For complete newbies.. Guitar tips

This is for those people who have yet to start or have been playing for a very short time (1-4 months)...

First of all, you must understand, especially if you have an Indian classical music teacher, the sa re ga ma's wont help u much in this internet era. You'll have to get into the c's, d's, e's etc... Ok?

The very first note of your guitar (in standard tuning), ie, the open note of ur 6th string (the thikest string) is 'e'. Got that?

Each successive fret represents a half distance. So, logically speaking, if I ask you to move 1 whole/full distance on ur fret board, it would mean jumping two frets. Simple, isn't it?

This is the way the notes are progressed throughout all the frets in your fretboard -

">" represents a half distance and ">>" a whole distance.

E>F>>G>>A>>B>C>>D>>E...

As you can see its only the 'e' note and the 'b' note which must be moves through a half distance to attain the next natural note.

The 5th fret of ur 6th string represents the open note of ur 5th string, ie, 'a'.

The 5th fret of ur 5th string represents the open note of ur 4th string, ie, 'd'.

The 5th fret of ur 4th string represents the open note of ur 3rd string, ie, 'g'.

The 4th fret of ur 3rd string represents the open note of ur 2nd string, ie, 'b'.

The 5th fret of ur 2nd string represents the open note of ur 1st string, ie, 'e'.

This is also the basics of tuning ur guitar.

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I guess that's the least bit of knowledge u shld have. If I find time, I might post something on scale and chord theory.

Hey. How about some more stuff here huh? I need serious help with learning the guitar.
I have joined a class, but the teacher is onto the sa re ga ma stuff n it's tough to reltae to all that these days especially with the net notes being differen.t
Since I have already paid for the class, I might as well continue, but wudn't hurt to start onto something that you cud teach me

Well... if you honestly want my opinion... unless you'd rather play the melodies of hindi songs and ragas and stuff (which is completely your choice) you would do better to ask for a refund and leave that class as soon as possible.

I haven't got much idea about Chandigarh, but I'm sure there'll be at least a few really decent guitarists.

Anyway, I'll try to post a few more stuff soon.

I posted a few check it out....

hi guys am fairly new to this froum..esgallindeion(yaar ur name is very diff..)..dnt take tht seriously..fine lets talk some serious stuff..
i am learning guitar..but am out of practice at the moment..actually i had joined a class at my native place for 15days or so..but left it coss of college..!!i study in ahmedabad..stay in indore..so at the moment am surviving just on the net learning!!
have fair biot of idea of the english form of guitar..the a,b,c...g's stuff..and have just started practicing the chords..also sing and am learning classical music in college..
so wht i wanted is some idea of chords and how do i go about practicing them..should i start them with songs directly,,or with individual ones and then try fastening the shifts..!!
plss suggest..

Esgallindeion is away for awhile and we don't know when he joins in. I think with his experience he's the best to answer such questions, but meanwhile may I share my experience?

It's been only some 6 odd months since I've been learning and all I've learnt from is the internet: I've had no teacher so far, and now feel confident to be able to go a long way before I'll need one, and that too is for the more intricate techniques involved especially in the electric guitar.

I began simply be learning chords - the basic open chords to begin with, and proceeding to some of the more difficult barre chords. And almost for the first 1-1/2 months I hadn't learnt a single song but had only been practising chord changes, increasing the tempo gradually. Only afterwards I started learning songs and learning newer and more complex forms of the basic chords. Now, I can play almost any song as I'm now familiar with all the chord shapes that exist and even can shift rapidly between those.

Not to mention, I was also learning a lot of the music theory behind these.

I'm not sure if any personal experience suits others but I think mine was a good way with a solid foundation.

[To sonal_neo]

Hey. I'm a beginner as well when it comes to the Guitar and I've been learning since three months. Learning without a teacher is a bit daunting but quite comfortable. You could have a look at http://www.guitarnoise.com and check out the articles there by David Hodge and Co. It's quite a nice place to spend your days on.

As far as Chandigarh is concerned I've heard a lot about the Pracheen Kala Kendra but sweetie, tell you seriously, the Guitar doesn't figure in Indian Pracheen Kala

Don't confuse yourself with Hindustani and Western Music at the same time. Though they're essentially the same thing it helps to focus broadly on either one. Also by experience I would say you'd be far well-off learning the guitar if you have a considerable amount of experience with other instruments such as a keyboard. Your theory could be strengthed anyway with the help of the tons of the websites that crop up on the net everyday.

Happy Strumming,
Sushant

thanx a ton for all the help guys.
I'm gonna lay off the guitar for a while. Lets leave it tot he pros till i know enough about it

*sonal*

sonal u should check ur bday thread

go here - http://www.indianguitartabs.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=562&highlight=happy

thanx for letting me know.. silly ol' me would never have realised that such a thread existed

*sonal*

me too learn on my own..andi personally do feel so muhc more better doing it on my own..nice to know they're more ppl. lke me around ...prash and scot...

and thats how i started too..learnt the basic chords..then went onto the barre chords..and then i keep practising to make my fingers move faster.... and to get the hang of it all....
i had to give it up becoz of my coll. for a few months ...but now its over..and im getting bck to starting learning it almost al over again coz i lost touch of alsmot everything i had done ...

prashy ! ... hearing a pro lke u has gone the same way ..is even better... kewl !

prash rocks

uh uh alli, me not a pro at all... oh no! u probly get that impression from what i write... ok, i've worked hard at it, i've probly learnt more than would people in all this time (i knew NOT A THING bout the guitar or music before june last year - that's when i got my first real six string).

but i've talked to essi and heard some of his stuff... and u probly dunno how well that guy does it. awesome! and jayanth too... with all the gear and accessories and his band experience, he's got to be there among the best on here too...

ps. and from now on, i think i'll include this as part of my standard closing signature so that all u peep neednt take the trouble:

prash_rocks!!!

oh yea..essi...right up there .... awesome knowledge...

jay too .... i guess u just kik-ass once u reach the level of having ur own band..and hes done tht ... altho the learning never stops...


but u know a lot too!! stop being so damn modest .... i wuld put u guys up there as the best on this site...




the 3 monkeys as we call a trio ..heh

i need to practise but dont know wat to play
i downloaded some songs and their tabs
the rpoblem is that i dont know the combinations for all the chords eg: wats a e7, or d7???
can some send me r tell me where i can download some kind of e-book r software which can help me with this problem?
i did check out guitar noise..its a pretty cool site for newbies like me but i need the same thing in indi or paki songs if someone has em..thanks a lot all

welcum aboard, janjua... chek out dis thread...

Guitar Chord Dictionary

n since u r a beginner, try usin da dictionary iv posted der. its pretty simple n wud hav all da chords u wud need.

da strings r arranged in order of thickest 2 thinnest. n X means u dun play dat string. n 0 means u play dat string open.

if u got ne probs, juz ask..