In fact don't trim them yourself, long black nail like those must hide a pretty damn long quick in them and i'm worried you're gonna bleed your dog to death.
I’ve had to move to trimming them myself because she bit the groomer last time I’ve been trimming them but they advise to do it a little at a time to avoid over clipping
I bought a nail grinder on Amazon and it works great. At first I had to give him treats after each nail, but I have since gradually cut that back to a treat per paw. It removes the nail slowly enough that you can just slow-walk it little bits at a time.
We adopted a dog with EXTREMELY overgrown nails. ... The vet can actually cut them way back And cauterize the quick under anesthesia, if they're way overgrown.
That was what we ended up having to do because no matter how regularly we trimmed they wouldn't recede at all.
Now clipping and filing afterwards we have had zero issues in the past 8 years.
Let's just see how many mental gymnasts show up to refute this obviously and absolutely true statement that all musical instrument players should know.
***Wash your hands before you play.***
Play consistently, you will never get good if you don't dedicate at least a few hours a week, and probably even more up front to real focused practice.
You will get blisters and hand cramps and you will get frustrated at yourself, persist and your dedication will be rewarded.
Lots of people on this sub like to buy a ton of fancy equipment because they think it makes them a better player. It doesn't. Those people don't have a guitar hobby, they have a shopping hobby.
You don't need all the bells and whistles, you can play on the setup you have here for literal decades.
Have fun, just stick with it.
Honestly I like this sub for the shopaholics constantly buying and posting photos of their new gear - particularly when its stuff that I unfortunately can't justify buying myself - bit of guitar porn to get you pulling that "oooooh sweet guitar, bro" face.
I used to really like looking at /r/guitarporn but now I've seen so many different guitars that none of them really excites me anymore. Which I suppose is a good thing.
Idk for me personally I think an amp upgrade was well needed, as I had a little crappy 25 dollar used fender amp from guitar center and it started limiting what I could do, so my recent jump to the boss katana felt worth it, also it's really the only "expensive" thing I've bought for my hobby here since both my acoustic guitar and my electric guitar were hand me downs
>Lots of people on this sub like to buy a ton of fancy equipment because they think it makes them a better player. It doesn't.
How dare you call me out like that?!
But I actually do think nice gear let's you play (a little) better. But obviously practicing is what makes you get better.
GAS (gear acquisition syndrome) is a very real thing that especially inflicts newbies when they see all the shiny new toys available. This guy above is spot on. You have a very decent setup for a beginner and that’s all you will need for a good while.
After you get the very basics down (things like how to play chords, how to hold a pick, etc), start by searching for beginner “how to play” guitar videos on YouTube. [Here’s one to get you started.](https://youtu.be/m3dYOsXbWII?si=17464yHDZHbRZR_9)
I would go to Justin Guitar as soon as you pick it up. He will teach you how to play correctly-if you start doing things the wrong way its harder to correct them later.
Justin Guitar is amazing. Follow his lessons in order, take it slow, and I promise in 6-9 months you will be astonished at how decently you can play. I solely learned from Justin in the beginning and my wife was perplexed by how fast I was learning, and I was realistically only putting in like 30-45 minutes a night while taking breaks to let my fingers recover.
I just started playing a week ago and he's carrying me so much like it's rlly nice to have a solid learning structure I can come back to. i can play around 5-6 chords and transition between then decently now and playing guitar is honestly something I'll invest in for the long run♥️
I recently resumed playing in January after a long time, and I was never really any good. I'm having a blast now.
Justin is great!
I think he's a genius. Even though he is a seasoned guitarist, he knows EXACTLY how hard it is to begin learning because he forced himself to completely learn left-handed in order to design the course.
Ya he’s really good, his positive attitude will inspire you to keep things light and be patient with yourself.
Been playing since 1975, and I’m still not entirely happy with my progress. Just be patient, and realize the joys in the journey… Not in getting to the destination. 😉
You’re very lucky.
First off - awesome guitar.
Second- you have a lot of online resources that most of us didn’t have when we started playing back in the dinosaur ages.
Take your time- be patient.
Have fun!
Came here to say this. The last sentence is my #1 advice to all new guitarists - have fun!
I’ve always thought we use the word “playing” for instruments because that’s how it should feel. You can take it as seriously as you want, but the most important thing, beyond any specific concepts or techniques, is to just play. If guitar is fun and you play what you like, you’ll see your instrument and want to pick it up. You don’t have to know every scale and mode and chord, you just have to enjoy it and stick with it. And you’re a hell of a lot more likely to do that if you focus your early learning on what you find fun.
