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Introduction to Guitar

205 points by interconnector 14y ago

tutysara 14y ago
Which guitar model would the community recommend to a beginner who is used only to computer keyboards ;-). Can we start with an electric guitar or an acoustic guitar will work better for learning.
- kevincrane 14y ago
  I learned with a Squier starter pack (Squier is Fender's low-end brand if that name rings a bell). Basically anything on this page: http://www.musiciansfriend.com/guitar-value-packages http://www.musiciansfriend.com/guitar-value-packages Those kits are nice because they come with a cheap guitar, case, and amp, plus usually an instructional book/DVD. This means that if you bail you're not out too much money, and at an intro skill level you likely won't notice the difference in quality anyway. I took a few lessons, but honestly I kind of bailed on those and moved on to teaching myself through tabs online. Go to http://ultimate-guitar.com/ http://ultimate-guitar.com/ and find simple songs you like (Iron Man, Smoke on the Water, etc.) and just keep trying them til you learn. Eventually you move on to chords (my first song with chords was American Pie) and you just going from there. I'm in the process of teaching myself music theory on the guitar to help myself, but I've gotten busy and it's kind of petered off.
- pytrin 14y ago
  (I've been playing the guitar for 16 years) - beginners should definitely start with a classical guitar, not an acoustic or an electric guitar. Acoustic is the hardest to play correctly, while electric has more setup and cost involved (amplifier, cables, etc). A basic classical guitar is the simplest way to start playing and producing decent sounds.
  - austenallred 14y ago
    I would argue a beginner should start with an acoustic for precisely the same reason. Transitioning from electric or classical to acoustic is difficult, but from acoustic to the other two is very simple.
    - pytrin 14y ago
      It's certainly not difficult once you are proficient enough. I got my first acoustic after 2 years playing a classical guitar and 1 year playing an electric one. It was very similar to playing a classical guitar once your fingers are broken in. On the other hand, for beginners which usually struggle at first producing clean sounds, an acoustic presents a much bigger challenge and for no added benefits.
    - dbaupp 14y ago
      Isn't this a similar argument to "people should learn to program with machine code/assembler/C because it's easy to move to other languages then"?
      - AlecSchueler 14y ago
        The difference isn't really as big as that. It'd be like starting with Perl and then moving onto Ruby or Python.
        austenallred 14y ago
        I would say its like starting with Python and moving to JavaScript. It really isn't that much more difficult.
      - geoka9 14y ago
        Yes, something like that. If you are proficient with the acoustic guitar, you'll probably be able to pick up an electric for the first time in your life and play. On the other hand, if all you've ever played is an electric (with its low action and lighter strings), playing an acoustic will probably require some time getting used to. I would compare electric to something like Python and acoustic to C :)
  - davidroberts 14y ago
    Definitely not a classical guitar unless you intend to play classical only. It's a whole different style of play, and you'll have to relearn everything if you change over to a steel string acoustic or electric. The fretboard is much wider and the nylon strings are stretchy and play differently. I suggest going for a moderately-priced decent-quality imported steel-string acoustic like a Yamaha or Sigma (low-end line of the Martin Company, made in Korea). It's good to start with acoustic even if you plan on mainly playing electric. It's the common denominator of the guitar world, and you'll be so glad you can just pick one up and play something cool on it at will. You might want to consider starting with lighter gauge strings than the ones that come of the guitar while you are developing calluses and learning bar chords.
    - pytrin 14y ago
      I'm sorry, but that's complete BS. Playing any type of guitar does not limit you to a specific style of play - you can play any style you want on any type of guitar. Some advanced techniques and progressions (i.e, solos or conversly fingerstyle) will be more comfortable on specific guitar types, but there's no technical limitation from playing anything on every guitar type. Those distinctions are mostly meaningless to beginners who will be mostly playing simple chords and melodies (to which I would say, a classical guitar is the most comfortable form factor).
      - oblique63 14y ago
        I don't know who's downvoting you, but this is right. You're inspiration is the only thing that determines what will come out of any instrument. I love my Cordoba classical guitar, but I never actually play classical stuff on it. Hell, I usually end up playing crazy metal on it most of the time. I just really like how it sounds, so I experiment with it. It is more intuitive to play fingerstyle on it given the soft strings and the string spacing, but I could still maneuver a fat 2mm pick on it just fine...
      - reidrac 14y ago
        You're partially right. For a beginner a classical guitar is definitely better (more space in the neck to put the fingers, the nylon strings in 1-3 are easier/less painful for untrained fingers, no need to plug it in an amp, etc), but the guitar type will limit you in certain styles (try playing a solo at some speed on a classic guitar getting to the 14th fret). Sure, I learnt to play guitar with a classical guitar and I totally recommend it for a beginner, but there are obvious things like my Fendler Telecaster not having a tremolo bar: I can't use it :) Definitely you can play any style with it, but it really shines when jamming some blues with the neck pick.
- holri 14y ago
  Any model that plays reasonably music. Does it matter if you learn programming on a i386 or i7, on a PC or a Mac? What matters is not the tool but the time, love and patience you put into learning to play music.
  - tutysara 14y ago
    I know this is true in case of programming for a lot of languages. I am not sure whether this applies to learning guitar as well, I don't have any experience playing a guitar myself so, I can take your point as valid until I try out something and see for myself if there is a difference.
    - holri 14y ago
      One difference is that each musical instrument has its own personality like each person/player. Classical, acoustic and electrical guitar are totally different. It is important that _you_ like the instrument. That is a matter of personal taste. Important is the joy to play. Therefore pick that up that you like most, whatever this is.
- dougk16 14y ago
  An electric guitar is physically easier to play (easier on the fingertips, finger muscles, etc.) and more forgiving of technical mistakes, IMO. Whether that means you'd like it more for starting out is up to you. :)
  - Nav_Panel 14y ago
    Preface: I've been playing guitar for 9ish months now... I started on an acoustic and I've played quite a bit with my roommate's electric. I've always seen the electric guitar as being far less forgiving than the acoustic when it comes to technical mistakes. Missing the fret by a little bit, strumming the bass strings a tad louder than you were expecting: big problems with an electric, but not really problems I've faced on the acoustic. Perhaps you are coming from a place of far more experience than I am, and please correct me if I'm wrong, but at least that's what I've noticed in my practicing.
    - bmelton 14y ago
      I should point out that both statements are true, depending on whether or not you are playing with amplification. An electric guitar, unplugged, is perhaps the most forgiving variety of guitars, but play it too often unplugged and you'll develop bad habits that are painfully noticeable when plugged in. I pretty much played acoustics exclusively for a couple of years, only to find out when I picked up my Les Paul that I had developed a lot of 'acoustic-only' bad habits that I had to unlearn. Little things like muting with my fretting hand -- great cheat on an acoustic, but basically acts like a double-tap on an electric.
    - vacri 14y ago
      I am an indifferent player, and shortly after getting my electric, I said to a friend that it was a lie that electrics hide mistakes. He replied "you're not playing with enough distortion"...
    - dougk16 14y ago
      Yea, I should have written the disclaimer that it all depends on what you're playing, what kind of amplification, etc. One instance of where electric exposes technical mistakes more is with accidental string bending, like when you're trying to hit an awkward chord, or any chord at all as a beginner. Overall, I'd still go with electric being more forgiving. A sort-of-proof of this is that the set of songs you can play on acoustic is a subset of the songs you can play on electric. Think of a ridiculous Jimi Page solo as being in the electric-only set. Many acoustic songs might not suit electric, but you can still play them with electric. Eh, maybe it's not a proof, but it sounds clever. :) I personally ended up doing mostly finger-style acoustic with all kinds of weird alternate tunings, so probably nobody should take my word for it.
- mattdeboard 14y ago
  So I bought an acoustic guitar a couple years ago because I've always wanted to learn to play. After sitting in storage for a year and a half I picked it up again a couple months ago. It's fine and all but then I bought an electric (Epiphone SG Cherry Red), an amp and a good set of headphones. The electric is way more fun to play[1]! If you really want to learn and are willing to "put in the work" I recommend justinguitar.com. It's all boring stuff, scales, fundamentals, etc., but I pick up my electric at least once a day for an hour just to practice. I'll never be a musician but it's a heck of a lot of fun just jamming out in my headphones. [1] "fun" is of course subjective. Acoustic guitars require more hand strength and coordination since the action is a bit higher, the strings a bit thicker than electric. But it has a beautiful sound I really love. But in an apartment, electric + headphones is the best.
  - bmelton 14y ago
