Need some advice with regards to picking up guitar playing

[yuand]

Hello everyone!

I am 27 years old already but would like to pick up guitar playing. I love listening to the works of Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix especially and would really really like to be able to be able to play some of their music someday. I guess I have a very wide range of interest in music.

The problem is I know absolutely nothing about music. Things like chords, notes, tabs, B Flats, shredding and everything else is very very alien to me.

Hence I need some advice from old birds here with regards as to how I should get started on my road. Should I just go and get an electric guitar (and an amp) first and just start practicing? Or do I need to take music theory lessons first? Really need some advice before I know what to do next. I went to the bookshop and had a look at some of the chord books and it all looks gibberish to me.

PS: I have really really short and stubby fingers which (I think) will be an issue when I press down on the strings. Would appreciate recommendations for guitars which will be friendly for me

 

[theunknown]

hey, its always good to have another guitarist in our world.

jimi hendrix and clapton, they use a fender stratocaster. i'd recommend u get urself a guitar before taking up any lessons cause once u have lessons, u would wanna practise at home, dont you.

what u would need? if u wanna go the hendrix/clapton way of course

a stratocaster electric guitar(fender is the "way" to go, if not u can check out more affordable copies eg squire, stagg etc)
an amp (personal recommendation: vox pathfinder 15r, roland cube)
cable
picks
well i guess u know all these stuffs dont u.

of course they are lotsa online lessons u can follow. i bet many of us here in soft dont go learning in music school, including me. hehe. a good example of an online lesson would be www.justinguitar.com which i like mainly cause of the simplicity and ease of use, its rather systematic, from beginner to advance etc.

 

[HarrisonYeo]

Sooooo u wanna play like this?


Best is to get a guitar teacher whom knows his stuff , u should pick up guitar knowledge like parts of the guitar , pedals ... etc ... from experience

Btw , short fingers doesnt really matter in the long run , thou it's better to have longer fingers .

 

[RyanZ]

You are never too old to learn the guitar

 

[Gilmour]

welcome to our world mate! like you, im 28 and i enjoy the works of guitar greats like clapton, hendrix, gilmour etc etc. its just something about that period before our time when music was just truly an experience!

im starting out guitar too. well i started 14yrs ago and i stopped and now ive restarted.

its good to get an instructor to teach you. he/she can explain as well as motivate or guide you along. also, you can ask thousands of questions since you would already be paying for his/her time. you can even ask them to change guitar strings for you LOL

i find playing guitar abit difficult...cos there's just SOoooo many things to learn..chords, barre chords...the CAGE thingy...different chords for different keys etc etc..it can get pretty confusing. oh i just wish i can just play like hendrix...which i cant! lol....

the good thing about our world now is that we have you tube. pick out a song you like and chances are, someones got a video teaching you how to play it. of cos, you should learn the basics from a school or a teacher. if you want, you can learn online if you have the discipline and the motivation to carry on.

im saving up for a fender...and i think the vox range of amps are pretty affordable.

Rock on brother!

 

[yuand]

theunknown: I think I will get one of those copies first. Feels weird getting a fender and using it to practice the basic stuff. By the way, does the sound that is heard from just strumming the guitar and the sound that comes out when the guitar is plugged into an amp differs? A bit paiseh later plug guitar into amp then whole day only play same couple of notes haha. Does the sound produced by a stratocastor differ from other guitars such as a telecastor or flying v or something?

HarrisonYeo: I would love to be able to play hendrix's music but not his playing method hahaha. Got enough crooked teeth in my mouth already.

Ryanz: I certainly hope so.

Gilmour: Thanks! I actually went over to this music school in Jurong East to take a look at a music theory class thats being held. Wah all the students are like 4 and 5 years old one haha then I faster run away. So what guitar are u using right now? Not sure which one to get scared later go music shop they see me new new toot toot one then chop me everywhere.

 

[Gilmour]

hahahah..i can imagine you making enquiries and the reception folks will probably think you're inquiring about your son! LOL

well over at the music lab, its for adults. i saw a small dude with a mini washburn the other day! wish i had started at that age.

anyways, you can find instructors offering their service on this forum as well. i think the market rate is about 20-30/hour something like that.

i only know of 2 music schools..yamaha and m.lab. im sure there are others. you can also go to the guitar shops at peninsula. they do have contacts for instructors.

im using a very old mik samick guitar. bought it like in 1994. it still works! amp is a trace elliot 15w...also more than 14yrs old...hehe sounds ok lah...its the guitar player making the horrible sounds lol

 

[theunknown]

theunknown: I think I will get one of those copies first. Feels weird getting a fender and using it to practice the basic stuff. By the way, does the sound that is heard from just strumming the guitar and the sound that comes out when the guitar is plugged into an amp differs? A bit paiseh later plug guitar into amp then whole day only play same couple of notes haha. Does the sound produced by a stratocastor differ from other guitars such as a telecastor or flying v or something?

1)weird? hehe. well yeah i would feel weird too getting a gibson and not knowing much.

2) sure it differs. its louder when coming out from amp! ok thats obvious. but yeah u can change the EQ, gain and many more at the amp to alter ur tone.

3) sure it differs too. but so far i can only tell a strat from a les paul. haha. u'll need experience to really know the difference of each one.

 

[rxp92]

Well...i started to play 1,5 years ago....
i started wid acoustic guitar first, Ibanez VF50 series..for the parts ,tuning and so on , i learn from books and sum from free online lesson...
move on to know chords, tabs and PRACTICE....keep practicing...i play my guitar everyday when i have holiday or in weekends...
Now I've switched to A starter Electric guitar pack, bought from davis ,SX eg-1 Les Paul copy, with 2x single coil Humbuckers...$250 includes instruction DVD and so on...
Just pour you heart in everything u learn in guitar,surely enjoy playing it!!

 

[Whitestrat]

I think I will get one of those copies first. Feels weird getting a fender and using it to practice the basic stuff.

Why so? Since you've been working for a while, and probably can afford it, why not pick up the BEST you can afford? Otherwise you'll end up spending much more money in the long run, and the "good guitar" be it a Gibson USA or MIA Fender, would add as extra motivation for your new hobby.

I've been at this for 20 years. If I knew then what I know now, I'd have just gone straight to the top rather than settling for something lesser and regretting it in the long run.

 

[Gilmour]

whitestrat, you're right. i have a habit of making mistakes too just like in my photography hobby as well...tried to settle for less and ended up spending even more to get what i want.

as for guitars, probably learnt my lesson..will save up to get a guitar that i want rather than buying something in between

 

[Whitestrat]

whitestrat, you're right. i have a habit of making mistakes too just like in my photography hobby as well...tried to settle for less and ended up spending even more to get what i want.

Wouldn't you have enjoyed much more if you had saved up for that Nikon D3 rather than settle for the D300?:twisted:

 

[Gilmour]

err...from d40 to d80 then yes..but for d3...dun think my requirements warrant spending 7k for it! hahaha

i think go with what you can afford or spend on...dont compromise. its like aim high, dont take any less. of cos, there must be limits as well

 

[Whitestrat]

err...from d40 to d80 then yes..but for d3...dun think my requirements warrant spending 7k for it! hahaha

i think go with what you can afford or spend on...dont compromise. its like aim high, dont take any less. of cos, there must be limits as well

Aiyah... you get my point lah...:mrgreen:

 

[Gilmour]

so..you own a D3 eh? :mrgreen:

 

[Whitestrat]

so..you own a D3 eh? :mrgreen:

Er, no... My darkroom days are over. Those were the 35mm Illford days for me.:mrgreen: