Guitar
- Started
- Last post
- 106 Responses
- DavidFelt
Anyone here play, Ive wanted to learn for years and think I may finally start.
is 24 too old? did you have/would you recommend lessons? whats easier to learn, acoustic/electric?
you get the drift
- skt0
Too late. Everyone will be bored shitless of guitar music within the next 10 minutes if these bands don't stop breeding soon.
- vespa0
just do it.
- lw-d0
Played for the past 9 years. I'm 27 now. When I first started (28 y/o) I was giigling within 2 years. I got a little obsessed with it when I first started.
Anyway, 24 is not too old, plus it is something you have for life. Pretty comfortanting.
Start with acoustic, if you get too accustomed with the light strings that you get on an electric then you will struggle with the thicker acoutstic strings.
- lw-d0
Head over to Jonny Roadhouse on Oxford road, you know it makes sense.
- DavidFelt0
yeah, i doint want to actually perform if you know what i mean, id just like to be able to have a nice little guitar and knock out a decent tune on it, know what i mean?
anyone got a recommendation for a decent cheap starter acoustic then? also, what about lessons, should i have some or try to teach myself?
- honest0
practice, practice, practice
- Baskerville0
I've played guitar for about 10 years.
Although I hate people saying 'you're a guitarist'. It's more that I'm a musician who plays the guitar. I also play the piano to the same level.
I'm interested in music and music theory. People don't realise that music theory dictates pretty much everything in most styles of music.
From punk to jazz.
The reason so many guitar bands are rubbish is that they don't know what they're doing. They make it up as they go along, or slavishly copy others instead of learning why good music works.So if you decided to take up the guitar, you should really see it as taking up music, your output of which will be on the guitar.
I learn new things about music all the time and I can then apply them to a guitar, piano or any other instument if I wanted.
Music is the same as design, it's about ideas and composition.
Don't play the guitar because you think it's cool. If you want to be cool then play the sax. I wish I could play like coltrane that would truly be cool. He was an amzing thinker more than an amazing player.
You can start at any age. But learn theory first or while you go along. Don't let your hands play faster than you can think what you're doing.
- driftlab0
You're never too old. I'm 34 and I just picked my axe back up to start writing and recording. Here's what I gots -
my geetar -
http://www.fender.com/products/s…my bass -
http://www.yamaha.com/guitars/pr…
- vespa0
i agree with you baskerville that "Music is the same as design, it's about ideas and composition."
but geez louise if it was only ever about theory we'd end up with so much tiresome intellectual wank! there's a lot to be said about feeling and instinct, and just as in design, the best stuff happens for me when i don't have a pre-formed theoretical solution, but when i totally make it up as i go along!
music is such an adventure.
and why not play cos you think it's cool? SURELY you SECRETLY thought music was cool when you started!
that said, you're clearly a way more accomplished musician than me, as you know i'm just a vocalist. but i think music (like design) is simply one medium to communicate an idea to an audience. fucking ace medium to play with tho huh? oh the joy!
- skt0
So do you still have a piano Baskerville? I used to play until I was about 16 and I would quite like to get back into it. Expensive things pianos though.
- kelpie0
I heard your band sold their guitars and bought turntables.
- kelpie0
I heard your band sold their turntables and bought guitars...
- kelpie0
but anyway - do you have arthritis David? it's the only way I could see age stoping you from being able to learn a musical instrument...
- vespa0
Everyone I know is more RELEVANT than everyone you know Kelpie.
Kelpie! You're alive!
- kelpie0
happy new year vesp!
how come you can see me in hee, but everyone else is so convincingly oblivious to my presence in that other thread?
wierd
- JackDB0
its never too late to start.
Start with lessons, preferably on acoustic (they're generally cheaper than electrics, and will strengthen your hands).
Fender and Yamaha both make an affordable acoustic guitar.
Enjoy...
- Baskerville0
Vespa, I'll bet you have some formal qualification in design though.
You may even get pissed off when you see a rubbish club flyer or ad that some has knocked up.
I'm not saying that all music needs to be intellectual but what I'm trying to say is that whether you know it or not when you write songs you're using music theory. Years of being exposed to western music has instilled certain ideas in you, things that your ears like and things they don't.
From talking to your Mentallists guitarist, it seemed she knows lots of music theory and has studied music at various music schools. She knows that stuff so then she can throw it away if she wants.
Same with design. You learn about grids and then you can make an informed choice as to whether you use them or not.
You may write a piece of music that you like but you don't know why it works. If you had some theory knowledge you can exploit why it sounds good and use the idea somewhere else.
Again, same in design. Why does this book look good? Because it uses a certain grid, text size, typeface.
Why not know that stuff about music?The beatles had no clue what they were doing, but george martin certainly did. After they stared working with him they suddenly went from playing skiffle to interesting intelligent music with complex arrangements. Coincidence?
But I do agree with you. It is the best feeling just playing in front of people.
I had the luck to get to jam with Alice Cooper's guitarist once, and that was the most fun I've had with a guitar!Rock on \m/
- the-saint0
I've played for about 10 years now and although never really had lessons have reached a decent level. I would recommend having lessons. I'm thinking about getting spanish guitar lessons because when I started I got an electric and spanked out Nirvana tracks for the first 3 years. I probably would also recommend starting on an accoustic.
As far as which one.. Guitars are adictive and you always end up spending more than you thought on them. There is always something better so start with a passable accoustic for a 100-200 range then see how you go.
Also prepare for the long slog... don't expect to be hendrix in a week. Noone told me that at the beginning.
- vespa0
yea i got a formal qualification in design but didn't learn much apart from how to roll a good bifter - i learnt everything useful on the job from just trying stuff. and i guess i've built up my own set of theoretical rules for myself, visually and aurally.
and yea my guitarist, bassist and drummer are all very well educated, my bassist is also a grade 8 pianist, me drummer has a degree in jazz. i'm just saying that you still need instinct and feeling to spark shit, otherwise theory is just that.
actually i think i'm just arguing with you because i'm bored and wish i was making music right now.
- KuzII0
skt - why don't u just get a keyboard instead?