How did you learn guitar?

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AllthegearNoideaAllthegearNoidea Frets: 293
edited April 2017 in Guitar
I've really struggled with learning to play. I've had guitar lessons with a really great teacher who unfortunately lives 70 miles away from me where I made good progress with my tone and improvising. Due to work overload and serious back issues travel to lessons is now an issue for me. So I've got all the gear and no idea how to progress?

are lessons the only way? I can't play any songs and just end up playing the same old phrases
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  • guitars4youguitars4you Frets: 14034
    tFB Trader
    I'm not a teacher so I think other FB members, who teach, can advice better than me what to do - however I will say that 10-20 mins a day with constructive practice will produce better results than a famine and feast, of nothing for 2 weeks, then a 3 hour session - Plus stop doodling and have a specific goal - doodling is fine with spare time and can achieve results at time, but to hit n miss at this early stage - goals are ideal
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  • underdogunderdog Frets: 8334
    edited April 2017
    This is what you need https://www.justinguitar.com covers beginner on, very easy to follow, structured lessons, very reputable teacher and it's all free 

    Add in YouTube lessons for songs you want to learn to play or in the style of an artist you like.
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  • stickyfiddlestickyfiddle Frets: 26753
    I got a chord book which covered A, E and D, then C and G. That lasted me a day or so. 

    Then I got an Oasis chord book and a Stereophonics chord book and went through those playing along to CDs for a few weeks until I could do "all" the chords without the books and changing quickly. Once I had those sorted I started working out the solo bits myself. 

    I had already got to a good standard on piano and sax with lessons, so I knew how music "worked" before I started, but the real thing that got me good quickly was that I was playing guitar every single day. I probably averaged an hour a day every day for about 3 years. 

    Obviously I couldn't do that now I'm not a teenager and have a wife and a job, but the key is the same. To learn any new stuff you have to focus really hard on it for 10-20 minutes every day (or whatever time you can spare, even 5 every day is better than an hour at the weekend).
    The Assumptions - UAE party band for all your rock & soul desires
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  • DopesickDopesick Frets: 1507
    Got myself a shoe box sized practice amp (think it was a Custom), a Squire Strat and a bog standard Teach Yourself Guitar book. Made sure there were no distractions and that I dedicated at least 2-3 hours every day or so (I was 16 so had a lot of spare time).

    I got through the book in about two months. I learned the best way to hold a guitar, which notes were where, how to play note progressions, and then on to barre chords. I couldn't believe I had progressed so much in such a short space of time. Especially considering when I first picked up the guitar I held the bastard the wrong way round...

    Then I discovered tab books from Nirvana, Oasis, The Beatles, The Offspring etc, and I was absolutely hooked. Some days I'd play up to eight hours because I loved it so much.

    Still haven't properly learned how to write and play solos though...ha!




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  • DesVegasDesVegas Frets: 4510
    Around 20 years ago i got a tab book of The Cure's Wish and RHCP's Blood Sugar Sex Magic and played along with the albums
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  • DiscoStuDiscoStu Frets: 5382
    I learned by ear, by playing along to Metallica's Master of Puppets album.
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  • TeetonetalTeetonetal Frets: 7801
    Check out Truefire.com lots of good stuff there.
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  • Ancient_MarinerAncient_Mariner Frets: 24
    edited April 2017
    I bought a rather nasty Eko acoustic (more than a weeks wages then) a chord book, the sheet music to the Rolling Stones 'Miss You' (then in the charts) and learned where to put my fingers on the strings for C and Dm etc. Later on when I could play chord changes fluidly I had a friend show me a couple of scales (he also tried to teach me his fingerstyle technique, and I nearly stopped playing!) that I learned to adapt to what I could hear in my head and the chord changes happening on records. After that it was just practicing for a few hours a day, playing along to records, trying to learn riffs & solos, learning to improvise.

    Eventually a few friends and I started a band, then I got invited to play with another band. Pretty much ever since then I've 'just played' in what ever situation I've found myself, sometimes learning new stuff along the way, sometimes just using what I've already found. I already had some theory from playing brass, and slightly regret not learning more although I'm not sure how much difference it would have made really. Likewise lessons for better technique could have been useful and I might have become more accomplished, but then I'd also have developed a different style.

    Lessons aren't necessary, but they can sometimes be a shortcut.

