First, of all I want to thank Skyze and Wangsta for their excellent guitar guides. I've been meaning to buy my guitar for two months now.
These guides have given me a little bit of push in the right direction.
Ok, so I've decided to settle for an acoustic guitar mostly because of monetary issues. If you could bare with me, I have some questions that I thought my fellow tl.netters could help me answer.
1.Deciding which acoustic guitar I should buy. Have you guys tried any of these guitars?What would you recommend?
c.Yamaha F345 Sycamore Top Acoustic Guitar-link ------------------------------------------------------------------- 2.Books and Dvds to learn So I've "bough" some stuff I might need to play guitar.
a.One of these things was this guitar learning package of dvds, booklets, cds which is called Learn and Master guitar.-linkNow to me this seems like the best thing for learning guitar.
b.However is that enough or I do need any books that you guys might think i need. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 3.Tabs
a.So I also "bought" this program called guitarpro. So how I should use this program? I just practice tabs on it right? ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 4. A question from skyze's guide.
a.I have trouble with the C major chord which on the graph shows the notes your supposed to play.
Now isn't a C major chord supposed to be C E G and not C E C like it shows on the graph.
If so give me your opinion on them, the third one looks the best imo but the first one was recommended as a really good beginner acoustic guitar.
1) G-series hands down. best value at your price, imho. 2) I personally learned guitar without books (I just had a chord chart in front of me and learned the chords one by one), but I'm only as good as strumming along with chords... youtube should be enough to teach you that much. If you want to go into hardcore acoustic stuff, then the DVD might be worth the investment.. that's up to how much time you want to spend into guitar though. 3) Guitar Pro just gives you a nice reference of tabs/staff notation + playing so you can practice songs easier. good program for reference. 4) Yes, that is how you play C major. The note progression is X C E G C E right? So the G is technically still there playing on the open 3rd string. Guitar also tends to accentuate certain notes in a chord like G which is G B D G B G, etc.
1. You should really find a guitar store near you and try out a couple of guitars. Yamaha guitars are generally very good beginner guitars. I still have my Yamaha FG423S. I think it's a little bit more expensive than your choices but it is a really good guitar. The action is great and it sounds great with a good pair of strings. TBH beginner acoustic guitars are all really similar.
2. Get a tutor (or a friend) to teach you. Having someone there in real life is invaluable. If you can't you should really head to Justin Guitarhttp://www.justinguitar.com/index.php to learn. It is a REALLY GOOD site for learning. Just work your way through all the lessons. When you're done with that (which will probably take a long time) buy the books he lists in the recommended section and learn from them.
3. Yeah. You can guitar pro tabs from ultimate guitar. Guitar pro is great for learning songs but if you want to get good and be able to improv you should learn music theory as well. Ultimate Guitar is probably the best site for guitar stuff. Go register at their forum.
1) personally i prefer yamaha acoustics at that price range, but takamine is also very high quality, i agree with trying it in person though, as different necks will feel better in different hands
2) practice, practice, practice
3) guitarpro is nice to get the hang of tablature as well as its feature to let you hear the tabs through its midi software, if you aren't great at reading music that can really help you nail the rhythm/tempo
1. I personally like the feel of the G-Series, when I had a budget (Of course the Martins felt better, but I couldn't pay for them). But honestly, just play them all, and the one you like better, you'll buy.
2. I personally have never bought any books. You can download tabs, and get free online videos/guides for playing guitar. I'd say practice, but ask a friend, or someone that is better than you to help get your mechanics down.
3. Guitar Pro is a really nice program for practicing songs. The timings, and the tabs that it gives you makes it a lot easier to learn songs, and it seems clearer than the ASCII tabs.
Youtube videos are incredibly helpful and inspiring. I would recommend visiting my youtube page and checking out my favourites/subscriptions for acoustic videos. I am a visual learner so seeing the different fingerings and patterns musicians use is a huge asset.
The best guitar DVD I've seen is Tommy Emmanuels 'Up Close,' although I haven't really watched a lot of instructional dvds tbh. He has some great info and advice, especially for those who are looking to play finger style. Finger style usually involves playing with a thumb pick (although it's not necessary) and playing the bass line and the rhythm/melody at the same time. I've been playing on and off for about 4 years, but in the last 3 months or so I've been totally consumed with learning this style, and I've never had so much fun playing. I would recommend the 'Windy and Warm' lesson from TotallyGuitars for those who want to give a shot at finger style.
Of course, in the end it all comes down to the amount of time you spend with your instrument. It takes time to get good so don't be discouraged if the results aren't instant.
EPT![[image loading]](http://jguitar.com/chord.gif?define=x%2C3%2C2%2C0%2C1%2C0&root=C&chord=Major)
