View Full Version : getting started with guitar
I've decided to pick up the guitar after dabbling with the piano off and on for 6 years.
I have a pretty solid knowledge of basic theory (chord recognition, sight reading, major/minor/augmented/diminshed, that kinda stuff). But I learned it all on the piano, so I'm not sure how much will transfer.
So basically, I'm asking good ways for a completely broke college student (so no buying videos or books) to learn guitar. Exercises, online resources, tips, whatever.
thanks in advance!
oh and I have shitty Gibson starter guitar. Don't know if that matters, but I always hear you guitarists talking about them like the kind you have matters.
INCINERATE
11-05-2007, 04:18 PM
I'd say the cheapest and most fun way to learn guitar is not by instruction videos, but by simply downloading tabs from your favorite bands and playing around with those. That's how I learned anyways.
I'm a complete n00b when it comes to stuff like this. What sites/programs?
INCINERATE
11-05-2007, 04:23 PM
I'm a complete n00b when it comes to stuff like this. What sites/programs?
Well, I'm going to assume you're into metal - if so then check these out.
www.riversofgore.com
www.metaltabs.com
Many tabs or just simple text files that you can easily read on any computer. Some are in Powertab - just do a google search to download it for free. And Guitar Pro is another program used, but that one is not free.
Thanks for the links man. I know Rivers of Gore is mostly tech/brutal death stuff but I'll try!
ten_second_infinity
11-05-2007, 04:39 PM
I'd say the cheapest and most fun way to learn guitar is not by instruction videos, but by simply downloading tabs from your favorite bands and playing around with those. That's how I learned anyways.
Exactly what I was going to say.
As for tab sites...
www.gprotab.net has a ton of tabs that used to be on mysongbook.
think all of them are guitar pro files.
if you need guitar pro I can send you 4 or 5, whichever you prefer.
edit: Metaltabs sites doesn't work anymore, last time i checked. None of the tabs are downloadable unless the site had "permission from said band."
INCINERATE
11-05-2007, 04:56 PM
Metaltabs sites doesn't work anymore, last time i checked. None of the tabs are downloadable unless the site had "permission from said band."
Really? I haven't been there in a long time. Anyways, that sounds pretty ridiculous. Like there's any way to prove that you have permission from a band to download tabs of their songs off that site. They might as well just shut down the site.
ten_second_infinity
11-05-2007, 05:08 PM
They might as well just shut down the site.
Any bands you'd reccommend for a novice? I'd like something hard enough to force me to improve but not something like Cynic.
InertialGrind
11-05-2007, 06:05 PM
Well the theory and piano will help you out tremendously. I think piano is the best way to display harmony. Just get something you think sounds slightly out of your league down. Remember you have to be able to play slow to play fast.
Any bands you'd reccommend for a novice? I'd like something hard enough to force me to improve but not something like Cynic.
Slayer, Metallica...lots of thrash basically for speed. Throw some Cannibal Corpse, Death etc in there to improve picking then move on to harder shit, maybe practice few licks here and there from Spawn of Possession, Necrophagist etc just to get certain techniques down (string skipping, sweeping)
Emeth has pretty cool songs as well, Impermanence of being is pretty technical but not super impossible like Spawn of Possession for example, although they use 7 stringers.
ChAAPY
11-05-2007, 07:05 PM
Really? I haven't been there in a long time. Anyways, that sounds pretty ridiculous. Like there's any way to prove that you have permission from a band to download tabs of their songs off that site. They might as well just shut down the site.
a lot of artists (mainstream I'm guessing) started complaining about tab sites and they want royalties for their music being online or some shit like that. so a fuck load of tabsites got shut down cause of this. bunch of fucking assholes. if you've noticed, a LOT of bands have been coming out with tab books now. but it's all bullshit since none of those books are even "offical tabs" for the most part.
fuck any artist who has a problem with another musician learning their song for fun.
I wouldn't recommend ANY kind of metal to a complete beginner, really... unless it's something like Sanitarium by Metallica, but even that's pushing it. Shit, when I first started playing, I could barely even play Mary Had A Little Lamb on one fucking string, much less strum a folk rhythm or play Blitzkrieg Bop. Gotta get those basics first!
