Ok, I finally did it, went out and bought an acoustic this weekend. Self taught myself keys, now want to self teach guitar. First thing I have learned is that my nice soft hands and beautiful long fingernails have to go BYE BYE! , oh well some things are a trade off.

So, ANY suggestions from fellow orgers would be greatly appreciated! I have long fingers, but still find reaching between the various frets very difficult. I am pretty sure my thumb placement is correct, so why so difficult? I spent the last few days just practicing scales. I bought a book of chords (fingers definately are having a difficult time with that, LOL). Any other suggestions on where I should start? (aside from practice as much as possible, this I aleady know from learning keys, LOL).

My recommendation is to frequently practice calling out notes and finding them on the fretboard. "E-B-A-D-Bflat-" etc.

Also, just like when putting together chords on piano, practice the majors and minors, then work on adding 7ths, and so on.

For some reason, it kills me to play anything F. Fm, F7, etc. Remember that there are usually 3 or more ways to get a chord. Some are just easier to play in rhythym with other chords.

Granted, I'm still pretty early in my own education of guitar, but now I can at least play some popular songs that sound somewhat like what they're supposed to.

Repetitive practice is essential in the early days of playing guitar, since it's the most physically demanding period of your training. Consider it like weight training or something - you're building the strength, co-ordination and flexibility to be able to do what you want to when you want to do it.

It will feel incredibly awkward, painful and difficult at first, because it's in essence a really unnatural thing to do, and quite unlike any other common activity, so there's really a huge physical learning curve. Repetitive practice on basics will build muscle memory and flexibility, which is what you need. My rule of practice is to do something 20 times without error. If I make an error, I start again from the beginning, and do so again and again until I can play it 20 times without making any mistake, be it in picking, fretting or anything. For the early stages, I'd reduce that number to 10, for humanity's sake.

I'll put a couple of examples in tablature for you to work on. If you give me an email address, I'll send you a few examples - the forums here screw them up, so I'll have to send them on a txt document.

(Tablature is a simple way of illustrating how to play something. View it as you view your guitar when you're playing it, with the bottom string (the thickest) at the bottom of the tablature , and the top string (the thinnest) at the top of the tablature. The numbers in the lines are the frets you need to hold the strings at. The fingers you're best using are noted along the bottom of the tablature: Finger 1 is your first finger, finger 2 your middle finger, finger 3 the ring finger, finger four the pinky finger.)

Practicing scales is an excellent thing to do - do it lots. Make certain that the right fingers are on the right frets - what you are aiming to develop is an economical style, that will mean that your fingers are in the right place to ensure that they only need to move the shortest, most comfortable distance possible to the next fret.

Repeated practice on basic exercises will see you come a long way very quickly in terms of your comfort and confidence whilst playing.

As for chords, I learned them playing along to simple riffs and songs. Smells Like Teen Spirit was one good one, since it's simple chords (fifths) in a simple pattern. Stuff like this will help your fingers learn to move in groups!

There are millions of great beginner lessons out on the internet, and millions of tablatures out there to learn. The key is to apply yourself to it - it's going to hurt, but play through it, and you'll feel, see and hear the benefits in 2-3 months. PM me with an email address for those tabs, and if I can be of any more assistance

thanks for the great info everyone!

I used the same start over on error theory when i was learning keys (used 10 times). In the early days, that meant some really late nights for me! LOL,

PM'd my address.

To build up your callouses, keep the guitar in your TV room, and play it while you watch TV. Don't listen to what you're playing, don't pay attention to it, other than constantly fretting notes - whether it's a scale or just 4 notes in a row on each string, play them so your fingers get used to being on the fretboard. Try to do it while you watch TV so you "let go - use the force" - stop relying on your eyes to tell your fingers where to go... AND during this, you'll build up callouses without worrying about sounding good.

Hey it works.

beauhall said:

thanks for the advice! i do have it sitting next to the recliner, so everytime i go in there i pick it up and play the scales.....practice, practice, practice, right?

I think you're definitely on the right path, here's some more tips:
- as an excercise, temporarily forget about chords and scales and just figure out how to play any melody (it could be happy Birthday or whatever) by sliding one finger up and down one string.
- every now and then, allow yourself to just fool around on the instrument. Play it upside down, slide a beer bottle down the strings, use the back as a percussion instrument, pop the trings like a bass player, tune it differently, hang paperclips from the strings, whatever. I'm serious. Experimenting like this will help you develop a relaxed attitude and a feel for the instrument.
- Learn simple rock songs that use the chords you know (if you can do A and D, you can play The Cross, add E and you can do blues rock tunes). Remember: you can't learn to play an instrument without learning songs. Scales and chords mean nothing outside the context of a song.

