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"Guitarists - In here"

Ok, for many years I have considered learning (well trying) to play guitar.
Might get one for christmas. My dad plays bass and normal guitar but doubt he would have much time to show the ropes.

So how did you learn?
How long did it take for you to get semi - decent?

I am not really musically gifted, I can be a quick learner for most things but I have a feeling this could be quite different.

So errm let me know.
Thanks.

I play the air guitar AND I ROCK! \m/ \m/
Took me only a few minutes to learn and now I can ROCK with all the greats.
Now all I need is a mullet and a Metallica T-Shirt.

One thing that I didn't realise until I recently bought myself a new Les Paul is that it is easier to play a better quality guitar because they are more forgiving.

I have been playing my old Standard Strat for about four years and was doing just fine. Once I picked up the Les Paul and plugged it in everything improved straight away. Not just the superior sound of the guitar but less errors and no buzz. The old Strat needed virtually perfect finger placement to get a nice clean sound but the Gibbo gives me plenty more scope for bad fingering. This in turn means I can go for harder licks.

Needless to say the Strat is now gathering dust hanging on the wall. Maybe I will pick it up sometime soon and have a go.

I started on an acoustic

It is harder to play than an electric, but once you move from acoustic to an electric it feels so much better.

Cool, I'll talk to my dad at some point later about him showing me the ropes and getting me started. He has a few books etc that should also help.

Thanks for the info guys.

i started on an acoustic but to be honest id probably reccomend u get an electric cos there much easier to use being smaller and also more fun with an amp etc, if you wanna learn quick without lessons then id reccomend u get a magazine total guitar is the just about the best on the market with guides for begginers and songs each month,

and in reply to how long it will take you to get good, it depends on how much you practice,to be honest

yeah, go straight for an electric, acoustics are too tricky for learners.

in the meantime, start drumming your left hand fingers on the table in various configs to start getting your coordination together for when the guitar arrives...

1234
4321
1324
4231
3124
etc.

it'll really help. if you get someone to show you the 2 string bar chord, you'll be able to play the entire green day back-catalogue within a month.

Never start on an acoustic as its a lot harder to play than an electric (due to the action, and the thickness of the neck etc.) I reckon you can get quite good within about 6 months, but takes years and years to master

I started lessons with an accoustic just after starting secondary school, but gave that up after 18 months or so as I wasn't enjoying it and wasn't really heading anyhwere other than learning another book full of marginally faster waltzes..

I gave it up for 2 years completely, which I regret doing, but I was inspired to start again with an electric by my mate - much easier as I knew the basics, and didn't take long to get used to playing with an amp and thinner neck/body. Began borrowing my uncle's for a while to see if I got along with it, and it barely took an evening to realise that I wanted to take it up again and stick at it.

I think I've progressed far better on my own than I did with lessons - i.e. in the direction I want, at a pace I'm happy with, but I'm glad I had someone pushing me in the right direction at the start, very useful, and I'd recommend getting a book/mate to help you get the basics.

Ive been playing guitar a few years...I'm quite good, i think!! Im hoping to start a band soon.....

Started last year ago

I suck but have mastered the basics... just get a chord book and learn stuff.