We seem to have an awful lot of musicians here and I just got set up and going today so I figure its worth asking:


What do you think I should know as a beginner that I might not? could be anything really...I have a sheet with 16 chords on it that I've been practicing all night (can nail all of em, woohoo) (in case you're curious they're A, Am, A7, Bm, B7, C, C7, D, Dm, D7, E, Em, E7, and F)

Easy songs to attempt (besides Smoke on the Water...) Anything in general.


Thanks for your help!

Brain Stew by green day is really easy (its mainly bar chords)

You should add the open G major chord to that list, it's really easy

You should be able to play quite a few songs with those chords.

If you can play B minor that should lead to playing barre chords.

DOH! G and G7 are already on my list.

Learn the chord name and shapes, that's a good start. Learn how to tune your instrument properly and restring it. Spend a few weeks getting your hand comfortable on the neck and learn to shift chords.

But nothing will teach you better or quicker than playing along to songs. Go to ultimate-guitar.com and get some tabs of your favorite songs and pop in the discs and play along. Pay attention to the names of the notes and chords so you can build a vocabulary. Then start playing along WITHOUT the tab.

What equipment did you get Dave?

You will know you are getting good when you start recognizing these chords in songs.

Congrats on nailing the F chord; I still have problems with it...

Epi LP Standard (Trans Blue)
box of stuff that came with it (mostly useless minus the 15W amp)
other little things (strap, locks case blah blah blah)

Heartily agree here. Train your ear by learning how what you see on your fretboard sounds.

I spent my first year or so on my instrument (bass) learning and memorizing every note from Metallica's first four records. I did not stop until I could play them note for note all the way through without stopping between songs. If I messed up in a song, I started over from the beginning. It was a little intense, but it helped me get up to speed very quickly, and soon I was playing in bands with guys that had been playing 2-3 times as long as I had been playing. Learning keys, scales, and how the interchange is also very important for me. Recognizing intervals by ear is also an essential skill IMO.

To me the most important skill for any musician is learning how to produce on your instrument what you hear in your head, especially if you mean to write or play original material.

Good luck!

Metallica is a great starting point. Lots of classic riffs that are easy to learn. Same with Slayer.

My big tip: learn how to alternate pick. It sounds like a no-brainer, but so many kids don't properly learn to alt pick that they can never achieve any level of speed while playing.

+1

Practice scales while alternate picking to a metronome.

Take your time. The bad habits you learn now will be with you for a lifetime.

Not sure what you usually listen to. Tom Petty's "Mary Jane's Last Dance" is pretty simple, and moves slow enough that you can catch on to chord changes.

The opening and verses are Am-G-D-Am, and chorus is Em-A.

There are lots of Chuck Berry-like riffs that are easy to play along with. A song like the Georgia Satellites' "Keep Your Hands To Yourself" is simply A-D-E over and over. (What we'd call the basic 1-4-5 chord change...)

So you want to be a rock 'n' roll star?
Then listen now to what I say
Just get an electric guitar
Then take some time
and learn how to play
And with your hair swung right
And your pants too tight
It's gonna be all right

As far as Metallica, I'll agree that the later stuff (90's and beyond) is fun and easy to play, but the early stuff? Battery? Damage, Inc.? Nuh-unh. And Slayer?!? Some of their stuff is quite easy (again, the slower material). But I defy anyone to know every track on Reign In Blood. It's possible, but not bloody likely unless you are in Slayer.

Anyway, my best advice would be to buy a decent guitar asap, as long as you plan on continuing. Nothing too outrageous, maybe an Epiphone (which have great quality for the $).

EDIT: By the way, I've played for over 30 years. I'm much more Angus Young than Yngwie Malmsteen, though I listen to everything guitar-oriented. Which is another good piece of advice, by the way; listen to everything, even jazz and classical and country; though it wouldn't hurt my feelings if no one ever listened to rap "music" again. Remember: R.A.P. = Retards Attempting Poetry.

That's what I got was an Epi LP...and I do listen to pretty much anything with a guitar.

ultimate-guitar.com has lots of great info on it.

Learn some Johnny Cash too...