for those who play guitar

[Buttzilla]

i'm been off and on for a few months...not really getting anywhere.

i was wondering if you guys took lessons or self taught. i'm thinking about taking lessons cause i feel like i'm not getting anywhere trying to teach myself. i guess cause i need some kind of structure.

so who got lessons and who was self taught.

zilla

 

[mpitts]

Self taught.

Find some songs that you like and grab the tab for them online. That was how I learned around 7+ years ago.

 

[RagingBITCH]

Self taught. Maybe you're just not as interested in guitar as you had thought, or you're not putting enough time and effort into it.

 

[MartyMcFly3]

Bass player. Self taught. Took me a while to get used to but i know a lot about music so i figured it out..

 

[Gyrene]

Self taught. It definately takes more work, but you develop your own unique style.

 

[AlienCraft]

Originally posted by: RagingBITCH
Self taught. Maybe you're just not as interested in guitar as you had thought, or you're not putting enough time and effort into it.

Perhaps different people learn in different ways at different rates and you are applying what worked for you on someone you've never met before?

I say take some lessons. Then, when you have the basics, you will find that you are able to self-study with greater ease.
< Took lessons privately, music classes in school, learned a lot on my own as a result.

 

[PatboyX]

self for a bit then i got lessons for a bit and now im back on my own.

 

[RagingBITCH]

Originally posted by: AlienCraft

Originally posted by: RagingBITCH
Self taught. Maybe you're just not as interested in guitar as you had thought, or you're not putting enough time and effort into it.

Perhaps different people learn in different ways at different rates and you are applying what worked for you on someone you've never met before.

I say take some lessons. Then, when you have the basics, you will find that you are able to self-study with greater ease.
< Took lessons privately, music classes in school, learned a lot on my own as a result.

I was theorizing why he was getting no where with a hypothetical theory, hence the maybe. What exactly was I applying to him?

 

[sillymofo]

What I find useful is first you have to have discipline, secondly, if you really want to learn guitar, or any musical instruments, learn how MUSIC is represented. From the notes, octaves, lines, etc... You'll have a much better foundation to build on. Associate the note on paper with position on the frets, soon, you'll know where to put your fingers by looking at the notes, and no more guess work. I think some people would agree with me if I'm to say that learn the chords first, and once you're comfortable with the cords, you can break chords and do your own thing, with just those few notes of the chords.

 

[nan0bug]

Learn power chords and write your own songs. Study the basics until your fingers loosen up, then move up to more intermediate stuff. Money for nothing by dire straits is a great intermediate song to practice until you get it down pat. Once you get that song down good your fingers should be strong enough and quick enough for other songs.

I dunno, thats how I learned. I suck though, so don't listen to me.

 

[ThePresence]

Self taught. You will need alot of patience.

 

[flxnimprtmscl]

I just really started a few weeks ago and I'm teaching myself for now. As soon as I master the art of switching cleanly between chords with some degree of speed I'm planning on some lessons. I've got big fingers though so I'm having a b!tch of a time at it Decent progress can be made by yourself as long as you work at it though. Patience and practice in infinite amounts is key

 

[mrCide]

Originally posted by: ThePresence
Self taught. You will need alot of patience.

yep, takes 3 months of good practice to get anywhere at all IMO. i'm about 2.5 years in and i'm semi-comfortable with playing. no where near 'good' though.

 

[mrCide]

Originally posted by: flxnimprtmscl
I just really started a few weeks ago and I'm teaching myself for now. As soon as I master the art of switching cleanly between chords with some degree of speed I'm planning on some lessons. I've got big fingers though so I'm having a b!tch of a time at it Decent progress can be made by yourself as long as you work at it though. Patience and practice in infinite amounts is key

big fingers don't mean jack look at yngwie's fatty fingers, just as fast as when he was a toothpick

 

[Buttzilla]

Originally posted by: RagingBITCH

Originally posted by: AlienCraft

Originally posted by: RagingBITCH
Self taught. Maybe you're just not as interested in guitar as you had thought, or you're not putting enough time and effort into it.

