Hello bandsman of STW

Whilst I am incapacitated on the sofa I decided I’d learn to play the additional clothes hanging device in the back bed room that is my acoustic guitar.

I love music but can’t play the thing.

I need to know the basics ie chords etc then build up from there.

Any good websites / YouTube suggestions?

Thanks

Simon

This’ll do ya!

http://www.justinguitar.com/

Yep, justinguitar, martyzsongs and anyonecanplayguitar are all excellent and free.
Get an electronic guitar tuner for about £15 if you don’t already have one, to keep the guitar in perfect tune.
Learn D and A chords first, then you can learn Jonathan Richmonds ‘Roadrunner’ a great two chord anthem . Search for this on youtube as a playalong.
Good Luck and have fun !

Beaten to it, as above!

Justinguitar too.

TBH though I find a lot of the online exercises and songs are a bit, well, trad. I’ve very rarely come across a song that I actually want to learn that way but that’s not really a problem, it’s just nice to branch out and do other things rather than feel like “Oh well, Louie Louie again”

Sometimes it’s nice to kind of decipher the song yourself by listening to the track and watching the band play the song live on you tube. I could never find decent instruction for Beasty Boys ‘Sabotage’.

+whatevs for JustinGuitar.

Daughter and I both bought acoustics to learn guitar and become jam buddies. Although after a decade or so of pissing about on bass and guitar in my yoot and therefore knowing a bit more than nothing I’m finding it hard to start from scratch. Quickly changing from doing his 1 minute chord changes and “Three Little Birds”, to trying to play 80’s thrash metal and hardcore punk. :facepalm:

I did something similar when laid up last year.
– I found a site which taught me some basic chords
– From there I found the chords for some songs I liked and tried them out
– I then found YouTube clips of people demonstrating the same songs so I could refine them
– I found a cool Android app called Guitar Tuna, this not only lets you tune your guitar but also listens to you playing and tells you if you’ve hit the right chord or not. It was brilliant for improving my chord changes, a bit like an addictive game where you try to beat your top score for correct chords in 60s 🙂

Since then I’ve barely played, but it was a really good way to keep me entertained when laid up.

Thanks folks. Justin seems the one!

Musicisum if you are happy to pay for some great tuition.

santacruzsi – Member
Thanks folks. Justin seems the one!

Defo, you’ll use it for years, I still occasionally have a wee gander at a few things and i’ve been playing for 20+ years.

incidentally, I’m going through a process right now of learning alot about music theory that I ignored in the past, obviously don’t worry about that just now. But if you keep up the guitar beyond 6 months(The “fail/will never give up” threshold imo). Think about looking into and learning theory. It’s well worth it, in the end(after years of confusion! 😆 But the earlier you start the better!)

Thanks. I’m right at the beginning, like holding the instrument the right way up / down beginning!

santacruzsi – Member
Thanks. I’m right at the beginning, like holding the instrument the right way up / down beginning!

Just remember that initially, it’s all about getting strength into your fingers, which you’ll only get by picking it up and practicing daily for 15/30minutes. (Which is also an ongoing thing as you learn more, people struggle because their fingers aren’t used to something, it’s a thing that’s very noticeable if you’ve not played the guitar in a few years and you go back to it, you know what you want to do, but your fingers don’t have the “fitness” to keep up with you brain.)

Obviously that’s massively simplifying things and there’s alot more to it, but I think it’s a reason why a lot of people think they can’t play the guitar, which is nonsense, anyone can play the guitar, you just need to put the required effort into training yourself.

I’d also say if you are really struggling with something, don’t stick to it forever, leave it, try something else for a week and then go back to it, you’ll find that you can probably play it. This is for a couple of reasons, in that guitar practice isn’t linear, if you learn one thing, it doesn’t just benefit one thing, it “levels you up” across the board. That and after a week, your brain has had time to process what you learned the week before, so it’s then easier to go back and master something you’ve tried before after a break from it, that and your fingers have had some previous training at it…

Main thing, don’t get frustrated, try something different if frustration kicks in(frustration is a route to chucking it), ultimately learning the guitar should be enjoyable, first and foremost.

Dont forget phone apps

Lots of free app for tuners and metronomes

BUT defo defo give Yousician a try … interactive lessons based around exercises…. great for a newbee.

Yousician is a bit like a lite version of Guitarsmith, which in turn is a computer game version of Guitar Hero where you use a real guitar instead of a toy…. and the good thing about Yousician is you don’t have to pug in, so can use an acoustic.

Good luck

Ro5ey – Member

BUT defo defo give Yousician

This no comment in Yousician or the content there within, but I’ve got an irrational hatred of it as it’s one of the youtube adverts I keep getting up all the time due to my recent searching about for all things theory! It really bugs my, rather ample, tits! 😆

Justinguitar. However, if you’re not an absolute beginner (not that JS’s site is only for beginners) and want to try some accurate tabs of some great guitar songs and riffs taught by a very accomplished guitarist take a look at Shutupandplay on YouTube. He even outlines the effects and amp settings to get it sounding right. Both highly recommended.

Link wrays ‘rumble’ is a doddle to learn. A few examples on YouTube.

On your mobile device, ‘tab pro’ is worth buying, though way more expensive on iOS than android.

I’ve always thought I’d like to give it a go, but not really being able to play the recorder at primary school always puts me off, I have no musical talent whatsoever p.

Obviously that doesn’t put a lot of pop stars off….

Maybe I will look back at this when the nights start drawing in later in the year.