggested or the web-based lessons I linked above, but if funds permit, I'd seek out a qualified local teacher for private instruction.

[Ashartus]

Originally Posted by sclitheroe

Learn & Master Guitar is a fantastic DVD/book course ...it costs more than what you wanted to spend on a guitar I think, but as far as at-home lessons go (and a great online community to boot), it's excellent value. I think you could learn everything you'd get from an instructor from this course and be OK, in terms of the scope of material the course covers (an instructor could keep going, obviously, but I think for the basics this course nails it)

This course is currently on sale for $149 (sale ends tomorrow).