    Electrics are often much more fun to play, but I found, early on, that the acoustic gave me better habits, and made me a better all around guitarist. I bought probably the exact same cherry Epi SG a long time ago to start off with, and I can still remember how embarrassed I was the first time I tried to play an acoustic. Conversely, for a long time, whenever I was having trouble learning something on the acoustic, I could swap it out for an electric and usually just bang it out. Perhaps psychosomatically, this then made it easier to play on acoustic, just knowing that it was playable.
  - StavrosK 14y ago
    As an absolute novice, I bought a $30 acoustic after a $150 electric. My goal with the guitar is to just learn Asturias, I don't really care about other things. I have the intro down, it does feel like I'm fighting the guitar and it doesn't make as good a sound as some friends' more expensive ones I've tried, but it's great for seeing whether you like it and will stick with it rather than stick it in a shelf. Also, I have more fun with the acoustic, due to Asturias, so I guess it's relative.
- dejv 14y ago
  It does not matter. My first guitar was some entry level model of Les Paul made by Epiphone. Best way is to drag some friend who knows how to play guitar to the music store and try a few models. Pick something cheap and make sure that neck is not twisted, which is reason why you dragging guitar friend. This cheap guitar should be fine for first year (or five).
  - tutysara 14y ago
    Got the same advice from some of my friends. Sounds right- try something cheap, learn the various pros and cons and the thing that suits us the best and then go for a more professional guitar.
- auctiontheory 14y ago
  I second the recommendation for a basic classical (i.e. nylon-string) guitar. Keep it simple. In the US, you can find a perfectly decent made-in-China classical guitar new for under $100, or used on Craigslist.
- gtani 14y ago
  this thread is an exhaustive list of things to examine on used bass, most applies to guitars http://www.reddit.com/r/Bass/comments/mbbn9/things_to_look_for_when_buying_a_bass/ http://www.reddit.com/r/Bass/comments/mbbn9/things_to_look_f... The most important thing on a used or inexpensive instrument is checking that the frets aren't deeply worn and are level (put a capo on at frets 3,6,9,12 and play chromatic scales), uneven forces a choice of fret buzz or high action. At big dealers e.g. Guitar Center, you'll see used $150 guitars that are playable, and brand new Les Paul Studios and American strats ($650 and up) that need fretwork if you want really low action(full recrown is around $150) You also want to check trussrod works, neck is not twisted or warped, and the neck joint is sound (no big shims in a bolt-on, no separation between the pieces of a "set" neck, like a Les Paul or acoustic). Most other defects can be fixed at reasonable cost.
- nanook 14y ago
  I'd say don't buy a guitar right away. Ask around among your friends, I'm sure someone will have an old unused acoustic lying around.. use that. When you get good, you'll have a better idea about the kind of guitar you want to buy. Its also a good way to check if the guitar is your thing (if it isn't, that shiny 300$ Les Paul copy you just bought is going to become the ultimate source of guilt. This has happened to far too many people I know.) Also, its quite likely the old beat up guitar isn't setup perfectly - the upside of this is that its going to help you build calluses like magic.
- geoka9 14y ago
  I may sound counterintuitive, but if you really want to learn, I'd recommend a high-end acoustic guitar for the following reasons: - you make a big investment (upwards of $2000) and it motivates you not to give up - it sounds good, it looks good, it even smells good (rosewood, mahogany, spruce, ebony - that kind of thing). If you're into guitars (or simply beautiful things) it's hard to put down and you find yourself spending more time with it than you'd initially planned. And that's the single best thing for getting better at it :) - you get no excuse (like, "it's not the real thing, it sucks, that's why it doesn't sound right even after many hours of practice"); it helps to remove doubts and concentrate on practicing - if nothing else, it will make a decent long-term investment (high-end guitars tend to depreciate in the first years after the purchase and appreciate afterward). Some people even claim that it's a better investment than real estate, but I don't know about that Ask somebody to play it for you, ask their opinion of how easy it is to play, have it set up by a good guitar technician... And keep on picking :) Also, somebody mentioned justinguitar.com; it is a great site; the guy is a great teacher and a wonderful guitar player. It's got a bunch of theory lessons, but also lessons where Justin picks apart famous guitar songs and teaches you to play them in a "dumb" way - some might say it's cheating, but it surely helps to keep the fire burning when you can learn a tune or two without pulling your hair out trying to transcribe without the required experience (it's very hard, although that's what every guitar player should try to learn eventually).
  - bermanoid 14y ago
    Enh...the thing is, a $300 Fender acoustic sounds good enough that you can get away with playing shows on it - you probably shouldn't, but you absolutely can. As a beginner, you're really not going to appreciate the difference between that and a high end model anyways, so why spend more? If you're the type that needs to blow money to feel motivated, sure, you can do better, but there's a lot to be said for learning to sound good on a shitty instrument before you are good enough that spending more will actually make you sound better. That's how most pros start out...
    - wyclif 14y ago
      A $300 Fender acoustic is going to frustrate a beginner. They're crap, with low QC. A beginner would be better off getting a playable electric or waiting until they can spend around $1500-$2k and get themselves a playable acoustic.
- oblique63 14y ago
  if you're looking for a good deal on an electric, I recommend checking out http://www.rondomusic.com/electricguitar.html http://www.rondomusic.com/electricguitar.html . Their guitars are surprisingly good quality for the price, especially once you get into their 'Agile' brand. If for whatever reason you want a more 'well-known' brand, I've found Ibanez, Dean, and Schecter to have pretty consistent quality on their budget guitars, and the PRS SE series is excellent if you can afford to go that route. Otherwise if you don't want an electric, I would recommend a good nylon string guitar. Yamaha makes pretty good ones, but as with any acoustic, it's a lot harder to judge how you'll like them without actually trying them first.
- b1daly 14y ago
  I have two acoustic guitars: my favorite to play is a Takimine I bought off a random dude for $175 over 20 years ago. A few years a decided to "upgrade" with an $1800 Taylor. It's not a bad guitar, somehow the cheaper one is just more fun to play. If I had to draw a lesson from this: when you play a guitar you will have a "feeling" about whether you like it, and I think that's the most important thing. Which also means don't buy a guitar without playing it!
  - guscost 14y ago
    That's important, don't buy your guitar online! Find one that sounds and feels good when you actually play it. Don't assume that the same model means the same guitar, and bring along someone with experience if possible.
- sfrench 14y ago
  First off. You can learn on anything, so get whatever guitar you feel most comfortable playing (comfortable playing is the utmost requirement here). You absolutely have to go to guitar stores and have the guitar in your hands and in your lap. If you can't play, make sure to take a friend that can, as they'll be able to tell you if the guitar is "meh" or not. Spend as much as you comfortably can, but don't kill your bank account. If you can, $500-$1000 is a good range and you have lots of good-quality options in both electric and acoustic. I'm totally biased on the electric/acoustic debate. I've played almost exclusively acoustic for 20 years, and obviously prefer them. So from here, I'll dive into acoustic specific stuff if you decide to go that way. Size/Nut Considerations: Two important things to pay attention to are the body shape/size (Dreadnaught/OM/000/00/ etc), and the width of the fingerboard at the nut. These are just some huge generalizations, but if you play a lot of fingerstyle, a OM/000 with a 1 3/4" nut may be what you're looking for. Whereas if you like playing bluegrass, you'd probably like a Dreadnaught with a 1 11/16" nut. Woods: In addition, pay attention to woods the guitar is made of. Spruce and Cedar are going to probably be the two most common top woods, and Rosewood and Mahogany are going to be the most common back woods. Make sure to play combinations of these woods and figure out what you like. Most importantly, if you are paying more than $500 for a guitar, make sure that the top, back, and sides of the guitar are made of solid wood (no HPL, carbon fibre, laminates, plastic, etc.) If you are spending less than 500, make sure you at least get a solid top on the guitar. Suggestions: In the 500-1000 range check out Loar, Recording King, Blueridge and Larrivee guitars. I've also heard good things about the Epiphone Masterbilt guitars. Some specific models to check out: Loar LH-250, Blueridge BR-140 (or BR-160), Recording King RD-310, Larrivee OM-03, Martin MMV (if you can find one), Martin 000-15 (or 00-15 or OM-15 or D-15), In the 1000-2000 range Martin 18-series, Taylor 300 and 400 series, and Larrivee 5-series guitars are great choices. Some specific models to check out: Taylor 312/314, Martin OM-16GT. Martin OM-18 (or D-18)
- sqnguyen 14y ago
  I started with an acoustic guitar about ten years ago, but that's only because my father had one laying around. Approach learning the guitar like how most people learn new programming languages: just dive right into it. If you like acoustic guitar music more than electric guitar, then learn it and vice versa. For acoustic: Seagull, Simon Patrick, and Art and Luthrie solid top guitars make solid learner guitars. They can be had for $300-500. For electric guitars: visit the SevenString forums. That community is more knowledgeable about it than me.
- vacri 14y ago
