hello lol! just started learning guitar from my friend, haven't gotten a guitar for myself yet, but im going to next month, setting aside SGD200-300 (Singapore dollars). im still schooling, and its a very important year for me this year since its my last year at secondary school, if you're from singapore probably you'll know how freaky it is for me lol.

so anyway i've chosen this important year to learn how to play guitar, inspired by YUI lol. so i need alot of help, i dont understand alot of things. understand alot of stuff, like whats this supposed to mean??

e|------------------------------|------------------------------|
B|------------------------------|------------------------------|
G|----9---7------5-----7--------|----9---7------5-----7--------|
D|------7---7------5-----7------|------7---7------5------5-5---|
A|--0-----------0-----0------0--|--0-----------0----0---3-2-0--|
E|------------------------------|------------------------------|

and what are tabs and all that kinda stuff. im even confused with the chord diagrams! like what this picture is supposed to mean too



so since there are so many guitarist dudes here i thought i would ask. i know i should look through the other threads first, and i did, but i still dont understand, coz the ppl who ask the question already understand something, but i dont understand anything at all! :(

so please help me out! tell me everything a beginner should know please~

Maybe should start with this:



This obviously shows the fretboard of your guitar. 6 lines represents 6 strings.
The big X on top means you do not play that string. 0 means you play that string open(not pressing on any frets)

Now the black dots shows you which fret on which string to press.
The squares on the dots tells you that these are the root notes. For this one, it will be C as it's showing a C chord.

Numbers at the bottom show which finger to use for the frets you need to press.
1 - index finger
2- middle finger
3 - ring finger
4 - pinky

So it actually tells you which finger you should use for particular positions.

Now this, is called tablature or in short "tabs":


e|--------------------------------|--------------------------------|
B|--------------------------------|--------------------------------|
G|----9---7------5-----7--------|----9---7------5-----7--------|
D|------7---7------5-----7------|------7---7------5------5-5---|
A|--0-----------0-----0------0--|--0-----------0----0---3-2-0--|
E|--------------------------------|--------------------------------|

Again, 6 lines represents 6 strings on the guitar from E to e.
E would be the roughest string and e would be the thinnest string.

You read from left to right...
So from this tab 1st you play an open A string, followed by G string :P on 9th fret then D string on 7th fret n so one.

Strings can be represented by numbers as well. From 1 - 6, thinnest string to roughest. So thinnest would be 1st string and roughest 6th string.


Well I hope I made stuff clear :P

yeah, i understand now. so it seems i wont be playing that soon lol. but i thought the thinnest string was the bottom string :(
i sound so stupid

Well on the guitar when you're holding it, it would be the bottom most string.

But on tab diagram it will be the top most line representing the thinnest string.

It's ok, everyone start at knowing nothing at 1st :P

Good luck on your guitaring~!

thank you!

ok, then which guitar should i buy? i want to start with acoustics first, what was your first acoustic guitar? how would you choose your first guitar?

I started with a really really cheap guitar :P
I didn't get my second guitar untill around my 3rd year.

But if you're asking about guitars then I'm not the best guy. There are lots of others who're better at hardware than me hehe~~
State your budget and they might give you some ideas.

Guys help out!

budget= SGD200-300
its singapore dollars lol. my father and my friends brother will be going to look at some guitars with me, so maybe my father will decide to get me something better. but for now thats my budget.

you're from SG? go down to the basement of peninsular shopping centre and excelsior hotel (they're connected), you'll find lots of guitar shops there like Guitar 77, Davis guitar and Maestro, to name a few. Swee Lee Music in Bras Basah complex is a huge music store if u want more choices.

