[RnB180]

So Im going to teach myself how to play the guitar,
Mostly to learn acoustic worship music better.

i.e. I just want to be able to sit in my room and play the music myself during my free time or when Im with friends or church. Its nice to be able to play and sing hymns anywhere I am.

is it difficult to learn?

 

[pne]

glad to see you're interested! I've been playing for a few years now. Learning guitar is challanging but rewarding, it is not so much difficult, but requires patience as your mind makes the connection to the fingers and your hand-eye coordination improves. If you have a strong love for music then you will surely be able to learn to play. I suggest taking a few lessons to start you off in the proper form, so you don't develop any bad habits. Then you can learn on your own.

For the church music/hymns i've heard, the music itself is not too difficult. If you learn the basic chords you should be able to play most of them. Playing and singing (well) requires a lot more skill

also-may I suggest that when you are shopping for guitars, the very first one you look at be a very expensive model. Ask for a pick and give it a full firm strum, without fretting the strings. For me the most magical moment of learning guitar is when I first brought home my guitar and gave it a strum. Hearing/feeling the guitar vibrate against you is very special the first time, it should send shivers down your spine and give you that eargasm.

 

[alexs]

it all depends on how serious of a player you want to be...

you can learn a few chords and you will be able to play hundreds of songs...so that route isnt difficult.

but if you want to know theory and learn more complex pieces you have to dedicate some time.

for starters, learn some chords. in a few days you could be jamming to some simple tunes...beatles, bowie, etc.

 

[JaGWiRE]

No offense or real reason for em to post this or go off topic, but has anyone else seen lately a huge interest in the guitar, and an abandoning of instrutments amount children, teenagers and adults? I hate to say it, but a guitar itself does not form a beautiful music piece if you ask me. I personally do believe a guitar is an element a lot of music has, but I care much for a good saxophonist in my jazz then a guitarest?

 

[alexs]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JaGWiRE No offense or real reason for em to post this or go off topic, but has anyone else seen lately a huge interest in the guitar, and an abandoning of instrutments amount children, teenagers and adults? I hate to say it, but a guitar itself does not form a beautiful music piece if you ask me. I personally do believe a guitar is an element a lot of music has, but I care much for a good saxophonist in my jazz then a guitarest?

Sorry, but that post made very little sense...Yes, I am a little drunk right now, but still

Guitar is freaking great, and noone is abandoning anything.

Wow... I read your post again, and it doesn't make any sense. There are a lot of grammar mistakes there. So there!

 

[humanflyz]

I think what JaGWire was trying to say is that it seems like the "cool" or "trendy" thing to play the guitar, and that other instruments, which may seem less cool, are no longer interesting to people. And I think he's saying that those instruments are no less worthy studying than the guitar.

If I get his point correctly, then I think I agree with him. I know so many people whose only reason for learning the guitar is to either: A) attract girls, hoping to score or B) see everyone else playing the guitar and jumping on the bandwagon. I personally think that one should learn to play an instrument to gain some genuine pleasure, and to me, the motivation for many of these people--sex--is kind of base. Not only that, it is so cliched. It would be refreshing to see people wanting to learn some other instruments for a change, something that goes against the grain so to speak, like a harmonica.

 

[mbriant]

Quote:

I think what JaGWire was trying to say is that it seems like the "cool" or "trendy" thing to play the guitar, and that other instruments, which may seem less cool, are no longer interesting to people.

This has been going on since Elvis and even more-so, the Beatles, first came on the scene.

Back on topic, even if you plan on self-teaching yourself guitar, it doesn't hurt to take at least a few professional lessons to get you headed in the right direction. Or if that's not possible, find someone you know to help you get started. There are also some very good "how to" DVDs, tapes, or CD Roms which can help. Also, get a guitar which has had the strings set up properly. Many guitars come off the shelf with the strings set quite high, which is brutal on the fingers ... especially when you are just starting to learn.