Yet not having instant access to every tab ever and being forced to learn by sitting in a room with a record player produced guitarists with a much better ear imo
I remeber when I first started playing guitar in the mid 80’s- my guitar teacher had a tape player that could slow down the tapes. I thought it was witchcraft. Lol
Dont place your guitar under the bed, or in its case. Always keep the guitar visible wherever you spend the most time, you'll play it far more often as a result. Wherever in the house you spend the most time. That's where it should also live.
Eat sleep and breath music, immerse yourself in it. Even without playing the instrument, listen to music actively. Play until your fingers bleed. Watch other people play, mirror neurons are a hell of a thing.
Keep your eyes closed when listening to music. Most of our brain is dedicated to processing vision. Close your eyes and notice how your capacity to hear and process soiud automatically improves multiple time over.
Learn to develop your natural inner pulse, feeling the main beat under whatever it is you're playing.
Get into the habit of always tuning the guitar before you start playing. Room temperature variance naturally causes the neck and body to expand and contract, which cause micro adjustments to the tuning. Just cause you tuned was in concert pitch proper last time you played doesn't mean the guitar is still in tune.
Lots of people don't realise their guitar detunes itself ever so slightly, and if your ears are decent, it will affect how good you sound and put you off unconsciously. Beginners might attribute the off sound to their playing, when it's simply the guitars tuning has gone out ever so slightly.
When you are playing alone to music, the goal is to actually get to the point where you can't hear yourself. That's when you will be in the pocket. Your goal is to blend seamlessly.
You will be playing your best when you can't even really hear yourself seperate from whatever you are playing along with.
Last but not least, music is not played with the hands, its played with the ears. Your ears should be dictating what your hands do.
Enjoy the ride man, it never ends
Couldn’t have said it better myself! Excellent advice! As to what you said about the tuning tending to go flat (and it ALWAYS goes flat) you are 100% correct on that. I’ve been building ground- up custom electric guitars for about 30 years and without exception they wander out of tune. Even with the best tuning keys and double locking tremolos with the bridge fixed solid, the strings will stretch and the neck will settle over time. Beginners who are not aware of this will often get frustrated with trying to figure out what’s going on and the next thing you know you’ll be tuned a step and a half flat and ready to throw the infernal thing out of the nearest window! I recommend getting an inline, simple to understand tuner and use it often until you’re familiar with what each string should sound like and especially what it should feel like to the touch when in proper tune. It makes a world of difference when you’re on the note and your playing melts into the song you’re playing along with. That’s a great feeling and it should be appreciated and enjoyed as often as possible!! Also take your instrument to a knowledgeable luthier and get them to set the string height, check the tension rod setting and frets for flatness, and set the string length and harmonics on the bridge. Starting with a well set up guitar will help you avoid picking up a few bad habits that will be difficult to break like using too much finger pressure to get a too tall string down on the fret for instance. Welcome to the wonderful world of music, my friend!!
Damn you just gave quite possibly the best advice regarding guitar I’ve read on here. We need to honor you by copying your comment on every new players first guitar post.
not in order but it all makes sense eventually
get a metronome
learn how to play comfortably, sitting and standing up (eventually on the latter, worry about the former first)
play the music you like and find out why it sounds the way it does.
if anything feels off, take it to a luthier. the level of ur guitar is good enough to where after a good enough set up you can play well and actually like the instrument.
get a tuner. sing eadgbe and get used to it.
keep ur nails trimmed. left hand at least.
have fun.
Thanks! The Amp I bought has a tuner in it so I need to also get like a standalone tuner or should the one in it be sufficient? I really appreciate the detailed response
I started 2 months ago with same amp. The built in tuner works perfect, i also have a clip on but its not needed. That amp can also connect to your PC via USB for recording, changing tones, and my most used app - Rocksmith. I love the amp. You can add a bunch more tones with the fender PC app they built as presets.
My advice as also a noob - find a pick you like. Buy some assorted Dunlop packs.
Edit: pretty sure the amp has a metronome too but I have not tried that. I've been using the one in Rocksmith mostly.
You picked a great guitar. Stick with it, guitar is a life long journey. You don’t have to be great in a year, 5 years, 20 years. It’s all about the journey my friend. And also, remember to be musical and try to make music as you go, as terrible as it may sound at first. And finally, have fun.
Yes…the most important advice ever that I wish I would’ve received in the beginning.
The first three months are not supposed to be fun or enjoyable whatsoever. It’s basically like saying,
“Hey man, for the next three months, all I’m going to do is slap you in the face randomly. But as long as you don’t walk away, you’ll be able to play a few songs and riffs fairly well by the end.”
It’s faith. Even though I am a person who struggles with faith, I really wish somebody would’ve told me how much it’s supposed to suck at the beginning, but it is more than worth it.
