AXEWIELDER
A Newbie's Guide To
Guitar
1.Choosing A
Guitar
2.Choosing An Amplifier
3. What To Learn First
4. How to Read Tablature
5. General Maintenance
Choosing a guitar can be a daunting task; there are literally thousands of guitars to choose from. How do you know what is the right one for you? Will you like it two years down the road? What to look for in a guitar? These are some of the questions I'll answer below.
When purchasing your guitar, I suggest you start at your local music store. I said LOCAL because by purchasing at a store near your house, they'll often help you get started, and will fix your guitar if anything goes wrong. I also said MUSIC STORE, because buying them in department stores ect. can be a pretty dangerous idea. Why? Because often there is little or no warranty on department store brand guitars, and no service repair. Also, department store guitars are very cheap and not well put together, causing your guitar to have a horrible sound.
One of the questions that everyone asks is "Should I start on an electric guitar or an acoustic guitar?" The answer that I received when I asked that was an acoustic guitar, because the strings are harder to push, (especially nylon strings) and you will get used to the feel of it and then when you get better and decide to get an electric (if you choose to, anyway) you will learn a lot faster. I've decided that this is not necessarily a good idea.
What happened to me was I started by borrowing a friend's acoustic, a nice Washburn, and sat down and tried to play it for a few weeks. Because the strings were harder to push down and it was a jumbo acoustic, I grew frustrated very shortly with the extreme difficulty of it.
So, the answer to this question is go with what you want to learn to play on. If you want to be a heavy metal headbanger, go with the elctric. if you want to be a mellow folk artist, go with the acoustic. Remember, if you don't like the choice you made, you can usually exchange it or purchase another one down the road.
Another question often asked is "What brand of guitar should I buy? What shape?" and so on. The only true answer to this is: whatever feels comfortable. If you're young, however, it's usually accompanied by this: A cheap brand. Of course, these are not the only factors. Before buying, always try the guitar. The guitar may look like a beaut, but she may sound like your grandmother farting. Simply terrible. When I started, I purchased an imitation Strat. It was fairly cheap ($300) and it was a comfortable shape and fairly light to play. That's still the only axe I own, but it's comfortable, it sounds good and it works well.
A question I found myself asking was "It's too expensive, I don't think I can afford it." Okay, okay, that's not really a question. A lot of music stores offer beginner's packs, which usually include a guitar, an amp (if electric), a guitar strap, and a gig bag. These can be extremely cost-effective, and are good buys for novices.
"How big of an amp should I get?" This sounds like a fairly simple and easy to answer question, but you wouldn't believe how many people make their big mistake here. It's gotta be SMALL. Some of you are probably saying "But then I can't play in a band, it's too small." Maybe so, but when you're beginning, you shouldn't be in a band. You should practice, learn some basics, and then go out and play with others. When starting off, always purchase a small one. That way, if you decide to quit, you won't have wasted hundreds of dollars. The first amp I purchased was 5 watts. It sounded terrible, it looked extremely small, but I got it for 50 bucks brand new. Then after a year of sounding terrible on that, I bought a 25 watt practice amp, which is small enough to carry around, and sounds great both alone and in a band situation.
"Should I take lessons?" This question is an extremely personal one, and yours at that. Quite often you hear professionals saying "I never took lessons, that way I didn't sound like my teacher." I don't agree with that at all. I take lessons simply because I can have someone show me what I'm doing wrong, and help me along. However, learning on your own has added benefits. You can go at your own pace, can learn what you want, and so forth. This question is entirely up to you. One thing is for sure though; teachers make the learning go by faster.
"What should I learn first?"Again, a question of choice. A good way to start off is with a chord book or little lesson book with easy songs in it. I DO NOT recommend Mel Bay. These songs, however easy and practical, BORE THE PLAYER SENSELESS. I bought a book that's still collecting dust on my book shelf. When you learn to play certain notes and can get good clean sounds, I recommend working on finger strength. Just make up little scales and runs and play them.
Tablature is the most common way of learning songs. It is easy to learn, and is the most widely used application for transcribing songs.Tablature is divided into 6 lines, like below.
e_________________________________4________________________
B________________________________ 4_________________________
G__________________________________________________________
D________3_________________________________________________
A_____3____________________________________________________
E__1_______________________________________________________
What you see at the left is the name of the strings. The smallest,
lightest string on the guitar is called e. I put the letter in small
form so that you can see that it is the small light E string and not
the big fat one at the top of the guitar. So as you can see, the
lines represent the different strings, with the smallest light string
at the top of the diagram and the largest, fattest string at the
bottom of the diagram. The numbers indicate what fret to put your
fingers on. For example, in the diagram above, you would put your
finger on the first fret of the fattest string on the guitar. For the
second note, you would put a finger on the third fret (the first dot)
on the second largest string.
When two notes are directly under or above each other, you play them
in unison (at the same time, for all you young people out there.)
See? isn't tab simple? If you still don't understand the diagram, fill out the help form, or e-mail me. I certainly don't mind. Choose from below:
FILL OUT THE FORM | E-MAIL ME
Or if you understand, that's even better!
"How often should I change my strings?" Many professional artists change their strings everytime they play, but for most other people, that takes up too much time and money. You should probably change your strings whenever they start to get too corroded. When they first show signs of corrosion, don't throw them out yet. They still sound good, and aren't really worn down. Once rust begins to takeover, however, then you're due for a string change.
"Who should change my strings?" When you're a beginner, the easiest way is to bring it in to the store where you purchased it (I said local, everybody!) They'll usually string it for you, and if they're nice guys, they won't xharge you extra for it.
"My strings corrode too soon. What can I do to prevent this?" Corrosion is a natural part of string aging, although the process can be slowed down. Don't purchase the strings before you need them; just letting them sit around will cause the strings to corrode due to the heat, humidity and dampness in your house. Also, sweat and dirt from your fingers age the process. To keep string corrosion to a minimum, keep your guitar in a dry place, wash your hands before playing, and, if you're really serious about it, wipe the strings down with a brush.
"My bridge appears to be coming upfrom the body of the guitar. What can I do to stop this?" This is a fairly common question, believe it or not. When you purchase a guitar, often there is only two springs locate in the back of the guitar. The quickest way to fix is it is to detune your guitra to cause less stress on the bridge, or switch to a lighter gauge string. All in all, however, I recommend getting it fixed. It shouldn't be more then 10-15 bucks.
I hoped this helped you out. If you're still confused, don't hesitate to use the form and ask me a question, or look in the Message Board.