Recently decided I wanted to learn the guitar. The one in my gallery I got for Christmas and this motivated me to actually start.

I purchased software from http://www.jamorama.com and everywhere I have read gives this excellent reviews. I wanted to know if any of you guys that play have tried this or have looked at it at least and what your opinion is.

I don't know how fast people generally learn, but I bought this on the 29th of December and so far I can somewhat smoothly play A, Am, E, Em, C, G, D and the major scale

Don't know if thats fast, slow, or everyone learns at their own pace kinda thing

1/3/2006 1:26:57 AM

"at their own pace" thing

Never heard of the software. Doesn't really matter what you use...just try to get a solid foundation. Pretty much any book or program will lay down the same fundamentals.

The more you practice, the better you get.

1/3/2006 1:33:16 AM

I dunno about this jamorama stuff, but I've tried self-taught guitar stuff and its not nearly as easy as taking actual lessons.

Definitely look into Bett Padgett's on-campus group lessons. I enjoyed them a lot when I was first learning guitar.

1/3/2006 2:08:48 AM

Depends, really. I took lessons for a couple of years (not on-campus), but I didn't start making progress until I realized that I was responsible for it. All of a sudden I was learning very quickly.

I typically recommend that people start with lessons to get fundamentals down, but really it depends on how you want to play. It's definitely possible to learn on your own if you're motivated, and possibly take lessons later if you decide to pursue more serious study.

1/3/2006 2:14:07 AM

Lessons will probably help you to progress faster than learning on your own, but it is entirely possible to become quite proficent on your own. There are many great websites with free guitar lessons, but the best way to get better is, of course, PRACTICE. A LOT.

1/3/2006 9:13:03 AM

^what he said.

In fact, I would venture to say that practicing a lot is the only way to get better.

1/3/2006 10:28:00 AM

Also keep in mind that dicking around on the guitar != practicing. If you spend 15-30 minutes per day actually PRACTICING shit, working on scales or chords or progressions or whatever that you have trouble with, it will do a world of difference.

1/3/2006 10:31:57 AM

Yeah, being able to focus is part of the self-motivation thing. Don't just keep playing stuff you know already (unless you're just trying to gain speed on a particular piece/scale), but set some goals and work toward them.

1/3/2006 12:03:51 PM

yeah im really enjoying the challenge (it's rare for me to enjoy something) and have been practicing a lot

i mean practicing is all I can do at this point since i dont know anything yet hehe

1/3/2006 1:38:32 PM

smooooooooke on the water

1/3/2006 1:42:51 PM

let Esteban teach you!

1/3/2006 2:15:59 PM

JOOO MUST UNLEASH THE FOCKIN FURY

1/3/2006 10:39:28 PM

its entirely possible to teach yourself guitar with a little patience and lots of practice.

you just have to stick with it. it probably also helps if you have a natural ear for music, although its certainly not necessary. be sure you actually learn the basics and not just follow tabs to learn your favorite song. it will be much more rewarding in the long run. the cool thing about guitar is you never stop learning or improving (although you will hit plateaus). i've been playing 15 years and still have long way to go before i'd ever consider myself "good".

1/3/2006 10:43:07 PM

Ok, so I am a guitar master. I taught myself everything: no lessons ever. I can say that the best thing to do is to listen to Blink-182. If you listen to the awesome riffs and fillers you can be as good as Blink-182 as well.

1/5/2006 1:14:10 AM

nobody loves you whe you're twenty-three.

wisdom such as that has never yet been duplicated.

1/5/2006 1:43:17 AM

Its actually "nobody LIKES you when you're 23" If you are going to quote genius, do it right!

1/5/2006 1:44:57 AM

what's the difference, again?

1/5/2006 1:48:01 AM

i think the difference is that only girls listen to blink 182

1/5/2006 1:48:40 AM

Dude, Blink-182 is not just for girls. Their music and lyrics are intended for both genders. Real men like Blink-182.

