guitar help ...eeks :]]?

Question

okay so i want to learn to play guitar....because i love singing and have been doing it for many year. Now i want to start writing my own songs and trying to learn the guitar.

but anyways....
i have a guitar and a couple of my dads old guitar books.

the book i am learning out of now is teaching me with the notes (letters) is that a good way of learning.

i have also heard of learning by chords is that the same thing as the notes.

also i have played the clarinet for 3 years and know alot about music and stuff so i know that will help alot but the notes for clarinet are the same for guitar ..correct ?

oh geez i'm so pathetic i dont know anythingg.

please help me! what the easiest way to learn and how do you do that ?

thanks for all your help :]]]

Answer 1

First of all, you are not pathetic. You are a musician, and you are trying to expand your horizons. Nothing wrong with that. I've got a couple of things that will help you right off the bat.

1. Your clarinet is a transposing instrument. The guitar is going to sound different than the clarinet. You probably figured this out already, but I had to get that in just in case. If I didn't tell you, I would just be wrong. With a Clarinet, when you play a C, a B flat comes out of the instrument. With a guitar, when you Play a C, you get a C, but you get it one octave lower than it's written!

2. I can't give you easy, but might be able to get to doable. The guitar is a polyphonic instrument. Clarinet is monophonic (one note at a time) I'm going to give you some links to some sites that might help you figure out what you need to do.

Here are the first five chords:

1. E minor seven with a suspension
Strum across the strings without putting any fingers on the strings.
The E minor is E (First and 6th string)/ G (third string)/ B (second string)
The Seventh is D (fourth string)
And the suspension is A (the fifth string)

6/0 5/0 4/0 3/0 2/0 1/0
Easiest chord in the world to play, hardest chord in the world to say!

2. E minor Seven
Put your second or third finger on the second fret of the fifth string

6/0 5/2 4/0 3/0 2/0 1/0
E / B / D / G / B / E

E minor E / G / B
the dominant Seventh D (4/0)

3. E minor
Put your second and third finger on the second fret of the fifth and fourth strings

6/0 5/2 4/2 3/0 2/0 1/0
E / B / E / G / B / E

4. E major
Put your second and third fingers on the second frets of the fifth and fourth strings. Now put your first finger down right where it already is, over the first fret of the third string

6/0 5/2 4/2 3/1 2/0 1/0
E / B / E / G# / B / E

E Major E / G# / B

5. A minor

Put your second and third fingers down on the second fret of the FOURTH AND THIRD STRINGS! Put your first finger down on the first fret of the SECOND STRING! ( Move your fingers over one string!)

6/0 5/0 4/2 3/2 2/1 1/0
E / A / E / A / C / E

A minor A / C / E

Move back and forth between these chords until you can do it smoothly. Later on you can learn more chords but this is a good start.

E7 ( E major dominant Seven )

6/0 5/2 4/0 3/1 2/0 1/0

Amin7 ( A minor with a dominant seventh)

6/0 5/0 4/2 3/0 2/1 1/0

A7 (A major with a Dominant Seventh)

6/0 5/0 4/2 3/0 2/2 1/0

A (A Major)

6/0 5/0 4/2 3/2 2/2 1/0

Let me know when you are ready for more.

Answer 2

The best way is to have a teacher but if you can't afford that then I'd go to Sam Ash, they have a lot more books then the Guitar Center. Tell them what style you want to play, the'll probably recomend a good method book. I play classical guitar, but recently I bought an acoustic and play fingerstyle which I like very much. If your a singer this style sounds the best to me, some prefer playing the cords but I thing fingerpicking so much cooler. Why not get a book on that style and see what you think, I just learn Tears in Heaven and I like it much better fingerstyle then I do playing the cords. But if you prefer cords try starting out learning them while your learning the book work, this way you won't get bored or discouraged. Learn simple cords to get your hands in shape for playing, and too get the calloues your going to need so that it's not pain full to play, Learn cords like D, Dm, C, G. G7, Em, A, Am, C7, F (not the full F) You could play hundreds of songs with just these few cords, and meanwhile keep up the book work, learn to read music for guitar, you already have had three years of that so it souldn't be too bad, and yes the clarinet reads the treble clef, a C on the clarinet looks the same on the sheet music for guitar, your just going to have to learn where all the C's are on the guitar, most books have finger board charts that show you all that. To answer you question about the notes, no they are not the same as the cord, the cord is usually three or more notes put together, and the notes or usually one or two notes together, alot of times they are just single notes, like a C, D, E, etc, and that is not a cord. Be careful about people that want to teach you for free, I don't know how young you are, not many people are willing to teach for free unless there's a motive behind it, so please be careful, have your parents check this out, I'm not saying anything against someone who is kind enough to want to help, but lately I've been watching that MSNBC about this type of thing and it scares me to death !!!!!!!!!

