What is the best way to learn the guitar, and what guitar should I get?

Question

I am intending to learn to play the guitar, self taught. I have never really played any musical instruments before.

What would be the best approach to adopt to do this? Also what would be a good (cheap) guitar to start learning on and what books are the best?

I eventually want to be able to play Oasis et al but realise this wil take time...!

Answer 1

Do not buy a cheap guitar. Save your money until you can get a good one. A cheap guitar makes a cheap and nasty sound, whoever plays it, and always making a bad sound will not encourage you to progress. Buy a good nylon strung guitar, as these are physically easier to play, as they have broader fingerboards and easier actions.

No matter how good or bad your voice is, sing along to what you are playing. This will help your rhythm. Even if you only learn two chords, there are songs with two chords to practice on. e.g. Mavericks- Dance the Night Away. Play and sing.

Get a chord book with different inversions and a guitar tuner, so your guitar is always tuned in concert pitch. then practice for a set amount of time each day. (30 minutes minimum)

Answer 2

Guitar and Piano are two entirely different beasts. The guitar has a lot of timbral versatility to it compared to the piano. For example, the 6th fret on the low E string is the same pitch as the 1st fret on the A string, but they have relatively different sounds because resonance gets involved. It's quite a fun instrument to play however. If you're leaning to play Electric, get a Squier Strat. Every guitar player you know is probably gonna tell you otherwise, because, it sounds bad or isn't the greatest guitar in the world. While that is true, it's also cheap, and compared to One Act guitars, it's not too bad. It's less than $250 for the pack with the amp and the tuner, cable, bag, and everything else, and it's not a bad set. I'm still using the gig bag I got from it 5 years later on my Iceman. The amp eventually went because I used it outside in awfully humid conditions and the electrics corroded over. But for the short term, it's a good investment. When you first pick up an instrument to learn, you need to develop your practice skills, both mechanics and regularly practicing, so don't spend $400 on a guitar right away. It's a shame to see people spend $500+ on Epiphone Les Pauls and knock offs, learn how to play a few songs, and then give up and have the guitar stuffed in a closet. If you do get the set, there's usually a book included where it teaches you a few notes on each string, then some chords, gives you some basic songs, with notes and chords. Nothing to deep into the theory but use that in learning the mechanics, which'll eventually help you in the theory. Go through the book, make sure you know it, then go to a teacher, who will teach you (ideally) advanced mechanics, then start introducing theory. Some people say to learn how to play tabs which are very helpful if you want to learn a song or a new technique but stick with the standard notation because it'll honestly help you. Guitar isn't necessarily difficult to learn if you're willing to put in the time to practice, but it's ridiculously rewarding to play.

Answer 3

Well my son is 11 and he has taught himself. He is just amazing. In less than half a year he plays that guitar better than people who've taken lessons for years.

You can download (and purchase) Guitar Pro 5 (it's better than older versions) and then find TABS online for the songs you want. It shows you notes and you just follow along...it actually plays the whole song and the notes/chords light up that you should be playing along the way.

You have to be the studious type to teach yourself, it's not for everyone as my son literally spends hours and hours and hours in front of that computer learning and playing. So if you're that dedicated try it. If not take some lessons so you get to know how to read music and some theory and then maybe attempt to teach yourself once you have an inkling of what you are doing.

I don't know what would be the cheapest, but to learn it doesn't matter. When you get good you'll want a really good guitar. My son has 3 already and is saving up for the best...a Gibson SG!

Electric guitar by far is the coolest, and you can buy foot pedals and other gizmos to get all the warped cool sounds you can pull from a guitar. I wouldn't recommend it for learning however. Unless you want to invest in a good acoustic right off the bat, any will probably do. Get a tuner however...guitar is no good to you without it. Or you can tune it online with the free online tuners.

Answer 4

I would buy a cheap acoustic guitar, because it hard to play on it compare to an electric one. The reason is that if you play on electric first it will be harder to play on acoustic. The better you play on an acoustic the better you play on all kinds of guitar. And for price wise don't buy a expensive one just in case you don't like playing anymore that way you don't waste money. When buying any guitar look for condition, like make sure the fret bars are straight, no curves or twist, as possible by looking down the arm of the guitar and other end, the strings should be at least have a gap of space between fret board and strings, no cracks any where, no loose nuts or screws. Play it see if it makes you feel comfortable. For electric same applies, but make sure it has a rod in the fret arm by looking at back of the head where the tuning knobs are. It there to make the fret bar arm to be straight, and make sure the coils between the bridge and fret arm are working by plugging in the guitar to an amp. Eventhough, I suggest a guitar lessons with a guitar teacher at a guitar shop which is the best unless you are confidant a self learner. Good luck whailing on the guitar.

Answer 5

start off with a classic guitar (i started that way) and learn a few chords..and if you want to learn how to play some oasis songs, then search the internet for oasis chords or tabs (you have to learn how to read them, it's easy, dont worry) and start practicing, then when you've gained experience, buy an electric guitar or bass (if you're thinking of buying a classic, Yamaha have some self-taught guitars, and when you want to buy an electric, look for either Gibsons or Fenders, the best)

i started off that way....good lluck :)

Answer 6

best bet is to buy a cheap guitar. and prbably electric because they are usually easier to play and you can better sound out of them. start witha squaier strat or something. dont go buying a nice guitar it makes you look stupid if you cant play it.

also if your after books on guitar most record shops sell them. start simple learn your chords and stuff before you start learning songs..

go to www.ultimateguitartabs.com for guitar tabs to play songs

Hope this helps you out!

Answer 7

So..
This is a good link for downloading Guitar Pro for free http://bit.ly/1lOOxfx
It works like a charm.
Bye Bye

Answer 8

Start with a acoustic as its easier to learn and look on ebay for a cd rom, then as you get better you may want to move onto an electric or base.

Answer 9

ive jsut recently learned how to play guitar and ive been learning
here is the website to get you going and its very useful and the dude ben teaches how to play it in acoustic and electric guitare
http://www.jamorama.com/

Answer 10

u should try 2 get lessons but if u cant der is a lota stuff u can find online. a good cheap guitar i s a squier ( kinda like a geginner fendar)
check out dis link :

http://www.music123.com/Search/Default.aspx?Ne=2973&N=64+4294940554

ill give u lessons 4 20 bucks a month