1/5/2006 1:49:45 AM

Quote :

"Also keep in mind that dicking around on the guitar != practicing. If you spend 15-30 minutes per day actually PRACTICING shit, working on scales or chords or progressions or whatever that you have trouble with, it will do a world of difference."

Invaluable advice right here folks. Ive been playing for close to 15 years, and spent probably the first 3/4ths of that just learning songs and practicing those. In the past couple of years i finally forced myself to learn chords, scale patterns and some theory and its made all the difference in the world.

1/5/2006 12:10:52 PM

I'll admit that the first song I played on guitar was "Dammit"

1/5/2006 1:24:22 PM

I meant if someone is just starting out, it would be a good idea to take some beginner lessons. This way, they can work on their initial form and not develop poor playing habits. Once they've got the basics down, then practice is all you need.

1/5/2006 3:16:18 PM

Esteban

1/5/2006 3:19:01 PM

^^^ I rest my case. The first song anyone learns on the guitar is Blink-182.

1/5/2006 3:39:04 PM

Deep Purple, god damnit.

1/5/2006 4:41:57 PM

Do you know why they even wrote that song? In 1971, Deep Purple was about yo preform at a casino in Montreux, Switzerland. before they went onstage, a fan fired a flare gun into the crowd. the whole casino burned to the ground and spread smoke across Lake Geneva. That image stuck with the band and was the inspiration behind the song "Smoke on the Water."

1/5/2006 4:50:51 PM

Chromatic Exercises are the way to go for building finger strength and dexterity.

Practice these by starting on the low E string and ascending to the high E string. E 1234 A 1234 D 1234 G 1234 B 12334 E 1234. 1 - index 2 - middle 3 - ring 4 - pinky. come back down the same way. there are tons of variations to this exercise. try doing combiations of 4321, 1324, 4231, etc all over the fretboard. when doing these make sure you use alternating picking with your right hand. down up down up down up etc. this will help you with switching from string to string. also it is important to practice these exercises with a metronome so you can see progress, as well as develop smooth technique.

as far as setting a speed, only practice at speeds you are comfortable with. it does nothing to help you improve if you are practicing at speeds where you only flounder. If you are just starting out this could be as low as 10 BPM. THIS IS NOT BAD! you are trying to build strength and dexterity. after you become comfortable at this speed, bump it up to 15BPM, you may flounder, but work with it for a few minutes. then come back to 10BPM and you will see an improvement. do this over the course of days, weeks, months. moving up. your first months of playing you will see exponential improvement. stay with it and I guarantee that you will have come up at least 10BPM in the first month, if not more.

stick with it! guitar playing is something only YOU can earn!

[Edited on January 5, 2006 at 4:57 PM. Reason : .]

1/5/2006 4:55:54 PM

First lesson i learnt for building finger strength was "pipeline" by the ventures. BTW, agree with above, all you need is patience and practice

1/5/2006 5:11:51 PM

^^

Another good one for developing finger independence:

Say you're working in the first position. Put your ring finger on the third fret of the 1st string and your pinky on the fourth fret on the same string. Now walk your index and middle fingers across the rest of the strings and back, using your index finger on the first fret and your middle finger on the second fret.

Do this with all the combinations of two fingers, always keeping the two you aren't using from moving. Works wonders for improving flexibility.

[Edited on January 5, 2006 at 6:22 PM. Reason : ]

1/5/2006 6:21:08 PM

ooo I shall try that one. I have also heard of sticking fingers behind the fretboard, but that was more painful than practical for me.

1/5/2006 7:07:20 PM

Never heard of that variation, but it just seems awkward. At least the way I learned it you're staying in something similar to typical technique. One thing I should note, though, is that one of the biggest things to assist in flexibility is holding your hand properly with the thumb arched on the back of the neck (typical classical position).

The exercise may seem very difficult at first with certain fingers/combinations, but I started seeing some definite results after just a couple of weeks of doing it for a few minutes every day.

1/6/2006 12:15:23 PM