Miller
IT'S MILLER TIME!
+271|7174|United States of America
Ok, I have searched... but I didn't find anything at all about:
I have just started to take guitar lessons.  I have already bought a really crappy guitar pack thing from guitar world.  I am practicing (and would you believe I suck?), and can't really memorize the notes and frets very well.  I already play the piano so I know how to count notes and read music and all that fun crap.  But I need to know.  Anyone have any tips?
LT.Victim
Member
+1,175|6981|British Columbia, Canada
Learn Tabs First..


Dont try and read notes..
Miller
IT'S MILLER TIME!
+271|7174|United States of America
I can already read notes, tabs, I would have to learn completely.  That's why I'm using notes right now, so that when I actually have the frets and chords down, I can learn tabs easily.
FoShizzle
Howdah Lysozyme
+21|7046|Pittsburgh, PA

LT.Victim wrote:

Learn Tabs First..


Dont try and read notes..
Wrong, if he can read music particularly for piano, he's already there.  I'm no pro and I haven't played in years, but take some lessons and practice, practice, practice.

Last edited by FoShizzle (2006-09-14 21:14:38)

Ty
Mass Media Casualty
+2,398|7193|Noizyland

Learn five-chords, (also known as power chords.) With them you can easily produce a whole lot of different riffs, from 'Smoke on the Water' to 'Smells like Teen Spirit' etc. or you can make up your own. It's a good way to keep you interested, or to just jam with mates/on your own.
Once you get better you can learn pentatonics. they're really easy once you get into them and you can create your own lead breaks quite easily. A lot fo the great guitar lead breaks were based on the pentatonic anyway, for example when I learned "Comfortably Numb" by Pink Floyd, I found it's mostly just going up and down the pentatonic scale.

Tabs I find are helpful when you want to learn specific songs, but it's good to get a bit of musical background so you don't have to rely on these. It means you can be more creative later and start learning songs without having to go to www.fretplay.com or other tablature sites.


Play Loud.

(My guitar teacher once told me, "If you want to be an accountant, read tabs. If you want to be a guitarist, read music.")
[Blinking eyes thing]
Steam: http://steamcommunity.com/id/tzyon
Stags
Member
+26|7075
It just takes time and practice to learn it.  Since you already play piano (I played Piano before I picked up the Guitar) you already know how to read the music.  Thus just take it slow and learn the basic frets which are the first 5 frets and their strings.

Once you can remember all the notes on those strings then the first string (high E string) learn that one all the way up to the twelth fret (which is an octave but you already knew that).  From there you have the basics down which allows you to play simple melodies and chords.

After practicing and getting familiar with those frets, remembering the rest is easy because as you know the 5th fret on each string is the same note as the string above (as in higher in pitch) it.  Thus the 5th fret of the 6th string is A or the 5th string.  This works for every string except G, which the 4th fret is the same as the 2nd string B.

Once you know that, you can probably can figure out what the rest of the frets are.  (although my explaination is probably more confusing than good)

Also, at least learn how to read Chords... I'll have to draw them in Tab form but just turn it up and you'll get it



Here is an example of a G chord.  The |#| is the nut and the # = the string #   the -| -| -| - |- |are the frets  So  |6| -| -| 2| -| -| means that your second finger (middle finger) will be on the 3 fret of the 6th string.

|1| -| -| 3|-| -|
|2| -| -| -| -|-|
|3| -| -| -| -| -|
|4| -| -| -| -| -|
|5| -| 1| -|- | -|
|6| -| -| 2| -| -|

That is kind of messy but I hope you'll get the idea.  If you already knew that, maybe others didn't.


All chords can be drawn in similar fashion.  Now I have a question are you using a pick or fingering (classical)?
ShotYourSix
Boldly going nowhere...
+196|7138|Las Vegas
Get yourself one of these:

http://www.line6.com/podxtlive/

Listen to the many sounds here:

http://www.line6.com/podxtlive/sounds.html

Last edited by ShotYourSix (2006-09-14 21:37:55)

d3athwi5h4
insert clever title here
+59|6932|Kickapoo
Do EXACTLY what your guitar teacher tells you to, and practice as often as possible.  I wouldn't worry about getting new equiptment yet.  Make sure this is something you really want to do before you blow your load on a bunch of gear.  Also, have your teacher look at your guitar and make sure it is set up right (make sure the action is low, and the intonation is set)  if the action is too high it will be more difficult to play and will wear your hand out quicker.  When I started playing a long, long time ago I would really concentrate on my scales.  Learning to play them quick, consice and making sure you know all the note names.  Other than that just keep hacking away, you will pick it up quick.  Good luck.
DonFck
Hibernator
+3,227|7050|Finland

Damnit, been playing for some odd years now, and I would have needed these tips..

Although I read tabs, I usually end up playing by ear and modifying the riffs to suit my knackwurst fingers. This might be because I'm not taking lessons, but playing in a moderately OK pseudo-prog-metal-grunge band. Oh, and I play rhythm. That pretty much answers the question why I have managed without really learning any basics..

And that goes for my answer as well. Because I have virtually no theory-backgroud in my playing, I suggest you find your own style of playing. Don't be the dumb-f**k I was. Learn the THEORY! But have fun and find the style that's you.
I need around tree fiddy.
Coolbeano
Level 13.5 BF2S Ninja Penguin Sensei
+378|7182

Okay, since you're a Piano Player to Guitar Player, I can relate. I took piano for... ten years almost, and then I quit and played on my own. For a long time I knew the basics of the guitar, pretty much what each note is and that 1 fret = 1 semitone, and if i thought hard enogh I could transcribe some simple melodies.

Then, I actually picked up the guitar properly and taught myself using what little knowledge I had. You should know intervals, harmonic/melodic/natural minors and major scales already, and maybe even some modes (phyrigian, mixylodian, etc) and try to apply those to the strings. While learning how to a do a one string scale is useful, it isn't hard. Just follow that pattern you were taught, TTSTTTS, etc and convert one tone to 2 fret jumps, and 1 semitone to a single fret. It is quite easy to get the hang of, obviously, but it's not much use when you actually start playing. Squish that scale into a small number of frets, say 4-5 on just a few strings, work it out, I did. Just use your ears (remember i'm basing this on the fact that you can play piano, and I hope you mean 'play piano' as you know what you're doing) and get the hang of your four basic scales on a few strings. Try not to touch the B string yet as that'll offset your whole mind pattern you're trying to form.

As for chords, just google them and get the tabs. You can figure out the chords yourself, I did that until I realized it's just easier to find them. After getting the open chords down it's just a matter of barring it and sliding up and down the fret to find the note you need.

Try to learn guitar by ear, I play in a Jazz Fusion band as well as some Instrumental Rock, and I can't read notes nor tabs for shit on a guitar. You ask me what Key i'm in, and i gotta look down and count the frets.
But i can play. That's what piano has taught me.

Board footer

Privacy Policy - © 2025 Jeff Minard