Alright, newbie here

[JesseW316]

Ok, I just purchased my first guitar solely on the idea that I am a huge Dave fan and would love to be able to play some of his songs. However, I understand that his are quite complicated and it probably (though I may be wrong) is not a good idea to jump right into Dave without any prior guitar training.

My question is this...where is the best place to begin? I really don't want to do private lessons, I would prefer self teaching or videos/audio clips/books/websites.

How did everyone start when they picked up their first guitar? What books/videos/tools does everyone recommend, considering I would love to get this as quickly as possible. I'm a quick learner and I'll work hard if I see that I'm getting somewhere. Should I just try to jump into the tabs on this site, or start with something more basic?

Please help, I'm sure you guys get this question three times a day from newbs and I'm sorry if it's getting on your nerves answering it but I figure this is the best place to start seeing as it looks like you guys are all at the place I want to be at as far as ability and style go.

Thanks

[clarkbar_07]

hey..no problem...i've only been playing ab 7 months but i've learned quite a bit...the first song i startted out with was digging a ditch...and also..proudest monkey...very simple songs...also..another song which is non-DMB...is Bad Moon Rising...i just learned it cuz i just started learning non dave stuff...an instructional video is hear on how to play it...
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=TheNextLevelGuitar

there are numbers of other songs at that particular "channel" as well..and that guy does an awesome job at explaining things...as far as strumming goes..another good dave song to learn early is crash into me..and can be difficult b/c of the stretch and even the rythem...but the chord changes are all pretty simple...and pay for what you get...pretty easy...and it's nice and slow..hope that is somewhat helpful...i'm sure someone else can help you more tho

[littlefriend]

DMBTabs, welcome to it!

I too bought a guitar because of DMB. I just wanted to be able to play their songs. I have never taken a lesson and consider myself self-taught. I learned how to play the guitar using a chord book and the tabs on this site.

My suggestions as far as DMB goes, is to do a search for threads suggesting easier songs. The usual suspects are Grey Street, Proudest Monkey, Big Eyed Fish, Halloween, Two Step and a few others. This will give you an excellent starting point as they are all pretty straightforward as far as DMB songs are concerned. And most threads will have a lot of useful tips and hints in them as well. Plus, you won't irritate people with repetitive threads.

Also, if you want to play exactly the way Dave does, then study/learn the tabs on this site because they are exactly what he plays. What more could you ask for? And if you have searched and are still having trouble don't be afraid to ask for help. Most of the people here are friendly and knowledgeable and very willing to help.

And don't worry about whether or not you should learn other things first. The reason I kept going on the guitar was because I was able to play songs by my favorite band and it kept me interested throughout the learning process. It's a good a place as any to start. You have to make sure it's at least as fun as it is painful/frustrating otherwise you'll want to give up.

For general guitar, if you want to start getting some decent sounds out of it right away learn a few of the "easier" open chords like A, Am, C, D, Dm, E, Em, F and G and just practice strumming them and changing between them. Start practicing the barre chord version of all the chords, too. They're hard as hell at first, but they will unlock so much for you down the road. Also, start memorizing the fretboard. It's boring but extremely necessary.