Guitarists

[saut]

I've been thinking about getting an acoustic guitar lately to screw around with and hopefully play some Opeth on. I am not looking to become any kind of a serious musician or anything, this is just for a little fun.

What would you recommend to a beginner? I don't want to drop very much money on this at all, but I'd like something that isn't a piece of shit too.


Also, I really don't have the time or money for lessons, so I was planning on teaching myself. I don't know how practical this is, because I have absolutely no aptitude for any kind of musical instrument (although I have never seriously played anything). I figure that the internet is a great resource for all kinds of things, so why not learning how to play guitar?

I also took a gander at this PowerTabs website that I hear about so often and downloaded a tab. I'm hoping that I need some kind of software to read it, because it just opened in notepad and looks like this:

  K? K? K?@ K?b K?? K?? I?
  K? K? K?@ K?b K?? K?? I? !   K? K? K?@ K?b K?? K?? I?    K? K? K?@ K?d K?? K?? I??   K? K? K?@ K?d K?? K?? I?
  K? K? K?@ K?e K?? K?? I?
  K? K? K?@ K?e K?? K?

If I'm supposed to understand that, I may as well give up now.

 

[JoeVice]

I also took a gander at this PowerTabs website that I hear about so often and downloaded a tab. I'm hoping that I need some kind of software to read it, because it just opened in notepad and looks like this:
QUOTE]

you should just learn to play by ear...don't use tabs. figure stuff out yourself, and it will help you in the long run as a musician. it may be frustrating at first....but it will really help you develope a good ear.

as for guitars......for a beginner, there is no wrong way to go...as long as it stays in tune, isn't falling appart, has decent action, (distance between the strings and the fretboard) and has good intonation (guitar is in tune with itself...do some searches to find out how to test this.)

good luck!!

 

[Shadows Skulk]

yeah there's a powertab program to view those files.

 

[steel102]

Seagull S6

 

[saut]

you should just learn to play by ear...don't use tabs. figure stuff out yourself, and it will help you in the long run as a musician. it may be frustrating at first....but it will really help you develope a good ear.

Ahem...

I am not looking to become any kind of a serious musician or anything, this is just for a little fun.

But thank you for your advice. I'm really not musical at all (except for the enourmous amounts of music that I listen to), so as long as this thing plays notes I think I should be fine.

 

[saut]

yeah there's a powertab program to view those files.

Glorious. Where can I find that program? I've had no luck finding it on their website.

 

[vampyré]

http://www.power-tab.net/

 

[saut]

I guess I should have read the newbie's guide... Thanks!

 

[Kenneth R.]

google plots to take over the world. use av...

 

[Man In Black]

Seagulls are damn good and don't cost a bunch.
My alvarez I got a few years ago when I started playing isn't bad either.
I wouldn't buy off any online sites, since lots of wacky shit can happen to the body and neck when the ship it to you.
If you know anyone that's been playing for a while I would take them along with you so they can help you check the bow, make sure the neck isn't warped, blah blah blah...
Also get some new strings and a tuner when you buy it, because the strings they come with are usually old and crappy.

 

[saut]

Wow, turns out I don't know how to read music! I'm guessing the numbers and guitar neck looking thing below the notes is what I would be looking at to make it easy, but it still is not making any sense what-so-ever.

 

[Man In Black]

I've never used power tabs, but I assume that the lower part are tabs...
The numbers represent where you fret the note on the neck, and the bars the numbers are on represent the strings, the lowest bar is the low E string (fattest string on the guitar) and the top bar is the high e (thinnest string on the guitar).
So if there is a 6 on the lwoest bar in the tab, that means you fret the low E at the 6th fret.
And if that didn't make any sense, here's an article that Explains it: http://www.fretplay.com/how-to-read-tabs.shtml

 

[saut]

or use google. GOOGLE. GOOGLE. GOOGLE. GOOGLE. do people not know this glorious site exists?

That's nice. Now go run along and play with the other children.


Anyway, I really don't care to learn how to read tabs today -- I don't even have a guitar. I'm just looking for input from you because I'm sure lots of you started playing for the same reason (Opeth).

 

[Man In Black]

meh, its not that hard to learn.
Better now than later :Smug:

 

[Kenneth R.]

indeed Alvarez are good guitars at good prices. i own one myself...

saut one thing to remember is that when you see a tab with number '0' that means just play the string by itself. the numbers then move up as you go towards the body of the guitar.

the place you want to put your fingers is like this, with the |'s being the metal bars (frets) on the guitar and the "x" where your fingerpad should go: |....x.|

keep in mind seeing vertical stacks of numbers means "play these at the same time". you'll get the hang of it. luckily powertab lets you "play" the file so you can get the rhythm without knowing how to read music.

 

[saut]

lol so you don't wanna learn tabs and you don't want to do anything serious and you don't know about the glory that IS google? you've cornered the market on failing

1. I do want to learn tabs, but I really won't grasp it until I actually have a guitar, so why bother very much right now?

2. I'm not and will never be a musician. I just want to play some stuff from bands I like.

3. How the hell did google get brought up, anyway?

 

[Shadows Skulk]

lemme tell you it's not like you're just gonna pick up the guitar and after a month be able to play anything by Opeth

it was a year before I could play anything more than power chords

 

[JoeVice]

lemme tell you it's not like you're just gonna pick up the guitar and after a month be able to play anything by Opeth

it was a year before I could play anything more than power chords

didn't you tear through the moor like it was no one's business a few months ago? that was one of the best clips i have ever heard by a user here. how long have you been playing?

 

[Kenneth R.]

feck google.

 

[Shadows Skulk]

didn't you tear through the moor like it was no one's business a few months ago? that was one of the best clips i have ever heard by a user here. how long have you been playing?

no that was protected witness/mr niel