Started Playing Guitar

Hey guys and gals, I started playing guitar not so long ago and I am really practicing hard. I don't want to be in a band, I just want to be able to Jam with friends or just play , you know?

Anyways I was wondering if any of you could suggest good riffs/songs/solos or websites that could help me with my playing.

Anything you've got I'll take into consideration. Any guitarist want to give me helpful tips and stuff, I don't have an instructor, I don't want one. My dad used to be in a band and he's showing me the basics.

Thank you all in advance;

-Jimmy- ROCK ON!

There are some great lessons on Utube. There are also some terrible lessons on utube. Just type the style you want to play in the search function and start rockin.

Don't stop with just guitar, learn how to play bass, harp, slide etc.

Learning with your dad is great.

Cool !! Learning to play is the hardest part, but once you master some chords and riffs you're on the way to guitar heavon. Jamorama is a good place to learn some lessons. You even get some free lessons to start with. www.jamoramalead.com...
Peter Vagl is another guy who gives some free lessons online.
www.freeguitarvideos.com...
You can go to your local guitar stores where you live and buy some tablature guitars books. To learn about tablature is to remember that when you're looking at it on paper everything is upside down.
--------------------------------9---------------------------------||
-------------------------9----9---12-9----------------------------||
-------9---------------9---11b---------11-9----9-----------------*||
--9-11---11-9-11-----9b---------------------11-------------------*||

Just look at it like the # 9 on top is actually the nineth fret with the botton E string on your guitar and so on.
Guitar Magazine and Guitar Player is a good one to keep your eyes on. They always feature popular songs in tablature.
How far along are you now? I play guitar myself.

Practice as much as you can....if you want to get better.

I would recommend (in addition to what has been mentioned previously),
to focus on songs that you really want to learn, regardless of their difficulty factor. Playing along with a song I found to be helpful. Sheet music and songbooks are helpful also. Rock on.

Here is another very good site.

www.wholenote.com...

also check out the forums on the kind of guitar you play.

such as

www.fenderpick.com...

Here's is a little advice from an old timer: guitar is not a competition sport!
It's an art! Don't worry what the other players are doing; play what is in your heart. It's much more fun this way and keeps ego's out of something where there should be no ego.

It's about the music. If you can keep the gunslinger attitude away from guitar playing; it's much more enjoyable.

don't be afraid to sing, and sing loud with feeling. If you can do this your guitar is just accompaniment. Write your own song.

[edit on 21-3-2007 by whaaa]

If you have digital cable, there may be some free on demand lessons, at least there are in my area.

I started playing a couple of years ago, then took an 8 month break and started again not too long ago.

2 Things I have learned.

1. Get an electric guitar. I know the traditionalists say start with acoustic, but hey, they were mad at Dylan when he first went electric too. They are easier to play, more forgiving, and also "more fun" Guitar center and othe places have reasonably priced starter kits.

2. Try to learn songs you like. It will keep you interested. Just google the song name and the word tab. It will give you sites like: www.ultimate-guitar.com, www.guitaretab.com....

Thank you so much everybody, okay I'm not too far along, but I know the basics like the E,A,D,C,G ect chords, I'm trying Barred Chords now and I also play many intros to songs. I have an electric guitar (An Austin, I want to get a Fender when I'm better) ..Umm, The site I use right now for tabs is www.fretplay.com it's pretty decent. Again thanks so much, I've started to look at the sites you guys put up as links and yea, thanks alot.

-Jimmy-

Other than just learning basic chords or your favourite songs... a few handy hints that will be helpful eventually....

1. Know where ALL the notes are (Sounds easy but it's a tricky one. eg. a D is there , there and there, a G# is there, there and there etc.. on ya fretboard.)

2. Know the reason why certain finger positions (chords) sound the way they do. (Know how to work out what notes make up a minor/major/7th etc.)

3. If it sounds right to you, don't follow the rule book. (My favourite chord is one that can only be used in certain situations because on it's own it sounds totally wrong, but when it's placed well it's a scorcher!)

4. When you get the opportunity, play it loud. Electric guitars really do shift up a gear and become 'alive' past a certain volume.


EDIT TO ADD: I've just noticed your other thread... Another tip is to realise that you don't have to pull faces/look like your giving birth/strike a pose to play a good bit of guitar!



[edit on 21/3/2007 by Irma]

Just one more thing.
There are so many things to learn on the guitar that it is inevitable that you will get distracted. Chords, scales, arpeggios, licks, tunes, exercises etc... They all have to be learnt as they are all important. If you realise the importance of learning these things before you start to practice them, you will stand a better chance of keeping your focus and completing your studies. If you are learning a new chord for example, think about why it is important that you learn the chord. How will it benefit you? How will it help you to advance? How will it help you to evolve into a better musician? Everything you learn is important, understand its importance.
Goodluck !!

One of my favorite solos is comfotably numb. I haven't learned to play it yet but its on the to do list. I read in guitar world that the solo that made the record came from four differnt tracks cut and pasted together so to speak.

Thank you everybody! You've all been very helpful!

-Jimmy-