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Do you play the guitar? If so, how long did it take to get "GOOD"?

W

WayneTeK

Golden Member
Ok, i'm not as young as i used to be, nor do i have the luxury of time. But i wanna pick up guitar. I used to play guitar when i was 14, but i never really liked it much.

Lately, my passion has been reignited. I wanna get better. I can play chords, but that's about it.

What else do i have to learn? Chord progression? Chord theory? any feedback is apprecaited.

P.S. Also, do you have any recommendations on websites that will give you free lessons online?
 
It took me a good 18 months of practicing constantly (2-4 hours a day) to get to the point where I felt I was good.

I learned pretty much everything I know on the guitar by downloading tabs and teaching myself songs. I did read the occasional guitar magazine as well.
 
it takes a few years of steady playing to become a passable player. but anyone who's been playing less than 5-10 years and is actually a good musician is a rare soul indeed.
 
It helps a lot if you have background in another instrument. When I started playing guitar it took me about a year to learn pretty much all the chords I would ever need and then I worked from there. I still wouldn't consider myself especially good, I think lessons are necessary to get to that level.
 
Originally posted by: veggz
It helps a lot if you have background in another instrument. When I started playing guitar it took me about a year to learn pretty much all the chords I would ever need and then I worked from there. I still wouldn't consider myself especially good, I think lessons are necessary to get to that level.
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I think that depends on the person. I think some people just have it, and some people can be taught it.
 
Been playing on and off since the early 80's when I first got a guitar as a birthday present. I play a lot of Joe Satriani tunes mostly. Don't pick up the guitar much anymore. Maybe a bit for friends when they ask.
 
ive been playing over 10 years and have a decent collection of songs and melodies i play regularly. i had a friend who mostly only played chords but he memorized alot of songs and would sing along. good lead guitar will take a while to figure out. but good sing songy rhythem guitar is where its at and it pretty easy to get good at quickly. pick some easy songs, like lynyrd skynyrd's simple man, it's just C - G - Am over and over, learn the lyrics and jam along and you'll sound good in no time.
 
I'm not good, I just wanted to play well enough to do Metallica riffs/solos... that's all I wanted. 🙂
 
i find it comical that avril lavigne now plays a guitar to play this one song of hers. and they seem to play it out to be a big "look at me i can play guitar" thing. Em-G-D-C. go avril. :roll:
 
Originally posted by: Pepsi90919
i find it comical that avril lavigne now plays a guitar to play this one song of hers. and they seem to play it out to be a big "look at me i can play guitar" thing. Em-G-D-C. go avril. :roll:
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All she's gotta do now is learn Am, then she can cross over to being a country star 😛
 
Do you have to know how to read music though? In piano class, I was the fvcker who always labeled all the notes.
 
Originally posted by: KPSHAH316
Do you have to know how to read music though? In piano class, I was the fvcker who always labeled all the notes.
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Guitar sheet music generally comes with both standard musical notation and tab notation, which basically tells you where to put your fingers on which strings. It doesn't get much simpler than that. Also, you can usually find guitar tabs online, though these have not been very reliable in my opinion.
 
I have been playing for 2 years and I don't really consider myself "good'. IMO, you're only good when you can play out without effort. I stumble a lot when I play against recordings, so I don't think I am really ready to play out (except for punk, which is easy).

My new thing is regiment. I commit to an hour a day solid practice. Right now I am learning the major, minor, pentatonic, and blues scales cold. I think learning scales led to the largest leap in skill for me. Before that it was mastering barre chords.
 
This is exactly what happened to me. I put it down, then picked it back up years later. Learn the as a priority (since you know some chords already) notes on major and minor scales and note locations on the fretboard (you should be able to look anywhere on the neck and shout out the note).

While you're learning, get some tabs and learn some songs you like. 50's rock is a great starting point because it's usually only three chords with some add ins, and that'll get you into the swing of things. Learn to play "Blue Suede Shoes", record yourself, then play the scales along with it to practice your soloing and note location.


 
Originally posted by: thomsbrain
it takes a few years of steady playing to become a passable player. but anyone who's been playing less than 5-10 years and is actually a good musician is a rare soul indeed.
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Nah...if you put 5-10 hours of practice per week, you can get good in a coulpe of years. It all depends on the player's desire (you gotta want it 🙂 ) and how consistant the practice is.
 
Originally posted by: Pepsi90919
i find it comical that avril lavigne now plays a guitar to play this one song of hers. and they seem to play it out to be a big "look at me i can play guitar" thing. Em-G-D-C. go avril. :roll:
Click to expand...

Oh shush...she can actually play. I don't care for her music, but she's really a talented musician.
 
Originally posted by: veggz
Originally posted by: KPSHAH316
Do you have to know how to read music though? In piano class, I was the fvcker who always labeled all the notes.
Click to expand...

Guitar sheet music generally comes with both standard musical notation and tab notation, which basically tells you where to put your fingers on which strings. It doesn't get much simpler than that. Also, you can usually find guitar tabs online, though these have not been very reliable in my opinion.
Click to expand...

(man, I'm overposting heheh) Sheet music doesn't translate to guitar very well. Some people can read it, but tablature is far superior since you can notate mutes, bends, etc much more accurately.
 
Well, it depends on your definition of "good". It's ever evolving...

I started getting good after maybe a year. Things just start to flow more naturally...

But I'm by no means good, even after 4 years.
 
I think it depends upon your commitment to learn. If you practice as much as you desire, then I believe that you'll get "better" in no time. However, if you just pick up your guitar once a month, you won't get that good even if you spend 24 hours per month... IMHO.

To give you an idea, my friend's been playing guitar for 10 years and he still doesn't consider himself good (I would consider him to be "super good" though!) -- so it all depends on the person playing, I suppose. 🙂

/me is still a guitar beginner, even at 2 years worth of playing...
 
bah, I thought this asked if I played air guitar. 🙁

I suck at real guitar, but I wail hard on air guitar. I'm the local air guitar god.
 
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