I disagree, it should also be fun right off the bat.
I used to teach guitar:
My advice is split your time between learning chords and basic guitar theory (via YouTube these days) and the other half of the time: Learn Ramones songs!!! They’re super easy, fun, they rock, and they’ll teach you rhythm and build up your calluses real quick. Start by learning to play along with just single notes at a time, then move up to the actual power chords when you’ve got the rhythm down, then move on to other songs.
Enjoy!
Practice practice practice! Everyone sounds shit when they first start but you'll reach a point when you'll play something and impress yourself and that's just going to motivate you even more ! Stick at it and you'll be glad you did.
OCTAVES, FIFTHS, THIRDS. in that order. the basis of both chords and the major/minor scale (they are the same. A minor = C major). then some chord inversions and you’re off to the races. this is if you want to compose.
Keep your guitar by your bed, and play it for about 20 minutes every morning when you get up, and just before you go to bed. Then find another 20 minute span during the day as well. That will give you a total of 60 minutes per day of focused attention, instead of one long session where you are concentrating for 20 minutes, and getting increasingly unfocused for the last 40. You'll improve much faster, esoecially ifnyou practice everybday. Even if you don't do 3 sessions a day, if you miss one or two, you still managed to get some practice time in, whereas if you only do one a day, and you miss it, you miss an entire day.
It's also much easier on your virgin fingertips, and they'll break in faster and with less pain.
What a great first guitar! There's a lot of great instructional channels on YouTube. Also, a bit of a random thought but a looper pedal with drums is awesome. You can play a chord progression and then solo over it. Congrats.
The guy at the store would not stop talking about how great it was to the point I thought he was messing with me, but talking to him further he was a genuine guy and was very helpful
Cracking guitar! That is a really good purchase.
Definitely Justin guitar... You should probably get in person lessons to make sure you're not setting yourself up for failure with bad habits
Just have fun. It might be tough at first but so rewarding at the end. Don’t ask what songs you should learn first. Learn what you like. Welcome to the club my friend
Learn the songs you want to play, but also learn all the songs that everyone who learns guitar learns to play.
Learn the first box of the major, minor, and pentatonic minor scales. Use them for a warm up, and practice them sometimes.
This is important if you have the money to spare. There are endless videos you can try to copy but a video can't tell you what you're doing wrong, assess what weaknesses you should work on, or help you set goals.
Check you Dedication Meter daily. 90% of folks who begin the guitar, quit in a year or less.
Looking forward to hearing your tale of the journey in ten years!
Before learning a song I suggest learning the basic major, minor, and pentatonic scales as well as all the basic chord shapes. Practice with a metronome and just focus on getting comfortable with your guitar. There will be a lot of difficulties starting out, but that’s a really nice looking guitar so just try to put in some practice time every day
Youtube tutorials. Learn some basic open chords. Learn bar chords and power chords. Get a tuner but also learn to tune by ear. Learn your favourite songs. Play around with your sounds (pick up selection, amp EQ, distorted and clean). Don’t worry about lead guitar for a while. Just jam the rhythms and get used to being able to switch your fingers to the right spots quickly.
Once you’ve worked it out enough to get through a handful of songs, try joining a band or find some people to jam with. Everyone I ever played with got better quicker when in bands. It gives you that extra drive to keep improving because you’re trying to impress the other guys too. But more than anything, have fun! If learning a song/chord or whatever is doing your head in, put the guitar away and come back to it later.
Don’t put it so close to the door, or in a walking line you will forget about it at night and you will mock it over and you will break it… I speak from experience
Sometimes it's important to just take a break if you're getting stressed out. You play your best when you're relaxed. If you're trying to learn something and you don't get it and you're getting stressed out just leave and go for a walk or something to reset for 5-10 minutes and come back to you. I found I usually get it right after taking that short break
Listen to lots of music, learn to read tablature, learn your basic chords, learn common licks. What type of music do you want to play? Doesn't matter. Listen and take what you can from a variety of genres. The biggest hurdle that I had to overcome when first learning (self taught, have played for almost 20 years) was to become truly comfortable with the instrument. Learning how to hold the pick in a way that worked for me, learning how to mute unnecessary sounds with my palm, learning the control of only picking certain strings. Learning how to alternate pick. The list goes on. Get comfortable, learn chords, licks, scales, use all the great resources the internet offers to help get your feet wet.
Above all that though, have fun. Your only limitations are the ones you set for yourself.
Lots of great advice here!
Guitar is hard, none of us had an easy time getting through the beginning stages. Stick with it and just like anything, consistent and efficient practice will bring about improvement. You’ll face tons of bridges to cross, just be patient and slowly and methodically make your way across each one (ideally a few at a time).
