anjellara

is it to learn acoustic guitar? I've tried to pick up bass long long ago, so I have a very crude understanding of how a guitar works.

Lately, I've been getting all these great idea's of songs in my head (and I have a basic mastery of reading/writing music) but I can't exactly put it into song without the proper tools. So I've decided to teach myself to play acoustic guitar,

so, those of you guitar junkies/veterans any tips/pointers? Also, if anyone has any suggestions as to the brand of acoustic to pick up that'd be more than welcome.

Please bear in mind that I don't work because I'm just like that and I don't have all that much money (part of the reason why I'm teaching myself after all) but I don't care about that stuff, I just want to make music.

Suggestions, points, advice, anything?

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mr dave

well... an acoustic guitar isn't that hard of an instrument to learn. a basic chord / theory book is more than enough.

as for brand, like any other instrument used for learning it does not matter. the important thing is that it stays in tune and plays well 'enough' to learn on. wait until you know how to play and what you want from your instrument before starting to look at specific makes and models.

also, get a job, or at least plan to someday sooner than later. not a single person wants to hear an 'artiste' whining about how all their hard 'work' is going unnoticed by society because no one is 'supporting' them or how they're being 'held down by the man/government' because they 'can't' afford anything.

GB also has some excellent acoustic guitar tips in this thread once you've got a budget going - http://www.musicbanter.com/talk-inst...c-guitars.html (the one just a few notches down on the same page as this one...)

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GuitarBizarre

You should be my publicist.

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mr dave

20% of your gross profits and we can start talking

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TheBig3

So I'm teaching myself and good god it blows. I normally play piano and I can grasp it. The theory how its laid out, it all makes sense. With a guitar I've given up on theory because its just not me.

So i picked up some books (stones) and want to pick up how to strum some songs. It doesn't even sound like the song. I have a tuner its all queued up correctly but I think the book was filled out by some for-profit junkie in the back of a van.

Are there reliable sources to learn some basic strumming?

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mr dave

unfortunately this is the point in learning to play guitar where practice is key and you find out whether or not you've got it.

i'd suggest learning to play along to slower acoustic songs where the strumming patterns don't vary much and the chord changes remain relatively simple.

'Jane Says' by Jane's Addiction (A and G mostly) or 'About a Girl' by Nirvana (Em and Am mostly) are the 2 easiest choices i can think of from the top of my head.

i also remember enjoying playing along to Sheryl Crow's first album as well back in the day, most of her rhythm playing was rather simple and stuck to major chord progressions. Tom Petty and Neil Young would have good beginner material as well. Petty's 'Last Dance with Mary Jane' is a great strum along tune (Am G D mostly and i think there's a C tossed into the chorus)

as for the physical requirements of strumming the best advice i can provide is to keep your wrist loose, that's where the strum should come from, as opposed to your elbow. if you find yourself cramping or squeezing the pic tightly then there's an issue and you won't sound smooth. playing along to funk is also a great way to develop rhythm / strumming chops. 'If you have to ask' by the chili peppers is actually rather simple for the verse and great practice for your rhythm hand.


in terms of your book on the Stones it's possible they're just showing the main chords being sounded out but not actually showing you the chords Richards would play as he used a fair amount of open tunings.

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TheBig3

Well I'm not sure whats going on there. Or what "it" is but you're suggesting is I play along with albums?

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mr dave

yeah that's pretty much it. there's no real reliable sources to learn how to strum besides just playing the instrument. you'll either eventually get it or you won't. i've met people who 'played' guitar for a few years who could only strum all downstrokes or like a pendulum. they had absolutely no ability to establish a rhythm in their hand, and ultimately that's what strumming is all about - rhythm.

but yeah, find yourself some simple acoustic albums you like and start playing along. old folky classic rock works great. playing along to Bo Diddley is also tops for building up strumming chops.

or are you just having a hard time finding proper tabs / chord charts for strum along songs?

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GuitarBizarre

Simply put, practice will help you more than anything else here.

One thing I will say -

1 - Guitar pro and powertab are GREAT for learning how to stay in time with a song, just play along!
2 - Don't get TOO reliant on them. They're great, but because they're midi, they very robotic sounding, particularly with strumming. This isn't to say they're not useful for learning that, because they are, but bear in mind that if you try to imitate guitar pro's strumming exactly, you'll just sound like a machine. Use the guitar pro tabs to stay in time with the song and ensure you're not making any glaring errors, but remember to play like a human being!

3 - Once you've done a little more practice, either with guitar pro or without, play along to your favourite songs and listen to how they strum things. A who song is strummed completely differently to say, Hocus pocus, by focus. Learning to make the same sounds is best achieved by WATCHING a live performance.

4 - Get some friends involved! YOu might be embarrased to show off your fledgling skills to friends, but they'll only help you get better and when you go wrong they'll show you how, and more often than not show you how to correct it.

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TheBig3

Yeah this is what I'm saying. With piano I could at least go "oh yeah this at least sounds right." At that point I could refine and work on troubling parts.

With the books i'm using I spend half the time thinking "are they sure these are the right chords" and the other half just playing with chords to see if I can make something up.

In my time of dying, I've sadly realized this is a solo venture until I have a workable product. At this point, I can ask other people to play.

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