Perhaps different people learn in different ways at different rates and you are applying what worked for you on someone you've never met before.

I say take some lessons. Then, when you have the basics, you will find that you are able to self-study with greater ease.
< Took lessons privately, music classes in school, learned a lot on my own as a result.

I was theorizing why he was getting no where with a hypothetical theory, hence the maybe. What exactly was I applying to him?

no your right, i'm interested but i guess i'm not as interested as i thought i was. i have an acoustic but i just recently picked up my friends strat squire?? oh man that felt great so much easier to play and more smooth. i'm thinking about getting the ibanez package that was posted on another thread [L=guitar].

 

[Buttzilla]

here it is again

 

[AlienCraft]

Originally posted by: RagingBITCH

Originally posted by: AlienCraft

Originally posted by: RagingBITCH
Self taught. Maybe you're just not as interested in guitar as you had thought, or you're not putting enough time and effort into it.

Perhaps different people learn in different ways at different rates and you are applying what worked for you on someone you've never met before.

I say take some lessons. Then, when you have the basics, you will find that you are able to self-study with greater ease.
< Took lessons privately, music classes in school, learned a lot on my own as a result.

I was theorizing why he was getting no where with a hypothetical theory, hence the maybe. What exactly was I applying to him?

First you declared yourself self-taught. Then you go to question his dedication (both inspiration and application), when it is apparent he is looking at taking lessons. The insinuation is that by being self taught, one is more "motivated" than one who may seek professional instruction. Your prejudice for YOUR way of learning was transparent, to me.
I was offering an alternative explanation, which is why I said "perhaps".

 

[nan0bug]

Another suggestion is to start early singing along with the music you play. It takes some time to get comfortable doing both at the same time, but when you can sing along with what you're playing it will help you not only play other peoples music but write songs as well.

 

[FuZoR]

self taught... on and off

so i suck really bad

oh yeah, jam with other guitar players.. you learn ALOT this way.

 

[faZZter]

Both........took many classes on music in general and was shown things by many other guitar players, but I also can play by ear (to a point) and figured out other peoples music/techniques. Learn to read guitar tabs and figure out songs you like.

 

[RagingBITCH]

Originally posted by: AlienCraft

Originally posted by: RagingBITCH

Originally posted by: AlienCraft

Originally posted by: RagingBITCH
Self taught. Maybe you're just not as interested in guitar as you had thought, or you're not putting enough time and effort into it.

Perhaps different people learn in different ways at different rates and you are applying what worked for you on someone you've never met before.

I say take some lessons. Then, when you have the basics, you will find that you are able to self-study with greater ease.
< Took lessons privately, music classes in school, learned a lot on my own as a result.

I was theorizing why he was getting no where with a hypothetical theory, hence the maybe. What exactly was I applying to him?

First you declared yourself self-taught. Then you go to question his dedication (both inspiration and application), when it is apparent he is looking at taking lessons. The insinuation is that by being self taught, one is more "motivated" than one who may seek professional instruction. Your prejudice for YOUR way of learning was transparent, to me.
I was offering an alternative explanation, which is why I said "perhaps".

Yes I said I was self taught. I wanted him to think if guitar was indeed something he wanted to play and perhaps that was why he was not getting anywhere, not say "you suck". And how did you get that being self taught is more motivated from what I said? My prejudice? That's just how I learned, I never once insinuated self taught (> motivation) lessons. I was trained through lessons on the piano and the violin for 5+ years. Does that mean I wasn't as motivated to play those musical instruments as I was guitar? No, I just chose to go the lesson route for those and the self taught route for guitar. It means nothing in terms of motivation.

 

[RagingBITCH]

Originally posted by: Buttzilla

Originally posted by: RagingBITCH

Originally posted by: AlienCraft

Originally posted by: RagingBITCH
Self taught. Maybe you're just not as interested in guitar as you had thought, or you're not putting enough time and effort into it.

