My first week with a guitar in my hands.

Hi and welcome to Guitar Noise.

We've just recently had a few discussions on this very topic. You'll find them here:

https://www.guitarnoise.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=47268

https://www.guitarnoise.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=46944

And I'm sure others will pitch in with their choices as well.

Hope this helps. Welcome again and I look forward to seeing you around the boards.

Peace

Yes, it is a great site. I agree. For beginners, intermediates and advanced players.

The main site has many articles on guitar and guitar related stuff. They contain really good advices. There is also zone with Songs for Beginners. I don't remember exactly but there are around 30 songs. Learn the songs but also read the article. They are written by David Hodge (dhodge), I learnt a lot of new things there.

And read this thread:

https://www.guitarnoise.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=35807

Welcome to GN.

Congrats on entering the world of guitar. Prepare to spend any extra money you ever get on gear. :D Guitar is a great hobby.

Prepare to spend any extra money you ever get on gear. :D

Truer words have never been spoken.

I got a guitar for my wife....

It was a good trade. :lol:

Hi Starbucks,

You're off to a great start -- you & the guitar got your wife's blessing! Get it in writing, man!

Don't keep the instrument in its case between lessons/practice sessions, unless you have kids or cats. Keep it close by. If you hear something interesting on the radio or TV, see if you can match a note or two on the guitar. Don't worry about chords or positions or any of the theory. Don't try to play "Sultans of Swing" right away. Just find a couple of notes that go with what you're hearing. This gets your ears working, and it's a lot of fun -- and eventually it will make your wife wonder what she got herself into. :)

Welcome to the forum.

Thanks for the advice everyone!

Cheers

Congrats on your purchase!! I hope that you have many many....many years of quality time with it!

This place is awesome, tons and tons of good lessons here, not to mention all the help from people on the forums, absolutely invaluable!!

I got a guitar for my wife....

You are gonna be worshipped, especially in guy forums... :lol: :lol: :lol:

Congratulations Starbucks! You have entered a world of pain! :D

What I would add to the above discussion is this:

At the beginning, do NOT go wild with the resource hunting. Find one good site [you already have], one good video, 2-3 technique exercises, and then go lock yourself in a room and spend your time practicing instead of hunting.

You don't need much information right now. A few chords and a song to work on should be plenty. Looking for more than that is dissipating.

Lastly, try to see a good teacher at least a couple of times. It will speed up the learning significantly.

I got a guitar for my wife.

I keep TRYING to get a guitar for my wife. (Not a trade- the other way.)

I know she doesn't really want one. It just seems weird to me. How can ANYBODY be happy without at least one guitar?

WElcome newb. May it be a long and productive hobby. THis site is great for newbs, and even when we stop being newbs, it stays great.

(I can't say for sure if I'm still a newbie- but I can sure play a lot of stuff I couldn't two years ago...)

Best,
Ande

Keep the fingernails on your fretting hand cut really short. Make sure your shoulders, arms, wrists, and hands are all relaxed when you play. If you learn bad posture when you first start playing, it will be much harder to unlearn later, so FOCUS on staying relaxed, keeping your posture right, all of that. Take it slow and make sure you learn how to play your chords (or scales or whatever) slowly and properly before trying to play a song, even if you are only learning three chords so you can play a nice easy song. Your fret hand fingertips are probably going to be really sore for a few weeks, the pain will go away. Learning to change from G to C and back again quickly and smoothly is really hard, don't give up. Barre chords are even harder, but one day you'll pick up the guitar and all of a sudden you can play them even though you couldn't yesterday. The guitar is FUN, so most of all be sure and enjoy yourself.

These are all things I had to learn the hard way, btw.

Welcome to the world of guitar! And welcome to GN.

Starting off can be stressful. It may seem like your getting nowhere. I know that was true for me. I practiced and practiced and practiced, and it sounded like i was getting worse so i got really stressed and didnt play my guitar for a few days. The next time i picked it up and played, i suprised even myself about what i had learned.

One piece of advice, don't let the guitar rule your life.... So many people on here have :P. Remember to take breaks, but not long ones, a day or two without practacing isn't going to slow your learning too much, but will provide a different perspective on your learning. You will appreciate your developing talent much more if you take short breaks every now and then, and then return and see what you can remember. Short breaks also aid in muscle memory, so the chord shapes wont be so hard.

Enjoy your journey into the world of music, and dont let the difficulty put you off.

I struggle with C - I will try practicing G to C - thanks fot that tip :D

Hey buddy

As far as other sites.. I'd say no. This site has the best learning forums and lessons out there. Secondly, patience was the key word. If you can get past the frustrations of learning guitar and be PATIENT, you will learn it.

I'd suggest sticking with lessons on this site until you feel comfortable with basic chords. The I'd put some head work to which bands you most enjoy listening to. I'd start trying to copy them. I''d also suggest just strumming out some of your own songs.

In the end, there really is no RIGHT or WRONG way.. just make sure you keep it enjoyable and wake up each day ready to play your guitar. As long as you play each new day, you'll learn guitar.

Jim