My first chords + a question

infernox

Ok so seeing as my tutoring shall only start next month, I decided to start killing my fingers now buy learning some chords.

Now I put a timer down and practice for 15 minutes per day at least (sometimes do more than one session seeing as Im at home this week)

The chords I started learning on Monday evening I now have imprinted in my brain and know them off by heart, just dont know the names but the presses I can do. (dont worry going to learn the note names today.

I just wanna know if these chords are the correct chords to learn as my first:
Basic Open Chords:
D, E, A

then extra:
Amin
Emin
Dmin
G
C

Would I be cool with these for a start?

Now to my second question:
I pick stuff up very very fast, i.e. could play bass after a month of tutoring and had finger control like few my tutor had ever seen.

IF this trend continues and I pick up guitar quite quick, would I be able to play stuff from Rise Against in 6 months time?
http://www.riseagainst.com/

Jericho

Those are good beginner chords.

Theoretically, you can learn to do most things in any amount of time if you completely devote yourself to it. But, why the rush? I've found that the less I play, the better I play. You'll see in a few weeks what I mean.

Practically, I doubt you will be able to play exactly like they do on the records in 6 months. They have been playing/practicing for many years to get to that level. You can not make that up in 6 months. The best you can do is to simplify their songs and play them in the open positions with a simple strum.

guitarboy2828

Well, i just listened to a song of theirs on myspace and they aren't super hard... However, 6 months isn't a long time.. You may be able to play the actual notes that they are playing, but you won't sound like them. Technique takes time and practice! In 6 months you should have a good grasp on chords, rhythm and some riffs and picking. However, to get it to sound crisp and not sloppy, takes more than 6 months!

Bass is easy, everyone on this forum can probably pick up a bass and play it. Sure, advanced bass is harder, but again, that takes months of practice. Technique doesn't just happen!

Those are good chords to start with. However, make sure you are playing them right, nothing worse than getting a student who has learnt guitar chords wrong, because muscle memory is very hard to unlearn and unteach!

Warren

Those open chords are fine to start with.

Another good one to work on is F, which I guess most people eventually play as a barre chord, but you can get away with a mini-barre in the beginning (on your high E and B strings - the thinnest strings).

In fact, since you're on electric, you might want to look into barre chords sooner rather than later (they're usually easier to play on an electric guitar), and a good way to do this is with power chords.

Strictly speaking a power chord is a root note paired with the note 7 semi-tones (frets) above it, but usually the octave note (12 semi-tones / frets up) is added too when you play them on a guitar. So, theory aside, if your open chords look like this:

A - x02220
D - xx0232
E - 022100
G - 320022
etc.

You could play some power chords like:

A - 577xxx
B - x244xx
C - x355xx
D - x577xx
E - x799xx
F - 133xxx
G - 355xxx

If you check out the power chord "shape", you'll see that you can just move that same shape around (so that you're starting on a different note) to play different chords. The "X"s refer to strings that should be muted. Most guitarists eventually play these using a two-finger barre shape, which makes them even easier to shift around: i.e. for an A power chord, use finger 1 to barre across all the strings, and finger 3 (ring finger) to create a "mini-barre" on the 7th fret notes. You'll get the hang of it really quickly.

The fun thing about power chords is: they're really easy to play, and lots of rock / metal stuff makes heavy use of them, so they're a staple tool for any budding guitarist to get under their belt. Easy to just memorise too, you don't need to grasp the theory at this point, though I'm sure your tutor will teach you all about them.

Many bands drop the tuning on their low E string (the thick one) to a D (called "Drop-D Tuning") which makes playing power chords even easier: you can just play a single barre across the three lowest strings.

DonovanB

infernox wrote: I pick stuff up very very fast, i.e. could play bass after a month of tutoring and had finger control like few my tutor had ever seen.

That is also why we sometimes make fun of bassist and drummers... :?

only you can answer the question though, it is about how much time and effort you put into it.

I'm interested to see how much progress you make in that time. I like seeing people set goals and charge ahead on them.

infernox

Thanx for the replies guys. I understand that I wont sound like Rise but I would really like to play and jam to their tunes sooner than later.

Thanx Warren for the powerchord explanation, strange thing is that I was just about to start reading the lesson on this on justinguitar.com

Now for another question: must I try sing along from the get go or must I try sing later once I got beginners guitar 'down'?

@Donovan: I did play drums for a few years and then moved to Bass as my boss decided to start a band and he needed a bassist. When I set goals I rarely (these days after having my kiddy) miss my deadlines... so watch this space.