I want to start playing the guitar, where do i start?

Question

I'm 18 right now I go to college and if it's not a week end or a day I work I'll usually find myself just dinking around online. I don't find that a very good use of time. I was thinking about something I could do with my free time. That's fun to do, cool while doing it, something none of my friends really pursue (pretty much anything), and continually challenging. I do some extreme sports but its usually alot of prep work and weather conditions must be right. So playing the guitar sounded perfect. I want to learn play the electric guitar. specifically the main guitar...the one you can get cool solos from...whatever. I'm wondering what are some guitars for beginners, also are there some good sites online that can help me get started, or home videos I can buy that anyone could reccomend. Pretty much anything where I can teach myself.

Answer 1

well, first up, you need to learn about electric guitars.

i'm not gonna say "you should get this brand, i have one and its awesome!", because i dont know you, and i dont know what you like. it'd be like asking someone whats the best kind of sauce. someone will say terriyaki sauce, someone will say bbq, someone will say ketchup.... etc. it all depends on your tastes, and what you're doing. ketchup is great on a hamburger, but if you're looking for something to go with peanut butter, it'd be terrible.

you need to pick based on the facts about the guitar, and ignore people's preferences.....

so, an electric guitar is going to have 3 main characteristics that you should look at:

the neckjoint, the pickups, and the tailpiece.

neckjoints - bolt on Vs set-neck

bolt on necks are 2 pieces, one is just screwed into the other. they're easy to build, easy for repairs, easy for adjusments, but since they're 2 different parts, all the vibration from your hand on the strings that travels to the body goes through that joint, and loses some of its power since the parts are separate. Set-neck guitars have glued in necks, they're a little more expensive, and those ones allow a lot more of the vibration to the body, so you get more sustain, and a fuller tone, however, if you need any repair work, or if you damage the neck, its a hell of a lot more work to fix it. eddie van halen only uses bolt ons, jimmy page only uses set necks. those guys are both rock legends, nobody would ever tell them they've chosen the wrong guitar. you just need to pick based on whats better for you.

pickups - single coils V humbuckers

pickups are big magnets, they hear and feel the vibration from the strings and the body, and send a signal to your amp. also, if you're in a room with a tv or a computer or something, you'll hear some buzzing in your amp from that stuff.

single coils give you a thin, twangy tone. think eric clapton, stevie ray vaughn, jimi hendrix. humbuckers give you more beef, but a little less high end bite. think AC-DC, Zeppelin, and metallica. also, humbuckers reduce noise from other sources (they're basically 2 single coils stuck together, with the polarities reversed, so they cancel out humming, hence the name humbucker).

last up, the tailpiece. tremolo arm V fixed bridge

fender strat style guitars have a trem arm, or "whammy bar". this will allow you to do some cool sounds, vibrato, "dive bombs" like eddie van halen, etc. BUT, they tend to go out of tune unless you really know what you're doing. the whole thing is mounted to springs inside the guitar, and when you use the bar, it lessens the tension on the strings, making them drop in pitch. lets pretend theres no strings on your guitar, and you put the thickest one on and tune it. the tension of that string will make those springs move, then you put another string on, and it moves again. well, since it moved again, the first string you put on isnt tuned any longer. then you put another on, and the first 2 strings you put on are further out of tune, and this goes on for all the strings. so, you need to tune the guitar a few times in a row to get the job done. its more work, but you get the cool tricks. a fixed bridge doesnt move, so once you're tuned, you're pretty much done. but you dont get the cool dive bomb sounds. less work, less tricks, but its probably easier for beginner to start this way.

last up, the overall feel of the guitar. some guitars are thick and heavy, others are thin and light. some have wide thin necks, others are round and fat. just pick up a few guitars and feel the neck. dont think, just feel. if one feels better than another, you'll know which you prefer. none of these things are "better" or "worse", but one might work better for you, and one might make you go "this sucks!".

as far as learning, you could start with a book, or a video, but i'd recommend heading to the local music store and asking about lessons. you cant ask a book a question, and a good teacher will help connect all the info you're learning, chances are it'll be less confusing that way.

you can get starter packs with a guitar, tuner, amp, bag, strap, etc from squier, peavey, jackson, epiphone, behringer, etc. the cheapest ones will start at around $150, the others will vary from $229 to $350. good luck man! and just make sure you realize that learning an instrument is work, you need to put time into it every day, and it'll take some time before you can bust out guitar solos. usually, if someone gives it an honest effort and practices 4 or 5 days a week for 20 minutes or more, i can have them playing some songs in the first 2 months. maybe not perfectly, but enough to have fun, and people will go "hey, i know that song!".

