Getting Started (Guitar)

[Dragged Down]

Hey, like many others I assume, I have always wanted to be able to play at least one PF song on the electric guitar. Looking at some of the TABs, It doesnt look too complicated, but Im sure theres a lot to it. I do own a Fender Electric with a small amp, but have no idea how exactly to use them. So Im asking how I should first get started, where can I learn the basics? What are some good simple songs to start off with? How did you guys get started?

Any help, links, or input is greatly appreciated. And Im deeply sorry if this is in the wrong forum.

[Brad]

I would also like to know some simple songs.

Dragged Dawn, look in the TABS section on this site, somewhere there , find the thread that teaches you how to read and play TABS, it will help.

[Fulghum]

How to start... oh my goodness....just pick it up and play... the more you practice, the better you'll get.. You'll sound like crap for a few weeks.. that's OK, we all did.. then your fingers will get used to it, and you'll play like you were born to it...

Good places to start... Pick the song you love and learn that one.. as you begin to get it down, you'll really feel the excitement and be inspired to play more..

If you're looking for reccomendations

Wish You Were Here: Great single position riff, easy to pick up and you'll impress the girls.
Time or Money: Easily recognisable classics. A bit more involved than WYWH, but not too bad.
Fat Old Sun: Sounds great on accoustic.
Dogs, Comfy Numb, Coming Back to Life: When you think your ready for the big time.

[DeathTöngue]

Originally Posted by Fulghum

Fat Old Sun: Sounds great on accoustic.

Damn straight. So does 'If'.

Oh, and D.D.? Study those scales.

[Dragged Down]

Thanks for all your advice. Well I started screwing around with Astronomy Domine since the TABS looked pretty simple. At first my fingers kept touching the other strings or I would somehow stop the string from vibrating another way. But after some practice Iv gotten a lot better! I can play about half of Astronomy Domine now, and the part with lots of sliding is just perfect! With more practice I should get the whole song down soon. I have lots of free time this summer to practice and learn more.

I just got AHM about a week ago (threw away my stolen one track album). "If" doesnt look too hard, but I dont know it well enough. Im not sure what I should do next, any suggestions would be great!

It doesnt look like "The Nile Song" or "Ibiza Bar" are in the TABS section. Know where I could find them?

[Deranged]

I'm getting started on guitar for seven years now.

[GlassOnion]

probably the best thing to do to start out is to play alot of chromatic scales to warm up. It will really stretch your fingers out and develop the muscles in the fret fingers. And WYWH is a great start off song, (except maybe the solo!) with nice sounding chord progressions that arent too difficult to achieve

[stratman]

The first thing to do as a beginner is get your finger dexterity developed. Start by picking a block of 4 frets, one for each finger. Say the 9th thru 12th frets, since they're close together.
Starting on the 6th string (E bass--closest to your nose), with your right hand picking, play the notes one at a time - 9th, 10th, 11th 12th fret. Then go to the next string down (A string) and do the same. Go all the way down to the 1st string. Then go back up the same way. Then move to the 8th fret and do the same thing over. Keep it up all the way down the neck to the 1st fret, which may seem hard because you have to stretch your fingers out more to hit the notes. After you can manage this pretty well, start mixing up the notes and patterns and skipping strings, etc. This is part of learning to coordinate your right hand (picking) with your left.

Anyway, practice this, (don't cheat --force yourself to use your pinky) and you will quickly develop dexterity.

[GlassOnion]

One thing I left out, probably the best advice I can give, always listen to stratman. He knows what he's talking about, can explain it easily, and usually is more than willing to help out!