Want to play the Guitar (I Need Help)

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Sycal

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I need help, I wanna learn how to play the Bass and Acoustic/Electric Guitar. I want to learn the Bass because everyone plays the guitar and i want to learn guitar beacuse I heard you cant play bass by yourself. I starting looking up guitars at websites like fender to see what to buy and I see double cutaway and all these specs I dont understand. Can someone tell me what all the specs mean and basic stuff a guitar/bassist should know? I listen to music like Green Day, My Chemical Romance, Blink 182 and other stuff like that. Also any tips or anywhere I can learn how to play the guitar(notes,etc)once I buy it would be greatly appreciated.
 
There is a mystic force that has been teaching guitarists of all styles to play guitar.

Hendrix: Nope
Stevie Ray Vaughn: nada
Van Halen, Clapton, Malmsteen, or even Les Paul??? No on all accounts

It's Mel Bay. Go find one of his beginner’s books. Millions of guitar players started with him and are better of for it.

If you want to play guitar, then go to your local music store and look at a few lower end guitars. I've know of dozens of people who went out and bought top of the line guitars only to lose interest and have them collect dust. If you want a better guitar then learn to play first and use it as incentive to practice and get better. Don't worry about double cutaways and other cosmetic factors. Find one you like playing. As you figure out what your "sound" is then your figure out what kind of guitar you want.

Also ask if they give lessons. A lot of "self taught player" will never admit to taking lessons or learned from friends who also played. Learn the basics first: chords, scales, notes on the guitar and how to tune. Start by learning Mary Had a Little Lamb, Jingle Bells, Camp town Races, Iron Man and Smoke on the Water before you move on to other songs. (Actually Green Day isn't much more complicated then those songs, but it's good to know the chords)

If you want to play bass then play bass. Most bass players I know can spot a guitar player who just picks up the bass from a mile away.
 
I have a 14 year old son who like you aspires to be a bass player. At the risk of sounding like I'm bragging, he is getting pretty good for a kid who has only been at it for a year. A few months ago he also decided to learn guitar partly because it is easier to play guitar by yourself but mainly because he wanted to be able to recognize chords and patterns by "sight." If you feel bass is your calling, by all means devote most of your time and effort to it but go ahead and learn at least the basics of guitar as well. The more you understand about other instruments, the better you will understand how they interact musically with bass.
 
Hey, Great to hear about your interest in guitar.

1st thing I would do is buy a cheaper model guitar to start off with. This accomlishes 2 things:
You wont spend thousands of dollars just to find out you hate the guitar & if you stick with it and finally decide to buy a nice guitar - it's like eating a $30 steak after only having Raman noodles.

I myself had a cheap Epiphone as my first guitar. I loved it. Bought it at a garage sale for $10. One of my friends just spent under $200 on a suprisingly nice Washburn guitar. I myself havn't had any luck with the low end Fender guitars ( I hate them), but maybe someone can dispell that. I would try ebay as well.

A couple things to look for in a new guitar.
a) nothing should be cracked.
b) when you hold it, it feels nice
c) The distance of the strings to the fretboard (fretboard=the long brown thing under the stings with the metal stripes on it) should not be greater than the width of your finger. The closer the strings to the fretboard - the better (usually).

You also need to figure out if you want a nylon string guitar (classical) or a steel string guitar. From your musical likes, I would suggest a steel string guitar. If you get a steel string, get the lowest gauge strings you can (9's or 10s are the standard) so you don't brutalize your fingers. Have a friend (or the music shop) show you how to string your new guitar.

So - with your new cheap guitar in hand - do one or ALL of the following:
1. Find a guitar teacher and pay him/her to teach you to play. Music stores a good place to start looking.
2. Find some friends that play and bug them incessently to teach you chords and songs.
3. Buy some books and/or videos and go to all the online resources and teach yourself how to play.

There is an assload of information out here on the net.
When I was learning to play I just tried to get every guitarist I knew to show me something. I also had a couple of books and I took lessons for a while. I sat for hours and hours listening to my favorite tunes to figure them out.

Good luck man!!

Todd
 
Welcome aboard.