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  • CollingsCollings Frets: 411
    I think you can learn quite a lot from some of the better YouTube channels but the key is you must be very disiplined and make sure you devote time to focus on the things you cant do well yet rather than simply practicing what you already know.

    YouTube is ideal if you dont play in a band but want to play songs with a band. I use a little THR with YouTube going through it as well and with the right backing tracks its great.

    Unfortunatly its not the same as playing with a real band in person which you learn far more from in terms of developing your tone and timing etc. However not everyone wants the agro of playing in a band.
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  • guitars4youguitars4you Frets: 14034
    edited April 2017 tFB Trader
    just dawned on me - from age 5 to 14 I played Trumpet, so had a good basis of a classical based back ground - I then went onto guitar - had a teacher and a book, but I could already read, so did not take long to relate notes on the treble clef to notes on the guitar - but that was fine in the early days of a book and London Bridge is falling down etc - as soon as I moved to pop/blues/jazz/rock it became ear based and some reading when the ear failed

    I think an important factor is to know what you want to learn and is it possible to learn it - I'm not a Hank Marvin fan but the beauty of say Apache is that we can all attempt it - EVH's Eruption and only a few brave and talented players will go there - So progress your ability by taking on songs that you should be able to play
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  • DanjiDanji Frets: 225
    Way back when, my guitar teacher taught me how to practice and other practical things how to read music, and how to transcribe. He knew that students typically don't stay forever, and he wanted to give me the tools to work stuff out myself.  
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  • mikeyrob73mikeyrob73 Frets: 4663
    badly is the answer 
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  • sweepysweepy Frets: 4159
    edited April 2017
    I taught myself with 2 books, a decent chord book and Jazz Scales and Modes for guitar, well this was 1979 ! Stuff was thin on the ground and what songbooks were around, 9 times out of 10 they were wrong. The great thing about any instrument is that you never stop learning, it's a journey as long as you are open to influences and genres
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  • RandallFlaggRandallFlagg Frets: 13929

    Self taught, started at age 13 after gazing at posters of the Sex Pistols & Skids on my bedroom wall, one day I pointed at one said to my Mum - I want a guitar...like that!

    Ended up with an Avon SG Copy and Vox Escort amp. Made a dreadful racket for a few months then bought Ralph Denyer's Guitar Handbook and never looked back, used to fall asleep with the guitar on my lap and woke in the morning and tried to play it before school, a further few months later had some power chords down and was trying to play along to records like Sid Sings, The Skids first album, The Clash etc.

    Age 50 now and still learning...but can play to a fair degree of competency. I still want to sound like Steve Jones, Mick Jones, Stuart Adamson & Paul Weller. Embarrassingly it was only in the last few years that I realised that Stuart Adamson tuned down a whole step to D for the Skids stuff, no wonder I always had a hard time figuring out how to play their songs.




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  • RavenousRavenous Frets: 1484

    Read this thread, if you haven't already.  Lots of "I wish I knew" comments in here:

    http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/100680/if-you-could-change-what-you-know-now

    I'd just add, buy or rip off a few easy song books and learn stuff you're interested in. (Easy guitar versions are allowed by the way, depending on where you are right now.)

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  • Danny1969Danny1969 Frets: 10357
    I got a guitar for my birthday and a tuning fork. A friend showed me how to tune one string to the fork and then use the 5th frets on 5 strings and 4th fret on the g string to tune the other strings.

    Then I learnt where all the notes are. There weren't any tab books back then so I learnt Apache from piano music. Finding the E, A and F# notes on the D and G strings and so on. 

    Then I learnt some open chords. Bar chords were unplayable due to mega high action and lack of intonation. 

    Then I just used to play along to every record I had trying to pick bits up. That gets your ear developed. 

    My no 1 bit of advice, ignore tab and learn where all the notes are. Then think in notes NOT fret numbers. 

    All those Youtube guys showing people how to play popular riffs using tab .... they aren't teaching anyone anything at all. Just creating a generation of guitarist who don't even understand what key they are playing in!


    www.2020studios.co.uk 
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  • VoxmanVoxman Frets: 4718
    edited April 2017
    Self taught, started at age 14, never had lessons, can't read music and can't stand tabs (I'll look at some from time to time, but accuracy of these can vary hugely).  I started off with books - MelBay guitar system (basic and then jazz), & 'learn to play rhythm & (separate book) lead guitar'. These gave me the very raw basics and I then picked it up from there, listening/playing along with records, watching & learning from others. Nowadays its brilliant because there are so many free videos on youtube to help you.

