BHW guitar players

consciousnesscreates said:

Cool

Let him play if its his passion
I agree with Math182

Start easy chords
I started with The Beatles
I used to be so obesessed when first learning I couldnt play a first fret C chord and I taped my fingers to the guitar overnight in C chord fashion for a week Yeah I slept with a guitar LOL
True story

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The Beatles are a great band to learn from. They use all of the chords and some that aren't used much in todays music. They also don't use bar chords too much and you can learn a lot from their rhythm and song structures.

It's very important to learn bar chords in order to be a well-rounded guitarist. You need to build up the strength in your left hand. Also, using lighter gauged strings and lowering the action on your bridge will help.

miracon said:

Hi There! My 14 yr old son started guitar recently and has been taking lessons for 8 mnths. He practices constantly! I tried adding the YouTube links to his first recitals so you could hear his songs but I haven't been a member long enough and can't. Sorry! :-( If you search YouTube for Connor Payne, he is the second video right now...it's called Connor Payne - Revival at Sticky Fingers. I'm posting it because it's a good fun song you might enjoy but quite challenging. Good luck and practice! Lessons are a good idea! My son self-teaches a lot too on the computer but nothing compares to his lessons.

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eyOnypHIYg

I'm 25 and have been playing for around 10 years now. My best advice would be to try out and practice all styles of music.

Learn Blackbird by the Beatles to dabble in finger picking.
Learn Folsom Prison Blues by Mr. Cash to see how blues fits into country music. Anything by Nirvana is great to give a sense of the 90's rock scene ("Heart shaped box" or "Something in the way" are pretty easy ones).
Try out Pink Floyd - Wish you were here.

And of course you need a song that will be your go to song to get laid haha.

At only 3 months of playing I would stick to the easiest songs you can find though... Blink 182 - dammit
Bush - Glycerine
Ramones - Bitzkrieg Bop

Find a song you think is really hard and set a goal for yourself. Practice this song a little bit every time you play and before long you'll find yourself rocking it out and setting a new goal!

If you practice whenever possible and stick with it, you should see remarkable improvements within a year.

Oh, and try not to annoy your friends too much with the practicing haha. I know my friends wanted to break my axe when I first started playing.

WizGizmo said:

It's very important to learn bar chords in order to be a well-rounded guitarist. You need to build up the strength in your left hand. Also, using lighter gauged strings and lowering the action on your bridge will help.

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Yeah but I find it is easier to learn the open chords and get a feel for the guitar when people are first starting. Then when they have built up a bit of confidence I will teach the bar chords.

So many people get frustrated with them (bar chords) and get overwhelmed in the beginning.

Dude one of the easiest ways to learn now days is to get yourself a copy of guitar pro...ive seen it floating around the torrent sites. Download that, and a songbook to go with it and you'll be ripping it up in no time.

Its vital though to practice those bar chords, you can play along with pretty much any song just using these basic chords. And plus, if they are second nature to you, it becomes much easier to learn new songs.

To get your bar chords on par, try playing some of the older offspring stuff (sounds good and easy to learn) as well as blink and nirvana..

Goodluck due!
Posted via Mobile Device

For the guitarists who like the acoustic guitar, here is a guy
named Andy McKee. He doesn't need a band. His unique style
makes him sound like a band. Unbelievable! NOTE: This video
has over 32 Million views. Pure Magic! ​

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ddn4MGaS3N4

Cheers!​

I watched a few of his vids a while back.. the guy is simply amazing.

youtube .com / murrc2

That's me playing , well singing. Just to show what I'm like may as well promote myself while im here haha

I started playing about 30 years ago and agree with Wiz that starting out mastering bar chords and adapting your own style are some of the most important aspects. I still can't read music to save my life but almost all forms of music in general are based on the bar chord.