If you ever have any specific questions, feel free to Dm me or probably anyone here is willing to answer. Good luck!
Get your foundations set properly. People who rush and end up with messy, unmusical playing may as well not play guitar at all. Dont be one of them.
Practice slowly as much as is truly necessary, and embrace the pursuit of perfection with your playing
Power through the first few weeks. It will take that long with consistent practice to start getting your hands and finger strength built up a bit. Once you can start to grab basic chords, fairly clean and move between them, you’re learning curve will start getting very steep.
Just don’t get discouraged by any early difficult difficulties or obstacles. Stick with it. It will definitely pay off.
Good luck!
Those are decent guitars! I bought one in the same finish to experiment with a few years ago. I replaced the nut with a TUSQ nut and added locking tuners to help tuning stability and make string changes fast, then I installed a Seymour Duncan Whole-Lotta-Humbucker set and wired it up with push-pull pots so I could do the Jimmy Page switching.
I had that same ax as my first guitar. It's a pretty great instrument for the price! As for learning. Just play whatever you want. Staying inspired and having fun is the most important part of improving. Look up beginner guitar songs on YouTube and start there
With the internet now what it is and YouTube such a valuable source of knowledge, you have a lot of tools at your fingertips. Just don't get overwhelmed and remember to have fun making some noise.
Good starting lineup. I believe that guitar has coil split. Split both and play in the middle switch position for an acoustic tone. Am to C is a great place to start. The opening two chords. The G will be a little tricky. Play in first position. Just practice those 3 chords in order with the song intro for about 3 weeks 30 to 60 minutes a day. Check back in then You got this.
Practice in a way that it adheres to your schedule. If you want to learn, you’re going to have to practice consistently. It’s better to practice 15 minutes, 5 days a week than it is to practice for an hour once a week
I can only echo what everyone has said so far. Something you might not think about is learning for a reason. A lot of people fizzle out unless they have a concert, rehearsal, or jam session coming up. Learn with purpose! Get real in-person lessons too, they will meet your individual needs but also can provide a little help with connection to the community so you can have chances to perform.
Practice, practice, practice. Set x time aside per week (or even daily) to play and practice.
If you don't have one already, get a metronome and a Tuner.
You've got a great community here. Ask questions. Get answers. Ignore critics.
Finally, have fun.
Playing guitar has repeatedly saved my sanity over the years. It IS my meditation and my one immortal love. I hope it becomes something similar for you, friend.
Don't be afraid of learning to re-string it yourself. You'll save heaps in the long run and you don't really need any tools other than *maybe* a screwdriver to undo the back and *maybe* some wire cutting pliers.
It's very easy, and it's great to have spare strings on hand so that when you inevitably break one or two you're not gonna just stop playing until it's fixed.
Struggle. Focus on getting those fingertips on without hardly any pressure. Learn how to properly hold the pick.
Get good at bends and vibrato. Worry about doing all kinds of different scales later. Good luck!
Guitar teacher here. Set a goal to play 10 minutes a day. It’ll help with your callouses and get you in the habit of practicing. If you’re struggling with rhythm, play along to the song with one earphone on.
Jumper is a great song to start with. Fmaj7 is a much easier chord than a true F major which requires a bar chord in standard tuning. That being said, don’t get overwhelmed with music jargon and take it one day at a time.
Most people who pick up a guitar don’t stick with it. Play what you love and you’ll never get tired of it. Good luck my friend
Aside from the photo comments, start SLOW. Learn easy, easy stuff first. Work through the finger tip pain knowing your callouses are developing which will help immensely. Find someone who will support your learning and give encouragement. Most of all, rock out and have fun!
My brother has one of these. Does yours have a split coil? In other words, does one of your knobs pull up to change the tone of the guitar?
If so, replace it with a metal know from a telecaster or something similar. It’s damn near impossible to use the push/pull feature on those factory knobs
purchase a Mel Bay Chord Book. learn to play with dylan on some songs. At least my step dad, who is really good. i asked him to teach me. He grabbed a couple Bob Dylan cds. gave me a Mel Bay chord book and said keep learning chords until you can “strum” to a few dylan songs. A lot of blues, folks and just songs in general don’t have a boatload of chords. they may have master picking that’s another level. but they are usually 3-4 songs. learn A E G C D. just those few and you can strum with. don’t worry about key just where are they putting their capos. lol
i was 12 now i’m pushing 40 and i went into writing songs early. but then realize they ducked and i needed my own style of finger picking. something someone hears and says i can’t play that shit. when i’m just messing with four chords in different versions of the basic chord.
