Just got started!

Great site!
This is the first time I ever played any musical instrument.
Went straight to the beginners section and with all the different sections, where do I start? I started with the “Absolute Beginner” and found scales, chords, exercises, techniques, theory. Is there a proper way to study or should I just try everything. :confused:

Basic chords and the basic major and minor scales are a great place to start. But more than anything, it's important to learn the right ways to do things. For instance, a lot of people that are self taught learn how to play using only their first 3 fingers and they neglect the pinky.... Then when it comes time for them to learn a difficult part that requires the use of the pinky it's hard for them. So make sure you're following the one finger to each fret rule... where your 4 fingers each have their own frets. This will help you get use to using your pinky and it will help with your dexterity in the long run.

Alot of people get in the habit of holding the neck like a baseball bat, wrapping their thumb around it and fretting the low E string with it. Dont do that though, get comfortable with your hand in the proper position. Also learn easy songs that you like, it keeps it interesting, if you go up and down scales all day you may get bored of guitar pretty quick.

Originally Posted by: BLS33Alot of people get in the habit of holding the neck like a baseball bat, wrapping their thumb around it and fretting the low E string with it. Dont do that though, get comfortable with your hand in the proper position.

That kind of depends on what "proper" is being defined as... it's different for different kinds of music. There's no "normal" when it comes to anything... But the most important thing is understanding what will help you down the road... I personally never used my pinky until about a year ago.... and I do use my thumb to fret the E string in a lot of situations.... it's easier on my wrist and prevents my hand and forearm from cramping when I'm doing long sets or songs with a lot of powerchords... It's also fun to play blues riffs like that. It's more from my background of learning a lot of Stevie Ray Vaughan and recently John Mayer....... Learn the "proper' techniques first... then you can adapt your own techniques to fit your personal style...

Originally Posted by: aschlemanThat kind of depends on what "proper" is being defined as... it's different for different kinds of music. There's no "normal" when it comes to anything...

agreed. i do this thing. but i also can play properly. i find it easier to bend well with the basball bat way. and i switch to the droped wrist proper way for the fast stuff.

just learn good technique from the start. stay relaxed, when playing lead pick from the wrist. use all four fingers, like one finger per fret. learn to hammer on and pull off. alternate pick from the beguining, eg up down up down.