  Find a friend who really knows their guitar, and buy them lunch in exchange for a run-around of the second-hand and/or pawn shops. If you have gobs of cash to spend, sure, buy an expensive new one, but you can find decent guitars for cheap in the secondhand stores. I got my guitar (a kramer zx30) this way from a secondhand store that sells on consignment. If you're going to get a cheap new guitar, again, take that friend if you can - cheap guitars can have a number of problems - the first one I ever tried couldn't even hold its tuning during the six-meter walk from behind the counter to hand it to me :) I'd certainly recommend the lower end of the price spectrum and not the high end - what if you buy a pricey acoustic but the stuff you want to play turns out to be electric? Or vice versa. I thought I liked acoustic more and ended up loving the electric much more. And when you're learning, you really can't tell the subtle difference between models - slapping down a ton of money to find out it's not quite what you want might be a little off-putting. Start with a stepping stone, says I.
  - Gravityloss 14y ago
    There's a huge amount of guitars out there that people have bought and never played or played very little (a few hundred hours or so) so they are just as good as new. Musical instruments don't wear out much under use, so they are a smart thing to buy used. They also hold their value.
- vacri 14y ago
  Also: consider finding a good teacher. An actual music teacher, not a guitarist hawking lessons for beer money. A proper teacher will be able to see you making mistakes in technique before they become habit and be motivated to fix it. You don't have to go weekly, you can ask for monthly or whatever times. Be upfront with them, say you're going through some self-teaching materials, but at the same time want to catch bad technique.
- singular 14y ago
  Personally on the electric front (I have no idea about acoustics) I'd recommend a mid-level guitar to start with as the lower-end guitars sound bad enough to be counterproductive, even for a beginner IMO. You can get a really decent sound out of a £300+ guitar (~$450+ but perhaps pricing varies in the US vs. UK pricing) and it'll be good enough to take you to the point where a more expensive guitar will be worthwhile.
- johanbev 14y ago
  Contrary to some sibling comments in this tread, I'll recommend getting the type of guitar that you want to play to learn on as well. There are several kinds of guitar. The three most distinct types are classical guitar (nylon or gut strings), acoustic (steel strings) and electric guitars, which again can be divided into hollow and solid bodied types. All these istruments are pretty different, both in physical appearance, sound and of couse also playing technique, required skills, reportoire and so on. Of course, if you are really good at one you can pick up another type more easily. However, the guitars sound and play so different that it's impossible to get good at electric guitar by only practicing classical guitar. All these types of guitars are really distinct instruments. If you want to play electric rock, get a strat or tele of maybe even an LP. If you want to play electric jazz, get an electric hollowbody guitar. If you want to play folk-rock singer-songwriter or country types, get a steel stringed guitar. If you want to play classical guitar, get a classical guitar. I've seen countless of times people being handed cheap classical guitars when they want to play like Bob Dylan and Neil Young (etc) do. The result is almost always that the guitar goes in the closet after a few weeks and the interest dies down, which is pretty damn sad. More expensive guitars will likely be much easier to play on and might sound better. However, I woudn't recommend spending great amounts of money on your first guitar. It is certainly possible to get great guitars for less than 1000$.
- acarabott 14y ago
  As a guitar teacher I recommend the basic Yamaha Pacifica models, 012 and 112, to students. They are reliably well made, and fairly no-frills, you get a lot for your money.
- krschultz 14y ago
  My brother and dad play guitar like crazy, combined they have over 20 guitars of all types. My dad has built 6 or 7 of them, both acoustic and electric. My dad recommended Yamaha as a good beginner guitar, simply based on the value (quality/cost), and they have pretty good QA so the beginner guitars are very consistent. I recently decided to pick up guitar as well. I specifically wanted to learn acoustic (electric is a bit easier to learn), so this recommendation is narrowed to acoustic only. I read a bunch online and was leaning towards the Seagull S6 ($359) and the Yamaha FG700S ($199). I went to a couple guitar stores in NYC with my brother and he played a bunch of different acoustic guitars under $400. I didn't tell him my preference for the Seagull and the Yamaha (after all, I know nothing, he has been playing for 30 years) - and he ended up picking the Yamaha FG700s as the best option for a beginner. I'm very happy with it so far. The Seagull is another great option, but it is a bit more money. I would avoid the Yamaha "starter" packs. A tuner is $9, picks are generally free, a bag is cheap, and you don't need the DVD. So the junk they throw into their "gigmaker" packs isn't worth the lower quality guitar.
  - tangue 14y ago
    + 1 for Yamaha . For amplification have a look at Roland Cube series. Cheap but good quality for beginners.
- snorkel 14y ago
  Buy a cheap acoustic. Unless you're Eric Clapton you really don't need to belabor this decision. Buy whatever feels right. Learn on an acoustic first, it'll make the electric more enjoyable because most of the sound is being produced by your fingers and the strings, the electricity just makes it louder, and if you suck the electricity will only amplify the suckiness.
  - wyclif 14y ago
    Sorry, but this is awful advice, and sets up a beginner for failure. Don't buy a crappy low-end acoustic. If you don't have much money, get a cheap playable electric first. Cheap acoustics are the #1 reason people quit playing guitar.
icewater 14y ago
This is fantastic, I love the content moocs are creating.
- anigbrowl 14y ago
  Actually I'm a bit confused by this one, because this looks nothing different from 100 books you can find at Guitar center (or your local music store) or any of the many introductory lessons to various instruments on YouTube. In fact, there's quite a few excellent private courses on YT with an abundance of free material to get you started, so I'm having difficulty seeing the rationale for this course.
  - dombili 14y ago
    I don't know much about this class, so I can't really say what's the difference between this class and watching a video on YouTube, but I took a couple of courses on Coursera and I have to say, there's a big difference (generally speaking). I'm not an MOOC expert, but some differences that I've noticed from my experiences: - You can engage with people who want to learn the same thing as you do via discussion forums. Those people are basically your class mates. You have the same teacher, same assignments, you get to watch the same lectures etc. If you have a question you'd like to ask, you get to ask those questions to your class mates and you can have discussions on that very subject. Sometimes teachers get involved too and if they don't, you can ask them to get involved. - Teachers provide course materials. Some of them are transcripts of video lectures but some of them contain some really good information that you probably can't find anywhere else, because they're mostly written by your teacher specifically for that class. - Sense of accomplishment. Now this may differ from person to person, but it's nice to get some acknowledgment once you finish your course. - Quizzes. You actually get to test your knowledge. If the course requires an assignment for you to finish the course, that's even better. For example, you take a class on International Law, you may be required to write an essay on the subject with X amount of word limit. They give you a hard deadline and that becomes your homework. You actually feel like you're a student. Plus, teachers actually read what you've written and some of them even give notes. - You can get verified certificate, but I believe they announced that fairly early and I'm not exactly sure how that works. But seems self-explanatory. - And the best thing is, I get to have all these things for free. I'm thousands of miles away from the US or the UK, but I can still take classes from Princeton University or University of Edinburgh, and that's just so cool. I realize the quality of education is not the same as taking an actual class by attending the school, but who cares? You watch the same lectures from the same professors (most of the time) and it's for free, in the comfort of my home and at my own convenience.
codewright 14y ago
Really? No appearance from Zed Shaw? This is like a perfect storm of his interests.
- jiggy2011 14y ago
  Does it show you how to write a web server?
  - mcmire 14y ago
    Zed Shaw does other stuff besides programming you know...
grinich 14y ago
I recognize him from an incredible blues trio I saw in this tiny bar in Harvard Square last fall. The guy's got some serious chops. Had no idea he also taught across the river. Check out his YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/thaddeushogarth https://www.youtube.com/user/thaddeushogarth This class should be very interesting...
- fakeer 14y ago
  Any such a course/link for Ukulele?
HNLogInShit 14y ago
WTF is with these sites that disable the Back button?
nanook 14y ago
If you're not an absolute beginner, you should check out all the REH/HotLicks videos. Some really amazing lessons there - Petrucci's Rock Discipline, Paul Gilbert's Intense Rock/Terrifying Guitar Trip etc.. lots of advanced jazz stuff too. (Scott Henderson, Joe Pass, John Scofield's videos come to mind) I doubt they're still available to buy online though. You should be able to find them on youtube or torrent them. If you're looking for a good book, check out Guthrie Govan's Creative Guitar series[1]. They're wonderful! [1] http://www.amazon.com/Creative-Guitar-Cutting-Edge-Tech/dp/1860744621 http://www.amazon.com/Creative-Guitar-Cutting-Edge-Tech/dp/1...
UweSchmidt 14y ago
