Sweet man, you're in the right place to learn stuff, welcome!

Hey Stuart. Welcome.

Gear Is important however lessons are all important.
Find a mentor who you can Identify with to help you lay down the basics

Make music from day one

Peace

Welcome, you gonna have a great time here. There are plenty of extremely knowledgable people hanging around here.

Welcome Welcome!

Welcome

welcome...........1 bit of advise..........stick with it.

Welcome to the forum....find yourself a good teacher and ask them to help get your guitar set up properly....this will make learning much easier and more pleasurable....

Welcome

Welcome! Remember that learning is about grinding bricks into powder if you want to eat a house! Don't let the size or inedibility of the house deter you!

flatfourfan wrote: welcome...........1 bit of advise..........stick with it.

And that surely the gist of it!! Welcome!

Thanks guys.

So far I have been learning some basic chords and trying to toughen up my fingers. Been working through www.justinguitar.com and am really impressed.

Fleming wrote: Thanks guys.

So far I have been learning some basic chords and trying to toughen up my fingers. Been working through www.justinguitar.com and am really impressed.

welcome. justinguitar is a great site, probably one of the best out there. but the guys are right - a mentor, even better, a teacher, would be the best route to go. you could very well supplement your formal lessons with visits to the justinguitar site, but a physical teacher is going to help correct physical issues you may encounter along the way - sitting, holding the guitar, fretting notes, etc, correctly.

but, yes, the most important things are to have fun, make music, and stick with it. here, you'll find folks who'll help you do all three of those things.

good luck
dh

domhatch wrote: welcome. justinguitar is a great site, probably one of the best out there. but the guys are right - a mentor, even better, a teacher, would be the best route to go. you could very well supplement your formal lessons with visits to the justinguitar site, but a physical teacher is going to help correct physical issues you may encounter along the way - sitting, holding the guitar, fretting notes, etc, correctly.

but, yes, the most important things are to have fun, make music, and stick with it. here, you'll find folks who'll help you do all three of those things.

good luck
dh

+11
Agreed! Some lessons in technique in the beginning go a looonnnng way!!! Even if you take lessons over gear in the beginning.... totally worth it!!! Changing technique later on is hard!

Hi and welcome Fleming ?

I'm pretty much a beginner myself, and the guys here have helped me a lot even though I can't contribute much to the place beyond silly stories of my shortcomings ? I'll just give you the same warning I got when I joined up: This forum WILL give you G.A.S., or Gear Acquisition Syndrome. Gear is to pictures of the person you are stalking: one can never have enough.

flatfourfan wrote: welcome...........1 bit of advise..........stick with it.

This. And get a metronome! ?

Welcome Fleming .....love PE ....

Welcome bud. ?

Congrats on taking the step to getting your first guitar ?.
May she bring you many hours of joy. ?

Hello! Nice to hear that you want to learn guitar playing! Use Youtube as first guide and start with very simple melodies, songs and riffs. Practice and enjoy what you're doing ?

Welcome ? I picked up a guitar for the first time in January of last year and this forum is very helpful. To re-iterate some of the previous comments:

1) Get a mentor/teacher. Yesterday in my own weekly lesson I needed advioce on how to play the 9th chord (5th string root) correctly as I was really battling. My teacher adjusted my thumb position immediately and now I can (well sort of ?)play that chord. Bad technique is hard to unlearn so get instruction, at least in the beginning.
2) You will not be Mark Knopler tomorrow. Accept that it is a gradual process and it is not talent, but hard work and dedication that will reap the rewards. Don't be too hard on yourself in the beginning.
3) 15 minutes a day is better than 2 hours once off each Friday night.
4) Your fingers will be sore in the beginning. It does get better after about a month.
5) Don't practice only the stuff you can do, spend more time on the stuff you cant.
6) Justinguitar is a great site, as is Guitarjamz and numerous others. Use technology as there are some fantastic apps for guitarists these days.
7) Put your guitar on a stand where it is in reach so that it is easy to pick it up and strum whenever an opportunity arises. Don't put it in a cupboard at the top of the stairs.
8) Learn the 1st position of the minor pentatonic scale as soon as you can. Then practice this scale as much as you can. Not only is this a great scale every guitarist should know, it is also the best way to build finger dexterity and co-ordinate left and right hand in my opinion. When you are too bored of that shape, learn the other 4 positions, then move on to modes etc etc. I found that practicing scales also did wonders for my basic chord changing.
9) Everybody sucks in the beginning. Even Clapton must have butchered brown eyed girl or Knocking on heavens door at first.
10) Have fun and persevere. Today you might think that Barre Chords are impossible. In a few months you will wonder what the problem was. You will never master any instrument. There is always some area you can improve on, and that ultimately is what makes it so fulfilling and enjoyable.

Give it horns 8)

Welcome aboard Stuart ?