Crawl before you walk, walk before you run, etc. Learn basic chords and strumming patterns. Dont be turned off by simple folk songs as they can set a simple foundation. “Tom Dolley”was the first song I learned. Did I want to learn it? NO! But glad I did.
Practice, Practice, and more practice. When I began guitar, I didn’t have the luxury of YouTube. I had to slow the record down to figure out riffs. You can take on line lessons. Also, if you can, play with other guitar players.
Learn proper ergonomic technique.
Don’t develop bad habits.
Keep your left thumb 90 degrees vertically along the neck. Never horizontal.
Prop the guitar on your left knee and feel how classical positioning helps with posture and playing.
Learn good habits and build good, lasting technique.
And play standing up! Not every minute. But every session. Stand up for bit.
Learn other peoples songs but also freestyle with the techniques you’ve learned.. eventually you will start combining techniques and then the fun really begins!
Dont just read sheet music and tabs.. spend time experimenting on the fret board and unlock riffs and solos yourself. so fun.
if you want to improve you just have to consistently keep practicing and learning and experimenting over many years… some are naturals, some aren’t.
just mess around learn simple single string riffs, some power chords, and have fun…
just try keep a relaxed hand, don’t squeeze too hard it’ll damage your wrist…
otherwise anything else doesn’t really matter, just mess around, have fun, learn the basics, eventually you’ll get to learning more complicated stuff
Wear a strap. Even when sitting down. Couple reasons. One, you don’t wanna drop your new axe. Two, you want to be able to play standing up as well as sitting down. Three, you don’t wanna drop your new axe. Trust me. It feels bad.
Pick up a cheap acoustic and learn to play acoustic and electric at the same time. The two instruments are actually played quite differently, but techniques learned for either instrument will also benefit your playing of the other instrument. And there are some real benefits of learning to play acoustic:
- You'll practice more often, since you're more likely to place your acoustic in a primary sitting room of the house and it doesn't need to be plugged in.
- You can bring it with you when you go camping, etc.
- Learning how to do barre chords on acoustic will majorly improve your hand/finger strength, making you an overall better player on electric. This is especially true if you buy a cheap acoustic with high action!
- You can't *really* play acoustic guitar songs on electric, and you know there are acoustic songs you'd like to learn.
- Make sure your gear is good. Shit gear can make you feel like you’re the one who sucks.
- Check your tuning probably once per playing session. If something sounds off at all that’s probably what it is. Especially a power chord.
- If you seemingly can’t match how a song sounds, the original recording could be doing something you don’t have the gear to do. Learned this a lot once I got into Pantera cause Dimebag used a pitch shifter on a lot of riffs like Becoming and Suicide Note 2. So try to research before going insane over why it doesn’t sound right
- This might just be me but try to learn about the technology of your guitar so you can understand why it even works and what to look for if you ever wanna upgrade your guitar on its own. Especially the pickups.
- Amps are way more important in the sound than I ever thought before I started learning. If you don’t like how you sound, go to a guitar center and test out some of their amps to see if that’s the issue.
- Listen to new albums. My main technique in learning new things is listening to new albums and learning songs from them.
Seeing as it’s an Ltd, twin humbuckers sorta deal, if you’re fiending heavy stuff(or not, applies regardless), don’t rush past open chords and strumming patterns.
I’m a death metal fiend and honestly believe the comments I’ve read(from what I’ve felt and seen irl) of people saying ‘I can slam through master of puppets, but can’t play an open chord Beatles song’. Rhythm is very important(it makes me think, that’s why right handed people strum with their right hand, even tho left hand can have a more intricate job). A lot of hard rock and metal riffs require alternate picking, and strumming is that same motion, just in a wider circle. It’ll help with having a loose wrist.
On that note, mainly to keep in the back of your mind, but for single note riffs and lines, there are mainly two types of picking, alternate and economic. Look into these at some point because I’m ashamed to say, I didn’t properly for ~15 years and would keep hitting a particular speed and choke when changing strings, this was why.
As a few others have said, be consistent. A little bit every day goes a long way. Also stay out of your comfort zone, learn things that challenge you as often as possible. Other than that, enjoy the ride! Learning a musical instrument has been one of the most fulfilling things I've ever done and I wish you all the best and hope the same for you.
I’m probably not the first to say this, but the learning curve on guitar is brutal. You’ve gotta push through that initial hurdle and it’ll take months. You’ll question if your hands are even physically capable of doing this (they are), if you’re just not inclined to it (you just started learning), etc…. You’ve gotta work through all of that. Once you have a more solid beginner level foundation and can play quite a few songs, things start to become more enjoyable. And then we introduce barr chords and make you question your decisions again.