Applicable for many here on HN: for analytical, curious thinkers learning any instrument, I recommend the following approach in combination with other resources: Learn and play simple chords (e.g. take a-minor on a guitar), and then identify the individual notes that are played by using any fretboard diagram or guitar chord finder app. Obviously chords are not magic but consist mainly of a root note, a third and a fifth (look up "minor chords" and "major chords" if needed). You can find other occurences of the relevant notes all over the fretboard and make your own chords or at least understand what you are doing. Example: For example, check out "Drive" from Incubus. What the heck is the guitarist playing at the beginning and how did he ever come up with that? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpwsuhOUAkk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpwsuhOUAkk You can check out what he plays here and identify the names of the first notes: http://www.songsterr.com/a/wsa/incubus-drive-tab-s327t0 http://www.songsterr.com/a/wsa/incubus-drive-tab-s327t0 It's just another way to play e-minor! The intros to Stairway to heaven, Nothing else matters, Bach https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6haO4rO7rk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6haO4rO7rk? That's all just chord notes played one by one. Don't hesitate, compose a legendary rock ballad intro TODAY! I'm writing that because most teachers and students feel that this is too theoretical and complicated, and the classicaly trained musicians I know read their sheet music, but don't usually identify nor instantly recognize the chord that they're in while playing Vivaldi either. I found it really helpful to understand that all that wonderful music is made of basic bulding blocks that I can understand and play, and it's a nice excercise that you can do while your hands recover from those little beginner muscular cramps or pain in the finger tips cut by steel strings. Then however switch it all off and just play :-)
- Gravityloss 14y ago
  Yes, I find a lot of guitar books and training to be quite weird and backwards with all the classical stuff, notes etc. A lot of extra stuff is piled on that is just fluff. People with just some basic analytical skills could learn a lot, if taught a little differently, about how the structures work instead of the endless "push this string here". Maybe it's because the tradition is just to play music other people wrote, not to compose it yourself. That seems to be even worse with piano. At least people are expected to have some skill in improvising solos with guitar...
h4nnibal 14y ago
I believe this course may give just a brief outline of what exactly music is. 6 weeks to master Music is really a short time. He may teach you alphabet, words or even grammar. But you will have to find your own way to write your own novel.
wazoox 14y ago
There's a reason why this can be more effective than many other online free guitar courses: it requires you to put 6 to 8 hours every week, which is actually a reasonable time to effectively learn to play an instrument. When you spend only a couple of hours a week practicing, the progress is often glacial or non-existent, which can be demotivating.
te_chris 14y ago
Ignore all the advice about what books and what model of guitar to buy. Get a guitar, whatever you can, then play as much as possible. Play with other people if you can and often. I'm at my happiest when jamming with other good musicians, I'm pretty sure, once you've got the muscle stuff down, you'll feel the same. A guitar is just a convenient way to express music. It's the music that you make and the enjoyment that you derive from it that truly matters.
- itry 14y ago
  "muscle stuff"?
  - mkl 14y ago
    I'm pretty sure te_chris means this: Once you have the basic movements in muscle memory and can do them without concentrating, then you can really play.
- gregsq 14y ago
  With I would add the proviso that a good guitar can help you avoid bad habits. Possibilities present themselves with good playable instruments that may not occur to you otherwise. That doesn't necessarily mean paying a lot of money. I have a guitar that I paid about $5000 for, but a favourite Spanish guitar cost $20 in a second hand shop, and is just as useable.
  - coldtea 14y ago
    >With I would add the proviso that a good guitar can help you avoid bad habits. Sounds like old wives tales. Besides getting out of tune or sounding a little hollow, is there any _specific_ habit you can get out of a "bad guitar"?
- jamesrcole 14y ago
  > Get a guitar, whatever you can I'm not qualified to judge this, but I've heard people say the opposite: to get a good guitar, as a poor quality instrument is a big factor that tends to put people off. > Ignore all the advice about what books and what model of guitar to buy... Get a guitar... then play as much as possible What does that mean? randomly mash fret positions and twang strings? Surely you have to learn from something, and you don't say what.
rb2e 14y ago
Take this with a pinch of salt but this is my ideal way of starting to play guitar. You'll need: A starter Eletric guitar & Amplifer - Cheapest way is to buy a combined Guitar/Amp package from the likes of Fender sold under their Squier range. Now others may hate them but for the beginner they are ideal. At worst if you hate it, stick on ebay or craigslist or if you handy with a soldering iron, upgrade the pickups. Also makes sure the amplifer has a headphone socket and use headphones for late night jams. An electronic tuner - Guitars go out of tune. It will get you consistant results sound wise. There is nothing more off putting for a beginner for a guitar that is out of tune. Now this is optional - get your guitar setup at your local guitar shop. It will help sound wise and playability. Buy strings - Don't worry about breaking strings. They are cheap. Easy to replace. If you can upgrade the ram in your PC, you are competant enough to change a guitar string. It's easy, nothing to be afraid of. For instant results, learn how to play the intro riff to the Deep Purple song, Smoke on the Water. It is easy and will give you an instant results. Then learn "Power Chords". Will get you results that will please your ears. There are tons of youtube tutorials on how to play the guitar. Start easy, don't worry about not getting it right. Just take your time, relax and enjoy it. The chords, scales will come in time. The main thing is to practise rhythum. An electric will give you results quickly compared to Acoustic and Classical, which due to the way they are setup. Are harder to learn on. If you are not sure, try them in your local guitar shop. Some may hate what I suggest but I believe for a beginner, simple results will encourage you further and make it enjoyable so when you do the course above, it is not as scary. A course like the above would be great and I believe if you add it in with what I suggest, you'll be happy. Remember nothing is set in stone. You can learn acoustic, electric and classical at anytime in your life. Just have fun and enjoy it. One last thing, /r/guitar sub Reddit is great if you have questions or your local music shop. Don't be afraid of asking questions. That is how we learn.
bsstoner 14y ago
I'm interested in what people think of this type of course vs. some of the interactive guitar learning software out there? Rocksmith - http://rocksmith.ubi.com http://rocksmith.ubi.com Rock Prodigy - http://rockprodigy.com http://rockprodigy.com Ovelin - http://ovelin.com http://ovelin.com Jamstar - http://jamstar.co http://jamstar.co Miso Media - http://misomedia.com http://misomedia.com Instinct - http://getinstinct.com http://getinstinct.com Disclaimer, I'm a cofounder at Instinct.
- jaxonrice 14y ago
  I was about to post a link to Instinct [1]. I've recommended your site to a couple of people after seeing it on HN when it launched, and both of them have loved it. Congratulations on building a great looking site with a novel approach to learning to play guitar from scratch! [1] http://getinstinct.com http://getinstinct.com
  - bsstoner 14y ago
    Awesome! Thanks so much for the kind feedback.
rimantas 14y ago
I have this deeper in the thread, but I'll repeat myself: go take a good look at http://justinguitar.com/ http://justinguitar.com/ He offers beginners [1] and intermediate course [2], technical stuff, jazz staff and much more. There you will also find recommendations on how to learn, what and how to practice. Justin has been teaching guitar for a long time so he knows what's important, what people struggle with and what to pay attention to. You will also find some songbooks for purchase and some free video lessons to accompany them. Highly recommended. No affiliation :) [1] http://justinguitar.com/en/BC-000-BeginnersCourse.php http://justinguitar.com/en/BC-000-BeginnersCourse.php [2] http://justinguitar.com/en/IM-000-IntermediateMethod.php http://justinguitar.com/en/IM-000-IntermediateMethod.php
- nonamegiven 14y ago
  Agreed, I like justinguitar a lot. If this is all this guy ever does, he's improved the world.
- cocoflunchy 14y ago
  This is the definitive site if you want to learn guitar. And it's not another scammy website where you have 2 free videos and then have to pay for everything else, or where you're promised to learn the secret technique that will make you play faster than Satriani in 2 weeks... Just take a look at the lesson index: http://justinguitar.com/en/AA-000-LessonIndex.php http://justinguitar.com/en/AA-000-LessonIndex.php (all these are free except the PR category). By all means though, if you like the lessons, consider buying stuff to support him!
- fmstephe 14y ago
  I would second this. justinguitar.com is a great resource for learning the guitar.
- kenjackson 14y ago
  Is there an equivalent for piano?
justplay 14y ago
Unknowky i as waiting for long this long time. I am really very happy
e7mac 14y ago
For musicians who can read music and have to spend time organizing their sheet music etc, check out http://woodshed.e7mac.com http://woodshed.e7mac.com - a tool I built for myself that has saved me a tremendous amount of time. The goal was to put everything you need for a practice session i.e.metronome, sheet music, spotify play for original - on a single page.
jjkmk 14y ago
I have been playing the guitar for some time now, and wanted to offer my advice for people looking to get a beginner guitar. I would recommend a solid body electric guitar that has either a Tune-o-matic or hipshot bridge (non floating bridge). The Ibanez RGA121 is an example of a great beginner guitar: http://tinyurl.com/dyjybwa http://tinyurl.com/dyjybwa and they go for fairly cheap on ebay. This is for a number of reasons. #1 Lighter string gauges and lower action makes it easier to fret notes, bend strings, make chords. #2 16 inch neck radius really helps with getting a comfortable feel and starting to understand vibrato and legato techniques. #3 Easy to tune / change strings / set up. Unlike an acoustic guitar that uses thicker strings, with higher action, and has limited access to frets you can get started fairly easily with an electric, and you can pretty much play any style with it.

