Conference napalm::guitar

When I was a teacher, I worked with a couple of people who didn't have time 
for weekly lessons.  One of them opted for monthly one-hour lessons; the other 
just called me whenever he felt the need for guidance and we arranged a 
lesson - it came to three or four lessons in six months.  You can probably 
find a teacher willing to make a plan that works for you, and you may only 
need a few lessons.

Whatever time you have will be more productive with the guidance of a good 
teacher, especially in the early stages.

Bob

	Get the courage up to go to a Jam session or two & find someone
	that just wants to get together & play. Don't feel like you have
	to be substantially proficiant to play along with other people.
	I Jam with people who are better than me and who are not better
	than me & I enjoy it no matter what. I almost always learn
	something & rarely feel that it's a waste of time. Making music
	is one of my favorite pastimes. I suspect that it's a common
	favorite pastime of many people in this notes file. I feel that
	you often learn a lot of new things when you get a chance to play
	along with other musicians. You don't need to start a band to do
	it, just find some friends that have similar interests & try to
	have a good time.

							Jens

    Just play the thing, try to imitate what you hear.
    After you tune it.
    Dump Mel Bay, he's a turkey, IMO.
    	Chris Parkening has a primer for classic, 
    perhaps you'd do well with a Video.
    DON'T take lessons. Teach Yourself and you'll feel better about it.

    Video is definitely an advantage for today's beginners!
    
    Mike

If you want the satisfaction of learning something without the help of a 
teacher, then "DON'T take lessons".  If you want the satisfaction of 
learning well and efficiently, then find an experienced guide who's 
interested in helping you become the guitarist you want to be.  It doesn't
have to be someone that you pay.

Let's clarify something here.  Taking lessons and teaching yourself are NOT
mutually exclusive.  In fact, a good teacher will help you learn how to teach 
yourself.  A good teacher is a guide, not a dictator.

The value of a teacher depends upon how much you want to accomplish.  If you
just want to strum chords and sing songs, then you probably don't need a 
teacher.  If you're serious about becoming a proficient guitarist, then having
a good teacher will greatly improve your chances.

If you choose to go without a teacher, there are lots of resources available
to help you - cassette tapes, videos, books.  A dedicated student can learn a
lot from this stuff.  Whatever you do by yourself, adding a good teacher to it
will help.

My original point was just that you shouldn't give up the idea of a teacher
just because you think you don't have time.  

Bob

        Really, speaking as someone who only recently started learning
     guitar, a teacher is invaluable.  I don't have regularly scheduled
     lessons but 2 very good friends who are taking the time to get me
     to understand some theory, showing me scales 'n chords and making
     learning a very enjoyable process .... 'cept when Buck wants me to
     start spelling chords!  ;^)

        But as was said, it depends on what you want.  I want to be able
     to play and understand the what's and why's of playing.  

        Enjoy!!!

        Vicki

    Hi, I'm a rank amatuer also and I am taking lessons and getting with
    people and buying music(I can't read it yet)I fraction it out,which
    helps (fractioning like a fraction when you was in school,the top is 
    the string the bottom part is the fret you press to get the note)
    
    like:
    
    1
    -  ==open high "E"    etc but you got to get a book that help with that
    0
    
    try mel bay #1 and anything else that will help,I don't think there is
    a law that sez:YOU vill take lessons buy Mel Bay books etc...
    I've been making belive I can play for about 2 months and I'm getting
    there slowly.....I have 1 question.....how hard is it to play a
    motorcycle? must need a BIG neck strap...HUH..??...; )
    
    
                             Kevin
    0

    
    
    re last what I ment was the book will help finding out what note on the
    sheet music is an "A" "E" etc and then you can find out what
    string/fret combo makes up that note....clear as muddy water right??
    
    
       

    I want to thank you guys for your inputs, and direction. I do
    eventually want to take lessons but I just don't have the time right 
    now. I practice at least a hour a night, just working on my chord 
    changes. I find that I'm use to playing with my fingers and now when I
    go to use a pick it sounds lousey. I can tell strumming a guitar is an 
    art, boy so much to learn.... thats again your inputs are most welcome!
    
    Rich

    Rich,
    
    It's all a matter of whats best for you.  I never took a "lesson"
    but a friend of mine taught me the barre chords and a few open chords,
    I learned a few chords by looking at books and chord charts, and
    I was jamming as soon as I new how to play a barre.
    
    Somebody already said it.  Work up your courage and jam with some
    friends.  You don't have to take a lesson to learn from someone...And 
    there is always someone to learn from.
    
    Have no shame either.  Most guitarist would love to show you their
    favorite lick !
                   
    jc (Who gets a lesson everytime he plays)

I you have any friends at all, that play, then what's been said
prior will go a long way.  Playing with others, especially when
you're in the early learning stages, and your friends more advanced,
will be worth alot.  

