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On acoustic guitars
planters
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I want to buy an acoustic guitar (that's not the problem) problem is I don't know if I'll be able to play it. How hard is it? I'm not gonna try to play Led Zepplin or Queen, just small songs with simple chords. And I have some experience with bass.
Thanks for any help in advance.
Thanks for any help in advance.
planters on
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Posts
You say you play bass, do you know a lot of theory or read music?
Definitely man, chords are fun to mess around with and just improvise. Start just learning the basic chords and just mess around. Learn a few scales here and there once you start getting comfortable. I would recommend getting a lesson book or something even if you aren't going to take lessons. I started taking lessons but have basically taught myself after a year or two of lessons. Whoever said you are gonna pick up bad habits was right though... just when you start out remember to keep your thumb on the neck (its really easy to want to bring your thumb over the neck, so when you are starting out you do not want to do this) and your fingers curved as if you are holding a tennis ball or something. Also, learn to love all the strings at once and don't just "start off" on a couple of strings. It took me a while to be able to make it up to the G B and high E strings.
It's a song to song thing. It's a lot of fun to mess around with. Basically think of it like bringing the nut (part of guitar that separates the head from the neck) down to a higher fret. It changes the sound of the guitar and you can play bar chords on higher frets with less fingers. A good example of simple capo use is Tom Petty's Free Fallin'.
I have friends who are actually good at guitar who will use a capo when playing 2 guitars together so that way if they were playing the above song they would be using 2 entirely different fingerings for a interesting sound (usually goo)
Capos: you usually can't just move up the neck of the guitar to move an entire song up or down in pitch, because most songs involve you hitting some open strings, and those open notes will not change as you move your hand up the neck. Therefore, you put a capo on the fretboard to essentially 'move' the entire bridge further up the neck. (Also, notice that the frets are closer together as you move up the neck; therefore, sometimes using a capo to move up the neck enables you to play a song that you can't stretch your fingers far enough to play without one.) The majority of songs can be easily played without a capo, and I wouldn't call it an essential tool for a beginner; once you get a handle on the fundamentals, you'll probably find yourself heading out and buying one.
Good luck, and remember: practice every day for the first few months, and your fingers will get used to the instrument in no time, even if your fingertips complain at first.
my first songs were wonderwall, blackbird and everlong i'd recommend them as good starters that will amaze your friends and blow women's clothing off a couple notes in
In the end, if you're motivated and you practise, you'll learn to play regardless of whether you have lessons or are "gifted" or whatever.
seriously though, i bought one when i got my guitar, and it sat in the packaging for 3 years until i suddenly found myself playing a song that needed it... since then i've messed around with it a bit, but it rarely stays on my guitar for longer than 10 minutes... i really wouldn't worry about it.
i would recommend some Fast Fret, it's a little stick thing you wipe up and down the neck of the guitar over the strings, and it makes you glide easier, makes it easier on your fingers i find. I play a lot faster and clearer when i use it... you just rub it on, wipe it off with the cloth provided, and voila... i'm not saying it makes you better, but it does make life easier for the price.
Also... break yourself in slowly. Don't buy a guitar, then play for 8 hours solid, you will fuck your fingers up so badly if you don't normally play. When you play frequently you build up hard callouses on your fingers and the strings don't bother you at all, but when you've just started, it can be so painful. My wife started playing last year and overdid the first two days and actually had to leave the guitar alone for nearly 2 weeks because her fingers hurt so much... so frequent small amounts of playing is a better idea... let your fingers get used to it.
oh and when you get callouses.... don't pick them off.... learn from my mistakes
I have one last question...I'm assuming this is fairly easy to play?
e
|
B--3-3-3-3-2-2-2-2-3-3-3-3-2-2-2----3-3-3----3-3-2-2-3-3-3-3-2-2-5-5
|
G
4-4-4
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D-0-0-0-0-4-4-4-4-0-0-0-0-4-4-4-4
|
A
2-2-2-0
0-0-2-2-2-2-0-0-0-0
|
E
3-3
|
Also, use the code tags for tabs so it monospaces the font.
CUZ THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE MIDDLE AND IT'S GIVING ME A RASH
I only played on and off the past few years, but I tried to seriously start playing in January.
Played for 6 hours a day for a week, my fingers were all sorts of messed up.
I got some blisters, but I just popped them and cleaned em off, went back.
My only suggestion is to not get blisters :P
Enjoy the guitar
I'm Jacob Wilson. | facebook | thegreat2nd | [url="aim:goim?screenname=TheGreatSecond&message=Hello+from+the+Penny+Arcade+Forums!"]aim[/url]
this is a seriously good book for learning the basic chords (in my experience the whole basics series is well written and informative)
its written in a fairly informal style and shows you how to form pretty much all the basic chords
http://chordfind.com/
you can also get chord formations from this website, but the book teaches you how to put chords together and why they work like they do, which i found a big help
I also recommend not relying on tabs. As convienent as they are, they hamper your ability to familiarize yourself wtih the theory of the fretboard, which is more useful than being able to play a song after a few tab runs.