Guitar Question

[Broken Parachute]

I took lessons on guitar for like two months and I didn't like it..found it very boring. What is the best way to teach yourself? I wanna learn again.

[UndertheTELE]

Learn to play every blink182 song via tablature. Thats how the cool kids do it.

[bandoftheweek]

That's exactly what I did, I learned to play Blink 182 first. I suggest you still go to lessons, but tell the guy to teach you some songs, not just scales and notes. But you STILL have to learn those scales and notes, that you may find boring.

Well, I'm just assuming that's what you're being taught, cause that's what I was taught, and it was boring. Until I told him to teach me a Blink song, surprisingly he knew a lot of Blink songs.

[ChrisNJ]

No matter how boring they are, the fundamentals are everything. You've gotta force yourself to sit down and make them like second nature, which is what I'm in the process of doing now.

[walshknilb281]

yea it can get pretty boring, but once you start to understand it, its cool how it all comes together.

[FTFRock]

play blink 182 songs. its how eric clapton learned how to play. (true story)

[xllirikx]

you probably had a bad teacher.

My first teacher only taught me classic guitar be means of note reading. I could form a chord worth shit, but my finger picking and note reading was great. Needless to say, I got bored not being able to play in bands and what not.

So, my next teacher was the exact opposite - he was a cracked out hippy who taught me only chords and what sounded good - no note reading!

I highly recommend trying to look for a better teacher.

If you wanted to teach yourself - look for songs that are hard and try to play those.

[vandalsandquinn]

www.wholenote.com (http://www.wholenote.com)
its a great site to learn how to play guitar by yourself, they also have a sister site for bass players. use that and look up tabs if you dont want a teacher, and if you do get a teacher, never go to monster music

[EnderDove]

You have to crawl before you can walk.

That means it is important to learn the "boring" things first if you want to understand and play more than Blink and Green Day songs.

[patrickhowell]

Personally, I think the best way to learn how to play is to learn a few easy songs first. Like everyone has said, Blink 182 songs are awesome to learn for beginners.

After you have some fun playing music, then it'll be easier to learn to "boring" stuff like notes, scales, etc.

[Indigo]

I taught myself to play guitar using Green Day albums, starting with Warning and working backwards. http://www.ultimate-guitar.com has a huge tablature database as well as a forum and online lessons so is really helpful. Learning easier songs like that is a great way to start.

You do need to learn the scales though, even if you go through a few just to warm up before you play, it's good to strengthen and supple your fingers and is just really good to have. A lot of people put theory down, but that's like saying you want to learn to speak without using words. You can find scales online at the sites mentioned above or below, or alternatively, I don't know if you get Total Guitar in the States? They have a novice section every month which is really good

Another really good site is http://www.cyberfret.com it also has loads of articles and is generally really good for teaching you what you need to do. Look at the 'Beginning 7' lesson under Chords.

Most important, practice! You never stop learning and progress takes time. Good luck.

[aaronstanton]

haha it took a while but yeah, learn tons of blink.
then get harder and harder.

[catscradle]

Personally, I think the best way to learn how to play is to learn a few easy songs first. Like everyone has said, Blink 182 songs are awesome to learn for beginners.

After you have some fun playing music, then it'll be easier to learn to "boring" stuff like notes, scales, etc.
this is probably the best advice to take.

[we are cured]

blink songs are good to learn first, as is anything of life in general by mxpx. the most important thing at this stage is to make it fun. second to that is playing stuff in rhythm..being able to hear a beat/song and play along with it WITHOUT stopping or hesitating. if you can't, you've gotta slow down until you can keep it going...this way your brain and fingers grasp the full understanding of what you are doing. once they do, gradually speed up until you're at the desired tempo.

also, when you have something memorized, try not to look at the fretboard. the visual method of seeing the board is by far the slowest- your brain can get you to the places you need to go much faster.

and practice as much as you can. you'll see results, maybe not every day, but they will come.

[bridgetoverse]

if you really want to learn how to play then don't listen to anybody. What you got to do is listen to all your favorite bands and find what guitar parts you think are really cool. After you have figured out the sound you want then you start playing. Power chords are common which is why everyone tells you to learn blink 182 and green day songs. You might as well say fuck power chords and just stick your fingers on all the frets and figure out for yourself what sounds good.

[we are cured]

if you really want to learn how to play then don't listen to anybody. What you got to do is listen to all your favorite bands and find what guitar parts you think are really cool. After you have figured out the sound you want then you start playing. Power chords are common which is why everyone tells you to learn blink 182 and green day songs. You might as well say fuck power chords and just stick your fingers on all the frets and figure out for yourself what sounds good.

or you might be stuck in your room for years trying to make sense of it all.

the value doesn't come from the fact that they're easy to play; punk songs w/ power chords teach you some fundamental aspects chord progressions, which is essential for any basic understanding of songwriting. the guitar is one of the hardest instruments to master because you have 3.5 octaves of notes, in different spots all over the neck. you should really see somebody who knows what they're talking about, even if its just a couple of times- as with anything, bad habits on the guitar are really hard to break and can be the difference between sucking forever and getting good real fast.

[patrickhowell]

if you really want to learn how to play then don't listen to anybody. What you got to do is listen to all your favorite bands and find what guitar parts you think are really cool. After you have figured out the sound you want then you start playing. Power chords are common which is why everyone tells you to learn blink 182 and green day songs. You might as well say fuck power chords and just stick your fingers on all the frets and figure out for yourself what sounds good.

Whatever.

[popdisaster00]

1) just start with easy tabs (blink 182 green day etc) and learn how to play songs you LIKE

2) When you have those down solid, start learning harder songs. It's important to learn songs you actually like. Move over to faster picking songs, or songs with less power chords and more creative riffs and such.

3) Something you may not have thought of - don't sit around all day and play covers. Start making your own songs. That will seriously get you going so much faster, because you're going to develop your own style. Start writing your own songs.

[we are cured]

3) Something you may not have thought of - don't sit around all day and play covers. Start making your own songs. That will seriously get you going so much faster, because you're going to develop your own style. Start writing your own songs.

i agree. and try not to look at the fretboard..you'll end up 'feeling' your way to different spots which is essential.

[patrickhowell]

1) just start with easy tabs (blink 182 green day etc) and learn how to play songs you LIKE

2) When you have those down solid, start learning harder songs. It's important to learn songs you actually like. Move over to faster picking songs, or songs with less power chords and more creative riffs and such.

3) Something you may not have thought of - don't sit around all day and play covers. Start making your own songs. That will seriously get you going so much faster, because you're going to develop your own style. Start writing your own songs.

Also, playing along with other musicians is probably the best way to learn.

[high_output]

just be born with an innate talent for music. learning is for lamewads.

[Little Jeans]

if you really want to teach your self, pick up a guitar method book and work through it, it will teach you technique and theory. Im self taught using a method book, plus just talking to other musicians and absorbing every piece of information i could. also I know most people like to just learn popular songs, which is fun and helps but also, once you learn a few chords start writing your own songs, see what sounds good. start writing as soon as you can, it will really help you later on.

[x togepi x]

get the fretboard logic series.

they're great books (3 of them in all). It will teach you how to understand the fretboard without making you learn a lot of pointless songs like "mary had a little lamb". Even if you're too cheap to buy that, definitely look into the CAGED method. I've been using the series since Christmas '05 and my guitar playing has improved a ton.

I'd also say to plan your practices out a bit better. Take like an hour a day to practice (or more whatever works) and plan it out. say you'll spend 30 minutes on theoretical stuff, 20 minutes learning a new song (in theory, it should be a song that incorporates your theory lesson, but it doesn't have to be) and 10 minutes or so just to jam out. That's what I started doing when I realized that learning guitar the formal way was really really boring.

[Broken Parachute]

Whoa, I forgot I even made this thread. I have to read this later. Thanks for all the help guys.

[Broken Parachute]

you probably had a bad teacher.

My first teacher only taught me classic guitar be means of note reading. I could form a chord worth shit, but my finger picking and note reading was great. Needless to say, I got bored not being able to play in bands and what not.

So, my next teacher was the exact opposite - he was a cracked out hippy who taught me only chords and what sounded good - no note reading!

I highly recommend trying to look for a better teacher.

If you wanted to teach yourself - look for songs that are hard and try to play those.
He was horrible. I know three kids who got taught by huim, they all left after two months because he was so shitty.

[Broken Parachute]

Wow thanks alot everyone for the help, this is really really helpful.