bought a guitar

[adamsfence]

well i bought me a guitar.......i been praticing for about a week. i know a few of yall have to play. I have a few questions. My fingertips hurt so bad i can't hardly type. how long till this stops. second when yall was learning how did yall start. chords or individual notes. i bought a book and have been learning notes out of it. but its boring. so i got on line and started some chords and easy songs. just wanted a little input if any of yall play.

[ShadMan]

I learned G, C, & D chords, and practiced changing between them in different orders. Once you get to where you can go from C to D, C to G, and G to D with ease, start looking up some simple songs with only G, C, and D. Then start adding other common chords like E, A, E minor, A minor, and F and start playing songs with those chords also.

Your fingers will stop hurting after just a couple weeks as callouses build up. You'll soon learn that your left hand (assuming you are right handed) is the easy one to learn...rythms are the big challenge.

Keep practicing...it'll come quickly. I was the only one who brought a guitar to the tourney, but I sat down with a cajun band on Saturday night there and had a great time playing a type of music I hadn't had opportunity to play much.

[adamsfence]

im having fun with it.... do you use tabs or how do get your songs i found www.freeandeasyguitar.com he has videos explaining different songs. i have been strugling with rythms. about all i can play right now and reconize it is free fallen by tom petty

[ShadMan]

There are a bunch of tab sites out there. I play mainly country music, and there used to be a great site for that but the owner was forced to take it down. Luckily I downloaded all of the tabs (1000s of them) before it went away. I've used several others...seems like guitartabs.com was one, but I'm not positive. You can also watch YouTube and do a search for tutorial and the name of your favorite songs. Most of the popular songs have tutorials that show the chords, finger positions, rythms, etc.

[yak'em-n-stack'em]

i hope that you dont try and sing while you play buddy

[Fishmaster]

Originally Posted by yak'em-n-stack'em

i hope that you dont try and sing while you play buddy

[adamsfence]

son i went to american idol and they said it wouldn't be fair to the others so i couldn't be on there............haters everywhere man...lol

[bay_slayer]

I just started playing about a month ago and it only took about 2 weeks before I could practice for an extended period of time. But I am also using ultra lite strings on an acoustic. You just gotta keep at it.

[Fishmaster]

I have a old fender.. Was starting to get some cords down, but just didn't keep up with practice.. .

[adamsfence]

Originally Posted by bay_slayer

I just started playing about a month ago and it only took about 2 weeks before I could practice for an extended period of time. But I am also using ultra lite strings on an acoustic. You just gotta keep at it.

i have medium strings.....should i be using ultra lite how much of a difference does it make

[cmdrost]

yes, switch to lower strings if on acoustic. The real difference in the thicker strings is how much louder your acoustic will sound. Start with the lighter strings.

Like Shad said, just gotta stick with it for a couple weeks till your fingers get used to it. Then it doesn't hurt.

Learn the chords and then try to play along with some songs you like. Thats the best way to get your rythym down.

[SULPHITE]

I used to dabble...gotta get my yammie out of the closet and dust her off!

[bay_slayer]

Originally Posted by adamsfence

i have medium strings.....should i be using ultra lite how much of a difference does it make

I would definitely switch to ultra lites....................you will see how big of a difference it makes when you try them out.

[cmdrost]

by the way...what kind guit you get?

[Fishmaster]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDDN5fCsVrw

[southern151]

You may also wanna try a site called chordie.com. They've got a lot of stuff on there that is good for the beginner all the way up to the top. I still use em on occasion when I get hung up on a song.

As far as finger damage?...LOL...Welcome to the sport of musicianship!

[ShadMan]

Definitely use lights or ultralights on an acoustic guitar. They sounds better, though they are a bit rougher on your pinky finger for the first couple weeks.

[adamsfence]

Originally Posted by cmdrost

by the way...what kind guit you get?

I bought a johnson didn't want to get too expensive to get started

[tumbleweed]

Shadman is correct learn the G,C,D combination. Get this down solid then move on. 90% of the songs you hear in on the radio are in the G Scale.

There are plenty of youtube vidoes for lessons, but nothing beats actually taking lessons with a person. That way they can watch you and show you where you are messing up. I have been playing for 15 years and it was one of the best decisions I made was to stick with the guitar.

+1 on the ultralight strings, they are a life saver for beginners.

[adamsfence]

my finger are def all ready getting better. When i get home i am going to try to get a guy there to teach me. i live in a small town and would have to travel about 30 miles if he won't do it