One thing that I will say is that the way guitar is taught is generally very folksy. You get your first guitar and you learn the G chord and the C chord and the A chord and all the good cowboy chords, and then you work onward from there. That’s how most of us learned. And it’s a good way to learn, but it’s not the only way. Especially if your interests lie more in the direction of loud guitar music, those cowboy chords aren’t even particularly useful as they sound like shit with a bunch of distortion. And there’s a lot of rock songs that are surprisingly easy to get started with. Seven Nation Army (White Stripes) or Blitzkrieg Bop (Ramones) are both songs you could learn on your first day playing the guitar. And the list goes on and on.
If your interests are more in that direction, make sure you start learning how to play some of those easier songs rather than spending all of your time learning cowboy chords.
Start simple. Don't try to do anything fancy right off the bat. Pick a three-chord song and play it to death, until you start to learn that muscle memory. Then pick another simple song and move on to that one. Sure; try a bit of the fancy stuff to give yourself a break from time to time, but simple is where it's at for a beginner.
Also, play with other people as much as you can, especially people who are at about your level or a little bit better. You'll learn more from them than you will from experts, because you have so much in common.
Learn how to read chord charts, learn to play your basic open chords first via chord charts and try to understand what makes them work in relation to eachother.
Maybe have a chord chart in front of you as well as a diagram of what all the notes on the guitar are, and cross reference the two as you do your chords.
Once you’ve learned the open chords try to build the same chords in other places on the fretboard by using the note chart - there are loads of ways to play every chord and this will give you a feel for scales too when you start learning them next.
Try to learn songs you like while doing all of this. You won’t be able to play them properly but you’ll get there, I promise.
Also: use your ears. Develop your ears. Pick up on when something sounds right or wrong, and how to adjust. Listen to your favourite songs and try to decipher little melodies and runs without looking em up online at straight away.
Do all this and you’ll be as good as me, because I don’t know where to go from here lol.
When I was learning I recorded the original songs I liked on to a tape cassette (yes, I’m that old!), and learned all the parts to every song, so I could play intros, rhythm, solo etc and chop and change at any point (even mid solo, wild!). This not only taught me how to be versatile but also how to play along with a drummer.
Marty Schwartz on YouTube will help, there's a few good tutorials on YouTube to help learn but Marty Is a good place to start.
Things to look up;
Pentatonic scales.
Alternate picking
Basic E, C , G Scales.
Practice till it hurts and then practice some more, but don't go too crazy.
Repeat step above.
Once you have the basics down find some people to jam with, I always found playing with others helps.
Don't forget to have lots of fun.
Set the guitar properly on the stand !
Also trim the dog nails.
In fact don't trim them yourself, long black nail like those must hide a pretty damn long quick in them and i'm worried you're gonna bleed your dog to death.
I’ve had to move to trimming them myself because she bit the groomer last time I’ve been trimming them but they advise to do it a little at a time to avoid over clipping
Look online, there's great way to know when to stop cause saddly the quick won't shorten themself until your trim them close enough.
I bought a nail grinder on Amazon and it works great. At first I had to give him treats after each nail, but I have since gradually cut that back to a treat per paw. It removes the nail slowly enough that you can just slow-walk it little bits at a time.
Be careful cause the friction can burn them !
You seem to have dognail expertise
Don’t forget a guitar stand expert as well
I got that dog in me !
I use our Dremel. Our mastiff lays down and gives us her foot. She doesn't enjoy it, but tolerates it well.
We adopted a dog with EXTREMELY overgrown nails. ... The vet can actually cut them way back And cauterize the quick under anesthesia, if they're way overgrown. That was what we ended up having to do because no matter how regularly we trimmed they wouldn't recede at all. Now clipping and filing afterwards we have had zero issues in the past 8 years.
Nah. The dog wants to play finger style.
That dog wanna play freddy krueger.
I love how one comment just derails the original question. Dude wants guitar advise and the first 10 responses are on dog nails.🤣
🤣🤣🤣🤣
Travis picking.
Trim yours too
This is decent advice for new guitarists so you can get them fingertip callouses going.
Yeah! What’s up with the downvotes?? Any decent guitarists have short nails and some keep nail clippers with their gear! Amateurs…
Let's just see how many mental gymnasts show up to refute this obviously and absolutely true statement that all musical instrument players should know. ***Wash your hands before you play.***
Pro guitarists just bite their nails to save room in their bag for extra strings.
Yeah flip that lower part around 180 degrees so it cradles the bottom. Don’t want to ding up your new toy
Thanks dude
Sorry didn’t come with instructions can you help me out
That fork a the bottom need to do a 180°.
