Learning to play

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MusicMan91

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I want to learn to play the guitar. I am thinking about just picking up one of those god-awful Guitar starter kits, that only cost 100 dollars or so. Sure, it may be a bad guitar, but I could learn off of it. Then, after awhile, maybe getting a guitar teacher would be the right move.

Anyway, I have no idea what I am getting into here. Any suggestions on how to practice, what to purchase, and just how to continue with such an idea?

Thanks,
MusicMan91
 
Hello MusicMan91

I would highly suggest that you not get one of the $100 start up kits... here are some reason why!

1) These guitars do not play well(even for a player with 20yrs experience) and will certainly discourage a beginer

2) The $100 all you need setups just don't sound good.. bad sound quality usually due to quality of wood... If its wood???

3) Will never stay in tune... they cut costs on these guitars and use crap hardware...

So that give you 2 options

A) you could see about renting a guitar... many local music stores will rent w/option to buy... perhaps you will not like the guitar and if you rent, you can just return it.

B) spend more $$$ on something better... $300 can get you into a lot better guitar and can get you something really nice used

good luck

shred
 
I agree with shred on this. Those $100 guitars have horrible action, bad intonation, and will never stay in tune with the crap hardware. All this may seem ok to deal with, but it deters like nothing else. Imagine being completely frustrated with trying to learn how to play...now imagine that with constantly tuning the guitar and taking breaks evey 5 minutes because the action is so high it digs into your fresh fingers...
If you do go cheap, try yamaha, fender, ibanez, takamine or some other companies that you've heard of...At the least, the guitar should have a solid spruce top so that it gets better with age, a straight neck, and good hardware.

Have you ever played an instrument before? If not, and you don't have any musical experience, go to a teacher. Otherwise, I would suggest you pick up a chord book and learn how to read tab. Tab is invaluable for a beginner (I'm not knocking reading musical notation, but unless you're playing classical or jazz, you probably won't need to be doing any sight reading or the such.) because you learn some common patterns, and they're usually accompanied with chord changes. Then get a teacher if you feel you won't be able to motivate yourself to practice all the new stuff you have. Lastly, and most importantly, go and have fun!
Good Luck!
 
$100 Starter Kit???

As already said, those "starter kits" leave a lot to be desired. If you are serious, and I hope you are, spend a few more dollars and get an instrument which will allow you to learn more, faster, and with less frustration. A good rule of thumb is cheap guitars sound and feel cheap. Poor quality has discouraged many aspiring players, remember if it don't sound right you will loose interest quickly. You might want to see what is available at your local music store, there are lots of pretty good guitars around for $200 or less, both electric and accoustic, to get started on. A few lessons might be helpfull to at least get you familiar with the instrument and the basic fingering/picking and primary chords, a good teacher can be a Godsend in the beginning. Make plans to give yourself plenty of time for practice, it takes a lot of time and effort, just to get your fingers to go where you want them to. Expect to get sore fingers untill your hands get used to playing and a few callouses built up. Don't get impatient, learning takes time, relax and enjoy it. Learn to laugh at yourself, we all made the same silly mistakes in the beginning. I hope some of this helps, good luck and have fun.
 
Out of curiosity, are you planning on getting an acoustic or an electric? (you should really get whichever you plan on playing in the long run)

Anyway, I started on a cheap acoustic, and then moved to a pretty cheap electric. It wasn't 'til about a year after I started playing that I realized how crummy they were, however, I wouldn't write them off completely, like some of the other people on here have told you to. I think these guitars are great for people who are just picking up guitar on an whim, and more than likely will just drop it in a month anyway (I'd say at least half of people who start playing guitar do this). In that case, price is probably your number one concern, as you don't want to spend too much money on something that'll be useless to you in the very near future.

If however, you're pretty sure you're gonna stick with it, and you're still just in the $100 price range, I would look into getting a used guitar. If you have a friend who knows a thing or two about guitar, have him bring you to a few pawn shops and take a look around -- there's usually a good deal or two in those places for $100 or less. If not, check out Ebay. I'd suggest looking into Ibanez's; I've always been impressed with they're quality for such cheap prices. Just take a look around for ones that close in the $100 range. You'll have yourself a decent guitar that won't hinder your playing when you're just starting out. You don't necessarily need an amp, but if you get one, I'd say just get an extremely small one; you can pick those up on Ebay for real cheap, and I and I'm sure everybody else on this board can give you a few suggestions if you're interested.