205 points by interconnector 14y ago

Which guitar model would the community recommend to a beginner who is used only to computer keyboards ;-). Can we start with an electric guitar or an acoustic guitar will work better for learning.

kevincrane 14y ago
I learned with a Squier starter pack (Squier is Fender's low-end brand if that name rings a bell). Basically anything on this page: http://www.musiciansfriend.com/guitar-value-packages http://www.musiciansfriend.com/guitar-value-packages Those kits are nice because they come with a cheap guitar, case, and amp, plus usually an instructional book/DVD. This means that if you bail you're not out too much money, and at an intro skill level you likely won't notice the difference in quality anyway. I took a few lessons, but honestly I kind of bailed on those and moved on to teaching myself through tabs online. Go to http://ultimate-guitar.com/ http://ultimate-guitar.com/ and find simple songs you like (Iron Man, Smoke on the Water, etc.) and just keep trying them til you learn. Eventually you move on to chords (my first song with chords was American Pie) and you just going from there. I'm in the process of teaching myself music theory on the guitar to help myself, but I've gotten busy and it's kind of petered off.
pytrin 14y ago
(I've been playing the guitar for 16 years) - beginners should definitely start with a classical guitar, not an acoustic or an electric guitar. Acoustic is the hardest to play correctly, while electric has more setup and cost involved (amplifier, cables, etc). A basic classical guitar is the simplest way to start playing and producing decent sounds.
- austenallred 14y ago
  I would argue a beginner should start with an acoustic for precisely the same reason. Transitioning from electric or classical to acoustic is difficult, but from acoustic to the other two is very simple.
  - pytrin 14y ago
    It's certainly not difficult once you are proficient enough. I got my first acoustic after 2 years playing a classical guitar and 1 year playing an electric one. It was very similar to playing a classical guitar once your fingers are broken in. On the other hand, for beginners which usually struggle at first producing clean sounds, an acoustic presents a much bigger challenge and for no added benefits.
  - dbaupp 14y ago
    Isn't this a similar argument to "people should learn to program with machine code/assembler/C because it's easy to move to other languages then"?
    - AlecSchueler 14y ago
      The difference isn't really as big as that. It'd be like starting with Perl and then moving onto Ruby or Python.
      - austenallred 14y ago
        I would say its like starting with Python and moving to JavaScript. It really isn't that much more difficult.
    - geoka9 14y ago
      Yes, something like that. If you are proficient with the acoustic guitar, you'll probably be able to pick up an electric for the first time in your life and play. On the other hand, if all you've ever played is an electric (with its low action and lighter strings), playing an acoustic will probably require some time getting used to. I would compare electric to something like Python and acoustic to C :)
- davidroberts 14y ago
  Definitely not a classical guitar unless you intend to play classical only. It's a whole different style of play, and you'll have to relearn everything if you change over to a steel string acoustic or electric. The fretboard is much wider and the nylon strings are stretchy and play differently. I suggest going for a moderately-priced decent-quality imported steel-string acoustic like a Yamaha or Sigma (low-end line of the Martin Company, made in Korea). It's good to start with acoustic even if you plan on mainly playing electric. It's the common denominator of the guitar world, and you'll be so glad you can just pick one up and play something cool on it at will. You might want to consider starting with lighter gauge strings than the ones that come of the guitar while you are developing calluses and learning bar chords.
  - pytrin 14y ago
    I'm sorry, but that's complete BS. Playing any type of guitar does not limit you to a specific style of play - you can play any style you want on any type of guitar. Some advanced techniques and progressions (i.e, solos or conversly fingerstyle) will be more comfortable on specific guitar types, but there's no technical limitation from playing anything on every guitar type. Those distinctions are mostly meaningless to beginners who will be mostly playing simple chords and melodies (to which I would say, a classical guitar is the most comfortable form factor).
    - oblique63 14y ago
      I don't know who's downvoting you, but this is right. You're inspiration is the only thing that determines what will come out of any instrument. I love my Cordoba classical guitar, but I never actually play classical stuff on it. Hell, I usually end up playing crazy metal on it most of the time. I just really like how it sounds, so I experiment with it. It is more intuitive to play fingerstyle on it given the soft strings and the string spacing, but I could still maneuver a fat 2mm pick on it just fine...
    - reidrac 14y ago
      You're partially right. For a beginner a classical guitar is definitely better (more space in the neck to put the fingers, the nylon strings in 1-3 are easier/less painful for untrained fingers, no need to plug it in an amp, etc), but the guitar type will limit you in certain styles (try playing a solo at some speed on a classic guitar getting to the 14th fret). Sure, I learnt to play guitar with a classical guitar and I totally recommend it for a beginner, but there are obvious things like my Fendler Telecaster not having a tremolo bar: I can't use it :) Definitely you can play any style with it, but it really shines when jamming some blues with the neck pick.
holri 14y ago
Any model that plays reasonably music. Does it matter if you learn programming on a i386 or i7, on a PC or a Mac? What matters is not the tool but the time, love and patience you put into learning to play music.
- tutysara 14y ago
  I know this is true in case of programming for a lot of languages. I am not sure whether this applies to learning guitar as well, I don't have any experience playing a guitar myself so, I can take your point as valid until I try out something and see for myself if there is a difference.
  - holri 14y ago
    One difference is that each musical instrument has its own personality like each person/player. Classical, acoustic and electrical guitar are totally different. It is important that _you_ like the instrument. That is a matter of personal taste. Important is the joy to play. Therefore pick that up that you like most, whatever this is.
dougk16 14y ago
An electric guitar is physically easier to play (easier on the fingertips, finger muscles, etc.) and more forgiving of technical mistakes, IMO. Whether that means you'd like it more for starting out is up to you. :)
- Nav_Panel 14y ago
  Preface: I've been playing guitar for 9ish months now... I started on an acoustic and I've played quite a bit with my roommate's electric. I've always seen the electric guitar as being far less forgiving than the acoustic when it comes to technical mistakes. Missing the fret by a little bit, strumming the bass strings a tad louder than you were expecting: big problems with an electric, but not really problems I've faced on the acoustic. Perhaps you are coming from a place of far more experience than I am, and please correct me if I'm wrong, but at least that's what I've noticed in my practicing.
  - bmelton 14y ago
    I should point out that both statements are true, depending on whether or not you are playing with amplification. An electric guitar, unplugged, is perhaps the most forgiving variety of guitars, but play it too often unplugged and you'll develop bad habits that are painfully noticeable when plugged in. I pretty much played acoustics exclusively for a couple of years, only to find out when I picked up my Les Paul that I had developed a lot of 'acoustic-only' bad habits that I had to unlearn. Little things like muting with my fretting hand -- great cheat on an acoustic, but basically acts like a double-tap on an electric.
  - vacri 14y ago
    I am an indifferent player, and shortly after getting my electric, I said to a friend that it was a lie that electrics hide mistakes. He replied "you're not playing with enough distortion"...
  - dougk16 14y ago
    Yea, I should have written the disclaimer that it all depends on what you're playing, what kind of amplification, etc. One instance of where electric exposes technical mistakes more is with accidental string bending, like when you're trying to hit an awkward chord, or any chord at all as a beginner. Overall, I'd still go with electric being more forgiving. A sort-of-proof of this is that the set of songs you can play on acoustic is a subset of the songs you can play on electric. Think of a ridiculous Jimi Page solo as being in the electric-only set. Many acoustic songs might not suit electric, but you can still play them with electric. Eh, maybe it's not a proof, but it sounds clever. :) I personally ended up doing mostly finger-style acoustic with all kinds of weird alternate tunings, so probably nobody should take my word for it.
mattdeboard 14y ago
So I bought an acoustic guitar a couple years ago because I've always wanted to learn to play. After sitting in storage for a year and a half I picked it up again a couple months ago. It's fine and all but then I bought an electric (Epiphone SG Cherry Red), an amp and a good set of headphones. The electric is way more fun to play[1]! If you really want to learn and are willing to "put in the work" I recommend justinguitar.com. It's all boring stuff, scales, fundamentals, etc., but I pick up my electric at least once a day for an hour just to practice. I'll never be a musician but it's a heck of a lot of fun just jamming out in my headphones. [1] "fun" is of course subjective. Acoustic guitars require more hand strength and coordination since the action is a bit higher, the strings a bit thicker than electric. But it has a beautiful sound I really love. But in an apartment, electric + headphones is the best.
- bmelton 14y ago
  Electrics are often much more fun to play, but I found, early on, that the acoustic gave me better habits, and made me a better all around guitarist. I bought probably the exact same cherry Epi SG a long time ago to start off with, and I can still remember how embarrassed I was the first time I tried to play an acoustic. Conversely, for a long time, whenever I was having trouble learning something on the acoustic, I could swap it out for an electric and usually just bang it out. Perhaps psychosomatically, this then made it easier to play on acoustic, just knowing that it was playable.
- StavrosK 14y ago
  As an absolute novice, I bought a $30 acoustic after a $150 electric. My goal with the guitar is to just learn Asturias, I don't really care about other things. I have the intro down, it does feel like I'm fighting the guitar and it doesn't make as good a sound as some friends' more expensive ones I've tried, but it's great for seeing whether you like it and will stick with it rather than stick it in a shelf. Also, I have more fun with the acoustic, due to Asturias, so I guess it's relative.
dejv 14y ago
It does not matter. My first guitar was some entry level model of Les Paul made by Epiphone. Best way is to drag some friend who knows how to play guitar to the music store and try a few models. Pick something cheap and make sure that neck is not twisted, which is reason why you dragging guitar friend. This cheap guitar should be fine for first year (or five).
- tutysara 14y ago
  Got the same advice from some of my friends. Sounds right- try something cheap, learn the various pros and cons and the thing that suits us the best and then go for a more professional guitar.
auctiontheory 14y ago
I second the recommendation for a basic classical (i.e. nylon-string) guitar. Keep it simple. In the US, you can find a perfectly decent made-in-China classical guitar new for under $100, or used on Craigslist.
gtani 14y ago
this thread is an exhaustive list of things to examine on used bass, most applies to guitars http://www.reddit.com/r/Bass/comments/mbbn9/things_to_look_for_when_buying_a_bass/ http://www.reddit.com/r/Bass/comments/mbbn9/things_to_look_f... The most important thing on a used or inexpensive instrument is checking that the frets aren't deeply worn and are level (put a capo on at frets 3,6,9,12 and play chromatic scales), uneven forces a choice of fret buzz or high action. At big dealers e.g. Guitar Center, you'll see used $150 guitars that are playable, and brand new Les Paul Studios and American strats ($650 and up) that need fretwork if you want really low action(full recrown is around $150) You also want to check trussrod works, neck is not twisted or warped, and the neck joint is sound (no big shims in a bolt-on, no separation between the pieces of a "set" neck, like a Les Paul or acoustic). Most other defects can be fixed at reasonable cost.
nanook 14y ago