Certain bad habbits that early learners get into, are real hard to break 
if you teach yourself in the 'vacum' of self teaching.  Habbits like
picking, and finger placement are vital to start off on the right
foot, becasue once you become aclimated to a certain 'technique' whether
that technique is technically wront or right will not change the fact
that you're used to doing it a certain way.  Sometimes there's no wrong
or right, however sometimes, a wrong method may impare ones dexterity.

The last thing you want to do at this time though, is put too much pressure
on your learning efforts.  Take it wasy, and have some fun.  Don't
be affraid to make mistakes, it's the only way you'll be able to
judge improvement.

But take the effort for what you want to do long term.  If your goals
are simple at first, you'll most likely obtain them in a short period.
(In other words, try to stay away from learning difficult tunes, or
copying difficult artists until you're very comfortable with the
current theme.)

Guitar is very easy to learn, yet difficult to master.  If you
follow the guide of Crawl, Walk, Run, things will tend to fall into
place.

Eventually, you'd do well to hook up with a good teacher.  Early on,
you'll do very well with some friends to show you some ropes, and
keep you away from the bad habbits.

In the meantime, enjoy,,  It's a great pass time in nothing more..

    RE: Bad Habits...
    
    Yeah, I picked up at least one bad habit from a friend...Playing
    barre chords with my pinky.  It took me a while to learn to quite
    doing it...But after a while I was able to do it with my ring finger
    or my pinky...Good advice though...Don't pick up bad habits !
    
    ;^)

    A book, "The Guitar Handbook", is in print now. In addition to all the
    other good suggestions, this book contains, in the middle of the book,
    a relatively thorough section on theory as it applies to the fret
    board, including major, minor scales, Ionian, etc. modes,
    fingerpicking, the circle of fifths, an dso forth. A nice, cheap,
    theory primer, as well as an O.K. thesaurus of guitar construction,
    repair, etc.
    
    Bill

    
    RE: .11
    
    Crawl,Walk,Run wasn't that a song by the Ventures...??.....; )
    
    

    IMO it is important to know what sort of music you want to play.
    
    I have never believed in learning 20,000 chords, just to be able
    to say I know them all.
    
    Find what you want to play and get immersed in it. For example,
    if you like country blues, get as many albums as are appropriate
    and get the feel for it.
    
    Once you get that feeling, then you can apply your chords.
                                               
    I learn new chords as I go along, either as they crop up in a new song 
    or if I am playing around, as they are required.
    
    This is a far more useful way of doing it IMO because you have instant
    need of the chord.
    
    If you learn the 20,000, you may never play 19, 800 of them, ever,
    so why bother to learn them.
    
    
    andy
    

<<  RE: .11
<<    
<<    Crawl,Walk,Run wasn't that a song by the Ventures...??.....; )
  
	Could be..  I don't recall off hand,,,  Just an analogy I've used
	

    Re: The Guitar Handbook
    
    It is written by Ralph Denyer.  I've seen it in national bookstores
    such as Walden's and B. Dalton's for $20.
    
    Mike

    re: Crawl, Walk, Run
    
    With me it's more of a cyclic thing...
    
    Crawl, walk, sprint, crawl, beat self in head, walk, run, walk, more
    self-flagellation, walk...
    
    Greg  (Not really past a moderate trot most of the time)

    I want to thank everyone for there input, now I have a question. The
    guitar I,m using is a Yamaha and the strings are very wide,(strong,
    thick) hard to press down. Is it easier to learn to play with a lesser
    grade (thinner, lighter) chord? I know someone with weaker strings and
    his guitar doesn't have the same ring as mine but it is much easier on
    the fingers. I was thinking of changing the strings, what do you think?
    
    Richard

    re:  .19
    
    Yes,
    
    a lighter guage string will feel easier on the fingers while
    sacrificing some tone "richness".  Be careful, the strings you have may
    be hard on your fingers because you're a beginner, and haven't acquired
    the strength that you will acquire with continued practice.  I "train"
    on my acoustic guitar occassionally so that when I play my electric
    (with lighter guage strings). it feels easier....like leg weights I
    guess.  Find the guage that is best for you (there are lots of
    variations) in both feel and tone.
    
    FWIW
    
    Steve

Yes.  Go with light or extra light strings for learning, but also check the 
action.  Most new guitars have the action a little too high for most folks.
That can make a bigger difference than string gauge.

Bob

                      
    I use .010 strings on my axe ( .011 on my acoustic). I find that
    I can play much quicker with heavy strings, chords sound fuller,
    notes sound more in their correct pitch (ie they don't bend all 
    over the place when you don't want them to), you can be more 
    accurate with vibrato and they actually last a bit longer, so it
    save me money (granted only about 50p!).
                               
    They took me a bit of getting used to, but, after a while, my hands 
    got stronger, and those awkward barre chords or those two and a half 
    steps bends became easy.
         
    Cheers,
    -Tone
    
    

re: -.1

.011 is considered light or extra light gauge on an acoustic.  Heavies start 
anywhere from .014 to .016 (ouch!).

Bob