HOORAY!! My first guitar~~

Well... I got my first guitar!! At first I was learning the fundamentals off of a junior guitar that a friend gave to my husband when he was getting his things ready to go back to Japan and couldn't bring everything with him.

It's not the one that I REALLY wanted though. There were two that I had my eyes on. Either the Ibanez GRG170DX Black and Metallic Silver Sunburst Set (japan model) that I'd have to talk/bribe relatives or friends into bringing along with them on the airplane when they visit or the Ibanez IJX121 Metal bundle.. but when I went to the store, they were out of black and only had silver on hand. The shop owner told me if I really wanted an ibanez he had one upstairs that was brand new with a scratch that he could give to me for $100, and we could make a bundle within $300 (the IJX121 was $299 for the black model). So he brought it down and it was the GRX20 (black). There was a scratch on the left side where the strap would go, but it didn't bother me so I said that I'd take it. I got an amp (Line 6 shark III 15) along with a tuner, strap, guitar stand, and gig bag for $300 and I've been back home messing around with everything. :D I'm so excited!

It's too bad that I'm an absolute beginner and only can play the simple chord groups that are in Chapter 3 of the absolute beginner lessons though. :( I'm proud to say though that my fingers on my left hand are now numb with blisters though! WOO-HOO! :p

only can play the simple chord groups

Only?? You'd be surprised how many songs you can play with the "basic chords".. with just 3 chords you can play 1000's of songs.

Congrats on the new guitar.. That's what I would have done too.. despite the scratch, I still would have got the one I actually wanted.. later on, once you are more sure of yourself in staying with guitar, you can always buy another more expensive guitar that is "perfect".. I still don't have a perfect guitar even after 17 years.. but the one I play the most is near enough for my needs. I get complimented about both my electric and acoustic every time someone new hears them.. sometimes even the same people remind me how much they love the tone of them..

Good luck with your experimenting.. I reckon at least 75% of playing guitar is about experimenting.. if not more. All that matters is that you are enjoying yourself, period. My latest experiment has been with using a different voicing/inversion of the E Major chord (and consequently a new barre chord to add to my list of tools)... Now that I have a decent pinky finger strength from all my hours of scales practise, I am able to easily fret the following barre chord:

4 5 6 7 8
|--1--|-----|-----|-----|
|--1--|--2--|-----|-----|
|--1--|-----|-----|-----|
|--1--|-----|--3--|-----|
|--1--|-----|-----|--4--|
|--1--|-----|-----|-----|


Basically it is barred version of the open C chord. If I play the bottom-E string, then I am able to add a Major 3rd bass note to the chord (so you end up with a chord that is 3-1-3-5), and if I don't play the bottom-E string then I have an E Major chord (1-3-5). The standard open E Major shape looks like this:

0 1 2 3 4
|-----|-----|-----|-----|
|-----|-----|-----|-----|
|--1--|-----|-----|-----|
|-----|--2--|-----|-----|
|-----|--3--|-----|-----|
|-----|-----|-----|-----|


Which is 1-5-1-3.. a different order of the notes.. therefore it sounds slightly different when played. Anyway.. don't worry too much if you don't understand anything I am talking about.. just that I have been playing for 17 years and I am still finding out things I never knew but only through experimenting, playing different styles that I wouldn't normally play, and talking with other musicians (not just guitarists) etc

Hi light487! Thank you so much for your reply and encouragement! I really appreciate it!

