Newbie To Even A Novice

Now I cannot speak for everyone new to guitar, but as for myself I most definitely can speak way to much. I in all my life never played guitar at all. I am not a young man, and my abilities to retain knowledge and rememberance of it is very questionable. So to tell someone like me to do this and do that, here is a semi-tone to a scale of F# or lets play notes E B G F A etc etc, actually absolutely means nothing. My answer would be didn't you learn the alphabet while in school? So for me to start I had to figure out what are you talking about? Sure I can read, but I don't want to return to elementary school and start over, my life is almost over I don't have time left for that, sorry. I just want to play some music that actually sounds like, well, music. I see a lot of tabs / chords to songs with letters over a word and then several more words and then another letter over a word. Well that's great I got a chart I can put my fingers on the correct frets and try sometimes very hard to make that chord and I can strum it or play a single string, but does it sound like the song I hear on the CD or MP3 player? Good Grief No! So I ask myself why not? I watch video and I see them do it why can't I? The obvious conclusion is, I'm doing something terriably wrong, ( much like my obvious lack of knowing how to spell ). Anyway, it would be very refreshing to us who are of questionable knowledge and even greater questionable abilities to learn to play the guitar from those who are talented to do so. I have seen many here who are very helpful and very friendly and have given me a lot of answers and have been patient with me. I have had to pick up a lesson or two from many sources, cause an actual teacher is far to expensive to come by.

So in my quest to play the story of my life, I need much help and resources to do so. And I am sure I am not the only one out here who came to this sight for help, guidance, and understanding. I read many articles on Novice and newbie guitar lessons, but in honesty, I simply have no clue to what you guys are talking about half the time. Truly if I wanted to learn music theory and I wanted to play in a band or a group I would pay the price and go to music school and or hire a well talented teacher to spend the next 10 to 15 years to teach me, if I don't die first, but that's the whole story, we don't have that kind of time and or money to do so.

I'm sure young and old, would just like to pick up this magnificent lady, and caress her gently and stroke her with loving procession, and hear her moan and groan with melodies, that have inspired the world. I know that was my intent. No I'm not going to play for crowds, I'll never be in a band, nor do I want to be. But it would be nice to sit down and play for myself and or my family, maybe christmas tune, a birthday wish, a joyful melody perhaps, it wouldn't matter, it would just be wonderful to be able to do so, without spending years learning how to do so. Again some of us do not have that kind of time nor abilities to cram all that info into our limited space, called our brain.

So as a newbie even to a Novice, I would like to ask if it's possible for all the lessons and lecturer's, could you just for a moment remember, you to at one time was like me, dreaming and hoping that when you picked this wonderful instrument up you could just play an Amazing tune that would just be a sound of heavenly perfection, instead of a buzz and a hum of utter dismay, much like that chalk board scratch that even made the dogs howl and the neighbors call the law to sware there was a murder going on?

Please give us some consideration and try to remember while writing your articles, there is a lot of us who don't have no clue as to what you are saying. Make it in simple words, not in words for some of us have no meanings. Thank You all for your help and articles, they are very inspiring, maybe one day I will be able to speak with words that will confuse other people to. But Seriously, your articles are greatly appreciated and most have been a help, if nothing else they have made me have to read the dictionary and many books and articles on music, some I never knew existed.Thank you for your help and I Thank you in advance for your understanding and I seriously appreciate your lessons and help. IT has been an inspiring reading material, even when I don't know what you said.

Comments

[bkjanes]

I remember what it was like to be new to the guitar, and I appreciate your interest, as well as your frustrations. What I can tell you is it will take a little time, but you don't have to spend years or be a music professor to enjoy playing the guitar. So here's my advice to learning to play in three steps.

First, learn to play the basic, open chords. You can play a lot of great songs using only the chords G, C, and D. Try learning those first, then move on to some of the other basics, such as E, A, and F. Then learn a couple of minor chords such as Am and Em; those two will take you a long way.

Second, try to practice these a little bit every day to build up the calluses on your fret-hand's fingertips, and to build up your "muscle memory". A nice, tough set of caluses will make your playing less painful, more enjoyable, and the strings will fret easier and cleaner making your chords sound better. "Muscle memory" is what you develop when you practice anything physical. Once you repeat a physical excercise enough (such as fretting chords for about 30 minutes every day), your brain "remembers" all those little details such has how far to stretch your fingers and how to press the strings right behind the fret, etc., which makes playing come much easier and more fluid.

Third, once you've learned the basic chords, learn to play barre chords, which allows you to play almost any chord you want at any place on the fret board. Once I learned barre chords, I remember thinking that I could play about anything from that moment on; it freed me up from playing chords only at the top of the neck, and it opened up a world of other songs and chords that I could play.

I know that's some very simple advice, but it sounds like that's what you're looking for. Like I said, it takes some time, but that's because calluses and "muscle memory" take time to develop. But if you work on those three things in that order, then you'll have the skills you need to enjoy playing guitar for the rest of your life.

