Advice for a beginner?

.Tyson Studios.

.Tyson Studios.

I LOST THE GAME
Hey everyone. I'm a drummer and I have some recording equipment on the way. I own a crappy 'sg special' that I bought for 20$. I also have a small 15 watt peavey. I have been in a few bands and would like to learn some guitar. I have tried making something up on it, which i can (it will sound pretty good, too) but i just can't play it at a regular speed without screwing up. I would really like to get to the point where I can make a guitar rythem and play it. I have practiced a few differant things but everytime i play it im too slow switching chords or my fingers are at the wrong place. I need some advice to how I should improve. I would take guitar lessons but my schedule is CRAZY. Thanks in advance! :)
 
Get a metronome, start practicing at about 1/2 speed, and gradually work your way up to normal speed. Pay particular attention to doing everything in time, no slow-downs to change chords. When you can do that at 1/2 speed, bump it up a bit and get it perfect at a slightly faster tempo. Don't play it any faster than you can play it perfectly.

Picking up a new instrument isn't something you can do overnight, so have some patience, practice daily, be disciplined, and it'll pay dividends later.
 
Practice practice practice. At least 3 times a week, at least an hour at a time. Play until your fingertips hurt. Get a 'teach yourself guitar' book - it may have types of music and playing styles you are not interested in, but the basics are what is needed to improve.
 
If you cant play it perfect slow, you'll never play it perfect fast. Another way of saying it is Don't practice mistakes.

My other best tip is don't neglect your little finger. All those three-finger guitarists out there would be a lot better if they would use all four fingers.
 
Tadpui said:
Get a metronome, start practicing at about 1/2 speed, and gradually work your way up to normal speed. Pay particular attention to doing everything in time, no slow-downs to change chords. When you can do that at 1/2 speed, bump it up a bit and get it perfect at a slightly faster tempo. Don't play it any faster than you can play it perfectly.

Picking up a new instrument isn't something you can do overnight, so have some patience, practice daily, be disciplined, and it'll pay dividends later.
Click to expand...

soundchaser59 said:
If you cant play it perfect slow, you'll never play it perfect fast. Another way of saying it is Don't practice mistakes.

My other best tip is don't neglect your little finger. All those three-finger guitarists out there would be a lot better if they would use all four fingers.
Click to expand...

Thanks! these tips really helped. I'm playing it a little better already!
 
soundchaser59 said:
If you cant play it perfect slow, you'll never play it perfect fast. Another way of saying it is Don't practice mistakes.

My other best tip is don't neglect your little finger. All those three-finger guitarists out there would be a lot better if they would use all four fingers.
Click to expand...

As would the bass guitarists of the world.
 
have patience, look up some basic exercises and play with a metronome with them to warm up each time you play and make sure your not tensing up while you play. Also, youtube is your friend when wanting to take on a new technique
 
Something my guitar teacher recommends when I can't play a part up to speed is to make a "micro exercise" out of it - take a small section of the difficult part and repeat it over an over, slowly speeding up your tempo as you go along. You can do this micro exercise multiple times until you are fluent at the part. It works for difficult chord changes, difficult lead licks, etc. It's worth a try.
 
+1 on Youtube, a friend at work is learning to play the guitar, well I will add, from videos on Youtube, amazing resource. It's the only place I've found ANYTHING on playing the hammered dulcimer, thankfully there are some good instructional vids. Avoid Expert Village for the most, pretty well useless.
 
It's all about the practice and that's it.:) It takes time to work on your playing, strengthen fingers and gain speed. Start slow. Because fast and precise speed starts from super slow. Get theory course from guitar books with lessons and take your time. There's no rush.:)
Youtube has good beginner lessons and there're a lot of guitar websites that offer free ones. One of them that I check on regular basis is a guide like resource: http://guitar-guide-easy.com/
Just practice and don't stop!
 
The best advice that I can give, is not to get discouraged. many people stop playing because they don't understand that learning an instrument is more akin to learning a new language then anything else. It is hard, it is frustrating, it is time consuming, and it is worth every second. understanding that it takes enormous amounts of time to become good will make all the difference in the world. once you understand that, it is just practice, practice, practice.
 
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