Originally Posted by: light487Good luck with your experimenting.. I reckon at least 75% of playing guitar is about experimenting.. if not more. All that matters is that you are enjoying yourself, period. My latest experiment has been with using a different voicing/inversion of the E Major chord (and consequently a new barre chord to add to my list of tools)... Now that I have a decent pinky finger strength from all my hours of scales practise, I am able to easily fret the following barre chord:
4 5 6 7 8
|--1--|-----|-----|-----|
|--1--|--2--|-----|-----|
|--1--|-----|-----|-----|
|--1--|-----|--3--|-----|
|--1--|-----|-----|--4--|
|--1--|-----|-----|-----|


That barre chord blew me away when I looked at it!! I just tried it by myself and WOW I don't know how your fingers could stretch that far! 3+4 was very difficult. I guess I need 17 more years to be able to do it? :)

Wow experimentation. I don't think I'm at that point at all yet lol. I wonder how much longer until I'll be able to experiment like that on my own. I actually only seriously started to learn only a few days ago, so I've still got a long way to go unfortunately. :o

congratz. its a great feeling when you get your first guitar.

i think i own that exact model of ibanez, it would be the first electric i ever bought. if you do a good job taking care of it (keeping it clean, keeping the fretboard with just the right amount of conditioner, tuned, keeping the strings pretty fresh) it will be a good guitar for a long time. one day you might even consider just putting in some better pick ups and calling it a new guitar.

while you are still new to guitar playing just remember that you can learn from anywhere. if you keep an open mind and open ears youll be good in no time flat. all it takes is just a little practice everyday, some fun stuff every few hours and youre there.

as for expeirmntation, any one can do it at any time. you dont need to play for 10 before you try something different. start now and youll get the hang of it. regardless of why you started playing in the first place (money, fame, to impress people, you were bored and decided to try something new) you keep playing for you. if its not fun for you there is no reason to keep doing it.

Yeh, didn't mean to scare you.. hehe.. it's just a matter of setting a goal and working your way there. Want to play a particular song? Want to play a mad riff that you've always loved? Want to be able to write your own song/music? etc etc.. Set a goal and work towards it.. give yourself a purpose to practising guitar.. it also helps to answer the age old question of "What should I learn next?" because you have a goal and you know where you want to end up, you can take little baby steps until you reach it..

Hi BrokenJera!! Thank you so much for your reply!

Originally Posted by: BrokenJerai think i own that exact model of ibanez, it would be the first electric i ever bought. if you do a good job taking care of it (keeping it clean, keeping the fretboard with just the right amount of conditioner, tuned, keeping the strings pretty fresh) it will be a good guitar for a long time. one day you might even consider just putting in some better pick ups and calling it a new guitar.[/QUOTE]Wow you own the same guitar! I had no idea I have to use conditioner!? I wonder if there's an area on this site where I could find information on how to take care of my equipment.. I'm completely clueless at this.

Thank you so much for your encouragement! I'll do my best!! :D

[QUOTE=light487]Yeh, didn't mean to scare you.. hehe.. it's just a matter of setting a goal and working your way there. Want to play a particular song? Want to play a mad riff that you've always loved? Want to be able to write your own song/music? etc etc.. Set a goal and work towards it.. give yourself a purpose to practising guitar.. it also helps to answer the age old question of "What should I learn next?" because you have a goal and you know where you want to end up, you can take little baby steps until you reach it..

light437, no! You didn't scare me at all!! :D I was blown away -- amazed that something like that can eventually/actually be done! :)

Thank you so much for the advice!! Yes, I absolutely have a goal to be able to play a particular song! I don't know how long that'll take me to reach that point though lol. :o Eventually, I'd even like to be able to play LIKE one of my favorite artists.. but I know I'll have to work really hard at it to be able to achieve something like that. I can't wait until I'll be able to do it! I'm so excited about learning!

on a new guitar depending on the condition it came from the factory you really shouldnt need it, unless the fret board is dry/ really dirty the oils from you hands will keep it just right. you should get some lemon oil to clean the fretboard because the dirty from your fingers, dust, tarnish from the strings, etc, can get in the board.

im not excatly sure where it is on here but i know there are a bunch of posts and a lesson or 3 about maintaining your instrument, maybe this would even be a good time to get some of the more experenced guys to start up and lesson section just on maintinace and cleaning.

Congrats.
Getting the first guitar is always a treat.