I play guitar and i never had lessons. should i learn scales chords and all that?

Question

I can play alot of songs but i dont know all the notes, should i learn?

Answer 1

I play an harmonica by ear.  However I wish I could read music so I could play all the songs on song sheets.  Also if your in a band you could play the guitar parts from te sheet music instead of by ear.  So yes you should learn everything so you could read music and play anything from a specific sheet music  type song.

Answer 2

If you are doing it professionally, its a prerequisite.

If not, strum away.

Answer 3

The question is what do you want to with the guitar.  If all you want to do is be able to play other songs as originally written - then you're already on your way.  But can you take a song you know and play it in a different key without having to figure it all out?  If you want to be able to transpose music then you'll need a complete understanding of scales.  Scales will also train your ear in intervals and such and you will be able to pick up songs more easily.

Chords help because a lot of notes progress through some chord formation, and then you can reduce the amount of movement in your left hand.  They are also essential for rhythm and arpeggios.

Bottom line is if you are a serious guitarist, you will want to learn the scales, intervals, chords, chord progressions, playing in time, etc. etc.

Answer 4

absolutely. Learned my first years ago, dude said it'll take awhile and your fingers may hurt, They did, and I can switch but dudes went away-played in Church too. but lost interest. Beswt learn if u have nothing else 2 do. But if u relly like it , just grab a chart, cheat sheet, and rhythmn away. 2 or more gets harmoney, 3 a lead, then there's the beat and horn 'nother string, may b harp and other wind.

The scales get timing and rhythmn, syncopation went duo do.

Beg the question and strum that chord, break it down to lead and mix it.

Answer 5

It's always a good idea to learn chords and scales...otherwise you really won't have a solid grasp of the instrument.  Lots of online resources available to help you.

Answer 6

yes you should

i tried to learn how to play the flute by myself

and

i could not

then i went in to my school band and i got it like riding a bike

Answer 7

I would recommend learning scales, though it is not technically necesary, it will help you greatly if you would like to write your own music

chords are necessary, you don't have to memorize chords, just get a chord chart, this helps a lot when there is music or a tab that has like D or C or another chord but doesn't have the frets and strings to strum, you can just look at your chord chart, and knowing chords will also help if you ever write your own songs

hope this helps

Answer 8

Definately. I taught myself everything I know now. For the first 3 or 4 years of me playing i'd just learned to play songs by bands I liked. And even though I made up my own original stuff it wasn't until I studied scales and the actual music theory behind it all that I started making decent music.

There are plenty of idiot guides books and websites that can be used to learn it all.

Answer 9

Their are some good books on different modes and scales.

The more scales you can play, the better you can improvise.

You can order the Berklee school of guitar Vol. 1

This is a very good book and covers 52 lessons, one for each week of the year.

Answer 10

you need to learn how to play notes. i suggest memorizing scale(probably two octaves). every song youll ever play on any instrument involves chords. so you should learn chords, but not only learn the chords learn every note in the chord and figure out what key the chord is in