Help with playing!!!

[netsnj2k]

Hi, I'm new here so I', not sure if I posted this in the right spot. Anyway I jsut started playing acoustic guitar, I just bought a Martin. I am very interested in playin a lot of music from dave. I don't have a teacher, i don't really know how to read music. all i've got are a couple books on chords. What should i do now?

[Coldchillin]

Wow...um, a lot. It's hard that you don't know how to read music too...hmm...Start by trying a few basic open chords like A, D, E, and G...See how that goes...

[Osty]

Learn how to read tablature. I dont have enough time to explain it now but if someone else could hook you up, or ill reply at a later time it will help you a lot. Also, for the love of god, learn some theory right off the bat. Im surprised at how many mediocre guitar players I know that could be great if they only had a little but of music theory under their belt. Go buy some books about beginner guitar playing and search the internet. http://www.harmony-central.com has some great lessons for beginner guitar players.
Finally take it sloooooow, dont try to strum through a song at the same pace or rip through a scale quick right away, it will only frustrate you. Remeber what you practice slow will lock your hand into muscle memory for when you want to play fast, especially in the beginning.
Hope I helped you a little, stick to it, playing the guitar is one of the best pasttimes Ive ever engaged myself in.


Payce payce,

-Osty

[netsnj2k]

ok i learnt all the major chords, now what should i do.

[Granny33]

ok i learnt all the major chords, now what should i do.

good job and welcome to the boards. after u've learned to read tab, do a search on "beginner songs" and start working on some.

[Ando]

PRACTICE.. And LOTS of it.

Just practice chord changes, going from C to G to E to C etc

After you have the chord and changes down pretty good.. start with some easy songs, not necessarliy Dave.. there are a ton of songs out there you could learn. There's an old thread around here I started about first songs people learned.. theres alot of easy ones in there, I'll try to find it for ya.

Anyhow, Just keep at, learn as many songs as ya can, keep practicing those Chords until you can play them without thinking.

EDIT: Here's the thread.. Good Luck

http://www.dmbtabs.com/boards/viewtopic ... irst+songs

[Jay]

i would also learn a riff song like Lie in our graves or satellite (this one is stretchy though) just to get your fingers moving. and prepare to be frustrated but don't give up.

[firedancer86]

Wow...um, a lot. It's hard that you don't know how to read music too...

hehe...I can't read a bit of music...I tought myself everything past what my dad tought me (E, A, G, D, C, Em)...have never taken lessons...had to teach myself chord theory too...lol...its better that way though...

hey man, just make sure you get your "ear" for music (being able to bust out something you can only hear) down...work on the basic chords and _transitioning between them_...get your strumming to be smooth by practicing without playing chords (with the left hand), but just trap (keep the strings covered with you left hand fingers) the strings and get the chops down...when you get comfortable with all of that, I think the next step is to start playing along with simple songs (best practice ever), but that is a few steps ahead of basic chord knowledge and strumming...have fun and keep us posted on the progress

fire

[netsnj2k]

OK, this is the problem by trying to learn an easy song. I have no idea what this means...(crash into me)

Intro/Verse
E:-------------------------------------------------
B:---5------5----5------5----5------5----5------5--
G:---4------4----4------4----4------4----4------4--
D:---2------2----x------x----x------2----x------x--
A:-4-4----0-0--2-2------2----2----0-0--2-2------2--
E:--------------------0-0--4-4----------------0-0--
2 1 2 1



how do i figure this out. will knowing chords be helpful for this???

[DrFartbrain]

Welcome to the boards!

TIPS:

1. Get a teacher: you never realize how much it's worth it until later...if you can find a family member, friend or someone who will teach for little or no cost, go for it. Just make sure they have good credentials and plenty of playing and teaching experience (college buddies aren't exactly the best.)

2. Tying into number one, decide if you want to have a classical or jazz background: It doesn't really matter. If you want stronger tones and better fingerpicking, go for classical.

3. Learn to read music: The biggest mistake I ever made was launching into guitar playing using tabs. Now I'm actually backtracking and "re-learning" to play. If you don't know how, check out a number of web sites (just search it) or pick up a basic piano instructional book, which leads into...

4. Play piano: Do you play piano already? If you don't, try doing at least some basic theory work, either from a book or teacher. There are some good self-teaching books...I'll try to look them up if you're interested. Piano will help you understand chord roots. My dad, who also plays guitar, forced me to start with piano, and not jump straight to guitar, and I'm glad he did that. I can be told a chord and just play it.

5. Learn the basic songs: Like the other guys said, search for beginner songs. I learned Crash Into Me first...but everyone has their own preferences.

6. Practice, practice, practice!: Keep playing; my suggestion is to play 30-45 minutes a day at first. If you keep that up, you're bound to get better. If you bought a Martin, you shouldn't be afraid to use it...play it! And, if you're not just trying to play guitar because it's "cool," like all my friends think, stay away from power chords.

Choosing to start with Dave is slightly tougher than most of the other stuff out there, but when you get a good mastery of the techniques and basics, you'll be far ahead of all those punk rock acts.

As to your above post, take a look at OLGA.net...that's got a nice FAQ section. In a nutshell, though, the bottom line of that tab (nice choice of Crash, by the way) represents the lowest E string, the second-to-last represents your 5th string, et cetera. The numbers are the frets. If the numbers are lined up, it represents a chord that is strummed completely. The numbers below that tab represent certain fingerings, usually the bass notes throughout the song. Again, check out OLGA.net for your complete needs...I'll try to find the URL.

Keep us informed....feel free to PM for workbook suggestions, et cetera.[/code][/url]

[fatjack]

ok i learnt all the major chords, now what should i do.

maybe some minor chords

okay, seriously, do not start out by learning dave... learn some real basic single note songs that will get your fingers used to moving, i suggest a beginner's book like alfred's basic guitar method.

[DrFartbrain]

i suggest a beginner's book like alfred's basic guitar method.

Mel Bay's Guitar is also very good.

[fatjack]

i suggest a beginner's book like alfred's basic guitar method.

Mel Bay's Guitar is also very good.

unless its just the one with chords, you'll need more than that

[Coldchillin]

I started out just playing Dave. I think the first song I played was Grey Street. I only started playing guitar to play DMB anyway, so that's what I started with. It took some time, but when you can play Dave, you can play a lot of other things easily.

[DrFartbrain]

i suggest a beginner's book like alfred's basic guitar method.

Mel Bay's Guitar is also very good.

unless its just the one with chords, you'll need more than that

No, no, the full lesson based one.