hi everyone... Im an amateur guitar player.i started playing guitar five months back.I used to browse through the sites..search for tabs..n play..this way my finger movement improved...but i NEVER went through the basic theory.I dont have a teacher and i rely heavily on tabs on the net.i wanted to ask you if its the right way of learning. i have a friend who has done the same thing.please guide us. :help:
if you want to learn how to play passable rhythm and want to stick to playing from tabs in the future, then it is just about sufficient. if you want to improve and be a good player someday, at some point of time or the other you simply HAVE to learn theory.
Thats what I do.learn from the net. but u can't learn wholly from the net. and besides there is no substitute for a real teacher. u can learn for sometime more like this then get a teacher. i've been learning from the net over the past 2 years. now i've decided to learn from a teacher.
one advice lsiten listen listen listen to music n to what they members play n try to play the tabs n chords urself n c .......
now i disagree on this point. i said that at some point of time uhave to learn BASIC THEORY and stuff like that. i believe personal teaching is good, but not an essential for learning. there are many self-taught guitarists. the internet is a great place.
hey pushkar I suggest that u learn all the basic theory and notation reading and only then will u be able to respect the guitar and it's music and the whole world of music and sound itself. Buy Melbays guitar teaching series from 1st grade and so on. Buy blank notation books and learn to write music in it. Do not jump to readymade chords and tabs now. Learn and find them urself. U will reap a thousand benefits from doing so. Be in no hurry. There a teacher near where i stay and he teaches only hindi songs directly and no basics. That is the most horrrible way to learn and most of all teach. Anyway do what suits u best and happy learning Regards Luthier
thats very, VERY good advice. whats horrible is that there are many teachers thriving just along the lines of the despicable method you mentioned of teaching hindi songs. anyway, books i would recommend, along with luthier's ones are dan morgan's book of guitar basics. also try and lay ur hands upon some instructional videos, specially "rock discipline" by john petrucci for rock techniques, and eric johnson's vid for overall achievement.
Commendable reply. However, msot of the times ppl are really looking no further than quick-fix solutions. In that case, dont ya think that what happens usually (ready made chords + tabs) is a necessity. I know this since I have seen it happen. People come to learn instrument, they have no real inkling whether they really wanna devote time or not. I know most of the time such ppl never get into real playing and appreciating music; but, there is a chance, a spark of hope. On the other hand, if the same person is asked to struggle with scales, chord theory, melody lines etc, we all know what will be the consequence. It is almost (yeah remotely though) like buying a customized guitar or mass produced GiVson. For general public GiVson will do, neither they have time to wait for customized ones, nor they have the inclination. However, for enthusiasts, money and time doest matter so much. Say what?
Dont learn musical notations it a waste of time u have to tell what u are interested in if you are intersted in playing just tabs for movie songs u dont have to go thu any hassles, u just have to take time ,listen to the song any try to find out the notes for ur self(trial and error thats the key) within one month you can figure out any song you want if you are into rhythm guitar ,u might want to learn the basic chords. The next step is to play simple progression with these chords ,u have to try diff combinations and soon you will be able to jump change between any chord Then you can play rhythm for song by getting the chords off the net,u can also try figuring out the chords,its not that hard. Or if you want to play solos u haveto learn scales(dont know much about that)
@ alpha.............I totally agree with u. For the serious minded learning the guitar is a devotional act whereas for the crazy headed it's just like silly superficial. I have seen people during my enginering who just wanted to get a guitar to hang out with the gals and act sleezy. They would come to me and ask prices for a guitar. One senior came up to me and said."mere bhai ko guitar gift karna hai...kitne mein bann jayegaa...." I told him for basic electric with indian parts it would be around 4-5k. Ho replies saying..." ooh thats too much...ek do hazaar mein banta hai ti bolo". Bloody hell what am i making ....a chair here. Another delhi guy bought a so called guitar in the train and u wont believe it .....it had equispaced frets and made of the most horrid grade of plywood. Ho bought it for 400 Re. Learning a GUITAR is not like learning to sign and u are "LITERATE". It has to be every aspect of it. I'm not saying that one must master everything about the guitar. But get to know every detail and then figure out what suits u best. @ ambush..."dont learn notations...." Why do u say so. It is the most beneficial thing to do so. And if u are saying so to emulate some "guitar god" who has said so then u are fooled by them coz they just say it to say it whereas behind our backs they have all learn't it the hard way. Notation will teach timimg and tabs are just for easy reference and they do noe teach "MUSIC". Thy are like GUIDEbooks whereas The real stufff lies in TEXTBOOKS. But i do not condemn ur opinion though.....it's ok. Regards Luthier.
Absoultely agree with you. and all that makes whatver you said in your earlier post about "knowing what u wanna do and proceed along." an absolut truth. That is real good advice, a n00b who wants to learn just for the heck should not invest much. A n00b who doesnt wanna reamin n00b forever, on the other hand, should put in effort and learn (mebbe it is the hard way but then in learning guitar there are no easy ways). b.t.w. you a real Luthier?
@ alpha Thanx for the praises. Yes dear i am a real luthier. I started of around 8 years ago when i could not afford to buy an electric guitar even the GIVsons were costly for me. I was keen on learning more then college atarted and the bullshit classes and stuffnd the whole notion of getting high scores really put a standstill to my learning. I then got hold of a friends MORRIS guitar and saw that there wasnt really anything difficult in making one. So i started making one and finally now i have enough know how of building and repairing. I lerant it the hard way. There was no one to teach me and i did everything at home and whollah i had myself an electric guitar. Now i am not into playing but serious luthiery though on a part-time basis. Enough of my "PURANI kAHANI" Regards luthier
@ luthier, ya dude the sir is in dindayal and he sucks a lot.....hehehe...many of my frnds left him and joined mine.........my sir gave me my first song tht also lead after 4 long months..and i played my first chord nearly after an yr....but today im proud of it since i can play lead and chords nicely...no hassles...
@luthier IM just trying to help the guy out I posted a similar thread when i was in his position and the replys i got were similar to what you are giving now. Stuff like "let the music flow into you" but there were a few advices that really helped me and im hopin my advice was of help to you Pushkar
@ ambush Hey ..dont be disheartened i did not say that ur advice was wrong . Just that the notation thing ate my head. I said previously too that "It's OK" So chill and rock on. Regards Luthier.
thanx a lot guyz for ur advices...the fact that self taught guitarists exist has given me confidence & i wud be referring into the book of basics soon..I wud definitely ask u ppl hlp as and when i need it...thanx a lot for having spent sumtime for me....