Perhaps different people learn in different ways at different rates and you are applying what worked for you on someone you've never met before.

I say take some lessons. Then, when you have the basics, you will find that you are able to self-study with greater ease.
< Took lessons privately, music classes in school, learned a lot on my own as a result.

I was theorizing why he was getting no where with a hypothetical theory, hence the maybe. What exactly was I applying to him?

no your right, i'm interested but i guess i'm not as interested as i thought i was. i have an acoustic but i just recently picked up my friends strat squire?? oh man that felt great so much easier to play and more smooth. i'm thinking about getting the ibanez package that was posted on another thread [L=guitar].

I wasn't trying to nitpick you bro - everyone has ups and downs for anything they choose to pickup. Electrics are easier to play - that's why I went electric first. (Most people will say go accoustic first, then electric) Playing electric vs accoustic is slightly different in terms of the style of music you like to play - if you're all about the Godsmacks and the punk bands and whatnot, electric is something you might want to consider. If you like the John Mayers and the easy going, mellow guitar songs, accoustic is probably what you want to play. Regardless, you'll need to learn the basics of guitar on either - it's just a matter of practice, practice, practice.

 

[AlienCraft]

Originally posted by: RagingBITCH
I was trained through lessons on the piano and the violin for 5+ years. Does that mean I wasn't as motivated to play those musical instruments as I was guitar? No, I just chose to go the lesson route for those and the self taught route for guitar. It means nothing in terms of motivation.

It may mean nothing to you, but I disagree.
OK, so you took MUSIC lessons for 5 + years, then taught yourself guitar. How would that be different from him taking guitar lessons for a while, to learn the basics of music, notation, etc. then moving on to self education??
Don't you agree that the frustration level you experienced while teaching yourself guitar was mitigated by your previous musical training??
And isn't the level of frustration directly related to the attriton rate of music students, regardless of the instrument?
Thus my comment regarding the path one chooses to learn is directly related to motivation. You were motivated to learn guitar because you had already made a level of personal acheivement with your other instruments. He was relating his frustration level was rising because he had plateau'ed,learning wise. His motivation is there, it just needs direction, imo.

 

[RagingBITCH]

Originally posted by: AlienCraft

Originally posted by: RagingBITCH
I was trained through lessons on the piano and the violin for 5+ years. Does that mean I wasn't as motivated to play those musical instruments as I was guitar? No, I just chose to go the lesson route for those and the self taught route for guitar. It means nothing in terms of motivation.

It may mean nothing to you, but I disagree.
OK, so you took MUSIC lessons for 5 + years, then taught yourself guitar. How would that be different from him taking guitar lessons for a while, to learn the basics of music, notation, etc. then moving on to self education??
Don't you agree that the frustration level you experienced while teaching yourself guitar was mitigated by your previous musical training??
And isn't the level of frustration directly related to the attriton rate of music students, regardless of the instrument?
Thus my comment regarding the path one chooses to learn is directly related to motivation. You were motivated to learn guitar because you had already made a level of personal acheivement with your other instruments. He was relating his frustration level was rising because he had plateau'ed,learning wise. His motivation is there, it just needs direction, imo.

Ahh I see where you're coming from now....I like it when things are black and white To an extent I guess some frustration was taken away by the musical lessons. Guitar was a different beast though - most of my memory and knowledge of piano and violin was a distant memory by the time I picked up guitar - I learned via tabs and not by notes. In a way yes it did help. Sorry if I flamed you

 

[jjyiz28]

Originally posted by: Buttzilla
i'm been off and on for a few months...not really getting anywhere.

i was wondering if you guys took lessons or self taught. i'm thinking about taking lessons cause i feel like i'm not getting anywhere trying to teach myself. i guess cause i need some kind of structure.

so who got lessons and who was self taught.

zilla

just play what you wanna play. if you don't want to learn music or guitar theory, dont. you don't need memorize chords, or scale progression, or note reading unless you want to. you can just be a technical player, and work on technical skills.