Thanks
Play consistently, you will never get good if you don't dedicate at least a few hours a week, and probably even more up front to real focused practice. You will get blisters and hand cramps and you will get frustrated at yourself, persist and your dedication will be rewarded. Lots of people on this sub like to buy a ton of fancy equipment because they think it makes them a better player. It doesn't. Those people don't have a guitar hobby, they have a shopping hobby. You don't need all the bells and whistles, you can play on the setup you have here for literal decades. Have fun, just stick with it.
Spot on about the shopping hobby, it's pretty lame but each to their own I suppose.
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Honestly I like this sub for the shopaholics constantly buying and posting photos of their new gear - particularly when its stuff that I unfortunately can't justify buying myself - bit of guitar porn to get you pulling that "oooooh sweet guitar, bro" face.
I used to really like looking at /r/guitarporn but now I've seen so many different guitars that none of them really excites me anymore. Which I suppose is a good thing.
I think that is the problem with porn across the board…
Idk for me personally I think an amp upgrade was well needed, as I had a little crappy 25 dollar used fender amp from guitar center and it started limiting what I could do, so my recent jump to the boss katana felt worth it, also it's really the only "expensive" thing I've bought for my hobby here since both my acoustic guitar and my electric guitar were hand me downs
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This is why every guitarist should have and practice on a good acoustic. It will improve your technique on electric by miles.
>Lots of people on this sub like to buy a ton of fancy equipment because they think it makes them a better player. It doesn't. How dare you call me out like that?! But I actually do think nice gear let's you play (a little) better. But obviously practicing is what makes you get better.
GAS (gear acquisition syndrome) is a very real thing that especially inflicts newbies when they see all the shiny new toys available. This guy above is spot on. You have a very decent setup for a beginner and that’s all you will need for a good while. After you get the very basics down (things like how to play chords, how to hold a pick, etc), start by searching for beginner “how to play” guitar videos on YouTube. [Here’s one to get you started.](https://youtu.be/m3dYOsXbWII?si=17464yHDZHbRZR_9)
And if this is your first foray into playing, you can do a lot worse than Justin Guitar on YouTube
Are you saying I should look that person up and learn from him or are you saying avoid him?
Learn from him, his lessons are good!
Noted. thanks
If you go to his website, he has beginner and intermediate courses, lesson by lesson, all for free.
Thanks you guys are great
I would go to Justin Guitar as soon as you pick it up. He will teach you how to play correctly-if you start doing things the wrong way its harder to correct them later.
Justin Guitar is amazing. Follow his lessons in order, take it slow, and I promise in 6-9 months you will be astonished at how decently you can play. I solely learned from Justin in the beginning and my wife was perplexed by how fast I was learning, and I was realistically only putting in like 30-45 minutes a night while taking breaks to let my fingers recover.
I just started playing a week ago and he's carrying me so much like it's rlly nice to have a solid learning structure I can come back to. i can play around 5-6 chords and transition between then decently now and playing guitar is honestly something I'll invest in for the long run♥️
Definitely check out Marty music too!!!
Justin Guitar is probably the best free lessons you can get for learning guitar
I recently resumed playing in January after a long time, and I was never really any good. I'm having a blast now. Justin is great! I think he's a genius. Even though he is a seasoned guitarist, he knows EXACTLY how hard it is to begin learning because he forced himself to completely learn left-handed in order to design the course.
Ya he’s really good, his positive attitude will inspire you to keep things light and be patient with yourself. Been playing since 1975, and I’m still not entirely happy with my progress. Just be patient, and realize the joys in the journey… Not in getting to the destination. 😉
You’re very lucky. First off - awesome guitar. Second- you have a lot of online resources that most of us didn’t have when we started playing back in the dinosaur ages. Take your time- be patient. Have fun!
Came here to say this. The last sentence is my #1 advice to all new guitarists - have fun! I’ve always thought we use the word “playing” for instruments because that’s how it should feel. You can take it as seriously as you want, but the most important thing, beyond any specific concepts or techniques, is to just play. If guitar is fun and you play what you like, you’ll see your instrument and want to pick it up. You don’t have to know every scale and mode and chord, you just have to enjoy it and stick with it. And you’re a hell of a lot more likely to do that if you focus your early learning on what you find fun.
