Complete Beginner

Complete Beginner

Hi Guys,
Thought I would drop in & say hello & what a great job you have done with the site.
Well I am here for some good advice from you guys, I have always had a passion to play the electric guitar since I was a teenager & that was over 20 years ago.
I got my new electric guitar 4weeks ago Make Westfield model SG & my fingers feel like they are dropping off ,
At the moment I don’t have a teacher so I want to know if I will be able to learn at least the basic from this great site. What should I be looking to learn first I assume chords if so which ones & any other advice at all would be most helpful thankyou.

Regards Vista. :)

[FONT=Tahoma]I'm actually even newer than that...on day 6. :o I got a book with mine that actually starts with the individual notes on the first 3 frets. I like learning this first as it sets up a solid foundation that hopefully will make chords easier. Fortunately, not sure why, my fingers don't hurt that bad yet. I'm sure my time will come soon enough. :p [/FONT]

Hello, and welcome to this site bro.

I myself joined this site a few months ago, and even though I never was interested in other forums/sites enough to join them, I found that this one seemed to cover a lot of areas and topics that appealed to guitar players of all levels.

Concerning your question about learning the basics from this site; I would have to say, Yes you can.
There are many areas (homepage, search feature, etc.) where you can find just about anything to do with playing guitar.
And if you find that you need to ask a question or two...., just go to the forums here and ask away! There are tons of people here that really enjoy helping other players out; because all of us were starting out at one time.

Regarding starting out with "Chords" at first, that depends entirely on you. Learning a few chords in the beginning is a great way to start out, since after learning a few you could possibly play a few tunes that you've always thought were pretty cool.

But my advice would be this:
Try to learn 1 or 2 new things every week or two, and incorporate them into your practice. Resist the urge to learn everything to fast! Because if you learn something wrong, you'll only get better at doing it wrong.
Stick to one or two new chords, techniques, etc. for a week or two, and then after you have a good grasp of it, add a few new things to work on. After a few weeks have passed, you'll be amazed at your progress.

Mix it up a little also......, maybe after learning a few chords one week,
try learning something other than chords the next week. This will help keep it exciting and fun, which keeps you from "burning out"!

There are many ways to learn guitar, this site, books, tapes, videos, etc.. But the only thing you really need is a real desire to learn, and the determination to actually do it.

You've got your guitar now......, so learn how to play that baby!!!

Once again, Welcome to the site, and best of luck bro. :cool:

I'll try to make some video lessons / tutorials to help you begin learning... just basic chords and stuff that can help you (hopefully I'l have time to do it today or later this week/weekend).

Hi Again Guys

Just to say thankyou for your response to my post so quickly, Im very greatful for your help thankyou.

I know some chords Maj A C D E F G Min am dm, im just trying to learn some chords to start with, but i find it very hard to move between chords but hopefuly this will come with practice practice practice lol.

check this link it's a fret board learning aid excellent & it's freeware http://www.francoisbrisson.com/fretboardwarrior/

Thanks again guys.

Regards Vista :)

Since you know those chords already, another thing you can try is to move your chords up frets to create new chords (based on the root note).

This first one uses the E chord, moved up, to create any other major chord.
*note* You can also do this with minor, 7, or any other chords, to change the key it's in.


E F G A
e |--0----1----3----5------<==root---|
b |--0----1----3----5-----------------|
g |--1----2----4----6-----------------|
d |--2----3----5----7------<==root---|
a |--2----3----5----7-----------------|
e |--0----1----3----5------<==root---|


Here's one that's a little bit tougher... using the A chord. If this is too difficult for you right now then try using an Am chord (so all ofyour fingers aren't bunched up into one fret).


A B C D
e |--0----2----3----5-----------------|
b |--2----4----5----7-----------------|
g |--2----4----5----7------<==root---|
d |--2----4----5----7-----------------|
a |--0----2----3----5------<==root---|
e |-----------------------------------|

Oh yerrr !!

Im also available for weddings, funerals and barmitzvas !!