INCINERATE
11-05-2007, 07:44 PM
I wouldn't recommend ANY kind of metal to a complete beginner, really... unless it's something like Sanitarium by Metallica, but even that's pushing it. Shit, when I first started playing, I could barely even play Mary Had A Little Lamb on one fucking string, much less strum a folk rhythm or play Blitzkrieg Bop. Gotta get those basics first!
I started out playing Metallica. A beginner may not get a whole song down, but many of their older riffs consisted of the open E string with a couple power chords tossed in. It doesn't get any easier than that.
INCINERATE
11-05-2007, 07:51 PM
a lot of artists (mainstream I'm guessing) started complaining about tab sites and they want royalties for their music being online or some shit like that. so a fuck load of tabsites got shut down cause of this. bunch of fucking assholes. if you've noticed, a LOT of bands have been coming out with tab books now. but it's all bullshit since none of those books are even "offical tabs" for the most part.
fuck any artist who has a problem with another musician learning their song for fun.
Interesting. So how are these bands coming out with "tab books"? Are these underground bands doing this? And when you say the tabs aren't official, do you mean they aren't even correct, or simply not tabbed by the band themselves. Hopefully they at least look over the tab to make sure it's 100% correct before putting it in a book.
Sounds like these bands are thinking people are learning their songs and making money off of it, not just for fun. I hear of cover bands and tribute bands that make like thousands a week playing covers. That's maybe what they are pissed about, I don't know. But it's got to be for more mainstream music I'm sure.
Shred The Ganja
11-05-2007, 07:53 PM
Slayer, Metallica...lots of thrash basically for speed. Throw some Cannibal Corpse, Death etc in there to improve picking then move on to harder shit, maybe practice few licks here and there from Spawn of Possession, Necrophagist etc just to get certain techniques down (string skipping, sweeping)
Emeth has pretty cool songs as well, Impermanence of being is pretty technical but not super impossible like Spawn of Possession for example, although they use 7 stringers.
you have got to be kidding to recomend this dude spawn of possession songs to soon progress too.....this is a terrible way to start learning guitar, its just goona make him frustrated.
Start with some classic rock songs like ac/dc and stuff like that...get a good feel for the guitar and changing chord progressions. The easiest first scales to leanrn are penatonic scales..in the box pattern......just google these terms and you should find tons of stuff.
dont go to riversofgore.com and start practicing necophagist techniques.....i cannot stress enough how bad of advice that is.
Shred The Ganja
11-05-2007, 07:54 PM
I wouldn't recommend ANY kind of metal to a complete beginner, really... unless it's something like Sanitarium by Metallica, but even that's pushing it. Shit, when I first started playing, I could barely even play Mary Had A Little Lamb on one fucking string, much less strum a folk rhythm or play Blitzkrieg Bop. Gotta get those basics first!
exactly.
fucking... kids trying to play death metal within months of picking up a guitar just leads to more band like Waking the Cadaver... no bueno.
INCINERATE
11-05-2007, 08:36 PM
Well I guess I main point was to work on stuff you enjoy, to keep your interest. I know if I would have started out on stuff like "Smoke on the Water" and "Iron Man", I would have never learned guitar. But yeah touching any Spawn of Possession or Necrophagist within even your first few years could be a mistake (depending on how much time you practice).
Actually, if you're into black metal, it's a great place to start... a lot of it is just strumming chords, not much different from folk... but a lot more metal. Burzum's slower songs would be a great place to start if you MUST learn metal from day 1.
I definitly like Smoke On The Water. I'll just learn the real version of some guitar hero songs lol
Nihilist
11-05-2007, 10:08 PM
I'd say the cheapest and most fun way to learn guitar is not by instruction videos, but by simply downloading tabs from your favorite bands and playing around with those. That's how I learned anyways.
Yeah - same. I learned by reading Metallica tab books a long time ago.
parabola5353
11-05-2007, 10:08 PM
i learned some black sabbath within my first year. i always thought stuff like paranoid and iron man (minus solos of course) were real fun songs to play.
you have got to be kidding to recomend this dude spawn of possession songs to soon progress too.....this is a terrible way to start learning guitar, its just goona make him frustrated.
Start with some classic rock songs like ac/dc and stuff like that...get a good feel for the guitar and changing chord progressions. The easiest first scales to leanrn are penatonic scales..in the box pattern......just google these terms and you should find tons of stuff.
dont go to riversofgore.com and start practicing necophagist techniques.....i cannot stress enough how bad of advice that is.
