Recs for learning electric guitar?
July 5, 2020 9:59 AM Subscribe
I bought an electric guitar and an amp. I’d like to take time out of every day to learn to play. I am an absolute beginner right now. Can you recommend apps, websites, YouTube channels to get me on my way? I don’t think I need the gamification of DuoLingo but it would be pretty amazing if there was something like it for learning to play guitar.
I learned to play guitar with JustinGuitar and HIGHLY recommend anything he puts out.
posted by rossination at 10:04 AM on July 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by rossination at 10:04 AM on July 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
I learned to play in the pre-app era, so I can’t help much, but I do have a suggestion. There are a lot of isolated guitar track videos on YouTube, and I find these much more helpful than just listening to the whole song when trying to learn a new song. Conversely, there are full band backing tracks with everything but the guitar if you’d like to see how you sound with a full band. One thing I’ll do if I just want to jam a little is to find an isolated drum track and play along to that. I find it amusing to play, like, crappy punk chords (pretty much the extent of my skill) while John Bonham bangs out “Whole Lotta Love”.
posted by kevinbelt at 10:19 AM on July 5, 2020
posted by kevinbelt at 10:19 AM on July 5, 2020
Yousician has a free tier that is only limited by time you can practice each day, so you can see if it works for you. They have lots of different exercises, a way to learn to play without learning to read music if you want (sort of like guitar hero), and many of the drills have accompaniment to help make practice more fun.
posted by SaltySalticid at 10:53 AM on July 5, 2020
posted by SaltySalticid at 10:53 AM on July 5, 2020
As another guitarist who learned long before apps were a thing, one thing that helped a lot was grabbing my guitar, sitting down in front of the TV and attempting to play everything - theme songs, jingles, everything. Make lots of mistakes but keep going. It will develop your ear and you'll learn neck positions. It might sound a little weird, but attempting to play stuff that you're not into will prepare you for learning stuff you really want to learn. Good luck.
posted by MrKellyBlah at 10:55 AM on July 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by MrKellyBlah at 10:55 AM on July 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
This book is amazing. Pay close attention to the preface by Robert Fripp.
I think the fender vids are pretty good.
This guy does amazing online Skype lessons for every level.
posted by j_curiouser at 11:57 AM on July 5, 2020
I think the fender vids are pretty good.
This guy does amazing online Skype lessons for every level.
posted by j_curiouser at 11:57 AM on July 5, 2020
Seconding j-curiouser's recommendation of "The Guitar Handbook" by Ralph Denyer.
Also, see if your library has "ArtistWorks"... It is a collection/series of online tutorials for many different musical instruments and styles. (I found Paul Gilbert's lessons there to be quite good.)
posted by coppertop at 12:37 PM on July 5, 2020
Also, see if your library has "ArtistWorks"... It is a collection/series of online tutorials for many different musical instruments and styles. (I found Paul Gilbert's lessons there to be quite good.)
posted by coppertop at 12:37 PM on July 5, 2020
2nding MrKellyBlah for just playing along with generic broadcast television (maybe as not much of thing these days?) or a radio station, or recordings that you like (maybe not the virtuoso stuff). Take some time out from formal lessons to randomly strum some things for yourself, you can learn a lot that way. One tip for starters: get in tune, an inexpensive electronic tuner (like a Snark clip-on) is really worth it.
posted by ovvl at 6:00 PM on July 5, 2020
posted by ovvl at 6:00 PM on July 5, 2020
Fender Play has been having a free three month trial - we've been using that for ukelele and guitar.
posted by bookdragoness at 7:36 PM on July 5, 2020
posted by bookdragoness at 7:36 PM on July 5, 2020
Response by poster: Thanks all, I will start by learning to tune my guitar. I don’t yet know how to hold it or strum the strings correctly, so it’ll be a while before I can play along to other music. I’m excited to get a start with the sources you suggested!
posted by Dragonness at 10:32 PM on July 5, 2020
posted by Dragonness at 10:32 PM on July 5, 2020
I would highly recommend the aforementioned Rocksmith. It's how I started learning to play guitar 8 years ago (with the first iteration of the program), and it provided me a pretty good foundation from which to grow. I liked being able to suck mightily in the privacy of my own home, rather than paying $30/hour for someone to teach me the most elementary concepts.
