Any Guitar Players Here?

[Slugger926]

My 7 (almost 8) year old daughter just got a Baby Taylor for Christmas. I also got a Seagull Entourage cutaway with electronics (http://www.seagullguitars.com/productentouragerusticcw.htm). I am extremely new to guitars, so pretty clueless. I did take several years of piano growing up, so I do have some understanding of music. I always wanted to play guitar, and hated the piano especially with the pain on the right hand from carpel tunnel from excessive hitting practice.

We have our first lesson scheduled next Thursday night. I will be basically following along with my daughter. I can probably learn a lot from the internet, but my daughter really needs someone else to learn from.

Any suggestions or experiences?

 

[DrPositron]

My 7 (almost 8) year old daughter just got a Baby Taylor for Christmas. I also got a Seagull Entourage cutaway with electronics (http://www.seagullguitars.com/productentouragerusticcw.htm). I am extremely new to guitars, so pretty clueless. I did take several years of piano growing up, so I do have some understanding of music. I always wanted to play guitar, and hated the piano especially with the pain on the right hand from carpel tunnel from excessive hitting practice.
We have our first lesson scheduled next Thursday night. I will be basically following along with my daughter. I can probably learn a lot from the internet, but my daughter really needs someone else to learn from.

Any suggestions or experiences?

I taught myself as a teenager with just a book of chords and playing music with my dad in church. I've always wished I had taken lessons and learned scales and proper techniques. I've found that it's hard to unlearn years of incorrect techniques.

The Baby Taylor guitars are great for kids taking lessons. Shoot, I wish I had one to take with me on my latest trip back home!

 

[FusionWhite]

Im pretty good at Guitar Hero? Does that count?

My wife is learning to play the banjo for a year or so. Shes gotten really good at it. She does get pissed that people always ask her to play Dualing Banjos.

My fencing teacher always said that fencing was like playing an instrument: you should always learn the correct way to do it first. Pay attention to those lessons.

 

[Master slacker]

I have my dad's banjo and have been wanting to learn it for a loooooooooong time. Since I can't afford lessons, I'll have to teach myself through youtube videos and whatever else I can find for free. We'll see if I can get warm on it before I go back to work.

 

[cableguy]

I started playing when I was in high school (back in the 1980s), so it was all hair metal that I learned. Had fun with it, and then put it away until after college, when I started playing again in church. I play 'rhythm' guitar... I don't do lead. I also sing (help lead the kids' worship band). We have a really good time, and my kids dig it.

My main guitar is a G&L Legacy Special (American). It's very nice. I have a few others, and a couple of basses (I switch over to bass when needed).

My suggestion for learning is to pick out a few simple songs and learn them, and play them, over and over again. Start with some 3-4 chord songs, and work up from there. Guitar playing is a lot more than learning Stairway to Heaven; I do it to sing along with it and have fun.

 

[Dleg]

The Seagull is a nice guitar - I bought one a few years back when I wanted to learn. My wife ended up stealing it from me and taking lessons. A couple of guitar-player friends have picked it up and said they think it sounds excellent.

 

[Slugger926]

Lessons all setup to start Thursday, although I seem to be picking up a lot on my own. It will require someone besides myself to tell my daughter what to try.

Terry

 

[pbrme]

Response is a bit dated, but nonetheless... I'm self taught, been playing since I was 17. Saw SRV on PBS Austin City Limits and was hooked. I had previously played Sax from 5th thru 10th grade (w/ a couple years off between) so had some prior musical theory which made it easy to count rhythms and match tone. Did a lot the first year through chord books, but hardly practiced scales, so I'm like cableguy, just a good rhythms man.

I practiced a lot with a guy who played piano, and found myself just wanting to jam than practice fundamentals. I always bought or downloaded tabs just to hammer away at a good beat, but never learned or wrote a complete song. This lasted until after college, and I started to practice more, developing my own style, and could afford more gear.

At 17 I practiced on my dad's acoustic, and got a fender strat & practice amp for xmas. Soon after, I picked up some random pedals for noise and was also given an heirloom acoustic from a past relative. Post college, sold my books and went down and got a Marshall 150 watt. This was a moment in time where I was single and on my first career assignment, and started to develop "my style". Fast forward to 2008, I was 29 and the Gibson robot came out. I had to have it, not only because it was a Les Paul, but because it had servo tuning keys and a processor. I mean what? Really? Here,.. here's some money...

I now run most of my sound thru power monitors with mic's and also a separate lead to my newer Peavey 90 watt. Just picked up the JamMan Delay, which allows me to loop/record/playback/overdub so it's like having a practice buddy at my disposal. The long and short is to just practice, and keep it current. We had a house party last weekend and a few wanted to jam in the music room, so we plugged in and farted around. One asked if I new any metallica, and I did but hadn't played it in over 4 years and forgot more than most people know. So there's definitely a curve to storing that info w/ me. Just my three fitty.

 

[TouchDown]

Any updates here? I took up guitar this spring - have about 4 months of lessons under my belt and LOVE IT. Have since gotten my 9YO interested, so she's beginning to play as well.