First thing is acoustic or electric?

Electrics are a lot easier to play, but require an amp and cables and you will likely fall into the fx abyss that most new players fall into (wow this grunge detransponder makes me sound like God, so I'm going to use it all the time . . .)

Some good advice here already - Green Day and their ilk write very simple stuff - get a teacher and do the work and you will be all over it in about a year or 18 months. When you are practising, practise! Don't play the same stuff over and over. Mel Bay is your friend.
Lots of guys spend $thousands on gear and $10 on a chord book. Spend the money on good lessons and books.

Do a search on this site - soem great advice here re: guitars to buy. The latest electric I think was highly recommended was a yamaha Pacifica. I would get the one with a Strat pickup configuration or similar.

If acoustic is the way you decide to go, again, search this site. Lots of recommendations for lower end guitars.

Also check out some posts from a guy called Light. He's a pretty knowledgeable guy when it comes to the kind of info you're looking for.

Have fun, and let us know how your'e doing.
 
Do you really want me to tell you what all those specs mean?

Just go out and buy a guitar.
 
foo said:
Welcome aboard.


Electrics are a lot easier to play, but require an amp and cables and you will likely fall into the fx abyss that most new players fall into (wow this grunge detransponder makes me sound like God, so I'm going to use it all the time . . .)
Click to expand...


Great point. Go with an accoustic. Great guitar players sound great on a $99.00 acoustic or a Strat or Paul with $10,000.00 worth of rack gear, peddles and amps. Trust me, I've seen people buy a cheap acoustic and play better than the guys who go out and buy an electric and a digitech or Pod. All the electric players want to show you is an open G with a flange. Anyone can do that.

Learn the basics first on an acoustic or electric on a clean channel. Then add distortion. After you've learned to play dirty keep adding effects one at a time so you'll know how to use them tastefully.

The only thing worse than a wanker is a minimalists who doesn’t know how to use FX and justs turn them all on. FX are the spices of your playing and you have to know how to boil water before you add everything else in.
 
greenascanbe said:
Great point. Go with an accoustic. Great guitar players sound great on a $99.00 acoustic or a Strat or Paul with $10,000.00 worth of rack gear, peddles and amps. Trust me, I've seen people buy a cheap acoustic and play better than the guys who go out and buy an electric and a digitech or Pod. All the electric players want to show you is an open G with a flange. Anyone can do that.

Learn the basics first on an acoustic or electric on a clean channel. Then add distortion. After you've learned to play dirty keep adding effects one at a time so you'll know how to use them tastefully.

The only thing worse than a wanker is a minimalists who doesn’t know how to use FX and justs turn them all on. FX are the spices of your playing and you have to know how to boil water before you add everything else in.
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Sycal is 15. i'm betting he wants to play music with his friends from school. i'm also betting they don't want to play acoustic music.

i agree that learning on acoustic tends to make you a better player, but playing with your friends in a band and having fun will make you WANT to be a better player. sycal, you mention that you listen to green day, etc. if your goal is to play that style of music you should get an electric guitar and amp right away and get an acoustic later (but as soon as you can). if you like guitar, you will learn how to play so don't worry about being a great player. you can deal with that once you get started.
 
Although I have never played it before - and I am making assumtions (u and me) - I would NOT recommend buying the first act package.

Any of these would be a better buy IMHO.

Squire package - $279

Another Squier Package - $199

Ibanez package - $246

Epiphone starter - $279

My personal choice on this budget would be somethng like this:
Squier Fat Strat (2 singles, 1 hum) - $149 and a VOX Valvetronix combo - $179

Ok, maybe thats just a wee bit overbudget. wait a minute - who set this budget anyway?
Anyway - I hope you find what your looking for.
Good luck,
Todd
 
my 2 cents

i suggest goin to your local music store and ask around. sometimes you can find a decent guitar that somebody just never picked up after getting repairs. consequently being fairly cheap cause he/she is probably trying to get rid of it. and also i believe to develop your own style, just go and pick up a book and learn it yourself. a instructor will teach you his way of playing that song negating the oportunity for you to really forge your own style. you'll be surprised how fast you'll learn if you don't look at playing guitar as a hobby or something to impress chicks, but look at it as more of an obsestion. realize that in the first few months you're gonna suck. don't get embarrassed or discouraged. just remember that you aren't picking up that guitar to please other peoples ears, but to supply yourself with a creative outlet.
 