A simple tune you can practice bar chords on is Smoke on the Water by Deep Purple btw.

barre chords are painful to learn but probably the most valuable since you you can play any major or minor chord with 1 basic shape.
it does kill the back of your hand for a week or 2 but with after that you should be able to pull that shape instantly and play for hours with no pain at all.
also you can use 2 note power chords which is just the top 2 notes of a barre chord, they are used in a lot of rock music and are very easy to play.

Best advice I have is learn barre chords plus all the open chords, (variations dont matter yet)
once you have those down so your fingers know exactly where to go without looking then you should move onto basic scales.
start off with box shaped minor pentatonic scales then the blues scale which is basically just the minor pentatonic with a couple of notes added.
when you have the box shapes sussed then work on learning those same scales in all the different positions on the fretboard.
once you have learned those you can jam over pretty much anything.

also as far as learning other peoples songs thats ok for getting better with your rythym/chord changes etc... but to really progress with your playing get some backing tracks and jam over the top of them.
either that or get a friend over and have a jam with them its way more enjoyable and you can both learn from each other

Muscovy said:

i've recently been learning how to play guitar. been playing about 3 months now. I've mainly used Youtube videos to teach myself.

what are some easy beginner songs I can learn that will help me advance?

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The best thing to get your timing down and you can download this somewhere on the web, is an electronic Metronome. This thing is key along with learning how to properly strum. Easy songs? Anything Nirvana, Green Day.

Rock On!

Personally I would start with open chords, then bar chords, then a bit of light solo playing. Moving onto finger picking is easier then.

Ignoring your personal preference for the moment, I would recommend starting with Beatles, Oasis and Nirvana. That gives you a good rounded introduction to open, bar and power chords.

My first song I learnt was dont look back in anger, after which I was itching to learn the solo, although most people start with wonderwall as its pretty easy.

If you ask me, learn to play dont look back in anger, live forever and wonderwall for easy, slow, open chorded songs. Followed by all around the world, stand by me and cigarettes & alcohol for some easy bar chords and getting used to 'moving your fingers about while playing'
Once you have done them, try smells like teen spirit, poly and heart shaped box for power chords and again 'moving your fingers about while playing'.

One you finish them, go back and learn the solo's - work backwards as Nirvana solo's are unbelievably simple and the hardest being dont look back in anger.

You could always then try a classic like wipe out which is pretty easy and fun to play, followed by Song 2 and Rage against the Machine maybe to pick up the pace.


The reason I say to start this way is because Greenday etc are a bit more upbeat and harder to keep up with for your first songs. You could well find you will learn to play at that speed but lack a 'quality sound'. So by starting with something like Oasis/Nirvana its much more laid back, much easier to follow (and VERY simple structure to their songs to learn), and actually Oasis is very good for learning to play in a specific rhythm because you have to learn to do the strumming correctly for it to sound right and it good practice for chord changes.

When you have mastered these you shouldnt have a problem moving onto the songs you really want to learn, they pretty much cover the basics.

Anyway thats my 2p

nerrvana said:

learning how to properly strum

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This is so so important... so many people try to play and seriously lack this basic skill, even after doing it for a couple of years.

A few top tips:
1. Always, always use the thinnest, lightest pick you can find for strumming as a learner.
2. When you strum, always have your hand at a slight angle to take the hardness and brittle sound out. Never have it dead on and stiff, staying in the same position as you play.
3. Until you get used to it, try shacking your arm and letting you hand fly about for a few seconds before you play just to make sure its loose, relaxed and flexible. Might sound silly, but it pains me when I see people trying to play so stiff and ruggedly.

Thanks soooo much Cybertron for being kind enough to post the youtube video of my son! Your effort is much appreciated! I just wish it was the right Connor Payne! haha! The one you posted is good...and he can sing too!! But I can't take credit for him as he is not my kid! lol Also, I think he only plays rythm whereas my son has been focusing on lead. Here is the link broken up as I have seen some people do...

youtube /watch?v=6C1uPRfqyJk

But once again Cybertron...I very much appreciated your effort!