Learning to play guitar
 

We have an old Yamaha G-55a that my mom got way back, thats been collecting dust in my sisters room, and since i dont do anything at home except listen to music and play games when im bored, i decided I should try and learn to play guitar. Plus I wanna try and impress a girl, just so she knows i do something other then nothing in my life. I think this would be beneficial cause i've always tapped along to music when I listen to it, I know how to read piano music for the most part from my piano days, and i mostly understand guitar chords.

Only problem is; i have trouble placing my fingers around, AND also, how on a guitar chord, it says the number of which fret you should be playing on (with 0 meaning the string is free) but I dont know if they number frets from the top of the neck or from the bottom, so i can't actually understand the chords i've seen thus far.

Right now im trying to learn "Far Away by Jose Gonzales cause it's an awesome song, i picked up the first to lines using guess work and tunning of the guitar, so, if we're going from the top of the neck down to the base, I do string 5 on the 2nd fret followed by sting 6 open, but then, even with trying to tune the other strings, I can't find the other notes! I suppose I could try and tune the entire guitar with the piano, but i think it's an octave lower (as in below middle C) then the piano, and im use to using C (for trumpet and what not) to tune, not anything else :mhh:

Any suggestions on my course of action?

eat cheese

:mhh: if he's lactose intolerant he's gonna fart that girl away......

Tabs are a little tricky. They are shown as how you would see your own guitar if you would be to turn it in front of you. Thus, the top lines depicted in a tab mean the bottom cord on your guitar when you are holding it. And vice-versa.

I don't play guitar but I try to learn the Ukulele too. :)

As for tabs and chords, if I read you right:

http://www.guitar-players-toolbox.co...chordchart.png

These are like top down views of the guitar neck. Thick string/deep note left, thin string/high note right. The higher up on these tabs, the closer to the tuning screws on top. A thick or double line is the _nut_, the bar at the top of the neck.

Then there's the other kind of tabs. Those long lines like note lines with numbers on them. What you do is, rotate those chords up there _counter clockwise_ so that the leftmost string is the bottom string and the nut is to the left. The numbers on each line (string) are straight forward. 0 is open string, 1 is the first fret from the nut (place the tip of your finger just behind the first fret), 2 is the second fret from the nut (tip of finger just behind the 2nd yeah yeah yeah you've got it now :))

As for placing your fingers: Some tabs give you additional numbers for which finger to place on which string. 1 is index finger, 4 is pinky. Thing is, try to be "economic" when placing your fingers. You want to move each finger the minimum distance between chords and notes. Know which chord is coming next and learn by practice how to be most economic. You will find that the positioning of your fingers will depend on the _next_ chord. Only practice will show you.

I'll try to keep an eye on this topic, so keep them questions coming and good luck!


EDIT:
Just to add the notes on each open string:

From left to right (6th to 1st string/deepest to highest/thickest to thinnest):

E A D G B E

Each fret is a semi tone, so the fifth string (A) is
open: A
1st fret: Bb
2nd fret: B
3rd fret: C
4th fret: Cb
5th fret: D
and so on. Notice how the fifth fret on the fifth string (D) is the same note as open 4th string (D). Same applies to all strings, each fret is a semi tone. 12th fret will then be the octave (12 semi tones in an octave).
http://deepimpact.umd.edu/webdings/icons/CometSong1.jpg
The first 3 notes here (C - D - E) can thus be played 5th string (A) 3rd fret (C)
5th string (A) 5th fret (D) OR 4th string (D) open.
5th string (A) 7th fret (E) OR 4th string (D) 2nd fret (E)
to name a couple of ways.

Actually, the tabs I was making a reference about look more like this. They are way more convenient for someone who didn't learn how to play and who still want to learn to play a song or two by himself.

Hard and takes time, but it works for me. :)

We're talking about the same thing I guess :) but I also figured it wouldn't hurt to go a bit further.

Perhaps... But I also know that what you are refering to confused me so much that it almost stopped me from trying.

And I still have no idea what they are about even now that I know 3 full tunes.

I just play by ear, been doing that for synth and guitar, works well. Learned many songs by ear.

Be quiet, thou annoying show off, or i shalt break thy legs :D

Maybe start playing chords for a while and go onto tab when you've got a few more skillz, fubbles?

The string notes are E A D G B E. The top string being the lowest E. Once you have that one tuned you can tune all the others using mostly the fifth fret. The first one with the single dot on it. Hold E down on the fifth fret. Then play it plus the A string below it. When they sound the same, hold the A string down and play it with the D string. When they sound the same, tune the G string in. Then go to the fourth fret on the G string, iirc, to tune the B. Go back to the fifth fret on the B to tune the high E and then make sure it's in harmony with the top E string. Then if you're like me, the guitar sounds twice as bad as it did before, buy yourself a little electronic tuning machine and hope for the best :hysterical: