Guitar Playing: Getting Started - An FAQ

This is sort of a Q&A I had on the website, TheDigitalSanctuary.com, and I felt it came across very informative when it comes to beginning the guitar. If you have any more questions, please

This will be done in question & answer form.

Q: Do you have any advice or tips for someone who knows absolutley nothing at all when starting playing the guitar?

A: Definitely go for it. I've been playing for just over 12 years, and it's brought a lot of happiness to my life.

For starters, I'd say go to a music shop and pick up a simple chord chart. You don't need one of those thousand-chord books they sell (although they are a handy creative tool), just a simple Major/Minor/7th chord chart will get you started right. Also, beginner song books break down complicated songs into playable open chords that are pretty easy to pick up. Those are handy because you get a good return for the time invested. It doesn't take long to learn how to play a recognizable facsimilie of a song.

Also, tablature (or tab, as it's called) is worth looking into as well. It's kind of the "musical notation of the guitar". Rather than remembering all that Every-Good-Boy-Deserves-Fudge shit, it lays down a chart of all the strings and gives you numbers, which represent which fret you're supposed to go to. The good thing about chord charts and tabs is that there's nobody sitting over your shoulder saying "nope, don't do it like that, that's not proper form ." People can take their proper form and jam it up their asses, I've been using improper form for over 12 years and I hate to brag but it sounds fine to me.

Anyway, check out chord charts, beginner books, and tablature. If you subscribe to a guitar magazine, they have a selection of songs they tab out every month, but you have to wade through the advertisement-articles and the bullshit gear reveiws. If you have any questions, just let me know and I'll give you a hand.

Q: Question about Tuning and Strining, will that all be explained in these books? Or is it something I should have done for me.

A: Tuning is always tricky when you first pick up guitar, but once you get it in your mind it's easy to do by ear. I always recommend a good tuner, especially if you're jamming to a keyboard (or some other instrument that's not tuneable). You can get a good tuner for under $10. If you're familiar with the keys of a keyboard and have a decent ear for tone, the strings go (from thick to thin): E-A-D-G-B-E.

Q: Lets say for instance, I'm right handed, and I am buying a used guitar off of a lefty...does it matter? Is there any difference?

A: There is a chance you might run into problems there. If it's an acoustic guitar, all you have to do is string it backwards (IE big strings on top, little ones on bottom). If it's an electric guitar, chances are it's not going to be perfectly symmetrical like an acoustic, and the irregular shaping doesn't lend itself well to left-to-right conversions, and vice versa.

Q: What kind of characteristics would show me that this is a left handed or a right handed guitar?

A: Is it an acoustic guitar? If so, there will most likely be a teardrop-shaped piece of plastic on the front that acts as a pickguard. That pickguard should be on the bottom side of the strings when you hold the guitar's neck in your left hand.

Q: This this one is electric, would the same thing with the pick guard apply?

A: This answered was fielded from my friend, "i need scissors"

Well, if it is a electric guitar, the pickguard should still be under the strings (closer to the ground if you're holding it)

Tabs are always a good idea. I played baritone for 5 years before picking up the guitar, so I can read music, but only in bass clef, and guitar is treble clef. Tabs are a huge help there, you don't need any music reading knowledge to play them.

I use the powertab program, which plays the tabs back for you which helps a lot for getting some of the weirder rythms down.

http://www.power-tab.net/ Get the program from there

http://powertabs.net/ Get the tabs from there


The only thing that bothered me with not taking lessons was not having the motivation to play anymore. After I quit my lessons, I played much much less than I used to, although I started playing a lot more recently (I just learned the riff for Black Dog by LZ today :D)

But it makes it much easier to learn if you know somebody who plays. Jam with them every so often, just sit around showing off songs that you've learned or made up. Just by doing this, I'm a lot better and have a better understanding of technique and fingering than what I would have on my own. My friends all finger chords differently than I do because of my short and wide fingers. Proper form only works for people with "normal" shaped hands.

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Regarding Proper Form (Pick talking here now):

I'm a huge opponent of proper form. Stevie Ray Vaughan used his thumb to strangle barre chords out of his Fender Strat, and I didn't see a soul smacking his wrist with a ruler over it. The reason? Oh, I dunno, probably because he's an unrivaled guitar legend.

I do things the way that feels best to me. If that's not proper form, then fuck off.

That's the best advice I can give anyone who's starting off. Do things the way they feel right. Music isn't about form. It's not about technique, it's not about speed, and it's not about chops. It's about feelings, raw emotions coming out of your body the best way you can make them.

There are some astonishing blues musicians that have soul dripping off of them with every coerced note. There are some totally simple folk musicians that make me want to laugh and cry at the same time. There are some pop musicians out there that fill my head with spaced-out angst and separation. To me, they're all essentially on the same plane because emotions flow out of their craft. To me, that's the ultimate goal; a musician's Nirvana is to be one with his instrument, idea, and emotion, and to make it transparent to everyone who listens. That's my philosiphy.