    Although I tend to work out stuff by ear, sometimes I'll watch a vid to learn how to play something that's a bit less obvious eg I just learned to play Mr Brightside (by the Killers) by following an excellent free vid lesson.  Vids like this are great because you can see and hear what's happening.   

    A good approach I think is to pick a song you like, find a good video, learn the song, and practice it.  And remember the old adage of the difference between an amateur and a professional...

    "An amateur practices something until they get it right...a professional practices something until they can't get it wrong"

    So for guitar, a lot of playing songs is 'muscle memory' whereby you've played something so often you don't have to think about it anymore and its purely instinctive.  So, because learning one song can get monotonous, and depending on what you can cope with, learning 2 (possibly 3) songs at the same time can help break things up.  When learning a song, its initially about understanding and learning the song structure, then the pieces that go in each part, and then you learn to play the song fluidly, and developing a bit of 'feel' which takes time.  Sometimes, it can take years to get a particular song 'right' because as your skill advances, so you then pick-up on things you weren't necessarily doing 'right'.  So its a continuous journey of improvement.

    The important thing is to enjoy your playing and learning, not to be afraid to try new things a bit outside your comfort level (playing a song you know off pat 100 times isn't really practice) but not things that are so above your current playing level that you'll get disheartened.  It's like climbing a mountain - don't try running at the mountain and rushing to reach the top in one go.  Instead, have a gentle 'amble' up the mountain, enjoy the scenery, look at the flowers, take in the air, and rest at regular intervals - you'll still get there - it might take a bit longer but the journey will be so much more enjoyable and you won't get exhausted/burnt out (physically or mentally).

    Keep your learning targets realistic - you can't eat the whole pie in one go. Breaking songs down into 'bits' is the way to go, and setting yourself a realistic target eg learning one or two new songs every 2-4 weeks.  Remember, somedays you'll feel good and that you're making progress, other days you won't - don't force it or you'll make yourself miserable. If you're having a day when nothing works, put the guitar down, have a cup of tea, and pick it up again the next day.  Our minds and fingers are weird and all work differently - sometimes having a break for a day or two gives your brain/fingers a needed break and a chance to 'remember' things better when you come back to it.

    And don't worry about developing your 'style' yet.  That will just come naturally, as you get more fluid and more confident.  Finally, don't get overly hung up on playing things the 'right' way.  Not only is this sometimes down to interpretation, but even top artists mix it up, and half the time can't remember how to play their own stuff exactly like the record they made in the studio!  If you're struggling to get something 'right' get the basic 'feel' to begin with and once you get more fluent you can always go back and learn the twiddly bits that might have been beyond you 6 months ago.  

    One very last thing - wherever possible, try to play with other people - learning how to keep time, integrate with and bounce off ideas with other musicians at a similar or even a bit better level than you will really help focus you and make the journey more enjoyable. 

    Hope this is of some help.   


    I started out with nothing..... but I've still got most of it left (Seasick Steve)
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  • TeetonetalTeetonetal Frets: 7801
    Danny1969 said:


    All those Youtube guys showing people how to play popular riffs using tab .... they aren't teaching anyone anything at all. Just creating a generation of guitarist who don't even understand what key they are playing in!


    I can count on one finger the number of guitarists who can actually read music, that I have been in a band with. I don't think youtube tuition is to blame.
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  • VimFuegoVimFuego Frets: 15476

    there are many who would say I haven't learnt guitar. For some reason guitar stuff doesn't seem to stick for me, or if it does it's much harder to acquire.

    I came to instrument playing late in life (I was 33 when I got my 1st guitar) but have had so many false starts I play like someone who only picked it up 6 months ago.

    On a whim, I decided to buy a fiddle about 2 years ago and in many respects I've made more progress on that than I have on guitar. Now, I know part of the is cos it's often easier to learn a new instrument if you already have a musical background, but even so things like scale structure,songs etc stick much easier on violin than they do guitar.

    I'm not locked in here with you, you are locked in here with me.

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  • SassafrasSassafras Frets: 30273
    Once I'd decided not to try and sound like famous players and chasing their sound, I progressed quite rapidly.
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