EuroCinema said:

Thanks! I have a pretty extensive collection of Prince music, and The Cross is actually one I pulled out as a motivator to learn, because the chords looked simple enough. Can you elaborate, if you don't mind, on your comment "scales and chords mean nothing outside the context of the song"? And, what do you mean by "learning the songs", are you talking about learning the specific chords, etc. of a song?

txladykat said:

1)Well, scales and chords are not music. They're a way of systemizing elements of music, and for that they're great.But knowing how to play a partial minor 13th chord built from the dorian scale isn't very useful in itself. Knowing that this is the sound in The Payback, DMSR and Kiss, means you've got the key to create music with that sound whenever you want. Theory becomes music.
2) I find that you learn much quicker when you let songs lead the way. I couldn't get my head around jazz until I started learning to play standards. I started out with stuff that wasn't so hard and kept on expanding from there. Now the next song I want to learn determines what theory or skills I need to practice and I'm building a nice repertoire along the way.

EuroCinema said:

Ok, I gotcha, was a bit confused...but I know what you mean. I never learned music theory. I am more along the lines of knowing and liking the sound, then playing it.

find something that works for you
for instance i was told all my life that i had to memorize the fretboard,
to this day i havent memorized it, and hasnt hindered my playing, cause i mostly play by ear anyway.
memorizing the fretboard and doing those gawdawful exercises is too time consuming for me lol
just stop your lollygagging and PLAY!
oh and if your playing lead, find some scales you really like to play

question, for starting out, do you recommend the nylon strings, or should i stick to the metal ones i have now?

also, i dont know why, but i have the hardest time getting the reach i need over numerous frets. i dont have this problem on piano, have great reach. any tips? i am pretty sure my thumb placement is correct, so i dont think that is the problem.

txladykat said:

Well, Nylon strings are easier to play, so you'd probably get pleasant sounding results a little quicker, although I think steel strings would probably benefit you more in the long run. It's not a huge difference though. I'm not sure what kind of condition your existing strings are - it may be worth swapping them out if they're corroded and old.

The reach issue is complicated on guitar a little, since you have to arc your fingers somewhat over the neck. All I can suggest is some basic stretching work- fretting the awkward positions (without playing anything), moving off, then fretting them again. Over time this will ease. What kind of reach are you trying to get? Some people have ridiculous reach, some people don't have much. Eddie Van Halen is one player with quite extreme reach - he can stretch from the 5th fret to the 12th. Some players would have trouble getting 5th to 10th - I suppose a lot of it is down to basic physical attributes.

txladykat said:

1) Preferrably nylon. Don't make it harder than you have to at this stage.Plus it's a beautiful sound (much more beautiful than steel string acoustic imho). You can't put nylon strings on a steel string guitar or vice versa though!

2)reach is not just about where you place your thumb, but also the angle of your wrist and arm. Don't sweat it though, you can do a LOT with just one finger per fret.
As a side note: I think moving positions is often better than stretching your hand.Too many players are locked in playing vertically in one or two positions, rather than using the whoile instrument by playing horizontally.

I just bought a left handed electric guitar,my brother thinks i should have started with an accoustic but i wanted to straight away.
I am now finding it difficult to learn chords because i have to bloody swap everything around.
I cant seem to find anything really great online
oh woh is me.
Anyway im going to pop into town to see if i cant find any left handed lesson books.
I'll let you know how i get on

I just recently wanted to learn to play gutiar
After reading this thread...I fear for my little fingers

thanks for the tips on the strings and reach! I know it takes time to get the reach, it did on piano. I have great a further reach on piano than most people (blessed with long fingers), but i know piano reach is totally different.

Naturally, don't know alot about guitars, how do you know if it is a steel string guitar?

txladykat said:

You can usually tell at the bridge, where the strings are anchored to the body. Nylon string guitars usually have the strings tied at the bridge, whereas most steel strung acoustics have a series of pins with which to anchor the ball ends of the strings.

Typical steel string bridge:



typical nylon string bridge:

txladykat said:

long fingers eh
you can probably do a ninth chord better than anybody...

EmbattledWarrior said:

9th!! yow! hopefully someday. only been a week and my poor fingers are killing me. tried to play this morning, but could only go about 15 minutes cause they hurt so bad. i know i need to "build" calluses, but any tips to ease the pain in the meantime? kinda hard cause my day job is typing, and this pain makes it hard. but, alas, i wont give up!

btw..checked, mine is string..i bought acoustic cause i thought it would be easier to start off....after the guitar store today, my mouth is watering for a nice electric

txladykat said:

dip them in spirits, or vinegar, its what i do, tip i got from Eric Clapton forum

txladykat said:

You're not giving me much encouragement to start playing the guitar....I really
dislike pain....

I can see that electric guitar purchase right around the corner....

obsessed said:

LOL, if you really want to learn though, it is worth it!

obsessed said:

go gor it

I bought an electric geetar last week.It is a wee bit sore in the fingers
but when im playing Wish You Were Here effortlessly it will be worth it.