Answer 2

You are never to young, or to old to begin enjoying the fun and satisfaction of playing music. While true with anything, it's easier to pick up on things as a child, it is never to late to start. The key is. once you start, stick with it. Most people of any age give up because your fingers will hurt in the beginning and you will be frustrated that your chord voicing will be weak and/or muted. Pick up a guitar and a keyboard and play as much as you can. As for drums, if you have success with the guitar and keyboard, try your hand at it on a friend or relative's set. Drums are expensive, take up a lot of room and sometimes even the most musical people can't get the hang of a drum set. I have played and experimented with many musical instruments for over 40 years, and can play many, but I could never get the hang of a drum set. Just get started and don't give up. xx

Answer 3

Hey! I've been playing guitar for about 8 months now and it was really hard to start off with. Once you stick with it and develop callouses on your fingers (you'll need them!) it gets a bit easier. Now I just love to pick up the guitar. I have tought myself (lots of help from websites - links below) I would say start off with these sites and a cheap guitar because the whole guitar package can be very expensive. Once you start getting somewhere invest in a better guitar.

Once you've understood how to read tab (much much easier than reading music) you'll learn songs so quickly!

It's hard work but good luck!

Answer 4

Hmmm, where do I start? Step one: Buy the guitar. This could be the actual instrument if you enjoy walking around carrying heavy stuff but you have the option of owning a reasonably-priced air-guitar. Step two: Stand up. playing your guitar while sitting down isn't really cool. Step three: Place the strap over your shoulder. Step three: Look cool. This is the most important of being a guitarist. Step four: Break your fingers. This will come in handy when you play hard chords. Plus, you never have to type your posts in Yahoo Answers again.

The above pointers should give more than enough of a head start, but if you really want annoy your neighbors here are some cool articles: http://uncyclopedia.org/wiki/HowTo:Learn_Guitar

http://uncyclopedia.org/wiki/Air_guitar

Hope this helps

Answer 5

Do not start electric. You can find out if all your fingers work just as well on an acoustic guitar. Previous post mentioned Harmony..........I can personally reccomend Lyle and Honer acoustic guitars. A few lessons won't hurt. Helps if U can carry a tune......and can sing better than the average rap artist! ALL Classy Guitar players U ever heard of can play an acoustic guitar and most of them learned their licks on one. Just listen to Eric Clapton, Neil Young, Stephen Stills, Mark Knophler, Stevie Ray Vaughn, many others.....all play wooden on some of their best songs. I found out I play the stereo best. I got some NASTY BIG JBL speakers and just crank it up. Entertain the neighbors so to speak. U too will find a place in music. I started trying to play guitar when I was 19....fingers too broken from MC wrecks by then..............So my advice to U..........Get a good used acoustic guitar at your local music store or pawn shop and spend at least 3 hr a day learning to play it clean and well for at least 6 mo. Make sure the neck fits your left hand. buy it a new set of flat wound Martin strings. Play it every day till the fingers on yer left hand bleed. That what it takes to become a lead guitar player. U do that well U buy an electric.........Only then. strings on an electric guitar harder on yer fingers than acoustic. Not an easy goal U have chosen. If the music not in your soul U have no chance. If yer fingers broken and stiff like mine U have no chance. Took me about 6 years to find out I couldn't play a acoustic 12 string guitar like Neil Young. I got 2 fingers on my left hand that can make clean notes on a 4 string Bass. I run the mixer board for 2-3 little garage bands nowdays. I'm real good at that. You will find a place in music if you are willing to work and love music enough. Lotta wanna be guitar players out there. They most pretty cool. Attracts girls.........don't pay worth crap. U wanna play electric guitar? U better learn some electronics. U gonna hafta learn how not to fry yer amplifier. U up for all that? Then U gotta give it a shot. If U just want something to do U probably not The newest star on "American Idol"

Answer 6

go to the site "nextlevelguitar.com". they have video song lessons on some really good songs. Also, they have chord videos to teach you chords. For a guitar, Epiphone Les Paul special 2's are only $150, and are good even if you aren't a beginner.

Answer 7

my little brother plays guitar he's pretty wicked he just started out with a cheap *** harmony and a strong will to learn how to do it after a few years of making several awful screeching noises he has become one of my many favorite guitar players he gets all his stuff from www.musiciansfriend.com

Answer 8

www.musiciansfriend.com or www.about.com