A novice interested in guitar?

Question

Hey! I am really interested to take on guitar, but i don't have the slightest idea about anything at all.

1) Besides getting a guitar, what other things do i need to get? (i heard you need to get something called the tuner?)

2) Any good Learn-it-yourself guitar books to reccommend?

3) Choosing a good guitar?

Thanks!

Answer 1

J, glad to hear you are getting into guitar. Please believe me when I tell you that playing a musical instrument is one of the most enjoyable and satisfying things you will ever do (if you decide to stick with it, that is), and you will not regret it as a hobby, OR as a vocation should you want to go that route also. Now, as to your questions:

1)There are not many guitar players who will not have a guitar tuner, even those who have been playing for years and can tune by ear.  For a beginner, a tuner is an absolute necessity, since you will not be able to discern the correct tone for the strings of your guitar to make.  In order to play music accurately, you have to be striking the notes correctly, and you cannot do this without your strings being properly tuned.  A tuner is a smalll  box that you plug your guitar into.  After you've plugged it in, you pluck the open strings (all this means is that you play the string once without depressing the string at any point at all), and the tuner will tell you if it is in tune or not.  All you will need to know is what the string is SUPPOSED to be tuned to: for instance, your topmost string should be tuned to the note E in standard tuning--the tuner will tell you how far off it is, and will usually tell you which way to turn your tuning keys to bring it into where it is supposed to be.  You simply will not, as a beginner, be able to do without one.

2)As far as instruction books are concerned, most of them are the same when it comes to beginners' books.  All you really have to do is go into a music store and ask for a guitar book for beginners, and the clerk will be more than happy to help you.  It will focus on learning the notes, a little theory (like scales and such) and introduce you to simple tunes you can play that demonstrate the lessons. Take my advice, though, if you can afford a teacher, get yourself one.  You can't ask a book questions, and you will definitely have some. You will learn much faster with a teacher, and you will avoid bad habits which will be a doozy to unlearn later.  If you can't get yourself a teacher just yet, buy some instructional DVDs along with your books.  They'll be a great help as far as being able to SEE the proper hand positions, finger placement, and technique is concerned

3)Whatever you may hear about playing guitar, as a beginner you should follow this rule: inexpensive, inexpensive, inexpensive.  You don't know yet whether you will like the guitar or whether you will be willing to put in all the work necessary to become proficient at it.  Get yourself a low-end guitar at first, something that will not be a costly mistake should you decide you don't want to be a guitar player after all.  I recommend Ibanez, Squier, or Epiphone.  All three companies make great low-end, beginner-market guitars, and they won't set you back a heap, but will sound good for what you are trying to do.

Good luck, J, and I hope you get as much satisfaction out of learning the guitar as I did when I was learning to play bass

Answer 2

I would suggest you start with a nylon string guitar.  It requires no amplifier and will not hurt your fingers like a steel string acoustic will.  A tuner can be a pitch pipe, or a tuning fork, or an electronic tuner with a microphone option for acoustic.  As there are so many books out, I will just give you some of the majors.  Mel Bay, and Alfred all have a wide variety of beginners books with all sorts of styles of music.  Good guitars start around $100, and I don't suggest a used one unless it is in good condition.  You should get a least a gig bag to give the guitar some protection when you are not playing it.  Do not let the music store sales person sell you any other items.  Good luck and have fun.

Answer 3

Here is my advice....I am a self-taught guitar player.

-  Buy a fairly inexpensive guitar.  Buy a better one AFTER you learn to play.  You will also need a tuner if you don't have a piano or something to tune to.  Tuners are cheap.

-  Get a basic chord chart that shows you the fingering for all the chords.  Then start learning the chords for the key of G (G, C, F, Em, Am).  Practice changing between them and strumming.

-  Once you are familiar with the chords, try playing a song.  The key is to pick a song (in G) that is easy to play and that you know really well.  The song that I stumbled onto that was first real song I could play was "Peaceful Easy Feeling" by The Eagles.  I was very familiar with it and it was fairly easy, and after a few attempts I was playing it.  A big break through.  You have to find YOUR Peaceful Easy Feeling.

- Now you just build on that.  Learn some more songs in G.  Then learn the chords for the key of C, and learn some songs, then D, and so on.

- The internet is boon for learning guitar.  There are all kinds of free stuff ranging from lyrics and chords for virtually every song to instructional videos.

GOOD LUCK!!

Answer 4

Hi, I started teaching myself guitar about three months ago. I bought Essential Elements: Guitar. It was a very good book that tought me how to read music for guitar and not just rely on tabs. Get a decent acoustic guitar for yourself and you will definately have to have a tuner. guitar strings go out of tune between playings so you will need that. Some good brands for acoustic guitars for beginners (100-200 dollars) are Ibanez, Yamaha, Fender, and Takamine. I would recommend going to a local music or guitar store and trying out as many as you can get your hands on.

Answer 5

I always recommend an acoustic for my beginners....this way you don't need an amp, and electric guitar only sounds well if you know how to play it.....later if you want you can apply what you've learned on acoustic to electric. As for the electronic tuner you can get that free on a lot of sites, it's usually on the homepage of certain guitars sites such as :

http://www.8notes.com/

Books:

http://www.halleaonard.com/     (if you had said what style, I would be more specific with the name of a book)

As for guitars, you didn't say if you wanted classical, electric, or acoustic.....My recommendations to my students is to go to a reputable guitar store and play around with all the guitars in your budget.....if you can't play at all get the clerk to play them for you, that's what their there for......you need to check not only for the sound that you like, but the action.   ( The amount of space that the strings come off the fret board ) the higher the string the harder to play.....when you decide, you try to push the strings down and make sure that it's not too difficult, if it is then try something else.  You should be able to get a really nice acoustic for about $250.00 even less, especially at the Guitar Center, they have great sales, and if you ask for a deal they give you one.....I did and they took off $50.00 !!!! Well good luck to you, and I hope that I answered all that you wanted to know !!!!!!!!!

Answer 6

1) yes, a tuner will be good until you can tune by ear.  Maybe a pick and an extra set of strings in case you break one.

2)I learned to play by printing guitar tablature from a site like http://www.guitaretab.com

3) just go to a pawn shop and get a used one.  They sound better anyway, and they're cheaper.  you could probably get your tuner there too.  look for a guitar with a plug-in so you can maybe play onstage one day!

Answer 7

Hey there!

Yes, there are a few things to buy when you start off on guitar. I'll try and go down the list and keep it simple.

1) Well, besides a guitar itself, you would need to get an Electric Tuner. A tuner is a little thingy-ma-bob you sit close to your guitar, and when you pluck a string, it tells you wheather it's too high or too low. It's really useful for keeping your guitar sounding nice! Besides that, buy plenty of nice thick picks. Because trust me, you loose those alot, especially when you start off! haha.

2 ) Well, I would actually reccomend "Learn guitar for dummies" the DVD. I like it because it's cheap, and really useful. I used that when I started, but there's lots of other ones too, so you could get more than one!

3 ) http://www.guitarcenter.com/Fender-CD-10...

There's a link to a NICE guitar, at a nice price. I would reccomend getting one like that, because you want it to sound good, even though you're a starter. You don't want to start with a horrible guitar, you'll hate how it sounds.

That's a basic run-down of the essentials, but I would reccommend going to your local music/guitar shop, and tell them that you're looking for a tuner and some picks. And they'll grab that for you, and then I would look at their guitars for yourself. See one that strikes your eye, and pick it up, see how it feels! Sometimes it's love at first sight!

Hope this helped, good luck and God Bless!