 

[mrarroyo]

The guitar as a portable instrument has a great advantage over instruments like the trumpet, sax, etc. It allows the player to play single notes and chords. Of the other portable instruments only the accordion does that, maybe a banjo/ukelele if you are knowledgable.

With a trumpet/sax you can play single notes and arpegiate a chord. Yes a sax/trumpet is a beautiful instrument but it does not allow chords to be played.

 

[michaelconnor]

I switched to guitar after seven years of trumpet. The trumpet has its place when accompanying others, however it is very fatiguing and you can't sing along while you play. Guitar, although cliched, is simply much more fun.

 

[alexs]

Quote:

Originally Posted by michaelconnor I switched to guitar after seven years of trumpet. The trumpet has its place when accompanying others, however it is very fatiguing and you can't sing along while you play. Guitar, although cliched, is simply much more fun.

That's probably teh best way to put it...guitar is just much more fun that a lot of other instruments. I don't think that many start playing guitar to attract girls or be cool. One of the most popular styles of music today is rock, so kids want to be a part of that, because they look up to the rock stars. The maority of kids start playing guitar for that reason anyway (I think). Of course there are other examples where they do it to be cool or attract girls. I personally know of one...maybe 2 cases like that

 

[enjoi_rootbeer]

you can also find videos online via video.google.com . I tend to learn better when I'm by myself, that's how I got by playing bass for years. I read tabs online trying to figure out songs or just try to mimic what I saw. but then again that's just me. I'd say see if you can do it yourself, if it gets difficult, then lessons shouldn't hurt at all. Good luck.

 

[psychogentoo]

Get yourself a good chord book. IIRC lots of church music has chord references above the standard notation. You'll be able to pick out the strumming pattern based on the music.

I have taken lessons from a GIT graduate in the past. When I had asked about "re-learning" standard notation for guitar (I'm classically trained on violin btw), because of the popularity of tablature, that has become the standard for guitar instruction.

Lessons are great though if you can afford them since you will spend less time later on getting rid of bad habits...at least thats been the case with me.

Also, before you spend money on videos, if you have OnDemand, I noticed basic guitar lessons on there with "popular" songs.

Good luck and happy chops!

 

[pne]

no offense but I have had a few friends who wanted to learn to be cool or to get girls, and they will put the guitar down after a week. You need a better motivation and an geniune interest in the instrument to learn how to play it. It can't be done in one sitting as a lot of people think.

 

[JaGWiRE]

Quote:

Originally Posted by humanflyz I think what JaGWire was trying to say is that it seems like the "cool" or "trendy" thing to play the guitar, and that other instruments, which may seem less cool, are no longer interesting to people. And I think he's saying that those instruments are no less worthy studying than the guitar. If I get his point correctly, then I think I agree with him. I know so many people whose only reason for learning the guitar is to either: A) attract girls, hoping to score or B) see everyone else playing the guitar and jumping on the bandwagon. I personally think that one should learn to play an instrument to gain some genuine pleasure, and to me, the motivation for many of these people--sex--is kind of base. Not only that, it is so cliched. It would be refreshing to see people wanting to learn some other instruments for a change, something that goes against the grain so to speak, like a harmonica.

Ah, yes, I wrote that very late at night, and that is exactly what I was saying. We should probably create a new thread to discuss this. Anyway, as funny as this sounds, I'm not a very big Pink Floyd fan or rock fan in general. For guitar I think Santana's pretty good, but I really prefer horns and more instrutments you'de probably hear in jazz.

 

[RnB180]

nah,
getting girls is not my goal with playing the guitar.
Its genuine intent is to be able to sing hymns.
The guitar attracts me because it is a lot more portable than other instruments. The sax is interesting, but you cant sing while playing the sax.

and if I ever go camping and stuff the guitar is more convenient

I didnt get an expensive one, I got a cheap with that comes with a dvd, So Im not sure if that was a mistake?