Don't be too discouraged by what a lot of people on this board tell you. You DON'T need a $300 or $400+ guitar just starting out. After years of playing, yes, we know they're crap, but for the newbie, a lot of it is all the same. Also, you may want to check around flea markets, because there are a lot of great deals there, and keep in mind that the more you are willing to spend on this stuff now, the greater quality you'll have with you down the road.
 
Go used, but don't buy a $100 new guitar

I'm with imaduck. If $100 is your budget, find someone with some experience to help you pick a used guitar. Don't buy a $100 new guitar. A non-playing friend bought a guitar at WalMart, cause when she had guests over who could play, they would be able to play the guitar. The guitar could not even be tuned. The tuning pegs would not hold the pressure of the strings, and would "unwind" while you were tuning the next string.

If you buy a $100 guitar, it's yours for life, cause no one else would want it. If you buy a $300 guitar, you can use it forever, or sell it for $100 or $150 if you find you don't like playing. In the meantime, you have an instrument that you don't have to fight with. Easier to play and sounds better. So you throw $100 away and use a bad instrument, or you spend a net of $150 (assuming you spend $300 and sell for $150) for a better learning experience.
 
clap clap clap clap

I just wanted to point out that all of the replies above could be some of the best advice I've ever read on any thread. Good job guys!
This thread should stay around forever due to the fact that it could never be said better. IMO

I was gonna try to add something but you guys took all the good stuff.
C
 
I'd say the rent to buy option is the best way to go. If you decide after a while that guitar playing just isn't for you you haven't lost much. Don't shell out loads for your first guitar but then again don't buy crap because you will regret it. I'd say an hour a day practicing with a tab or chord book of your favourite band is your best bet unless you listen to Charlie Christian or any other Jazz guitarist.
 
different way

i'm kinda curious. musicman with 200 posts on the forum.....
what do ya do now? keyboards or something?

well, i will make a suggestion in the other direction, just because some one else didn't.

right now, www.musiciansfriend.com (and i dont't work for them) is having a pretty good sale.

there are several BRAND NAME guitars on sale for between $100.00 and $200.00. I'm talking Washburn, Epiphone, Alvarez, Jasmine....

these are the low end...but like you said, you can difinitley learn on them.

i would NOT suggest any thing less than one of the name guitars though.

buy a $35.00 Joe's guitar and you are going to get junk!

shop around.
 
Hey, thanks for all the replies everyone!
I do play the drums and the piano already. I am not the kind of person that will just go out and buy a guitar, and quit in a month, so I am not worried about not sticking it out.

Thanks for the advice. I think it is safe to assume that used would be the way to go. No reason to go new as far as I am concerned, I have no problem whatsoever with playing used equipment.

Again, thanks for all the replies!

-MusicMan91
 
I think two of the biggest reasons people give up on playing guitar is that:

1) They use a cheap beginners guitar/amp that just doesn't sound good. It is frustrating to try to learn how to make a guitar sound good when nothing you do makes it sound good. I've been playing guitar for 16 years and I have trouble making some of those crappy guitars sound good.

2) They have no direction. People are motivated to learn but then they pick up the guitar and think: "Now what?" Then the guitar inevitably gets stuck in the closet to gather dust.

Since you've already gotten great advice on #1, I'd like to address #2. The biggest obstacle to learning guitar is making your fingers do what you want them to do. This involves finger strength, coordination and dexterity. Since you play piano, you probably already have these things so you have a headstart. My advice would be to learn a good finger exercise or two that would help translate your finger strength/coordination/dexterity from pushing down keys to holding down strings.

I realize finger exercises are kind of boring. But it's going to be much harder to learn chords, scales and songs if you cannot physically make your fingers do what they need to do. If you search this forum you'll find more information about finger exercises and learning guitar.

Good Luck!
 
Yeah, I would definately go with getting a teacher too, if not just for a little while. It's always good to have somebody to movtivate you/yell at you for not practicing enough :rolleyes:. Also, the finger exercises is probably a good suggestion. I personally just jumped right into it when I started, and it was very frusterating and my fingers hurt like hell (starting on a heavy gauge, full size acoustic when I was 10). A lot of other people I talked to said they just started with the finger exercises and it that it was 100x easier. Whatever the case, just stick with it and practice hard for the first few months, and after that, the rest is pie (or a lifetime obsession). It's holding out until you can play something that's remotely enjoyable/bearable that's the hard part.
 
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