Well, given this thread, I’ve made good on my promise and bought myself a starter gui-tahr from a local pawn shop. The guy that sold it to me was pretty cool too! He showed me his most inexpensive one, (a $120 acoustic), and gave me few clues. I asked him about nylon strings and he said “No! You want the steel strings. They’ll work up your callouses better. . .” But after a bit of kabbitzin’ with him, asking a few more questions, I left with my new pre-Birthday present [sub]a “From: ME To:ME” if you will . . .[/sub]
I also picked up a decent tuner and a chord book, and have started plunking. Thus being, I have some new questions:
In my one chord book, I’ve got all sorts of chords in sharps, flats, minors, etc. Am I correct in the assumption that these minor chords have a few flat and sharp notes in 'em? Would the “major” chords be just the chords with the straight notes (nothing in a different key)?
The notes on each open string, are they scaled mathematically? Like, I notice the low “E” will play an “A” on the fourth fret. Does this work for the other ones too? (It sounds like it doesn’t). I mean, in three days, I’ve gotten so far as to be able to play a simple single-note scale on one string, but if I wanted to play the next note higher on a different string, how do I know where to fret (or is that something one just learns. . .)
Aw man, I’ve got too many for now, but I’m sure I’ll have more later tonight.
Triple
I think the guy had a great deal–set up for less than $150. I’ll easily recoup that on my first sold-out arena.
You should start out with some tablature
Instead of normal sheet music, it shows the actual fingering. Check out that site.
There are a few different types, but the one I used was simply 6 lines, representing the 6 strings. Instead of a dot the note is represented by the fret number.
The above site is for classical but just google Guitar tablature and you’ll get tons. Some sites are pay some aren’t there are even programs that convert sheet music to tab.
Good luck. Play sweet.
No.
In the key of C (no sharps or flats), A minor is A, C, E. No sharps or flats there.
In the key of G (one sharp, F), G major is G, B, D. No sharps of flats there.
In the key of G (one sharp, F), D major is D, F sharp, A. One sharp.
So it’s a mixture. Minors do not have to have sharps or flats, depending on which key you are playing in. Majors can have sharps of flats,again dependin gon the key.
One thing that will help you identify a minor ‘sound’ is that majors are ‘happy’, minors are ‘sad’.
So if you’re playing a minor chord and it doeesn’t sound ‘sad’, you’re pobably playing a major.
Since you obviously have a computer, if you have a comfortable setting to play around it, I highly recommend finding a good all-around beginner’s program such as PlayPro’s Interactive Guitar.
Programs like these will explain the basics of the fretboard and chords which you are asking about, introduce you to standard riffs and progressions, and provide beats and rhythms to play along with, which makes it more fun.
Not only can you hear the chords, scales, and practice tunes, but in a good program you can watch someone else playing them and/or view a schematic of the fretboard with the finger placements lighting up in time with the music.
Tab is definitely the way to go for a newbie who isn’t interested in reading music (I never had any success with traditional sheet music, just got frustrated, but really took off when I started using tablature).
PS: I’d also recommend (if you can spring for it) an armless chair like the Pick-n-Glider. And whatever books or software you use, DO NOT IGNORE THE INTRODUCTORY MATERIAL ON HOW TO HOLD YOUR INSTRUMENT AND PLACE YOUR FINGERS. It may be more difficult at first, but it will pay off big time in the long run. Unlearning bad habits is much more difficult than learning good ones to begin with. And you may not notice any problems with sloppy posture while you’re learning to pluck out basic chords, but when you start trying to add speed and form chords that require some stretching, trust me, it’ll show.
Regarding question 2, the lowest four strings of your guitar are tuned EADG. Notice they’re a fourth apart from one another. So “mathematically,” that works out for the lowest four strings. But then they throw in that B string, which screws everything up by being tuned a major third above the G. But then your B string is tuned a perfect fourth below the high E string, so you’re back to the formula again.
I picked up the guitar after about 10 years of classical piano, and I always wondered why a guitar was tuned the way it was. You have everything working out terrifically with the bottom four strings and then they throw in that B string to trip you up. Weird. I’m sure there’s some sort of logical explanation for this, but hey - I don’t know everything.
But keep practicing. Maybe you can join the house band at the Village Idiot. (Inside NYC Dopefest joke, folks.)
