So I’ve decided to learn the
guitar! Believe it or not, I was actually planning to learn guitar anyway, but
had just never got around to doing it. When the Genius Project came around I
decided to take advantage of the opportunity, and bam! Now I’m learning another
instrument. (I already play the piano)
Getting my materials was easy
enough. I just had to pick up some old guitar stuff from my grandfather’s house
which he had bought but never gotten around to using himself. The stuff I’d gotten
from him was a tuner, a guitar, a pick, and a guitar book (in case you were
wondering).
Over the next few weeks I plan to do a few things with the guitar. I’ll start by learning some chords and memorizing where to press to play each note. Once I can play the chords one after another without much pausing I’ll try a couple songs. First I’ll learn Jingle Bells and after it begins to sound good are try Streets of Laredo.
I was anxious to get started, so I began learning some basic things about the guitar last weekend. I’d learned that the lines running along the guitar were called frets, and that the best place the press down was right behind the fret. I got this information from The Standard Guitar Method, by Dick Bennett. I also determined which chords I’m going to learn, and how to play them. It’s explained very well in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vzb7OBccXU8 (if you’re interested)
Of course there are going to be
setbacks that come with learning something new, and already I’ve hit one. While
attempting to tune the guitar, I twisted the knob for the sixth string (e) the
wrong way and it snapped off. The good news is I’m getting it fixed on Friday,
but I won’t be able to play any chords that require that sixth string just yet.
I’ll let you know how the chords are coming along next week.
Hi Evan! I've been playing the guitar for a bit, and it's definitely something you can make very noticeable progress on in the first few weeks. As far as the video above goes, some of the chords won't be all that useful for you. E, D7, and A7 are good to know, but you won't find them all that often in songs. Might I recommend learning D Minor as well, as you'll find it frequently. If you want to learn melodies like that of Jingle Bells, the app Yousician can be very helpful in developing skills. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteI've been taking the classic guitar course this year. From my experience, I think it is essential to learn the notes on the strings first and foremost, and then move on to the chords. I also suggest learning a few different scales( C major, G major, D major, etc.) which will help you familiarize with the notes on the guitar, and also help you with your fingering. I would say that the chords you should learn first should be C major, D major, A major, G major, F major. These chords are fairly easy, so you will be able to use them quickly. I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun with the guitar, good luck!
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