Learning Guitar

[GASoline71]

Something I always wanted to do. So I got this Strat Squire and a little Crate amp for a good deal... Want to teach myself to play. For a tiny amp... this thing can make some noise!

I know Butch can play... :dude:

Anybody have recommendations of a good learning program, books, DVD's, etc.?

Guitar Hero just ain't cuttin' it anymore. :lol:

Gary

[NeTree]

Practice.

Plenty of stuff to be found on the webz, bro!

[MasterBlaster]

Damn, a Squire is a POS, like a crappy saw. At least get a real strat and have it set up by a tech at your local music store.

[Knotahippie]

Good neck on that guit-fiddle, at least.

Decent, for the price.

[Paul B]

Check out Gary's cell phone! LOL Purty flowers! :P

[Skwerl]

And check out that amp! The volume knobs go all the way to eleven. :O

[Paul B]

FWIW Gary, when I tried to play guitar in my late teens, a buddy of mine just taught me a few songs using hammer-on (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hammer-on) If I remember correctly I knew Hell's Bells and Thunderstruck pretty well. Never learned a chord though. On a side note I have a guitar app on my Android phone, LOL. My kid likes it.

[rskybiz]

Check out Gary's cell phone! LOL Purty flowers! :P

I almost made the same comment LMAO

[Paul B]

Its ok, Gary and I are friends, he won't take the comment too seriously. :)

[squisher]

You best be watching out. Don't want a Sasquatch foot in your arse!

[Doc]

Damn, a Squire is a POS, like a crappy saw. At least get a real strat and have it set up by a tech at your local music store.

i disagree, bro, the modern entry level guitar is miles above the shite we learned on. This is plenty good to find out if he'll take to it, and with a few upgrades, could even be a real player. The only thing it lacks is resale value, because again, a perfectly servicable new guitar is so affordable nowadays.

[Knotahippie]

Guitar's pretty OK...

Drums are FUN!

[sawinredneck]

I told the wife the other night, I'm gonna learn guitar so I can get all the hot chicks! She laughed at me :lol:

[MasterBlaster]

We did have pretty shitty guitars when we were young.

At least have it set-up, that don't cost nuttin. It may come already set-up.

You tube has MILLIONS of 'how to' videos!

[Paul B]

Before you know it, you'll be famous! :)
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[Bounce]

:lol: Jeez, remind to take my stuff outside onto the deck before taking any pics I post here. And then I'm gonna zoom way in so you can't see anything else!

[Skwerl]

Check out Gary's cell phone! LOL Purty flowers! :P

Hey, if you walked into a bar and saw Sasquatch talking on that phone, would you have the balls to say anything?
I suspect he gets a lot of very respectful compliments on that phone. :lol:

[Paul B]

Hell no, but this is the internets! :D

[woodworkingboy]

Albert King made his first guitar out of a cigar box.

<iframe title="YouTube video player" class="youtube-player" type="text/html" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/h5dpp2iCRwM" frameborder="0"></iframe>

[MasterBlaster]

So, what are you doing, Gary? Have you learned any chords yet? Update!

[Al Smith]

I can't add much because I'm rusty as an old gate hinge on the six string .The old fingers aren't as limber as they once were .

[Skwerl]

That guitar is too small for you, Gary. Here's one that is a little more appropriate.

<iframe title="YouTube video player" class="youtube-player" type="text/html" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/qTX3CaTWbkM?rel=0" frameborder="0"></iframe>

[MasterBlaster]

He should tune it first! Ha, cool axe.

[fishhuntcutwood]

That guitar is too small for you, Gary. Here's one that is a little more appropriate.

<iframe title="YouTube video player" class="youtube-player" type="text/html" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/qTX3CaTWbkM?rel=0" frameborder="0"></iframe>

I think that's the guy at Eldery tuning Gary's new axe!

Gary, I'm an accoustic guy, but I started off with learning basic chords. Learn like four and you can play most songs in this world. Get the callouses, muscle memory and such, and then I move up to individual picking notes. But like was said early in this thread, "practice" is what does it. I taught myself to play with nothing more than a chord book and then tablature; meaning, I can barely read proper music, which I know most players would recommend that I do, but for playing at my level, it works for me fine.

So how goes the battle?

[MasterBlaster]

Yes! Update, negro!!

[GASoline71]

LMAO... I will admit Butch... your first post pissed me off a little. But I got over it. :)

I just got back in to town last night from a 3 day trip to my parents place. I was lookin' in the bag of goodies that my buddy had with the guitar and came across this. No AC adapter... no extra cords... no nothin'. I have no idear what it is. A tuner?

I'm gonna try to bang out some cords this week. There is a "music shop" in town... but I don't know if they "set up" guitars, as was described earlier. He also tossed in an extra set of strings.

Oh... BTW... I went and included the cell phone in this pic too... for the LOL... :lol: (it's my daughters... )

Gary

[MasterBlaster]

I didn't mean to piss you off. It's just harder to learn on a cheap guitar. They usually hurt your fingers and the sound is not the same.

Good luck on "banging out chords!" Chords are a bitch. The only cure is practice practice practice. They really do have some amazing free lessons on youtube.

And yea, that's a tuner.

[GASoline71]

I've been perusing youtube and holy shit is there a lot of vids for learnin'! :)

I need to figger out how this tuner works. been lookin' online for some kind of intruction sheet. Fender's website is kind of a bitch to navigate, and their search thingy is not workin' all that great. I found an owners manual for the Squire on there though... :)

I'm lookin' to more play hard rock and metal "power chords" and the like...

Gary

[MasterBlaster]

I wouldn't worry about that tuner, they're cheap. I use an online tuner. (http://www.gieson.com/Library/projects/utilities/tuner/)

[GASoline71]

Thanks for that online tuner mang! Works great!