Yeah well, it kinda depends on if he wants to progress fast or not I'd say, obviously for a complete beginner this is pretty much stretching it, although going this route and play for hours can get you really good within very short time, guess it's how all those people who only played for 1-2 years yet can play pretty damn well did. However, if he doesn't want to play 8 hours a day I'd pretty much go BZMs route and take it easy.
Though it's worth mentioning that I didn't exactly say he was gonna learn Sop or necrophagist the first year, I was more throwing it in as a progression when he feels he can do most metal stuff, and I just meant random licks from both, maybe some sweep etc played slowly just to get techniques down.
ten_second_infinity
11-06-2007, 02:05 AM
fucking... kids trying to play death metal within months of picking up a guitar just leads to more band like Waking the Cadaver... no bueno.
the first riff I learned was a riff in "I Am The Black Wizards." by emperor there is nothing wrong with a kid trying to play metal when he first picks up his guitar, that's what I did and I've improved a lot since then. i think it's even better to do that, if you want to play that style of music. though you will start out being able to barely play the songs/riffs, you'll improve quickly (if you practice) and you'll be chugging out notes left and right no problem. in my experience. i never once learned any of that classic rock stuff that's being mentioned, there's a bunch of "simple" death metal bands that you can try and learn songs of.
JohnnyJihad
11-06-2007, 02:07 AM
I think I may start with some black metal and some thrash.. then graduate to CC songs.
the first riff I learned was a riff in "I Am The Black Wizards." by emperor there is nothing wrong with a kid trying to play metal when he first picks up his guitar, that's what I did and I've improved a lot since then. i think it's even better to do that, if you want to play that style of music. though you will start out being able to barely play the songs/riffs, you'll improve quickly (if you practice) and you'll be chugging out notes left and right no problem. in my experience. i never once learned any of that classic rock stuff that's being mentioned, there's a bunch of "simple" death metal bands that you can try and learn songs of.
I still say that you're an exceptional guitar player in that you're an exception to most people's routes of progression ;)
Hubtraacks
11-06-2007, 05:47 AM
Actually, if you're into black metal, it's a great place to start... a lot of it is just strumming chords, not much different from folk... but a lot more metal. Burzum's slower songs would be a great place to start if you MUST learn metal from day 1.
This is what i did. Started with some easy darkthrone shit like transilvanian hunger (great introduction to trem picking) and hordes of nebula, also some early emperor (pretty easy too but its quicker)
the first riff I learned was a riff in "I Am The Black Wizards." by emperor
same here :) just out of interest, how long have you been playing the guitar? still cant get over those abhorrent songs, some seriously excellent shit right there.
Riff Obsessed
11-06-2007, 08:31 AM
If you've learned it on the piano, then a fair bit will transfer over. Sight reading not so much, seeing as the same note can be played in multiple positions, but if you're looking to string some stuff together, you're off to a good start. I know a lot of this stuff I could figure out on guitar because I'd already learned it on the piano, especially stuff like scales. It sounds like you may have already developed relative pitch, which will help a LOT.
First thing you should probably learn is how to play tightly first, seeing as through 90% of just about any given song you're gonna be playing rhythm anyway. Then consistantly start pushing yourself more and more. Some more midpaced stuff like Priest and Maiden would be good to start off on, but if you can handle the faster stuff, go for it!
Cloaca
11-06-2007, 08:55 AM
I have a pretty solid knowledge of basic theory (chord recognition, sight reading, major/minor/augmented/diminshed, that kinda stuff). But I learned it all on the piano, so I'm not sure how much will transfer..
You'll be glad you did. I also learned piano for a few years before I picked up the guitar and it was a huge help in speeding up my ability. Also helped me understand what tricks of the trade certain bands used to give them their own sound.
InertialGrind
11-06-2007, 11:27 AM
You'll be glad you did. I also learned piano for a few years before I picked up the guitar and it was a huge help in speeding up my ability. Also helped me understand what tricks of the trade certain bands used to give them their own sound.
Speaking of which whats going on at 2:45 in cleansing a misguided path.
Scrote
11-17-2007, 02:59 AM
Speaking of which whats going on at 2:45 in cleansing a misguided path.Pwnage.
GrindYourMind
11-17-2007, 02:03 PM
The only problem with transferring your music knowledge to a guitar is that a piano is totally linear but a guitar's fucked up tuning will make everything really staggered. I can't stand how asymmetrical they are.
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