Who here plays guitar?

[Alma Del Diablo]

alright.. well.. i wanna teach myself how to play.. and i dunno how to start.. can anyone help?

i've printed out some guitar tabs, but theres stuff on them i dunno how to do as well.. (hammer on's, pull off's, mute's.. etc.)

but yeah.. any help please? and.. any suggestions on a song to start with?

[GEOTISTA]

its been like a longggggg time since i played lol but i did lol now i probobly suck.... i went drummer : /

[Chez Daja]

I've been playing the guitar for just over five years now, I should think.

And I never learnt a whole song until my second year of playing.

I suggest you have a strum, learn about what they all sound like... Personally, I can learn any song. Why? I use sound as my aid rather then tabbings and paper written shit. Pick a fairly simple song that you like, and practise with the tune, then the different parts of it.

At least, that's what I did, and I'm pretty good these days.

By the way, I had NO professional help, but I will add, in my defence I can play many Metallica songs. I can play game sountracks, and pretty much any song I set my mind on.

You may need somebody who has had professional help to guide you, but I'm saying as a rookie who was confused about it, that I had to learn it all by myself. And if I can learn it, anybody can.

[Daddy]

Getting pro help is generally recommended for the first few months, depending on how much you care/money you have.

Seriously, keep at it. Don't think it's ever too late to start playing guitar - despite what naysayers call. But, I'm going to have to be honest. I didn't go around saying I played guitar for quite awhile. The social view on guitarists is "If you aren't ****ing amazing, you shouldn't hold a guitar" - sad but mostly true.

I'm going to have to disagree with Chez, though. Trying work out songs by listening to them just as you start out is a bad idea. You learn nothing from it.

Sure, you will eventually develop your own method of playing that way. Let me emphasize eventually for you - it'd take you well over 4 years to get to the level of playing I do compared to simply getting someone to show you the ropes.

If you're looking to compose stuff - really get stuck into theory. Start out on a piano like I did, then eventually everything will just 'click' with guitar theory.

As for songs to start with...Well, I went through 'stretch' kinds of exercises to begin with (yeah...running 'finger gauntlets' up and down the fretboard with the metronome set to 234095603460bpm got my fingers going real fast. Not that speed is incredibly important, but it sure is handy for stamina)..But, I'm guessing you wouldn't have the same mindset I have (I play for 6-7 hours on week-days, 8-9 on weekends) so..Simple songs...If you can bare it, do REM's "Everybody Hurts". Real simple - just an open D chord, open G and open A (probably an open E there too) arrpeggiated (where each note in a chord is individually picked rather than strummed).

Once you've been playing awhile and are curious about things on the guitar (hardware, specifically), check out the Guitar FAQ in this forum. Its not quite complete yet, but it should pique your interest somewhat.

[Dragoon Joe]

ive only bin playin for about a year but the other day i learned how to play 'born to be wild' in drop d

it sounds awesome!

[Daddy]

Hate to break your spark kid, but Drop-D isn't quite special enough to mention. ;P
But....That doesn't matter. This thread isn't about how long someone has been playing for.

[Leroy]

I'm going to lessons now! I love the Music Spot, Jack. It's an awesome place!

I'm definitley saving for a Gibson Lespaul. Or however you spell it.

[Setzer]

The best advice I can really give is to get lessons. I know 2 great guitarists, one who got them and one who didn't and yeah in the begining they were evenly matched but now the one who has lessons is far more superior than the other one. Well I guess it's just a brief story to recomend getting lessons.

[Daddy]

Lets see....Gibson Les Paul..

$1200, minimum.
Personally, I want a LP Custom - Alpine White. :|

Who said drop D isn't worth a mention!? sounds great for metal! Shit for everything else though!

I've been playing for nearly 2yrs, self taught... as mentioned, start with some chords, get your fingers accustomed to all that stretching. When you've got a bit more confidence then you can start some basic riffs and powerchords. It takes quite a while to get good, but keep at it! Its so worth all the effort believe me!

As for weapon of choice, i have 3 guitars. A yamaha, which is my fave, an acoustic, and a Crafter which looks pretty cool.

[Sir Kenneth]

Well, whether you should get lessons or just teach yourself how to, really depends on a lot of things. One of them is motivation. It's probably a bit easier getting your act together and learn how to play if you have paid for lessons. But there are plenty of great self-taught guitarists out there really.
I was originally schooled a blues bassist (6 years of lessons) but in the end I just got to a point where I was a better bassist than my teacher.

[Daddy]

Originally Posted by Decay Immense

Who said drop D isn't worth a mention!? sounds great for metal! Shit for everything else though!

I'd correct you on so many points (mainly the part about Drop_D being shit for other genres), but I'm too tired to put in the effort.

However, I will mention that I play in Drop-D a lot, and i play in genres other than metal (Jazz, blues, etc). All Drop-D does is drop the bass string by a tone - think about that.

[Plastik Assassin]

I just started playing a few months ago. Picked up a standard run of the mill Squier Strat for about 170 bucks. Right now I am just sort of playing with it, learning the string placement, learning a few chords out of the book, and kind of exploring the thing.

I do plan on taking lessons in the near future. I figure that the best way to learn something is to ask a professional. So yeah, lessons. I am excited.