Only been a couple of days and my fingers are a little sore. found some vids on youtube with excercises to learn picking, fret work, and scales... just to get my fingers a little more limber. :)

So far so good!

Gary

[MasterBlaster]

It's all muscle memory, Gary. Practice, practice, practice - repeat, repeat, repeat!

I promise you, sooner than you'll know it, it'll snap with you and you'll get it. It's that acquiring the muscle memory that's (initially) a bitch. That, and developing the callouses so you can play comfortably. That's where having easy action (http://ezinearticles.com/?Adjusting-Guitar-Action&id=2318784) comes in handy.

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After that, you need to set your intonation.
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[GASoline71]

2 good vids mang! Wow... I gots a lot to learn just about guitars in general. I'm a singer. So this is my fisrt step into the fray of guitars.

Gary

[Skwerl]

You ain't got big enough tits to be a singer! :P

[MasterBlaster]

Brian sounds like a bass player.

[GASoline71]

HAHAHAHAHAHA!

Gary

[MasterBlaster]

Do you actually get that? It's a guitar player's inside joke. There's a millions of em. (http://www.tenstorylove.com/bassjoke.html)

[GASoline71]

I do... I got buds that play guitar, and buds that play bass. The bass guys are always catchin' hell from the guitar guys. One cat I know has always called the bass the "Tool of Ignorance"... :lol:

Gary

[Skwerl]

Gary, here's a nice easy song for you to start with. Just some basic chords, you can play it easy. 8)

<iframe title="YouTube video player" class="youtube-player" type="text/html" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/tWLw7nozO_U?rel=0" frameborder="0"></iframe>

[Al Smith]

I actually could play half ass at one time .Learned on an old Ricenbacker flat top with steel wound black diamond strings that would cut the old fingys like razor blades .They got tough though after a while .

It's not so much the chords but the changes .You'll get it after a while though if you hang with it .

Back in the late 60's early 70's when Dylan was popular I got into finger picking which is my prefered style and as such it's been nylon strings since on a relitively good sounding guit fiddle my ex bought me . Hmm since all this talk I might have to see if I can still do it .Been a long long time .:)

[woodworkingboy]

'Texas Flood'....nice moody song. I don't think that Gary can ever play quite up to Stevie Ray, since dropping out of high school was a prerequisite, but if you ever do, I'll fly over there to change a tire for you, don't want anything bad happening to those fingers. :)

Good luck with it!

[Cobleskill]

I'll fix your flat tire, Merle.

[Paul B]

If'n you upgrade to a smartphone you could practice anywhere!
<iframe title="YouTube video player" class="youtube-player" type="text/html" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/KSYizpzVdmQ" frameborder="0"></iframe>

here is someone goofing around with the app for Android, same phone model as I currently have. :)
<iframe title="YouTube video player" class="youtube-player" type="text/html" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/9r0Y0vDoB6k" frameborder="0"></iframe>

[MasterBlaster]

Are you a Guitar God yet???

[Jason Gairn]

I took delivery of a squire strat today for my son's birthday next week. I had a little go on it today. It's a cheap instrument, but the action is great for the price. As butch says, a guitar straight off the shelf needs to be set up well. I've been learning guitar for 29 years!

[MasterBlaster]

At least it wasn't a Rogue Strat! :P

[Ryan]

Guitar's pretty OK...

Drums are FUN!

I wiped my drums down, put new heads and a new double pedal on the bass drum, moved some cymbals around and tried to retune everything. The only thing I didn't do was actually strike anything with a drumstick. The women folk don't much care for the noise. I have an electric Yamaha set which I play daily but it just isn't the same. :(

I should find a tougher looking pillow for the bass drum...

[MasterBlaster]

Doc has an electric drum kit - I like to have one.

[Ryan]

They sound awesome. I got one of these for mine. Fender Rumble 75 bass amp. I know nothing about amps but this one goes real loud.

[Skwerl]

Does it go to 11? I heard the good ones go to 11.

[Ryan]

I used a sharpie and wrote 11 on it. That should still work, right?

[Skwerl]

:thumbup:

[MasterBlaster]

The last band I (soundman) frigged around with, the bass player's head unit was 800 watts, with that 8 ten inch Peavy bottom you see everyone sporting.

That's a sweet 'lil practice amp, for sure!

[Knotahippie]

Cool, Ryan.

Ain't nothin' like acoustic cymbals, or drums, for that matter.

Thing about the drums, too, the volume goes to 12!

[MasterBlaster]

So how's it going, Gary? You learning chords orrrr whut? Check out these three fella - they'll either inspire you or make you toss your ax in the trash.

<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="560" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/JWChW2ilCMY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Strikermike]

Man that was great. I have been listening to Lee Ritenour for 30 Years. Another guy I used to listen to in the old days, and who you should check out, is Larry Carlton.

[Knotahippie]

Cool vid.

Vinnie is an absolute legend on drums - Dude jammed with Sinatra!

[Jason Gairn]

Check out the bridge on Andy Mckee's guitar. Anyone know why it's at that angle? Great players.

[MasterBlaster]

It affects the intonation of the strings. He tunes to unusual keys.

[Jason Gairn]

Presumably, that guitar is built for particular tuning? I've not seen that done before. Alternative tunings, yes, but an angled bridge. Wow! The only alt. tuning I use is DADFAD, for some slide and some Jonie Mitchel picking tunes.

[MasterBlaster]

Guitars can have all sorts of weird bridge and fret placement/ angles.

[Knotahippie]

Check out Charlie Hunter's guit-fiddle setup - Trip.

http://www.guitarnation.com/images/novax/Novax_CH-8.jpg