I'd say don't buy a guitar right away. Ask around among your friends, I'm sure someone will have an old unused acoustic lying around.. use that. When you get good, you'll have a better idea about the kind of guitar you want to buy. Its also a good way to check if the guitar is your thing (if it isn't, that shiny 300$ Les Paul copy you just bought is going to become the ultimate source of guilt. This has happened to far too many people I know.) Also, its quite likely the old beat up guitar isn't setup perfectly - the upside of this is that its going to help you build calluses like magic.
geoka9 14y ago
I may sound counterintuitive, but if you really want to learn, I'd recommend a high-end acoustic guitar for the following reasons: - you make a big investment (upwards of $2000) and it motivates you not to give up - it sounds good, it looks good, it even smells good (rosewood, mahogany, spruce, ebony - that kind of thing). If you're into guitars (or simply beautiful things) it's hard to put down and you find yourself spending more time with it than you'd initially planned. And that's the single best thing for getting better at it :) - you get no excuse (like, "it's not the real thing, it sucks, that's why it doesn't sound right even after many hours of practice"); it helps to remove doubts and concentrate on practicing - if nothing else, it will make a decent long-term investment (high-end guitars tend to depreciate in the first years after the purchase and appreciate afterward). Some people even claim that it's a better investment than real estate, but I don't know about that Ask somebody to play it for you, ask their opinion of how easy it is to play, have it set up by a good guitar technician... And keep on picking :) Also, somebody mentioned justinguitar.com; it is a great site; the guy is a great teacher and a wonderful guitar player. It's got a bunch of theory lessons, but also lessons where Justin picks apart famous guitar songs and teaches you to play them in a "dumb" way - some might say it's cheating, but it surely helps to keep the fire burning when you can learn a tune or two without pulling your hair out trying to transcribe without the required experience (it's very hard, although that's what every guitar player should try to learn eventually).
- bermanoid 14y ago
  Enh...the thing is, a $300 Fender acoustic sounds good enough that you can get away with playing shows on it - you probably shouldn't, but you absolutely can. As a beginner, you're really not going to appreciate the difference between that and a high end model anyways, so why spend more? If you're the type that needs to blow money to feel motivated, sure, you can do better, but there's a lot to be said for learning to sound good on a shitty instrument before you are good enough that spending more will actually make you sound better. That's how most pros start out...
  - wyclif 14y ago
    A $300 Fender acoustic is going to frustrate a beginner. They're crap, with low QC. A beginner would be better off getting a playable electric or waiting until they can spend around $1500-$2k and get themselves a playable acoustic.
oblique63 14y ago
if you're looking for a good deal on an electric, I recommend checking out http://www.rondomusic.com/electricguitar.html http://www.rondomusic.com/electricguitar.html . Their guitars are surprisingly good quality for the price, especially once you get into their 'Agile' brand. If for whatever reason you want a more 'well-known' brand, I've found Ibanez, Dean, and Schecter to have pretty consistent quality on their budget guitars, and the PRS SE series is excellent if you can afford to go that route. Otherwise if you don't want an electric, I would recommend a good nylon string guitar. Yamaha makes pretty good ones, but as with any acoustic, it's a lot harder to judge how you'll like them without actually trying them first.
b1daly 14y ago
I have two acoustic guitars: my favorite to play is a Takimine I bought off a random dude for $175 over 20 years ago. A few years a decided to "upgrade" with an $1800 Taylor. It's not a bad guitar, somehow the cheaper one is just more fun to play. If I had to draw a lesson from this: when you play a guitar you will have a "feeling" about whether you like it, and I think that's the most important thing. Which also means don't buy a guitar without playing it!
- guscost 14y ago
  That's important, don't buy your guitar online! Find one that sounds and feels good when you actually play it. Don't assume that the same model means the same guitar, and bring along someone with experience if possible.
sfrench 14y ago
First off. You can learn on anything, so get whatever guitar you feel most comfortable playing (comfortable playing is the utmost requirement here). You absolutely have to go to guitar stores and have the guitar in your hands and in your lap. If you can't play, make sure to take a friend that can, as they'll be able to tell you if the guitar is "meh" or not. Spend as much as you comfortably can, but don't kill your bank account. If you can, $500-$1000 is a good range and you have lots of good-quality options in both electric and acoustic. I'm totally biased on the electric/acoustic debate. I've played almost exclusively acoustic for 20 years, and obviously prefer them. So from here, I'll dive into acoustic specific stuff if you decide to go that way. Size/Nut Considerations: Two important things to pay attention to are the body shape/size (Dreadnaught/OM/000/00/ etc), and the width of the fingerboard at the nut. These are just some huge generalizations, but if you play a lot of fingerstyle, a OM/000 with a 1 3/4" nut may be what you're looking for. Whereas if you like playing bluegrass, you'd probably like a Dreadnaught with a 1 11/16" nut. Woods: In addition, pay attention to woods the guitar is made of. Spruce and Cedar are going to probably be the two most common top woods, and Rosewood and Mahogany are going to be the most common back woods. Make sure to play combinations of these woods and figure out what you like. Most importantly, if you are paying more than $500 for a guitar, make sure that the top, back, and sides of the guitar are made of solid wood (no HPL, carbon fibre, laminates, plastic, etc.) If you are spending less than 500, make sure you at least get a solid top on the guitar. Suggestions: In the 500-1000 range check out Loar, Recording King, Blueridge and Larrivee guitars. I've also heard good things about the Epiphone Masterbilt guitars. Some specific models to check out: Loar LH-250, Blueridge BR-140 (or BR-160), Recording King RD-310, Larrivee OM-03, Martin MMV (if you can find one), Martin 000-15 (or 00-15 or OM-15 or D-15), In the 1000-2000 range Martin 18-series, Taylor 300 and 400 series, and Larrivee 5-series guitars are great choices. Some specific models to check out: Taylor 312/314, Martin OM-16GT. Martin OM-18 (or D-18)
sqnguyen 14y ago
I started with an acoustic guitar about ten years ago, but that's only because my father had one laying around. Approach learning the guitar like how most people learn new programming languages: just dive right into it. If you like acoustic guitar music more than electric guitar, then learn it and vice versa. For acoustic: Seagull, Simon Patrick, and Art and Luthrie solid top guitars make solid learner guitars. They can be had for $300-500. For electric guitars: visit the SevenString forums. That community is more knowledgeable about it than me.
vacri 14y ago
Find a friend who really knows their guitar, and buy them lunch in exchange for a run-around of the second-hand and/or pawn shops. If you have gobs of cash to spend, sure, buy an expensive new one, but you can find decent guitars for cheap in the secondhand stores. I got my guitar (a kramer zx30) this way from a secondhand store that sells on consignment. If you're going to get a cheap new guitar, again, take that friend if you can - cheap guitars can have a number of problems - the first one I ever tried couldn't even hold its tuning during the six-meter walk from behind the counter to hand it to me :) I'd certainly recommend the lower end of the price spectrum and not the high end - what if you buy a pricey acoustic but the stuff you want to play turns out to be electric? Or vice versa. I thought I liked acoustic more and ended up loving the electric much more. And when you're learning, you really can't tell the subtle difference between models - slapping down a ton of money to find out it's not quite what you want might be a little off-putting. Start with a stepping stone, says I.
- Gravityloss 14y ago
  There's a huge amount of guitars out there that people have bought and never played or played very little (a few hundred hours or so) so they are just as good as new. Musical instruments don't wear out much under use, so they are a smart thing to buy used. They also hold their value.
vacri 14y ago
Also: consider finding a good teacher. An actual music teacher, not a guitarist hawking lessons for beer money. A proper teacher will be able to see you making mistakes in technique before they become habit and be motivated to fix it. You don't have to go weekly, you can ask for monthly or whatever times. Be upfront with them, say you're going through some self-teaching materials, but at the same time want to catch bad technique.
singular 14y ago
Personally on the electric front (I have no idea about acoustics) I'd recommend a mid-level guitar to start with as the lower-end guitars sound bad enough to be counterproductive, even for a beginner IMO. You can get a really decent sound out of a £300+ guitar (~$450+ but perhaps pricing varies in the US vs. UK pricing) and it'll be good enough to take you to the point where a more expensive guitar will be worthwhile.
johanbev 14y ago
Contrary to some sibling comments in this tread, I'll recommend getting the type of guitar that you want to play to learn on as well. There are several kinds of guitar. The three most distinct types are classical guitar (nylon or gut strings), acoustic (steel strings) and electric guitars, which again can be divided into hollow and solid bodied types. All these istruments are pretty different, both in physical appearance, sound and of couse also playing technique, required skills, reportoire and so on. Of course, if you are really good at one you can pick up another type more easily. However, the guitars sound and play so different that it's impossible to get good at electric guitar by only practicing classical guitar. All these types of guitars are really distinct instruments. If you want to play electric rock, get a strat or tele of maybe even an LP. If you want to play electric jazz, get an electric hollowbody guitar. If you want to play folk-rock singer-songwriter or country types, get a steel stringed guitar. If you want to play classical guitar, get a classical guitar. I've seen countless of times people being handed cheap classical guitars when they want to play like Bob Dylan and Neil Young (etc) do. The result is almost always that the guitar goes in the closet after a few weeks and the interest dies down, which is pretty damn sad. More expensive guitars will likely be much easier to play on and might sound better. However, I woudn't recommend spending great amounts of money on your first guitar. It is certainly possible to get great guitars for less than 1000$.
acarabott 14y ago
As a guitar teacher I recommend the basic Yamaha Pacifica models, 012 and 112, to students. They are reliably well made, and fairly no-frills, you get a lot for your money.
krschultz 14y ago
My brother and dad play guitar like crazy, combined they have over 20 guitars of all types. My dad has built 6 or 7 of them, both acoustic and electric. My dad recommended Yamaha as a good beginner guitar, simply based on the value (quality/cost), and they have pretty good QA so the beginner guitars are very consistent. I recently decided to pick up guitar as well. I specifically wanted to learn acoustic (electric is a bit easier to learn), so this recommendation is narrowed to acoustic only. I read a bunch online and was leaning towards the Seagull S6 ($359) and the Yamaha FG700S ($199). I went to a couple guitar stores in NYC with my brother and he played a bunch of different acoustic guitars under $400. I didn't tell him my preference for the Seagull and the Yamaha (after all, I know nothing, he has been playing for 30 years) - and he ended up picking the Yamaha FG700s as the best option for a beginner. I'm very happy with it so far. The Seagull is another great option, but it is a bit more money. I would avoid the Yamaha "starter" packs. A tuner is $9, picks are generally free, a bag is cheap, and you don't need the DVD. So the junk they throw into their "gigmaker" packs isn't worth the lower quality guitar.
- tangue 14y ago
  + 1 for Yamaha . For amplification have a look at Roland Cube series. Cheap but good quality for beginners.
snorkel 14y ago
Buy a cheap acoustic. Unless you're Eric Clapton you really don't need to belabor this decision. Buy whatever feels right. Learn on an acoustic first, it'll make the electric more enjoyable because most of the sound is being produced by your fingers and the strings, the electricity just makes it louder, and if you suck the electricity will only amplify the suckiness.
- wyclif 14y ago
  Sorry, but this is awful advice, and sets up a beginner for failure. Don't buy a crappy low-end acoustic. If you don't have much money, get a cheap playable electric first. Cheap acoustics are the #1 reason people quit playing guitar.

