so i just started playing guitar for the first time yesterday. i'd say im not bad for a beginner. i can play a bunch of chords and i can already play a song ive been practicing (tenement funster- queen)

could anyone give me some tips to be better?
im really bad at picking, unless im watching i usually hit the string thats not pushed down lol. and i even almost drop the pick sometimes lol
i don't know how to tune the guitar...
my fingers hurt like a mofo

what do you want from your guitar playing?

To have fun and be able to play with my dad and learn songs I like

the best tip i can give you is get an into to guitar book and just sit down with it twenty minutes a day until its done. it wont take that long, maybe a month tops. make sure u learn every lesson, try not to skip stuff, its all important. after ur done u will feel like a badass and will actually be able to play

This post was edited by Grippster on Mar 14 2013 02:31am

is that better than just learning to play songs i like? ive already learned a lot and gotten a lot better in two days

yea its a lot better because u will start grasping ideas of why songs are the way they are which will then make it waaay easier to learn new songs.

if your only goal is to fool around it might not be a good idea because not every part of the book will be fun.

ill give it a try. any ideas of a good book?

A book is a solid idea, but not necessary when there's www.ultimate-guitar.com

You need to learn The Animals - House Of The Rising Sun

It's comprised of these simple chords, and you will use these chords in practically all of your playing for your entire life.

i know all of those chords from the two songs ive been practicing. tenement funster by queen and slide away by oasis.

the chords im struggling with are Eb and Fm, or really any chord that you have to bar across (if thats what its called), or ones that require the pinky im not so great with yet lol.

I tried to teach myself how to play like a year ago, but i couldn't understand what i was trying to play so i quit after like two days. then a few days ago i was at my dads and his guitar was there and i picked it up and somehow he started showing me chords and stuff. then all of a sudden it just clicked and after like 10 minutes of memorizing the chords i could play the song i couldnt a year earlier lol.

im getting better at holding the pick and strumming. i can switch between most of the chords i know fairly quickly...almost on time with the music... except the ones i listed earlier and a couple others (G7 to C confuses me lol)

important is not to rush into it. keep playing slow. be sure you are playing clean (in terms of sloppy - not in terms of amp settings). also use an metronom for practicing!

there are some sites wich are really good for beginners/tabs/ect.

http://justinguitar.com/ - good site with lessons on techniqe, chords, basics, songs, styles ect.
http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/ - good for tabs - but also you can find workshops ect.
youtube - yups, just search for what you wanna learn and go for it (marty schwartz - for chord strumming songs, he teaches whole songs)

any specific questions? feel free to om me