So i want to play the guitar...

[DiGiTAL]

...what do i do now? i know nothing about guitars. What i do know is that i dont want to take lessons, learn how to play christmas songs and so on. My idea is to go out and buy a guitar(electric) and some books, follow the lessons on internet. Is that a very bad idea?

Im thinking that maybe the "Eagle SB55" would be a good guitar, but im just guessing so please help me out. What should i look for when buying a guitar? plus i need a amplifier, right? :). I dont want to look like a complete idiot when i walk into the shop?. No chance of that happening right? :)

I know i wont be able to play like the pros in a week, and i HAVE thought this through. :)+<

My goal isnt to be part of a band or anything like that, just want to be able to read & play notes.

-Matt 22

[StoneDragon]

First off... I would not recommend that you arbitrarily pass off taking lessons as "learning a bunch of Xmas tunes". There just might be some cat in your neighborhood who absolutely shreds on the guitar and gives lessons. It would be foolish to pass up an opportunity like that.

That said, the absolute wealth of info available through books, vids and the internet makes it next to impossible not to learn how to play. It's all there... you just have to know what you are looking for and where to find it. What a teacher can give you is organization and example. Those two things can literaly save you years of trial and error.

I've never heard of Eagle, but you might try looking at the equipment reviews at harmonycentral.com (http://www.harmony-central.com/) and see if you find it there. The most important thing about a guitar is that it feels good in your hands. Just about everything else can be changed on a guitar.

[Retro]

Piggy backing on what SD said - I would recommend that you take someone who plays guitar with you to the music store to help you select a good guitar in your price range. What SD said about "what feels good in your hand" is perfectly valid. The only problem is until you've played guitar a little while, you don't know what feels good. If you don't know anyone who plays guitar who can help you, then do some research so you can make the most informed decision possible (checking out the reviews at harmony-central as SD suggested would be a good start). You may also want to get an inexpensive guitar of decent quality to start with and then buy something more expensive when you have a better idea of what YOU want in a guitar.

Good luck on your quest,
Jay

[DiGiTAL]

Is it important what kind of amplifier i buy? Do i have to buy one? or can i plug it into a stereo?

[StoneDragon]

You can plug into a stereo, but stereo speakers are not built to withstand the kind of signal (continuous) that a guitar puts out. You can fry the speakers in nothing flat. you also won't get a decent sound trying to play through a stereo. You're better off getting a small, inexpensive practice amp with a distortion setting on the amp.

[DiGiTAL]

thx... Well tomorrow im going to a guitar shop kind of place. Since i dont know anything about guitars it will probably not go very well ...they have a web page and i have been looking around so i know which guitar i want, its not a very expensive one. What i think will happen is, everyone will look at me and immediatly see that i dont know what im doing there, and i will leave without buying anything.

[StoneDragon]

I think you're getting all worked up for nothing. You're not supposed to know anything when you are just starting out.... that's what they pay the salesman for. Just go in and check out some guitars. You don't have to play them, but it would be a good idea to fondle them. Run your hand up and down the neck... see if they will let you try it with a strap... etc. Try to figure out if you can imagine spending a good part of your life stroking this thing. Does it feel good in your hands... kinda like getting to know a new girlfriend ;)

[DiGiTAL]

yea .... im going to another shop tomorrow. What about headphones? same as with the stereo it has to be a special kind?

[StoneDragon]

Headphones seem to be a little more tolerant than stereo speakers.... but you can fry them too. That's probably why these headphone amps come with cheezy Walkman type phones.... so you can replace them for $10 when you blow them.

I've been using an expensive pair of Sennheiser cans for a few years now. They seem to be holding up fine.

[DiGiTAL]

ok.... on to the lessons. In "Guitar Tab, Neck Diagrams and Chord Diagrams" It tells me to play the "5th fret on the low E-string"
The low E-string is easy to find :), but im not sure about the 5th fret. Do i start counting from the top? 0 1 2 3....21 And in lesson 1 i probably misunderstood this but the string names(?): A - A#/Bb - B - C - C#/Db - D - D#/Eb - E - F - F#/Gb - G - G#/Ab - A thats 12 and i only have 6 strings. Well im gonna buy a book about the cords and notes, if you know a good site that explains it, please show me, and if i totaly misunderstood everything, noone has to bother explaining it.

[Gazaridis]

A 0 would mean play that string open (ie: no fingers on the board). Fret 1 is the first metal bar with a decent gap behind it( there are some weird guitars tho - see here http://www.nb.net/~alanb/tip77.html). So play at the 5th fret means put a finger in the space behind the 5th piece of metal - on guitars with markers on there is a single dot here.

Those arent the string names - theyre the chromatic scale!!! The string names are, low to high (easier for me to remember that way round) E AD GB E

[StoneDragon]

A - A#/Bb - B - C - C#/Db - D - D#/Eb - E - F - F#/Gb - G - G#/Ab - A thats 12 and i only have 6 strings.

These are the notes up and down the strings NOT the names of the strings. But you have to start with the note name of each string.

In other words, if you start on the E-string, the notes would look like this:

E| |--F--|-F#/Gb-|--G--|-G#/Ab-|--A--|-A#/Bb-|--B--|--C--| etc...

If you start on the A-string, it goes like this:

A| |-A#/Bb-|--B--|--C--|-C#/Db-|--D--|-D#/Eb-|--E--|--F--| etc...

[DiGiTAL]

In lesson 1 ...does it matter where on the guitar i play the cords? :) ...i want to learn a melody something simple any tips? like the start of "under the bridge" or everlast "what its about" something like that. I want to have somthing that i can play when feeling bored practising cords.

[Gazaridis]

Under the bridge was one of the first things I wanted to learn too... until I found out it was too advanced for me :( find some easy ones by looking on www.tabrobot.com (http://www.tabrobot.com) for bands you know, then find a solo and play!!! Once youve learnt a couple (and I mean properly) go back and take a look at some that seemed too hard - even over a period of one month a piece which seemed impossible to me I can now play fluently. Then after a few of these, go back to your 'goal'. Here's something to get you started - the duelling guitars sequence of Champagne Supernova by Oasis (play it with a friend once youve got it sorted)

******** e--------------------------------------------------
******** B-12b13r12--10----10-------------------10---12p10--
guitar *** G--------------11------11---------9h11------------- (play this 3
#1 |***** D----------------------------9h11------------------ times)
******** A-------------------------12-----------------------
******** E--------------------------------------------------

******** e--------------------------------------------------
******** B---------------------------------------2----4p2---
guitar *** G---4b5r4----2-----2--------------2h4-------------- (play 3 times)
#2 |***** D---------------4-------4----2h4-------------------
******** A--------------------------0-----------------------
******** E--------------------------------------------------


then, after the 3rd time:

******** e------------------------
******** B------5-hold---------3--
guitar *** G--4s6------------2s4----
#1 |***** D------------------------
******** A------------------------
******** E------------------------

******** e-------12-hold----------
******** B-12s14------------------
guitar *** G------------------------
#2 |***** D------------------------
******** A------------------------
******** E------------------------


[This message has been edited by Gazaridis (edited October 29, 2000).]

[DiGiTAL]

I was wondering in lesson 1 (music) if you look at the Amaj cord and the low(?) e string it doesnt have a: x, black dot or white dot.

[StoneDragon]

If there is nothing on a string then leave that string out of the chord.... I probably missed an x here or there.

[PaintballJunkee]

Is this digital from paintballcity?