I wanna learn guitar, where do I start?

[Spankthru]

Lemme preface this by saying a few things: I have no music experience, I like rock & I'm left handed.
I was thinking of asking for a guitar for Xmas. My music tastes run from Tom Petty-Everclear-Placebo-Sundays

Tell me:

Whats a good beginner guitar?
What web resources are out there for n00bs?
Where else can I look for info?


~BRETT~

 

[squirrel dog]

Acoustic or electric? Fender,Gibson,Guild,Yamaha,Peavey,ect all make guitars that are suitable for a begineer.Get a cord book and learn it.Plan on taking lessions. There are beau coup guitar sites available.One good hardware site is mars.com.Rock on !

 

[Scarpozzi]

Get a guitar and start trying to learn chords. Go out to www.olga.net and there is a lot of info there.

 

[erikistired]

that is nicer than what i started with, but about the same price.

 

[aircooled]

Yeah.. First learn the basic chords and learn how to tune it.

And always remember...
Elephants
Always
Do
Grow
Big
Ears

 

[thomsbrain]

my biggest piece of advice is to get lessons. try someone out, and if you're not feeling it, try someone else. a good guitar teacher is your most valuble piece of equipment your first three years.

 

[thomsbrain]

Originally posted by: aircooled
Yeah.. First learn the basic chords and learn how to tune it.

And always remember...
Elephants
Always
Do
Grow
Big
Ears

i can't remember the one i used to use to remember that. though for me these days, it would be

can't
god
cook
good
beef
everyday

mmm, detuned.

 

[linster]

I just started myself. I have an Ibanez AEG10BK. I'm using eMedia's Guitar Method to learn. I love it.

 

[bgruver]

You may want to look into renting equipment from a Music store. I did this at first to make sure I really wanted
to play and then I ended up buying stuff after taking lessons. You definitely should start off by taking lessons.

 

[hdeck]

I, personally, never took lessons. 2.5 years later I'd say I'm pretty decent (in fact I have friends that want me to teach them how to play, ha!). There are lots of online sites you could go to that have tons about guitar basics for free (much better than spending even more cash on lessons). One of my fav.s is ultimate-guitar.com

Enjoy!

 

[AmazonRasta]

If I could play like any one guitarist in the world, it would be Jimi Hendrix. None are better.
One day, I WILL play like Jimi Hendrix.

 

[agnitrate]

Hendrix has to be the most overrated guitarist I have ever heard of. Granted, he's good but he is a far cry from being the best guitarist. He's in the Top 10 but I don't think he's even in my Top 5.

Anyways, get lessons if you want to. I've played 5 years without lessons and I think I'm pretty decent for not being taught by anyone. Just start by learning what you want to and gradually work your way up to more difficult songs/riffs. Have fun!

-silver

 

[TrueBlueLS]

Any guitar would be a beginning guitar. There was a mention about renting and is fine if you want to do so. If you know that you've dropped things before accomplishing them in the past, that might be for you. If you're ready to buy, I would recommend either a Peavey or a Fernandes guitar. Why you ask? Well, I own both brands. Out of the 7 years I've played my first Peavey, I have never had anything go wrong with it and it was a second hand guitar. If I do remember from the paperwork I got from Peavey, the guitar is 16 years old. Fernandes also makes some good guitars too. Anything in their "X" series should be around $200. If you get one of those, I'd recommend the Native X. After you've gotten your guitar, you can play a couple chords and try to learn from there, but I recommend lessons. That was something I had never did and I regret it up until I start taking them next year. Any questions... I know there'll be more than enough of us on here to answer them

Jeff

 

[43st]

A couple pointers...

- A cheap guitar is cheap for a reason, don't expect to get Rock God sound from it. This is because high quality guitars are made from solid wood with better electronics. Cheap models are made from plywood and thus don't have the warmth you may be expecting.

- I'd suggest an acoustic guitar for a beginner. You can always get an electric when you're a better musician and know a little bit more about guitars (see above statement)

- Have the shop you purchase it from show you how to maintain it also (string change, cleaning, tuning, etc...)

- A lot of manufactures have factory blemished models, the trick is finding an outlet that sells them. This can offer a free upgrade to a better quitar if you desire. You must examine the guitar beforehand.

- Purchase a good tuner. I recommend a Sabine tuner.

- First learn some chords, then practice simple transitions (A to E and back again), then download some tabs of your favorite music. This will help keep you interested.

- Start using medium strings (9's for elec, 12's for acoustic), and medium picks. You can always change later to a different style. (If you purchase an acoustic ONLY purchase Martin strings)

- Realize that 90% of guitar "gear" is a scam. It's gimmicky crap for unknowing consumers. Always research before you purchase something. I've seen entire guitar stores without a single "worth it" item.

Hope this helps a bit.