I dont mind paying, but id rather not.

I just got a free guitar, and i went and bought new strings for it, and a tuner. I put the strings on myself, which was pain... but i did it.

i downloaded one of these PDF learn and master guitar books, im to like page 7 now lol session #2

i am assuming that 95% of this is just goign to be good old fashioned practice, and im fine with putting in 2-3 hours a day if need to.

What im asking is, is there a better way to learn this quickly? i just wanna be able to play a few smashing pumpkins songs, maybe some nirvana, easy stuff. And after i get that far, if i want more, then ill do that.

let me put it this way, a year or two ago, i bought a skateboard. I spent 2 or 3 days, maybe a week, learning to kickflip and doublekickflip and shove it. IM not tony hawk, i just wanted to learn a few things so if i see a skateboard, ill have something to do.

its the same thing with guitar, i just wanna learn a couple songs, and be able to play them well.

Any help would be appreciated

You will not learn an instrument if that is your attitude.

which is my point, im not going to make a lifetime commitment of an hour a day to this guitar. i just want to learn a couple of songs for a start, and see where it goes from there.

/e and i just read the part you bolded

Paying for it? i have the guitar, and the internet, if this is a challenge please let me know. Im pretty sure i can google everything i need to know, and practice my way to the rest. i doubt most people go and take lessons once a week from time their 12 years old till the time their 18. I will learn what i want, when i want, And i dont need to pay a dime.

This post was edited by blunderwonder2 on Apr 10 2011 06:55pm

I just got like 50,000+ tabs, and a guitar pro viewer. anyone have advice on good songs to start with?

i was foolin with some nirvana but its too difficult lol. i played some 3 doors down songs, but i dont like them

The Animals - House Of The Rising Sun.

For some rediculous reason, people have a problem learning and playing this because "it's not cool enough" or whatever stupid reason they invent.

You should learn this because it teaches you very important things.

1 - Open Acoustic Chords. Damn important, used in all guitar playing, it is the key to writing songs etc
2 - Chord changes with speed. Once again, damn important as it teaches you to jump from one chord to another, and the more fluid the motion the more fluid the sound.
3 - Awesome song. Awesome song is awesome song

www.ultimate-guitar.com is the website for you
Total Guitar is the magazine subscription for you.

You will need to spend no less than 30 mins per day over 7 days practising all the chords before you'll be able to comfortably play it.


Sorry, completely ignored the topic!!

NO - there is no shortcut to guitar playing. Quite simply, you either dedicate substantial time to it, or you won't learn and will be poo forever. They are the only choices
Do it though - it will open the doorway to playing guitar for you possibly for life

if you were meant to learn easily, you would be learning by ear, independently. or maybe if youve had training on another instrument or are just a natural.

for instance i learned early on violin/guitar. now i have purchased other instruments and learned very quickly (banjo, mandolin, octave mandolin, tenor guitar). either you take the time to learn or you just never get very proficient. i guess that the saying is true, its not about the destination, it is the journey. slow down, rushing though it makes it feel like a job and youll get nowhere if your heart isnt in it.

edit: to give you more of an answer you want: play piano for a month then start guitar. take lessons for 2 months, done. (you might still suck).

This post was edited by juliusjuice on Apr 11 2011 11:39am

I didnt mean to come off as a slacker who wants to learn to play guitar in a day, i realize that most any instrument is 90% practice, however u mentioned violin -> guitar, and i can understand that the dexterity thing probably came easy for you, it doenst for me.

I am willing to put in the time, i just dont want to WASTE time, if that makes any sense. For instance, i dont want to spend an hour a month reading books on theory and minor adjusted scales, and f## and learning all the chords, because when i get done with all that, I still wont be able to play a smashing pumpkins or nirvana song.

I'm not looking for a shortcut, just an efficient way of learning guitar, without all the hubbub. i think bob had a better interpretation of my problem, i just want a few songs to learn, in an effort to get better at guitar, and see where it goes from there.

The theory is not a problem for me anyway, cause i have very good recall, and i took band for 3-4 years in school. I will learn all that mess later.

What i am most intersted in, is a schedule, or routine -> 3 or 4 songs i should learn to play well -> not because i fail at theory, but because it takes me 5 minutes to find the 4th fret on the 2nd string

to put it another way, i want to get better at playing guitar first, and i will learn the ins and outs as i go along. For now im fine with the tabs


House of the rising sun i will look into, i have a dead cover of this on my ipod, and the song is plenty cool, so i will try it out and get back to u.


/e i shud also mention that, its an acoustic guitar. my nephew has an electric guitar, and though it seems easier to play, and hurts my fingers less (?), im not really interested in learning it

This post was edited by blunderwonder2 on Apr 11 2011 04:15pm

I misread it. I thought it said playing, not paying.



If you recommend that song to one more person I will kill you.

This post was edited by Phisherman on Apr 11 2011 04:46pm

the chords are no so bad really cuz its the same fingering for 3 or 4 chords, on diff strings or w/e, but im having trouble with this:

| 1 (2)
| 1 (1)
| 2 (3)
| 3 (4)
|
|

its like my fingers are too fat or something, need alternate fingering from the numbers in parentheses, cuz theres always like one string that sounds muted or will buzz, and i feel like i hold down any harder my fingers are gonna bleed :/


/e im just gonna keep playing it like this, i think the 1st or 2nd string is sort of muted, and the 4th string kind of buzzes, but maybe its a hand strength thing, its only like day 4, so im still working on making chords sound right


/e nvm, im just playing strings 1 and 2 on the first fret with 1 finger, it wasnt working at first but i just had to like twist my hand a litle...

anybody have advice on fingering for certain chords? or is this like a gray area, where its "whatever works"?

/e Now that i have a few songs im learning, and some lessons from this book i got, does anyone have any advice on a guide or tutorial on technique? i saw a marked improvement from day1 to day 3 or 4 on playing regular notes, but the chords are stillg iving me some trouble.

This post was edited by blunderwonder2 on Apr 11 2011 05:26pm

but ur supposed to play to enjoy it, doesnt have to be a burden.

As for the original question, id start learning exercises first so u can get some dexterity and strength in ur fingers, also your hand needs to get used to the fretboard and get better at finding strings and frets easily. Learning the chords its one of the first things you should do imo along with dexterity exercises. Play chord progressions and try to change the chords as quickly as u can even tho it might not sound pretty at first you eventually will be able to keep a rythm up while not losing tempo. id suggest investing on a metronome or pop one online and play with it ALWAYS or at least the majority of the time.