[GrayFoxz]

bkjanes's wall of text

its a STORY. thats why its in the JUNKYARD. or maybe its a personal factual recount but you wouldn't know would you

[thedamon]

I agree with bkjanes (above). just to add, practice chords in progressions. that means practice them in order that they are in the songs. 4 counts of G chord, switch to Em chord for four counts. then C chord for four counts, finally D chord (4 counts). repeat.

Also practice your strumming. d du ud (downs and ups). Keep your right hand moving, down, down up, up down, down, down up, up down etc. tapping your foot might help. good lessons on youtube or justinguitar.

Then you can sing:
Where o where can my baby be
The Lord took her away from me...

[jayholes]

youre never too old to jam man. one thing i was thinking is get a tuner. maybe if youre putting your fingers on the right notes and it doesnt sound good, youre guitar is off tune. I learned how to tune by bringing my guitar to the guitar store and telling the clerk Id buy a tuner if he'd show me how to use it. Cost me about twelve bucks but is very handy. and also learning scales was big for me. It free'd me from just strumming chords and randomly playing notes up and down the fretboard trying to make things fit together. best of luck to ya old timer. If you have questions email me at [e-mail]

[Rocker_geek]

Not wanting to be rude, but some of the articles are not meant for the newbies. If you don't know what a semitone is, your efforts are more fruitful when you pursue that knowledge than write an article about it. You need to know that the guitar cannot be learned in a day. Self-pity will get you nowhere. Hard work and patience will.
And remember you have to be humble and have an open mind when pursuing anything new.

P.S. You need to learn open chords.
Cheers,

[ScareTheCrow]

I just started playing guitar myself. Its been three months, and am still practicing my open chords. When i first picked up my guitar i couldn't even name the open strings, but now i can tell you every note on the fret board. It's all about repetition, and practice for sure..

[chimpinatux]

Im sorry to be harsh but most of the articles on this site which are actually AIMED at beginners are written in perfectly clear and simple emglish. If somebody cant pick it up from them then they would probably be taking a hell of a long time to learn even with say, a good teacher

[GisleAune]

practice 3-5 hours a day and you'll master having fun with chords after 4-5 months.

checked

[chichong]

well i think to learn theory like the others do the best way is to have a book,maybe because we can start the lesson in page 1 ,read it everyday...but where can I find a book that tells the story from once upon a time till The end...Im good at techniques i can shred till 200 bpm,i can play joe satriani's song, but i lack theory that enables me to play the 12 bar blues,compose my own song ,transcribe by ear,or jam with others musicians..yes we need experience ..i cant hire a teacher,we need ear training,we need to jam to someone,I dont have much time...

[bruinfn4lf]

I was in the same situation after having received a guitar & amp for Christmas from my wife -I am 46 and had never played but have been an avid music fan since I was 10.
I struggled with even the open chords especially cord changes. Then one day I bought a copy of Guitar World magazine with the tab and video lesson of Black Sabbath's Iron Man. I played it and it sounded like the song -not perfect but recognizable.
I had discoverd power chords -easy to play and a lot easier switching between chords.
I did more research on power chords and there are dozens not hundreds of songs that use them.
I will eventually learn to play "normal" chords -I hope, bit for now I can play riffs that sound like something.

[bruinfn4lf]

In previous post I meant to say "there are hundreds of song not "not hundreds".

[Asenath83]

I don't know what it is like over
in the US but if you read my blogs recently you may have seen that here in the UK and also in Germany there are organisations which offer a wide variety of courses (languages, arts & crafts etc.) and they generally don't cost an arm and a leg. I would STRONGLY recommend trying to either attend a similar course or invest into some private lessons.

[sammo_boi]

look guys he's not asking for help. he's just writing an article from a novice's point of view.

[tripleainto]

I understand your viewpoint. I am 29 and am a new guitar player myself. I am teaching myself through this site of course, and through a book and online videos. I've been playing for 5 months now and everywhere I go guitar is in my head. It's like a drug really. I definitely understand your frustration as it is a challenge but the rewards thus far are oh so beautiful.

This is how I approach it. I see every little gain as a reward. I'm not looking at the long term picture, that falls into place on it's own. Just work on the chords as discussed in the first post and through practice you will develop calluses (another reward). Then just practice the chords and put them together.

A really good book you should look into is called Guitar for Dummies (from the For Dummies series), I've been using it and it's great. Very casual and basic and starts out very simple and slowly builds up.

Don't jump into tab too quickly, build the basics. With guitar, I'm finding out that a strong foundation in the basics is the way to go. Everything else will fall into place on it's own. It doesn't come overnight but each little step is a reward in it's own.

Cheers.

[Ditto100]

Thank You all for your Advice, comments, complaints and understanding.....PLAY ON !!