Teaching Myself Guitar on Acoustic

[EdgeNBono]

im teaching myself guitar but i cant read notes or tabs i learn better visually but no one around to teach me..whats the best route to take?

 

[branwalls]

im teaching myself guitar but i cant read notes or tabs i learn better visually but no one around to teach me..whats the best route to take?

Learning to read tab will be a big help since most information you'll find online will be written in tablature, as will most method books. Try this link and you should pick it up right away:

How To Read Tabs | Lessons @ Ultimate-Guitar.Com

And once you know the notes to a song, listen to it and try to get the timing right with the recording. Since you're just starting out, don't worry about effects or trying to sound like The Edge, just get the right notes at the right time and you'll start seeing improvement. Here is a recent thread with some suggestions for easy U2 songs:

http://www.u2interference.com/forums/f259/easiest-song-to-learn-on-guitar-for-beginner-196868.html

Just three or four chords and there are lots of U2 songs (as well as many other bands) that you can start playing. (My first song was Oasis's Wonderwall back in the day).

Once you get confident with reading tab, I recommend the Fretboard Roadmaps series of books and dvds (available from Amazon) for starting to really understand guitar. It's takes a visual approach to learning chords, scales, etc. Have fun

 

[EdgeNBono]

wow reading tabs looks complicated but im sure i can figure it out..i was trying to learn Metallica's ''Nothing Else Matters'' but its a little bit harder than i thought

 

[branwalls]

Tabs may look complicated, but once you figure out the system, you'll realize it's logical and a very visual way to learn. Anything by Metallica is going to have some wicked hard and complex parts (especially Kirk's parts), but you can probably learn the chords to Nothing Else Matters and do a decent acoustic version. And once you know those chords you'll see there are tons of other songs that use the same chords.

 

[theedgeu2]

Reading tabs was pretty tough for me at first aswell. I just practiced every day until I got better at it. I really hope things come along well for you

 

[EdgeNBono]

im going to make sure to practice alot. right now just trying to find my own easy way to learn & a something to inspire me

 

[theedgeu2]

im going to make sure to practice alot. right now just trying to find my own easy way to learn & a something to inspire me

That is a very good route to take. I say that if it works for you then you are good to go. Not that this will necessarily help you but I am mostly self taught. I took lessons for 3 years and they pretty much set me up with getting chord structure and all the fundamentals through. After that I have been down my own path. Anyway there is a lot of interesting music out there.

 

[vaz02]

Just so you feel king for the day learn :

Coldplay - Talk ( riff )
u2 - Sunday Bloody Sunday ( riff )
ACDC - Highway to hell ( intro )

They are all super easy and im no Hendrix. They are such a confidence boost too.

Highway to hell

E------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B-----------2--2--2-----------3--3--3------3--3--3-----3--3--3------------2--2-
G-----------2--2--2-----------2--2--0------2--2--0-----2--2--0------2-----2--2-
D-----------2--2--2-----------0--0--0------0--0--0-----0--0--0------0-----2--2-
A-----------0--0--0-------------------------------------------------------0--0-
E-----------------------------2--2--3------2--2--3-----2--2--3------2----------

Talk

Main riff
e|----15-13------------------------------|
B|-11-------15-13-11-13-15---------------|
G|-------------------------12------------| x4
D|---------------------------------------|
A|---------------------------------------|
E|---------------------------------------|

Sunday Bloody Sunday

e------2-------2-------0-------0----
B----3---3---3---3---3---3---3---3--
G--4-------2-------0-------0-------0
D-----------------------------------
A-----------------------------------
E-----------------------------------



As soon as you can nail tabs all songs are possible to learn, its like when you know how to solve a math equation.

Btw the numbers on the tablature correspond to the fret played on a certain string.

e.g

E------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B-----------2--
G----------------
D-------------------
A----------------
E--------------------

Thats played on the 2nd fret on your second to highest sounding string.


I hope that helps

 

[bigjohn2441]

first id work on getting your chords down and be able to change between them quickly. also, learn the notes and where they are located on the fretboard. and practice the penatonic minor scale and get those positions down.

id do that first before you start trying to learn songs.

 

[EdgeNBono]

alrite

 

[The_Pac_Mule]

I did the same thing, learning to play on an acoustic before I got my electric, and the learning curve is steep. If you feel frustrated with the acoustic, go to the electric for a while, then back to acoustic and you'll find it's much easier. Nothing Else Matters is a fairly complicated song to learn as a beginner I must say, but go for it. (This is kinda getting off topic but when you play it, fingerpick the acoustic parts with your thumb for the low E string and the other fingers for the rest)

good luck

 

[EdgeNBono]

thanks

 

[bonoschild2009]

When I first started playing I got a book with chords in it (It was Achtung Baby, actually)...Once I got basic/first position chords down I started working on barre chords. Then came finger-picking, scales etc. I think the biggest thing to remember is to not start with something too complicated- it's easy to get frustrated, say screw it and put the guitar down...

 

[EdgeNBono]

im trying to find an easy song

 

[floweravalanche]

I taught myself well I should say still teaching myself, I learn more by ear though, but also because I played volion reading notes/tabs isnt to hard for me, my problem is my hands are small

 

[vaz02]

RE: small hands

Angus Young and prince are hardly the joly green giant, just remember to do finger stretches

 

[EdgeNBono]

i dont have small hands..i have those kirk hammet long skinny fingers perfect for guitar i think

 

[The_Pac_Mule]

haha me too

 

[floweravalanche]

RE: small hands

Angus Young and prince are hardly the joly green giant, just remember to do finger stretches

Yup stretch stretch