[Jett B.]

This is CRAZY. I never thought the guitar would be this hard. I'm having some problems in my first week. I've been trying to pick up the notes by ear, but that doesn't seem to be working. I learned a couple of tricks from a how to dvd about electric guitars, but I've yet to learn any songs. I can'[t even play twinkle twinkle little star!!!!
First I need help to make sure my guitar is in tune. I learned how to tune by ear from the dvd but my first E string could be off, which would throw the entire guitar off!. Also, my string busted yesterday, and I wasn't even playing it at the time. I had just finished an hour and half session and it just went "twang and broke. I see now that I may have to change strings a lot. Changing my first string was kinda excited though. It made me feel like a real musician.

Anyway, I need to check and make sure it's in tune, and I need some chords or something to start with. I kinda jumped into this without a plan. The passion is definately there, but I think I'm gonna need a tutor. Or at least a weekly lesson thingie. Can any one help out here. PPPPLLLLEEEEEAAAASSSSEEEEEEEE

[Kirk Lorange]

Hi Jett B.

Playing guitar is anything but easy! The most important ingredient is TIME which of course means practice, practice and more of it, continuously, for ever more. That truly is the only way to become a good player.

Work on chords ... they are the most useful thing to practice. Get to know the main chord shapes, how they can move up and down the neck, changing in name and pitch, get your fingers used to the shapes and switching between them. You can never do enough of that kind of thing, believe me.

Check out the Beginners Lessons section of the forum ... study as much as you can as often as you can.

It's a life long journey, so don't be in too much of a hurry ... enjoy the ride, savor the sounds.

[Garry]

Jett, look all the way up top right of the page. "Online Guitar Tuner"..that should do the trick.

[Clancy]

Have read of this Brand new to playing the guitar?...read this first. Jett B. It'll show you all the areas of this site.

Cheers

Clancy

[Lcjones]

Plan? I've been practicing for 30 some odd years. Was I supposed to plan this? Just kidding Jett

Kirk said it all, Time & Patience. !!!!! No one that I've ever met learned how to play the guitar in a week. Every single one of us that can now play a tune on a guitar experienced the hard work, the frustration and the proverbial "when is it going to happen" syndrome. Don't get discouraged in the least. You'll get it and all of a sudden you'll see how it all fits together and you'll playing with the best of them.

Les

[delondcosta27]

dont bother trying to learn wut each note sounds like right now.......just practise chords and learn some songs and all will com in time*fingers crossed*

[bluesguy]

Originally Posted by Jett B.

This is CRAZY. I never thought the guitar would be this hard. I'm having some problems in my first week. I've been trying to pick up the notes by ear, but that doesn't seem to be working.

Trust us when we say we were all at the same place you are at right now. Definitely do what Clancy suggested and check out that post. Go through each of those links and spend some time at each one.

There are also some good beginning guitar books out there which might be better than using a DVD. Also check out some articles and links I put together on my website for when I was a beginner http://www.jcdisciples.org/guitar/beginning.html

Keep coming back here and asking questions. Lots of helpful folks here. Kirk's lessons are very good.

[Jett B.]

thanks fot the support guys. I'm gonna see about those weekly updatres and study really hard. Its kinda funny though. I haven't been this worked about something since I wanted to learn how to draw. I'll show you guys my pics sometime soon. I'm gonna get some strings first though, then practice on my chords.

[MontanaSlim]

I've been trying to pick up the notes by ear, but that doesn't seem to be working.

This is called having 'absolute pitch'. That is being able to hear a note and tell what
note it actually is, right out of thin air (ie. is it G or C or F# or...). I assume this is what you are talking about.
You don't have to worry about that. Practically no one has that ability and I've read
that it is not a necessary skill you need to have to play music. It's more about having
relative pitch - how to tell notes from a base note (like the root note of a scale).

Bottom line: Don't worry about that at all.

[madman360]

going through the same thing here, i'm not a really patient person and i just bought the guitar on saturday but i'm still getting really pissed off because this stuff doesn't look easy. i havent seen an instructional video or anything i'm just trying to learn online, but right now all i have to do is keep calm and keep practicing

[Jett B.]

Originally Posted by madman360

going through the same thing here, i'm not a really patient person and i just bought the guitar on saturday but i'm still getting really pissed off because this stuff doesn't look easy. i havent seen an instructional video or anything i'm just trying to learn online, but right now all i have to do is keep calm and keep practicing

I know how that feels. I wish you lived a bit closer, so I could let you borrow my dvd, it's been a big help getting me started. Just don;t give up!!

[Ledhead V-2]

Originally Posted by MontanaSlim

This is called having 'absolute pitch'. That is being able to hear a note and tell what
note it actually is, right out of thin air (ie. is it G or C or F# or...). I assume this is what you are talking about.
You don't have to worry about that. Practically no one has that ability and I've read
that it is not a necessary skill you need to have to play music. It's more about having
relative pitch - how to tell notes from a base note (like the root note of a scale).

Bottom line: Don't worry about that at all.

Just curious, Slim -- who is that in your av?...Buddy Guy? (He just happens to be my favorite blues guitarist btw).



Led

[milkNcheese]

Originally Posted by Jett B.

First I need help to make sure my guitar is in tune. I learned how to tune by ear from the dvd but my first E string could be off, which would throw the entire guitar off!.

You can find a Chromatic Tuner for about 20 bucks at your local music shop. They usually have and "Auto" setting, you just pick a string and it lets you know if you need to tune up or down. I would be lost without mine.

The battle to stay in tune is never-ending, as you will learn. I usually play for awhile to warm the guitar up, then tune. Sometime's I gotta tune up every 10 minutes, sometimes I can stay in tune for days, that guitar has a mind of it's own.

As everyone here says; be patient! When I started, it sounded like someone had handed my guitar to a gorilla, then hit him with a stick If I can offer any advice; learn how to make a major barre chord shape. That chord shape will take you up and down the neck anywhere you want to go (a G Major begins on the third fret, and A Major on the fifth and so on). This chord will strengthen your fingers and give you some confidence. I'll warn you, barre chords are hard for a solid week, but you'll get it!

-Dave

[Jett B.]

thanks dave. i went to my local wal mart and found one for about 20 dollars. Question though, Is the high e supposed to sound lower than the b string?

[Jett B.]

never mind the last post. I found the answer!