Guitar….?

Pickles: Guitar….?
I’m interested in learning how to play the guitar, I want to know the basic requirements (if there are any) and what kind and size of guitar is appropriate for beginners. Any additional information is greatly appreciated.

Answers and Views:

Answer by PaNdA-LuVaH- TrEe- HuGgEr <33
There is no right size for begginers, only the size for you. If your a kid, or extremly small there are half sizes. But if your an adult or a teen just get the basic size.
There arent any requirements. Well you need:
A guitar! (Electric or aucustic)
A tutor or a book/dvd to learn from.
A pick
A case, stand and strap would be helpful.

The Internet Is Also A good way to learn.
Youtube has online lessons too.
Good luck

Answer by becky!!!
i play guitar !!!

its a good 1 to no how 2 play !!

Answer by chadb4184
Not any real requirements, just a desire to learn and patience in doing so. If you don’t want lessons playing twinkle twinkle little star, then you can teach yourself. I taught myself and I’ve been playing for 12 years now, it is my passion. If you do teach yourself, all you need is a chord book (learn the major chords and some minor one’s) or a dvd, those are great to learn with because if the teacher is going to fast, you can just pause him to shut him up while you figure out what you’re supposed to do. Hope this helps.

Answer by kt
well the only thing u would rele need is a guitar! haha
but no rele i would get these things:
a stand
a case (if you are going to be taking it places)
tons of picks cause youll loose them! o and get the good thick kinds. dunbar or something like that is a good brand!
a capo you’ll use it
i would personally try to get a teacher, rather than just a book
but if you can only get a book thats fine

and as far as guitar sizes go… its just a matter of what you like
go to a guitar store and try some out. definitely ask the people there for any additional help!

Answer by musicblue99
Get Alfred’s book 1 and you can learn all the basics. Make sure its book one.

Answer by Brian D
Ernie Ball also makes a good book 1. It’s simpler than most. I think alot of them move a little too fast especially if you try to teach yourself.

One important thing when buying an instrument is to try to get something decent. If possible, have a guitar playing friend try it out for you before you buy it. It’s no fun trying to learn on an instrument that’s difficult to play.

I also host a podcast that you might find helpful. You can find it at .

Also, you can post questions in the forum at if you would like. I check these forums often.

Good luck to you,
Brian

Answer by GuitarAikidoAlphaMale
I would start with a reasonably priced guitar, something around $ 200. Anything cheaper is most likely to go out of tune constantly.

Most importantly, I would avoid tab (tablature). I would learn to really read music (standard notation) so you can eventually improvise and play your own music. If you learn by tablature, you will be relegated to always playing other people’s music.

The basic requirements are a guitar, picks, strap, guitar strings, a sheet music stand for placing music and you’re good to go.

Your hands will hurt really bad for long time until you develop callouses. Good luck!

Answer by Catman
For young beginners, or adults with small hands, a 3/4 size guitar such as the Baby Taylor, Alvarez MSD1, or Little Martin would be perfect. These are real guitars, and even pro guitarists sometimes use them as travel guitars.

Teenagers, ladies, or anyone who wants a “full size” guitar, but would still be more comfortable with something slightly smaller than the Dreadnaughts or Jumbos, should choose a “folk,” or “parlor” size guitar, such as the Alvarez RF8, RF20SM, RF20SC, Taylor Big Baby, or Martin Sigma 000 size guitars.

If you want the larger guitar, go with one such as the Alvarez RD20S, Taylor 110, 114, or Martin Sigma D size.

I think it’s best to take lessons with a professional teacher.

If you are going to “teach yourself,” I suggest the Book/CD/Video or DVD…Acoustic Guitar for Beginners by Bert Casey.

I highly recommend the eMedia computer learning course…eMedia Guitar Method Vol.1.

Good Luck,

CM

Answer by MikoSquiz
First, electric or acoustic? They’re quite different to play and I suggest picking the one you’re more interested in. For a beginner’s electric guitar, I’d suggest a cheap Squier (for blues/rock type stuff) or Ibanez (for metal or pop) depending on what kind of sound you want. Of course, an acoustic has the advantage of not requiring an amplifier, but a basic practice amp can be had for very little money these days, especially second hand.

Once that’s done, I recommend just trying to find some easy songs that you can play along to with simple power chords. Punk songs tend to be simple but quite fast, and folk tends to be even simpler – a lot of Bob Dylan’s work revolves around the G, C, and D chords. Once you’ve got some finger strength and a basic feel for it, try to find tablature, and again, I’d go with simpler music like Nirvana over diving right in with jazz or metal guitar heroics.

Tablature is definitely recommended over standard notation for guitar type instruments. Not only is it much easier to write and read, but it also provides fingering information that’s not available in classical notation.