Maestro guitars are made in Singapore and are value for money, sound quality not bad... I bought my basic accoustic for SGD200.

its ok if u wanna start with an accoustic, but its pretty painful and tiring for in the begginning due to the steel strings and higher tension. better quality ones offer better comfort of course, but at a price. its easier to learn using an affordable classical guitar, since nylon strings are easier on the fingers.

the choice is up to u, and of course try out the guitars before buying one, and bring along a knowledgeable friend to help u choose.

m, maestro. im thinking of getting either that, yamaha or takamine. i dont want a classical guitar, i tried my friend's, the neck is so wide! i still dont know where my friend's brother plans to take me to lol, but he said its somewhere in city hall, so it should be peninsula shopping complex. oh, he said there's gonna be a discount coz of the chinese new year??

so, what other guitars can i consider?

bump

^ wow, takamine for a beginner? some budget LOL.

another thing to consider is accoustic-electric guitars, they're basically accoustic guitars with pickups so u can plug it into an amp, good for performing (if u think that far into the future).

i think its worth it to spend a few extra cash to get one, rather than regret not getting it after you've become more pro with the guitar

lol, maybe not that far.
ok so what are pickups? er, i read on wiki that they convert vibrations on your strings into electrical signals. so u just plug the pickup into an amp? lol. oh, and can they be bought seperately and then just fix them on the guitar -.-?

something tells me no

Yes there are pickups where u can buy seperately and to be attached to your guitar.

But I'm not sure about the sound quality.

I had one once but the quality was so so..

^ see those black strips with the row of "screws"? those are humbucker pickups... these type of pickups can be bought, but are mostly fixed onto pure electrics

accoustic electrics use a different type located inside the hollow body


just think of pickups as microphones that can only take in the sound produced by the guitar strings

hm. dont think i'll need a pickup too soon

man the steal nice sounding accustic guitar cost like 200+
i found an electric for exactly 100 bucks...

um question,(im beginning too) Will i get used to the strings on the guitar? like theres six strings...dont u get confused on which one u want to pluck...*say u hold on D second fret and u just wanna strum that string only...do you look at ur fiingers? <--sum pplz sont hafto look :0

well i play the violin lol only 4 strings and its played up not side ways..so i think imma get so confused?

-Thnks

I think a wider fretboard is actually good for beginners even thought it's harder especially in barreing, where you press all 6 strings on a fret. Yu'll get to that soon (and have lots of trouble with it ^^).

Since it's wider yu'll have a harder time barreing but if yu master barring on the classic then barring on acoustic or electric will be much easier.

It's also easier in the sense that the space between each string is wider, giving yu more room for inaccuracy, meaning yu don't have to press so pinpoint. especially when yur fingers are fat.

I'm from singapore too! sec 2 though. i started playing last month and i can play almost all of yui's songs now including the harder ones like life. I used to play violin so maybe that helped with the self teaching. Oh and some people can play without seeing cuz they aren't 'just beginning'. it's like if yu're about grade 5/6 yu don't have to look at the violin strings when yu play. Yu weren't used to the violin strings then but yu are now right? Same thing, just practice ^^

Oh i'm a bit moody now so i'll say this. I hate it when people make it sound like it's a game where yu need to know everything just to play. Practice and find out yurself, the feeling is wonderful.

haha thnx for the advice...i was just wondering...cuz i dont wanna give up so fast..like the piano >_> The hardest part is reading all those notes...then again..i know "PRACTICE"! eeekkk

It's relatively easier to read notes for guitar since we use tabs instead of crotchets and stuff :good

Great now i wanna buy a guitar...so i can practice...

Uhh how do u measure if it FITS u perfectly?

and gimme advice on which one i should get for a beginner...
Price Range: 80 - 150

http://www.kmart.com/shc/s/search_10151_10...0&gobutton=find


http://www.walmart.com/search/browse-ng.do...catNavId=106982

http://www.target.com/gp/search/602-352582..._bx_1_1&x=0&y=0


or should i just go to a Guitar Shop...it cost like 200+ >___>


Ohhss another question lol....does guitar hero - the game.. helps with fingering of any sort?

Hahaha nahh guitar hero wouldn't help. it might help with strumming a bit but it feels totally different. for a guitar that suits yu... most guitars are the same size haha. but there are mini versions. and about yur budget if yu're gonna get a guitar why not get one good one instead of a few?

I think it helps with yr finger movements :P