i was just about to post a new thread asking the same thing.. yup.. i just started to play the guitar.. i don't know crap about the instrument itself tho..

i learnt to play mary had a little lamb on the first day i got it, the next, i was playing spring's message, along with some rhythm things, the next, (today) i was playing jingle bells (shorteened version), twinklex2 little star, brother john, Sur le Pont D'avignon and this other chiense rhythm thing. all in all, i'm kinda proud of myself with how much i've learnt by myself over past.. 72hrs.. and only 30mins of lesson.

BUT i do know one thing about guitars.. they make my fingers hurt one helluva lot when i try play chords. any way to get around that? and its nearly impossible to press the right strings and get the smooth sound and.. leave all the other strings playable - meaning my fingers on the chord bit don't press on other strings

Nothing like wearing down a bounty hunter's hammerhead's shields and giving a sunslayer facial.. then hearing that metal breaking.. and ARRRGHHHH!!

I used to play the woodwind section: Flute (hey, Didn't play it that long), Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Sax.


I was only good at the Bass Clarinet because it was hard for me to hit the high notes on my Clarinet.


My grandpa was teaching me how to play the Banjo, but I was not that interested.


I like listening to almost any kind of music. Except for Rap and Country.

I play too....I think you'll probably find a lot of people here do....(gamers = majority male of the species = fans of guitar solos = air-guitar players = people who want to be guitar players = guitar players)

If you want to stop your fingers hurting you have two options:

1. Play til your fingers bleed, then play some more. After about the fifth bleed they will harden and never hurt again.
2. Put down the guitar and walk away. Nothing to see here.

Seriously though, the only way to stop the pain is to harden your finger tips. The more you play the more they will harden. If you are really new to it, dab a little surgical spirit on them (make sure you have no cuts or else you'll regret it). Do it 10 minutes before each play and straight after. It will help the hardening process.

Also if you are hitting too many strings at once you probably aren't arching your wrist enough. This will also hurt, but hey thats life. These things wear off eventually.

One final thing - if you're gonna play the guitar, give it time, give it effort and become good - there are millions of solo-guitar-wannabes that just pick up their instrument once every 3 years and strum the same old pattern, do the instrument proud, play it properly!

point taken. my fingers don't hurt anymore after the second day of playing with pressing one string at a time. and i'll arch my wrist more then.

I used to be a proffesional musician, I played Irish and Scottish Music.

Heres some tracks i recorded a while ago when on tour in Holland

http://www.weemonster.co.uk/music/musictracks.htm

neato

kimk, just keep practicing man, soon you'll be up there with the rest of them

here's some tracks of my band. lots of yelling and loud guitars, but some are into that...BAND!

Kyp

I haven't slept for 10 days because...that would be too long...
- Mitch Hedberg

oh yeah, i forgot

i'm playing bass on both of those tracks

Kyp

I haven't slept for 10 days because...that would be too long...
- Mitch Hedberg

I've played guitar for half my natural life, which happens to be 13 years.
I play more blues/jazz and rock now. When I was a teen I used to play nothing but metal, which is still cool but it gets dull fast if you play nothing but.

Im not half as serious about as I used to be, I only play for myself now. I have been in a couple of bands and made a few bucks here and there but nothing to write home about.

okay.. hey mustang? half ur natural life? would there be an alternative to that?

and calling all guitar specialists, including mustang with his 13yrs of expereince, any useful pointers you could give?

Useful tip - Don't put your cigarette between the strings at the top of your fretboard, it may look cool, but it ruins your filter and tends to leave a yellow circle on your guitar

Well there was the 14 years prior of my unnatural life....but i've said to much already...

Pointers....let's see, play stuff you want to play. Belting out renditions of 'Mary had a Little Lamb' may give you instructor thrills but it's as boring as wallpapering the crapper on a hot summer day for you. You'll never keep at it if your not playing fun stuff. If your teacher is unwilling to teach you tunes you want to play, learn how to use tabliture (not hard) and teach yourself a few tunes. But don't go for the most technically difficult stuff straight away (you'll never get it), try simple tunes first.

Practice your scales, it'll help with your finger work, picking and co-ordination between the two.

Tune your guitar by ear, using a tuner will give you a lazy ear. I only use a tuner after a restring and then only to set my E string.

Once you get a bit more advanced, learn how to improvise. You can really impress chicks when you make stuff up as you go.

On that point, nothing pulls the birds like a good guitar solo. My guitar was my best buddy when it came to breaking the ice with the chicks at high school.

Oh and if you lick the back of your pick, you can quite comfortably stick it to your forehead. I know it sounds really stupid but it's handy as hell when you need both hands for something else.

Edited by - Mustang on 27-08-2003 14:03:55

useful tip 2 : don't try to play with your teeth...yes I know hendrix did it, but you're not him, if you try this you will learn the definition of pain.

useful tip 3 : learn a simple blues scale, and don't be scared to "off road", if you want instant cool

useful tip 4 : don't be tempted to slam your guitar into your amp, kurt cobain could afford it

useful tip 5 : the same as tip 4 but involving the use of petrol and fire, hendrix could afford it

useful tip 6 : alcohol doesn't help, leave the picking up a guitar at a party bit until you're good enough to play drunk - and most importantly sounding good to everyone else as well as yourself!

useful tip 7 : when you've learnt a few chords, try sliding the chord shape up and down the fretboard in time with your strum....this sounds good, increases your awareness of other notes on the board and stretches your fingers

useful tip 8 : never trust a drummer

useful tip 9 : don't bother with "tapping" solos unless you are planning to join a def leppard or kiss cover band - its a little too 80s cock rock for this century.

useful tip 10 : ignore people's tips (including mine) and just practice practice practice practice practice practice practice....

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useful tip 9 : don't bother with "tapping" solos unless you are planning to join a def leppard or kiss cover band - its a little too 80s cock rock for this century

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that's the dumbest thing i've ever heard :p
learn how to tap, how to shred, and how to solo, because METAL IS NOT DEAD!

come to think of it...both def leopard and kiss both did not do a lot of tapping...the guys from kiss weren't even great guitar players....

you want to hear some real guitar playing, with tastefull tapping, download some Van Halen, Steve Vai, or Joe Satriani.

Kyp

I haven't slept for 10 days because...that would be too long...
- Mitch Hedberg

tahnks guys.. oh and whats that about sticking your pick to your forehead? is the pick the little thing that you use to pluck??

methinks i've hijacked the thread.. it was first to ask if anyone played guitar then to get them to listen to his band.. but i've turned it into some guitar tips thread.. anyways, i'm not bothered..keep the tips coming..

OH!!
i have just learnt to play hapie b'day.. so proud of myself now.. 5th day !! jsut in time to practice a little more for my upcoming b'day in about 5 days...

Nothing like wearing down a bounty hunter's hammerhead's shields and giving a sunslayer facial.. then hearing that metal breaking.. and ARRRGHHHH!!