I hear that Swiddles and SaxFace are still dancing backup on the bar on alternate Super Tuesdays.
I figured out the high/low “E” strings, but just why did they throw in the “B”.
Well, after a few days of plunking [sub]not ‘plinking’, that’s with a revolver[/sub], I can play scales on a single string pretty easily–although I marked the frets which, in retrospect, isn’t such a good idea 'cause now I’m dependent on looking down for the little paint marks. But, I’m getting better at getting a feel for the guitar.
Here’s a question: Are all stringed instruments strung alike? For example, when I get fairly good at this acoustic guitar, can I pick up an electric guitar, or even a banjo?
Oh, and Sample_The_Dog, I just checked out that Interactive Guitar. I just might pick that up later on this week . . .
Or, would it be better to enlist the help of one of my friends to show me a few things?
Tripler
Or, I can hire one of you guys. And I pay in the most international currency known to man: free beer.
Yes. Your low E string sounds an A on the 5th fret, your A string sounds a D on the 5th fret, the D string sounds a G on the 5th fret, the G string (heh) sounds a B on the fourth fret, and the G string (snort) sounds a high E on the fifth fret.
If the other explanation of the chords didn’t help, think of the scales that they’re built of. Each of the major and minor chords are made of the 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 8th note (usually, you pedants) of the scale. (Bold notes are part of the chord)
So C major scale looks like C D** E** F G A B C
But some ridiculous scale like B major looks like:
B C# D# E F# G# A#** B**
So if you learn these scales, you can figure out chords. Might not be the easiest way to do it, htough.
But that was just a pointless illustration of how these chords work.
Stick with it, Tripler. I just picked up a guitar less than a month ago, and I just mess around for like 10-15 minutes a day. It’s been easier for me, though, because I played saxophone for 6 years, and I also knew how to form chords before, so it’s… umm… I still can’t play any songs. I can move between chords pretty fluidly, though.
Actually, I should add a caveat. You can tune the strings in various ways. Some artists like Joni Mitchell make extensive use of alternate tunings.
Some songs should only be played in alternate tunings, like Jimmy Page’s Bron Yr Aur, which is surprisingly easy to play in an open C tuning (i.e., you loosen a couple of the strings to drop their pitch so that when you strum the guitar without any strings fretted, you get a C chord). It’s beautiful, and impressive for a beginner to lay that one down, and it’s fun to learn, so once you’ve got the basic moves and are ready to branch out a little, give it a whirl.
But I wouldn’t worry about all that right now, if I were you. The short answer is, don’t expect to be able to pick up a banjo and play it just because you know guitar – you probably won’t even have the same number of strings, and you’ll want to hold your picking hand in a different position.
Your neck should already be marked. On my acoustic bass guitar, I have markings at the third, fifth, seventh, ninth, twelvth (at which each note will sound an octave higher than the open tuning of that string), fifthteenth, seventeenth, nineteenth, and twenty-first fret. This should be similar to your guitar, despite the fact that mine’s a bass.
In a nutshell, no—but many are. The standard electric guitar is tuned exactly the same as a standard acoustic. The tenor guitar (four strings, tuned CGDA) is tuned the same as a tenor banjo and cello. It can also be tuned to the top (they appear to you as the “bottom”) four strings of the standard guitar; DGBE. The bass viol and the standard bass guitar (electric bass) are tuned the same way. It gets really in-depth.
Yeah, I’ve played guitar for about eight years now, and while I can pick out a simple melody on the banjo and sound out some chords, the tuning is very different. Plus they have that bizarre short string below the “low” strings which completely throws me off. And don’t even get me started on the picks!
As far as guitar goes, I learned to play chords before I learned the scales. I don’t know if this was a better method or not, but it definitely led to more instant gratification since pop songs are all chords anyway.
I’m not sure if you’ve covered this yet, but I didn’t see anything regarding it: is your guitar a classical guitar or a standard acoustic guitar? There’s a large difference in tones, size, strings (nylon vs. steel, not tuning), neck width, and how you pick the strings (strumming vs. finger picking). I’ll assume you got an acoustic guitar and second the seller’s recommendation of getting steel strings. I hope you have the light gauge strings. Medium to Heavy sounds better in my opinion, but you’re fingers are going to be aching as it is.