Answer 3

Learning notes is OK, but for singing, u really want chords. In ur dad's old books should be some chord shapes, like grids with dots on them. Vertical lines R strings, horizontal R frets. The line on the right is always the highest string. Tune ur guitar from the lowest string E A D G B E. The highest string is E above middle C. Choose 2 or 3 chords. A D E are good. Put ur fingers on the strings where the dots are. Push down till they sound clear when u strum them.. It will hurt ur fingertips at first, but they get hard after a while. Also u can't have long,pretty nails on ur left hand. When u can play the chords, practise changing between them. It will happen! Then there are lots of easy songs to start with. Ur dad's books will probably have some ideas in. Keep at it, & it will happen. Happy picking, and hope this helps.

Answer 4

OK chords are a combination of notes and when I taught my son I started with chords, why? because it is the easiest and most productive in getting your fingers ready. They will get sore but you will develop calluses, after awhile.. First get a chord chart which shows finger placement for the chords. Next keep your fingers bent so that they are a 90 degree reference to the strings. ( This will take some practice) Next working on you strum keep your wrist loose and comfortable in effect feel the music this will take time. Now lets work on some Three chord progressions in order to get your hands to move smoothly. G, C D, D, G A, C, F, G, A, D, G and then a four chord progression G, Em, C, D After you get the strumming down start experimenting with picking. you will find that with the 3 chords you can bluff man songs. good luck to you. ANother note to get your fingers used to the strings, one buy a light gauge string, and only play for an hour or two but do it every day

Answer 5

the thing i started with is getting one of my dads guitar books and learning chords (which is pressing down more than one string and strumming more than one at a time) which makes a harmony of notes like on a piano, so if That is what you meant by "notes" than yes it is the same. you can learn different chords and make songs out of them when you knoe enough and have the cappability to move your fingers fast enough. playing guitar is great, but singing at the same time can be incredibly difficult, it's the whole "pat your head and rub your stomach" kind of cordination, which can take time to learn. if you like music and singing i honestly think you will love guitar ( i do anyways). once you learn and start with chords, you can also look online for other tips techniques and songs once you get to know the basics. as for clarinet I'm not sure. you can also google image "G chord" for example and it will show you all the variations and how to play it if you don't know. if your dad has one than i could assume he plays, so if there is something you don't understand specifically you could always ask him. guitar was really hard at first, since you are not used to it, but you will get it with alot of practice. I wish you the absolute best of luck. AND ur not pathetic, when i started i knew absolutely nothing.

Answer 6

the only way to get good at something is practice learning the notes on a guitar is a good way to go about it a good guitar that can read and play music notes is a rare find, but if your going to be singing and playing the guitar I say chords would work out alot better

Answer 7

Don't listen to the people who are saying it will be hard to learn. It will be easy if you LIKE doing it.

Learn these two easy things first:
how to read tabs: http://www.catalogs.com/info/music/how-to-read-guitar-tabs.html
how to read chords: http://www.guitarchordsmagic.com/guitar-chord-charts/how-to-read-guitar-chord-charts.html

Now, find songs that you like and want to learn to play, and look up the tabs/chords online (http://www.chordie.com/) [<--good site to add to your favorites]. Figure out how to play the chords, fingerings and things. Once you can play all of the chords successfully, play them as many times as it takes to get faster at changing chords. Once you can change quickly, listen to the song and just try strumming once with each chord to hear where the artist changes chords. Once you can do that, try to figure out the strumming pattern. Some songs might be too hard to figure out when you are starting out, but don't get discouraged, just find another song and keep trying. You may also find some tabs or chords are inaccurate, or may find you need to buy a capo.

Good luck with your dream!

Answer 8

i am perhaps the LEAST musically inclined person on the PLANET... quite tone deaf... however, my boyfriend is a professional musician (guitar, cello, piano, drums, etc.), we have had this conversation. he has said there is no "easy" way to learn... if you take short cuts, your playing will show it. it takes hard work, practice, practice, practice. he wont say you necessarily have to pay for lessons, he was self taught, but had a natural ability.

like anything worth having, it takes time & dedication.

Answer 9

get emedia guitar method 1

Answer 10

Email me on my email. I can tell fully teach you extremely easily for free.