sfboy Posted June 17, 2005 Report Share Posted June 17, 2005 Hi there, I'm starting uni in September (hopefully) and really have developed a thing for playing the guitar, but I thought before I splash the cash I better get a few opinions. I've always wanted to play the guitar but never really had the time or the inclination. But now I have got the time and the will. I don't want to be a loser who spends £200 on gear that I use for about a week. So... Do you play the guitar? Was it easy to pick up? How much music knowledge do you need (cos I have none)? What's the best way to learn? Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdamR28 Posted June 17, 2005 Report Share Posted June 17, 2005 Do you play the guitar? Was it easy to pick up? How much music knowledge do you need (cos I have none)? What's the best way to learn? ← I do. Yep, pretty easy actually! I had none at the time, I didnt ever do any 'theory' as such... just leart techniques as and when they were needed to play stuff I wanted to play. I just leant by playing songs I wanted to learn to play... get the tab off the internet, then play it. Its probably better to get lessons and all that, but I didn't have the money. You can get a decently-playing acoustic for a fair bit less than £200 too, I think mine was £120 inc a hard case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-Jordan Posted June 17, 2005 Report Share Posted June 17, 2005 (edited) hey, Guitar is great. I have been playing for seven years (since i was 9) and i really enjoy it. When i first started i was quite young and so had to really push myself to practice, but now i really enjoy it. As for is it hard; i'd say it depends what level you want to get to. As with almost all things, there is some easy and some hard stuff. I still find things tricky even though i am reasonably experienced. Some of the van halen/ steve vai/ joe satriani songs take a lot of practice. The good thing about guitar though is if you keep working at a song you can normally get it in the end, even if at first you don't expect you'll be able to. I have grade 5 music theory standard which i find definitly helps, more with making stuff up then playing other peoples stuff though. I just did my music gcse and found it very useful, however i don't think you really need theory knowledge if you just wanna be able to play stuff for fun at uni :- . The best way to learn is to get lessons by a good teacher (if you can afford it), if not maybe get a friend to help give you the basics or just use the internet. I used to pay for lessons for a long time, but these days i just go *** with my guitar teacher every week. We are good mates so it's fun and at the same time i am still picking up tips etc. Definitly give it a go, I have never had acoustic guitar (although i do do some of the finger picking acoustic stuff on my electric. Definitly give it a go, if you have the drive to do it, then you should enjoy it and learn very quickly. George Edited June 17, 2005 by G-Jordan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocktrials Posted June 17, 2005 Report Share Posted June 17, 2005 yeah, i say go for it, takes up time and its fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richie Posted June 17, 2005 Report Share Posted June 17, 2005 (edited) So... Do you play the guitar? Was it easy to pick up? How much music knowledge do you need (cos I have none)? What's the best way to learn? Cheers ← I do. I'd say not allot really just goto have interest really, like if your enjoying it then no problem, i'd say the more u enjoy your self the quicker you will pick it up. Erm.. i've been playing guitar now for about 2 years, started on a encore strat was 150 with amp hardcase etc, basically all i was doing is printing boat loads of tabs off the net and just really sittin in me room trying them. I think it was about 3 weeks once i started to get the hang of it all. Also for your worry about buying a guitar and not liking it, well to be fair u can always sell it you wont loose much money guitar stuff seems to keep a good value. :- If you do go for it, good luck and enjoy. Richie. Edited June 17, 2005 by Richie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haz Posted June 17, 2005 Report Share Posted June 17, 2005 If you think you have the time go for it. Lessons are probably best, but you can also get all the stuff off the internet. Definately make sure your get a few lessons on fretting technique though, you will improve no end and also you won't get into bad habits which cause injury. On the theory side of things, always have a look, short of sight reading, it's really not too hard, I had no musical knowledge before I started playing bass, but now I learnt a few scales and stuff, I'm fairly competant at making up little tunes by myself. The most important thing though, BUY A METRONOME! It can't be stressed how important that is, if you can't keep time, it just sounds poor, no matter what song. Haz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Motivator Posted June 17, 2005 Report Share Posted June 17, 2005 Nah, start drums :- Iv been at it for almost 8 years :lol: Lovin' it. I do have a guitar but can't play lol (waste of 100 quid that was) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfboy Posted June 17, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 17, 2005 Thanks for the advice guys! Think I'm gonna give it a go.. I'll let you know how I get on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JT! Posted June 18, 2005 Report Share Posted June 18, 2005 Anyone can play the guitar as eveything is in tabs now, and you don't need any music knoweldge as it tells you where to put your fingures :shifty: . Get an electro-acousitc. :shifty: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomR Posted June 18, 2005 Report Share Posted June 18, 2005 Its not quite that simple. Peoples lack of coordination and timing these days is shockingly bad in some cases. And making stuff up yourself isnt always easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Nick Riviera Posted June 18, 2005 Report Share Posted June 18, 2005 although before you learn smells like teen spirit , please for the love of god learn classical gas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdamR28 Posted June 18, 2005 Report Share Posted June 18, 2005 although before you learn smells like teen spirit , please for the love of god learn classical gas ← Haha, easier said than done. Currently working on Classical Gas... Teen Spirit can be learnt in about 5 mins flat, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan6061 Posted June 18, 2005 Report Share Posted June 18, 2005 Everyone plays guitar! Learn to mplay drums instead (Y) (Y) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark W Posted June 19, 2005 Report Share Posted June 19, 2005 Anyone can play the guitar as eveything is in tabs now, and you don't need any music knoweldge as it tells you where to put your fingures (Y) . ← Sorry, yes, of course: - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 5 - 8 - - - - - - - 9 - - - and so on *really* tells you the dynamics, the length of each note, the key signature - well, it does, but only if you work out where the sharps/flats are and then work out which key it is, which is a lot harder than looking at the last sharp/flat of the key signature and going one note up from it/to the next flat back - (meaning you can know where to start to move your hand position to to easily get to the next key change/chord progression/melody line), and basically the majority of musical information that is needed to accurately play something. That's the whole point of sheet music. I went on a 2-day jazz tutorial/masterclass thing, and basically I'd never heard the music before, and I'd never played with any of the 20 other performers, yet the guy counted in "1,2,3,4" and we all played the same piece, in the same time and in the correct way ('cept people obviously f**ked up 'cos sight reading's a bitch). So no, tab isn't "The Way" or whatever. It's a good thing to start on, but learning some basic music theory is a super good idea. I found once I learned the shape of Major, Minor and Pentatonic scales I had a pretty good set of ideas for making up new songs, understanding other stuff that I'd been playing better, and just generally getting more knowledge about what "works" music-wise. You don't *have* to know theory to get far in music, but it does help a hell of a lot. If you know you're in, say, A major, you don't have to go through every note on the neck to try and find other stuff that doesn't clash because it isn't in the same key or whatever. It'll also obviously help you improvise/solo better, and you'll also get a sound understanding of chords so you don't do a Greenday and just play the same 3 power chords all the time... But yeah, for a start, tab isn't bad, but to say it's "all you need" is total BS... To quote Rockschool: "Play music better, play better music." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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