icewater 14y ago

This is fantastic, I love the content moocs are creating.

anigbrowl 14y ago
Actually I'm a bit confused by this one, because this looks nothing different from 100 books you can find at Guitar center (or your local music store) or any of the many introductory lessons to various instruments on YouTube. In fact, there's quite a few excellent private courses on YT with an abundance of free material to get you started, so I'm having difficulty seeing the rationale for this course.
- dombili 14y ago
  I don't know much about this class, so I can't really say what's the difference between this class and watching a video on YouTube, but I took a couple of courses on Coursera and I have to say, there's a big difference (generally speaking). I'm not an MOOC expert, but some differences that I've noticed from my experiences: - You can engage with people who want to learn the same thing as you do via discussion forums. Those people are basically your class mates. You have the same teacher, same assignments, you get to watch the same lectures etc. If you have a question you'd like to ask, you get to ask those questions to your class mates and you can have discussions on that very subject. Sometimes teachers get involved too and if they don't, you can ask them to get involved. - Teachers provide course materials. Some of them are transcripts of video lectures but some of them contain some really good information that you probably can't find anywhere else, because they're mostly written by your teacher specifically for that class. - Sense of accomplishment. Now this may differ from person to person, but it's nice to get some acknowledgment once you finish your course. - Quizzes. You actually get to test your knowledge. If the course requires an assignment for you to finish the course, that's even better. For example, you take a class on International Law, you may be required to write an essay on the subject with X amount of word limit. They give you a hard deadline and that becomes your homework. You actually feel like you're a student. Plus, teachers actually read what you've written and some of them even give notes. - You can get verified certificate, but I believe they announced that fairly early and I'm not exactly sure how that works. But seems self-explanatory. - And the best thing is, I get to have all these things for free. I'm thousands of miles away from the US or the UK, but I can still take classes from Princeton University or University of Edinburgh, and that's just so cool. I realize the quality of education is not the same as taking an actual class by attending the school, but who cares? You watch the same lectures from the same professors (most of the time) and it's for free, in the comfort of my home and at my own convenience.

codewright 14y ago

Really? No appearance from Zed Shaw? This is like a perfect storm of his interests.

jiggy2011 14y ago
Does it show you how to write a web server?
- mcmire 14y ago
  Zed Shaw does other stuff besides programming you know...

grinich 14y ago

I recognize him from an incredible blues trio I saw in this tiny bar in Harvard Square last fall. The guy's got some serious chops. Had no idea he also taught across the river. Check out his YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/thaddeushogarth https://www.youtube.com/user/thaddeushogarth This class should be very interesting...

fakeer 14y ago
Any such a course/link for Ukulele?

HNLogInShit 14y ago

WTF is with these sites that disable the Back button?

nanook 14y ago

If you're not an absolute beginner, you should check out all the REH/HotLicks videos. Some really amazing lessons there - Petrucci's Rock Discipline, Paul Gilbert's Intense Rock/Terrifying Guitar Trip etc.. lots of advanced jazz stuff too. (Scott Henderson, Joe Pass, John Scofield's videos come to mind) I doubt they're still available to buy online though. You should be able to find them on youtube or torrent them. If you're looking for a good book, check out Guthrie Govan's Creative Guitar series[1]. They're wonderful! [1] http://www.amazon.com/Creative-Guitar-Cutting-Edge-Tech/dp/1860744621 http://www.amazon.com/Creative-Guitar-Cutting-Edge-Tech/dp/1...

