.....Guitar?

Question

I wanna learn how ta play the electric guitar really bad, but I don't particularly wanna get lessons. Have any of you guys taught yourselves? Was it hard? Is there alot to it? Is it fun?

Answer 1

i taught myself. i'm still a beginner but here's how i did it. i began with an acoustic guitar. then i looked up videos showing basic guitar skills. i learned as many chords as i could. then i began to look up riffs at guitar tab websites. i first stuck with intros of easy stuff. then i moved on to electric and began learning power chords...

Answer 2

I taught myself guitar, but I already had some musical experience, I had been a drummer for a few years, and had learned a lot about other instruments from bands and school band.

I basically started by just playing some easy tabs, taking it slow, and then eventually I started to learn some chords and got a little more serious. The important thing is to play every day. There are many resources on the internet so that you can teach yourself. You just can't know for sure if you're doing everything right without a teacher.

Answer 3

First, go with acoustic guitar. It'll help build calluses faster and helps you get a good feel for where the strings are for when you're actually on stage rocking out.

Personally, I semi-taught myself how to play. I was lucky enough to find a great teacher who just asked me what I wanted to learn. So we worked on what songs I want to play, instead of the music theory crap that just turns everybody off.

You might want to look up some guitar tabs on the net. A lot of those sites have a tutorial on how to read tabs and learn the songs.

I started playing when I was 17 and I still haven't mastered the thing yet (i'm 23). But in the end, it is fun when you've mastered "Disarm" and "Tonight, Tonight" by the Smashing Pumpkins. If you have any other questions about guitar, feel free to e-mail me at [e-mail] Cheers.

Answer 4

If I were you, it might be best to buy an acoustic guitar first, less money to put out first. Then go to your local music center, and check out their selection of sheet music that has what is called TAB along with music and words. This will teach you all the fingering to get you started. As you learn some of your songs you will start to be able to make your own music and define your own style. But be patient this is not something that only takes a day. Learn the basic chords, and standard E tuning first. At first it will be hard, and your fingers will get calusses, and after 39 years I still have alot of fun

Answer 5

It's a lot of fun, but you've got to put a lot of time into it.
A couple of recommendations:
A "decent" quality guitar such as an Ibanez RG or S model, save the high dollar jobs for when you can rock the house.
A book titled "Uncle Tim's First Year" -great info
A metronome - Clean execution makes simple sound super
A Tascam "Guitar Trainer" - Drop a cd in this jewel and you can slow down your favorite guitar players tunes to 1/50th speed without changing pitch.

Answer 6

Get a cheap acoustic perferably spanish type with nylon strings. Use this to develop you're technique so that when you pick up the electric it will seem easier. I'd aslo suggest after a hard practice session on the acousitc you turn you're amp up to 10 and rock out like crazy for awhile. It'll keep it from getting boring.


Also start listening to better to guitarists like Hendrix and Clapton because every guitarists should be able to do a decent hendrix impersonation!

Good luck

Answer 7

it would be easier if you could find someone to show you the basic chords, but any beginner instructional book will do. im selftaught, yeah theres alot to it depending on how good you want to get, some of it was hard, some easy, and its fun. start hanging with other guitar players, they can show you in acouple of minutes what would take a long time to figure on your own. lessons are a drag because it turns something you want to do into something you have to do, but there are somethings as you progress, youll need to be shown. watch other players, most will be happy to share the knowledge.

Answer 8

You know... you can teach yourself. But I really wouldn't. Dollars to doughnuts that many of your other answerers here cannot read music - because people teaching themselves want to get to the fun stuff, and skip over some of the necessary musical skills.

I more or less taught myself... and I got a lot of the skills I wanted quickly. But I paid a heavy price for it later - it took me years to teach myself how to read music properly once I realized you have to have this skill to be a real musician, and it took me many other years to unlearn some really bad habits I had.

Do yourself a favour - spare yourself the frustration and necssary ignorance involved in teaching yourself. Take a few lessons - if nothing else just to get yourself started. You'll be able to teach yourself plenty after.

Answer 9

I totally taught myself to play. Just buy a book that show you the chords and maybe a few songs, and go from there. Go with acoustic, you'll have better technique. Pay particular attention to the stuff that shows you how to properly hold the guitar and fret the strings.

Answer 10

i taught myself how to play for about 3 months i knew alot of stuff after the 3 months then i took private lessons for years and now I'm good but when u teach yourself there is a lot to learn and u need to find a good website that shows you how to change strings and tune and other regular maintenance

Answer 11

i didnt take any lesson, i just used tablature

it was hard at first but once i got used to it and built up callouses on my fingers i could pick up any song in minutes

there is a lot to it but its fun to learn more and more about it

id reccomend playing on an acoustic first to get ur fingers used to playing, i did this because the acoustic resists u more so when i first got an electric it felt so smooth like i could just fly down the neck in a solo..

its the most fun ive had without lubricant!!