The first guitar I bought was a gibson explorer copy from sears. Just like Def Leppard . I cant even remember the brand but it was definitely a piece of crap. But because it looked cool and none of my friends new any better I practised like a madman. The point I'm trying to make is that as long as you like it and think its cool you'll practise with it. When you get better you'll know the difference between crappy and good guitars and appreciate them more. Don't worry too much about specs right now. However I would also recommend the squier over the first act guitar if that is the style you like. I've tried out many of the squiers and they actually sound pretty decent. ( I've never heard of first act)
Good luck and don't forget to learn some good campfire acoustic songs (chicks love that) :D
 
Niimo said:
. . . and also i believe to develop your own style, just go and pick up a book and learn it yourself. a instructor will teach you his way of playing that song negating the oportunity for you to really forge your own style. . .

. . . don't get embarrassed or discouraged. just remember that you aren't picking up that guitar to please other peoples ears, but to supply yourself with a creative outlet. . .
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Gotta disagree in a major way with numero uno above - and agree with numero duo.

All that crap about 'a teacher will distort your style and prevent you from developing your own sound' etc. is just pure horseshit. My nephew spouted the same crap to me until he ran into a wild Celtic red-haired princess who absolutely wailed on electric violin and kicked his ass in every department - then he was back 'round my house with his tail between his legs - teach me more about scales and harmony please.
Think of it as learning a new language. With a teacher who knows the language, you get to learn all kinds of cool stuff, like verbs, nouns and how it all fits together is explained etc. With a book on your own you just stumble around in the dark. I learned more in my first month at GIT than in the previous five years on my own!!!

. . . and number two above is spot-on.
 
Niimo said:
i suggest goin to your local music store and ask around. sometimes you can find a decent guitar that somebody just never picked up after getting repairs. consequently being fairly cheap cause he/she is probably trying to get rid of it. and also i believe to develop your own style, just go and pick up a book and learn it yourself. a instructor will teach you his way of playing that song negating the oportunity for you to really forge your own style. you'll be surprised how fast you'll learn if you don't look at playing guitar as a hobby or something to impress chicks, but look at it as more of an obsestion. realize that in the first few months you're gonna suck. don't get embarrassed or discouraged. just remember that you aren't picking up that guitar to please other peoples ears, but to supply yourself with a creative outlet.
Click to expand...

I think it's a shame that there is this myth that, if you get a guitar teacher, you will end up playing exactly like them.

It's completly wrong IME.

I had a great guitar teacher - I still use stuff he taught me to this day, even though stylisticly we are totally different.

IMO there is no substitute for a good teacher. A book cannot physically correct your hand position, remind you when fingers are too far away from the strings, tell you when you played something with feeling as opposed to going through the motions.

In short - yes you can learn a certain amount from books, and you don't need a teacher all your life - but I feel there is much to be gained from having somebody far more experienced showing you the ropes.
 
Go to your local music store and you will probably find flyers posted advertising guitar lessons from individuals. Sometimes the music store offers lessons themselves. Ask around at the music store as word of mouth usually holds alot of weight as far as finding someone who knows what they are doing. The Edzell suggests purchasing a Mel Bay beginners book, which is how I learned when I was a kid. Looking back, Mel Bay was not a bad investment.


Now as far as finding a good guitar to start out with, I have always found that Yamaha makes a quality product that sounds pretty decent at the low-end price whether you go with an acoustic or an electric guitar ($140-300). At the mid-price range a Fender Standard (Mexican) Strat ($350-550) may be a good choice for electric and a solid-top Takamine G-Series ($300-400) for acoustic. There are also several guitar packages out there (by Fender or Yamaha) that also may suit you just fine.
 
I got a neg-rep for my reply above in #7. I guess someone here doesn't like bass or bass players?
 
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