UweSchmidt 14y ago

Applicable for many here on HN: for analytical, curious thinkers learning any instrument, I recommend the following approach in combination with other resources: Learn and play simple chords (e.g. take a-minor on a guitar), and then identify the individual notes that are played by using any fretboard diagram or guitar chord finder app. Obviously chords are not magic but consist mainly of a root note, a third and a fifth (look up "minor chords" and "major chords" if needed). You can find other occurences of the relevant notes all over the fretboard and make your own chords or at least understand what you are doing. Example: For example, check out "Drive" from Incubus. What the heck is the guitarist playing at the beginning and how did he ever come up with that? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpwsuhOUAkk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpwsuhOUAkk You can check out what he plays here and identify the names of the first notes: http://www.songsterr.com/a/wsa/incubus-drive-tab-s327t0 http://www.songsterr.com/a/wsa/incubus-drive-tab-s327t0 It's just another way to play e-minor! The intros to Stairway to heaven, Nothing else matters, Bach https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6haO4rO7rk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6haO4rO7rk? That's all just chord notes played one by one. Don't hesitate, compose a legendary rock ballad intro TODAY! I'm writing that because most teachers and students feel that this is too theoretical and complicated, and the classicaly trained musicians I know read their sheet music, but don't usually identify nor instantly recognize the chord that they're in while playing Vivaldi either. I found it really helpful to understand that all that wonderful music is made of basic bulding blocks that I can understand and play, and it's a nice excercise that you can do while your hands recover from those little beginner muscular cramps or pain in the finger tips cut by steel strings. Then however switch it all off and just play :-)

Gravityloss 14y ago
Yes, I find a lot of guitar books and training to be quite weird and backwards with all the classical stuff, notes etc. A lot of extra stuff is piled on that is just fluff. People with just some basic analytical skills could learn a lot, if taught a little differently, about how the structures work instead of the endless "push this string here". Maybe it's because the tradition is just to play music other people wrote, not to compose it yourself. That seems to be even worse with piano. At least people are expected to have some skill in improvising solos with guitar...

h4nnibal 14y ago

I believe this course may give just a brief outline of what exactly music is. 6 weeks to master Music is really a short time. He may teach you alphabet, words or even grammar. But you will have to find your own way to write your own novel.

wazoox 14y ago

There's a reason why this can be more effective than many other online free guitar courses: it requires you to put 6 to 8 hours every week, which is actually a reasonable time to effectively learn to play an instrument. When you spend only a couple of hours a week practicing, the progress is often glacial or non-existent, which can be demotivating.

te_chris 14y ago

Ignore all the advice about what books and what model of guitar to buy. Get a guitar, whatever you can, then play as much as possible. Play with other people if you can and often. I'm at my happiest when jamming with other good musicians, I'm pretty sure, once you've got the muscle stuff down, you'll feel the same. A guitar is just a convenient way to express music. It's the music that you make and the enjoyment that you derive from it that truly matters.

itry 14y ago
"muscle stuff"?
- mkl 14y ago
  I'm pretty sure te_chris means this: Once you have the basic movements in muscle memory and can do them without concentrating, then you can really play.
gregsq 14y ago
With I would add the proviso that a good guitar can help you avoid bad habits. Possibilities present themselves with good playable instruments that may not occur to you otherwise. That doesn't necessarily mean paying a lot of money. I have a guitar that I paid about $5000 for, but a favourite Spanish guitar cost $20 in a second hand shop, and is just as useable.
- coldtea 14y ago
  >With I would add the proviso that a good guitar can help you avoid bad habits. Sounds like old wives tales. Besides getting out of tune or sounding a little hollow, is there any _specific_ habit you can get out of a "bad guitar"?
jamesrcole 14y ago
> Get a guitar, whatever you can I'm not qualified to judge this, but I've heard people say the opposite: to get a good guitar, as a poor quality instrument is a big factor that tends to put people off. > Ignore all the advice about what books and what model of guitar to buy... Get a guitar... then play as much as possible What does that mean? randomly mash fret positions and twang strings? Surely you have to learn from something, and you don't say what.

rb2e 14y ago

Take this with a pinch of salt but this is my ideal way of starting to play guitar. You'll need: A starter Eletric guitar & Amplifer - Cheapest way is to buy a combined Guitar/Amp package from the likes of Fender sold under their Squier range. Now others may hate them but for the beginner they are ideal. At worst if you hate it, stick on ebay or craigslist or if you handy with a soldering iron, upgrade the pickups. Also makes sure the amplifer has a headphone socket and use headphones for late night jams. An electronic tuner - Guitars go out of tune. It will get you consistant results sound wise. There is nothing more off putting for a beginner for a guitar that is out of tune. Now this is optional - get your guitar setup at your local guitar shop. It will help sound wise and playability. Buy strings - Don't worry about breaking strings. They are cheap. Easy to replace. If you can upgrade the ram in your PC, you are competant enough to change a guitar string. It's easy, nothing to be afraid of. For instant results, learn how to play the intro riff to the Deep Purple song, Smoke on the Water. It is easy and will give you an instant results. Then learn "Power Chords". Will get you results that will please your ears. There are tons of youtube tutorials on how to play the guitar. Start easy, don't worry about not getting it right. Just take your time, relax and enjoy it. The chords, scales will come in time. The main thing is to practise rhythum. An electric will give you results quickly compared to Acoustic and Classical, which due to the way they are setup. Are harder to learn on. If you are not sure, try them in your local guitar shop. Some may hate what I suggest but I believe for a beginner, simple results will encourage you further and make it enjoyable so when you do the course above, it is not as scary. A course like the above would be great and I believe if you add it in with what I suggest, you'll be happy. Remember nothing is set in stone. You can learn acoustic, electric and classical at anytime in your life. Just have fun and enjoy it. One last thing, /r/guitar sub Reddit is great if you have questions or your local music shop. Don't be afraid of asking questions. That is how we learn.

bsstoner 14y ago

I'm interested in what people think of this type of course vs. some of the interactive guitar learning software out there? Rocksmith - http://rocksmith.ubi.com http://rocksmith.ubi.com Rock Prodigy - http://rockprodigy.com http://rockprodigy.com Ovelin - http://ovelin.com http://ovelin.com Jamstar - http://jamstar.co http://jamstar.co Miso Media - http://misomedia.com http://misomedia.com Instinct - http://getinstinct.com http://getinstinct.com Disclaimer, I'm a cofounder at Instinct.

jaxonrice 14y ago
I was about to post a link to Instinct [1]. I've recommended your site to a couple of people after seeing it on HN when it launched, and both of them have loved it. Congratulations on building a great looking site with a novel approach to learning to play guitar from scratch! [1] http://getinstinct.com http://getinstinct.com
- bsstoner 14y ago
  Awesome! Thanks so much for the kind feedback.

rimantas 14y ago

I have this deeper in the thread, but I'll repeat myself: go take a good look at http://justinguitar.com/ http://justinguitar.com/ He offers beginners [1] and intermediate course [2], technical stuff, jazz staff and much more. There you will also find recommendations on how to learn, what and how to practice. Justin has been teaching guitar for a long time so he knows what's important, what people struggle with and what to pay attention to. You will also find some songbooks for purchase and some free video lessons to accompany them. Highly recommended. No affiliation :) [1] http://justinguitar.com/en/BC-000-BeginnersCourse.php http://justinguitar.com/en/BC-000-BeginnersCourse.php [2] http://justinguitar.com/en/IM-000-IntermediateMethod.php http://justinguitar.com/en/IM-000-IntermediateMethod.php

nonamegiven 14y ago
Agreed, I like justinguitar a lot. If this is all this guy ever does, he's improved the world.
cocoflunchy 14y ago
This is the definitive site if you want to learn guitar. And it's not another scammy website where you have 2 free videos and then have to pay for everything else, or where you're promised to learn the secret technique that will make you play faster than Satriani in 2 weeks... Just take a look at the lesson index: http://justinguitar.com/en/AA-000-LessonIndex.php http://justinguitar.com/en/AA-000-LessonIndex.php (all these are free except the PR category). By all means though, if you like the lessons, consider buying stuff to support him!
fmstephe 14y ago
I would second this. justinguitar.com is a great resource for learning the guitar.
kenjackson 14y ago
Is there an equivalent for piano?

justplay 14y ago

Unknowky i as waiting for long this long time. I am really very happy

e7mac 14y ago

For musicians who can read music and have to spend time organizing their sheet music etc, check out http://woodshed.e7mac.com http://woodshed.e7mac.com - a tool I built for myself that has saved me a tremendous amount of time. The goal was to put everything you need for a practice session i.e.metronome, sheet music, spotify play for original - on a single page.

jjkmk 14y ago

I have been playing the guitar for some time now, and wanted to offer my advice for people looking to get a beginner guitar. I would recommend a solid body electric guitar that has either a Tune-o-matic or hipshot bridge (non floating bridge). The Ibanez RGA121 is an example of a great beginner guitar: http://tinyurl.com/dyjybwa http://tinyurl.com/dyjybwa and they go for fairly cheap on ebay. This is for a number of reasons. #1 Lighter string gauges and lower action makes it easier to fret notes, bend strings, make chords. #2 16 inch neck radius really helps with getting a comfortable feel and starting to understand vibrato and legato techniques. #3 Easy to tune / change strings / set up. Unlike an acoustic guitar that uses thicker strings, with higher action, and has limited access to frets you can get started fairly easily with an electric, and you can pretty much play any style with it.