I began with nothing more than a hand-me-down electric guitar and a copy of the program (including the necessary cable, which is available for computers and all modern game consoles. If you're on a computer, it's currently (through 7/9/2020) on sale for $8.99 on Steam, though you'd still need to get the "Real Tone Cable".
It has over 80 interactive lessons that start with the basics (including how to hold the guitar, how to hold a pick, using a strap, how to strum a note, etc.) and progress through more advanced techniques (playing chords, vibrato, hammer-ons/pull-offs, string bending, and a whole buncha other stuff). After years of DLC releases, the amount of music available is pretty vast now too, and I've discovered a number of artists and songs that I would not have stumbled upon otherwise.
Good luck!
posted by EKStickland at 12:33 AM on July 6, 2020
I began with nothing more than a hand-me-down electric guitar and a copy of the program (including the necessary cable, which is available for computers and all modern game consoles. If you're on a computer, it's currently (through 7/9/2020) on sale for $8.99 on Steam, though you'd still need to get the "Real Tone Cable".
It has over 80 interactive lessons that start with the basics (including how to hold the guitar, how to hold a pick, using a strap, how to strum a note, etc.) and progress through more advanced techniques (playing chords, vibrato, hammer-ons/pull-offs, string bending, and a whole buncha other stuff). After years of DLC releases, the amount of music available is pretty vast now too, and I've discovered a number of artists and songs that I would not have stumbled upon otherwise.
Good luck!
posted by EKStickland at 12:33 AM on July 6, 2020
Thanks all, I will start by learning to tune my guitar. I don’t yet know how to hold it or strum the strings correctly, so it’ll be a while before I can play along to other music. I’m excited to get a start with the sources you suggested!
If you have a guitar store nearby, take it there and they will show you. BTW, buy an electric tuner, because playing in tune is the first step to playing well.
posted by The_Vegetables at 9:41 AM on July 6, 2020
If you have a guitar store nearby, take it there and they will show you. BTW, buy an electric tuner, because playing in tune is the first step to playing well.
posted by The_Vegetables at 9:41 AM on July 6, 2020
"I don’t yet know how to hold it or strum the strings correctly, so it’ll be a while before I can play along to other music"
It won't take nearly as long as you think. You'll figure that part out in like three minutes. You'll learn a handful of chords (G, C, Am, D, maybe Em, and the basic barre chord shape) within your first two or three lessons. And that's all you need. Some professional musicians never learn more than that! You could probably play a Ramones song the first time you learn to strum.
One thing to note about tuning, since other people have brought it up. Tuning a guitar is not like tuning a piano, where a professional does it and then it stays in tune for a long time. Whatever you use to tune, you'll have to do it every time you pick up the guitar. If you've been playing often and handling the instrument gently, it should only take a minute or two, but it's a habit to get into, like putting your seat belt on before you start your car.
posted by kevinbelt at 9:59 AM on July 6, 2020
It won't take nearly as long as you think. You'll figure that part out in like three minutes. You'll learn a handful of chords (G, C, Am, D, maybe Em, and the basic barre chord shape) within your first two or three lessons. And that's all you need. Some professional musicians never learn more than that! You could probably play a Ramones song the first time you learn to strum.
One thing to note about tuning, since other people have brought it up. Tuning a guitar is not like tuning a piano, where a professional does it and then it stays in tune for a long time. Whatever you use to tune, you'll have to do it every time you pick up the guitar. If you've been playing often and handling the instrument gently, it should only take a minute or two, but it's a habit to get into, like putting your seat belt on before you start your car.
posted by kevinbelt at 9:59 AM on July 6, 2020
p.s. get a metronome and a tuner Now.
posted by j_curiouser at 11:48 AM on July 6, 2020
posted by j_curiouser at 11:48 AM on July 6, 2020
Response by poster: Awesome tips, all, super appreciate them!
posted by Dragonness at 8:43 PM on July 11, 2020
posted by Dragonness at 8:43 PM on July 11, 2020
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by bitterkitten at 10:02 AM on July 5, 2020