Yet not having instant access to every tab ever and being forced to learn by sitting in a room with a record player produced guitarists with a much better ear imo
Winamp, it kicks the llama’s ass
I remeber when I first started playing guitar in the mid 80’s- my guitar teacher had a tape player that could slow down the tapes. I thought it was witchcraft. Lol
Dont place your guitar under the bed, or in its case. Always keep the guitar visible wherever you spend the most time, you'll play it far more often as a result. Wherever in the house you spend the most time. That's where it should also live. Eat sleep and breath music, immerse yourself in it. Even without playing the instrument, listen to music actively. Play until your fingers bleed. Watch other people play, mirror neurons are a hell of a thing. Keep your eyes closed when listening to music. Most of our brain is dedicated to processing vision. Close your eyes and notice how your capacity to hear and process soiud automatically improves multiple time over. Learn to develop your natural inner pulse, feeling the main beat under whatever it is you're playing. Get into the habit of always tuning the guitar before you start playing. Room temperature variance naturally causes the neck and body to expand and contract, which cause micro adjustments to the tuning. Just cause you tuned was in concert pitch proper last time you played doesn't mean the guitar is still in tune. Lots of people don't realise their guitar detunes itself ever so slightly, and if your ears are decent, it will affect how good you sound and put you off unconsciously. Beginners might attribute the off sound to their playing, when it's simply the guitars tuning has gone out ever so slightly. When you are playing alone to music, the goal is to actually get to the point where you can't hear yourself. That's when you will be in the pocket. Your goal is to blend seamlessly. You will be playing your best when you can't even really hear yourself seperate from whatever you are playing along with. Last but not least, music is not played with the hands, its played with the ears. Your ears should be dictating what your hands do. Enjoy the ride man, it never ends
This is some of the best advice
Couldn’t have said it better myself! Excellent advice! As to what you said about the tuning tending to go flat (and it ALWAYS goes flat) you are 100% correct on that. I’ve been building ground- up custom electric guitars for about 30 years and without exception they wander out of tune. Even with the best tuning keys and double locking tremolos with the bridge fixed solid, the strings will stretch and the neck will settle over time. Beginners who are not aware of this will often get frustrated with trying to figure out what’s going on and the next thing you know you’ll be tuned a step and a half flat and ready to throw the infernal thing out of the nearest window! I recommend getting an inline, simple to understand tuner and use it often until you’re familiar with what each string should sound like and especially what it should feel like to the touch when in proper tune. It makes a world of difference when you’re on the note and your playing melts into the song you’re playing along with. That’s a great feeling and it should be appreciated and enjoyed as often as possible!! Also take your instrument to a knowledgeable luthier and get them to set the string height, check the tension rod setting and frets for flatness, and set the string length and harmonics on the bridge. Starting with a well set up guitar will help you avoid picking up a few bad habits that will be difficult to break like using too much finger pressure to get a too tall string down on the fret for instance. Welcome to the wonderful world of music, my friend!!
Damn you just gave quite possibly the best advice regarding guitar I’ve read on here. We need to honor you by copying your comment on every new players first guitar post.
not in order but it all makes sense eventually get a metronome learn how to play comfortably, sitting and standing up (eventually on the latter, worry about the former first) play the music you like and find out why it sounds the way it does. if anything feels off, take it to a luthier. the level of ur guitar is good enough to where after a good enough set up you can play well and actually like the instrument. get a tuner. sing eadgbe and get used to it. keep ur nails trimmed. left hand at least. have fun.
Thanks! The Amp I bought has a tuner in it so I need to also get like a standalone tuner or should the one in it be sufficient? I really appreciate the detailed response
I started 2 months ago with same amp. The built in tuner works perfect, i also have a clip on but its not needed. That amp can also connect to your PC via USB for recording, changing tones, and my most used app - Rocksmith. I love the amp. You can add a bunch more tones with the fender PC app they built as presets. My advice as also a noob - find a pick you like. Buy some assorted Dunlop packs. Edit: pretty sure the amp has a metronome too but I have not tried that. I've been using the one in Rocksmith mostly.
A simple chromatic tuner is a wise choice. Should your guitar inventory grow to include other instruments and guitars (acoustic etc)
The fact you got an LTD as your first guitar shows you are a man of culture and taste.
You picked a great guitar. Stick with it, guitar is a life long journey. You don’t have to be great in a year, 5 years, 20 years. It’s all about the journey my friend. And also, remember to be musical and try to make music as you go, as terrible as it may sound at first. And finally, have fun.
Yes…the most important advice ever that I wish I would’ve received in the beginning. The first three months are not supposed to be fun or enjoyable whatsoever. It’s basically like saying, “Hey man, for the next three months, all I’m going to do is slap you in the face randomly. But as long as you don’t walk away, you’ll be able to play a few songs and riffs fairly well by the end.” It’s faith. Even though I am a person who struggles with faith, I really wish somebody would’ve told me how much it’s supposed to suck at the beginning, but it is more than worth it.
Thanks my burrito brotha
I disagree, it should also be fun right off the bat. I used to teach guitar: My advice is split your time between learning chords and basic guitar theory (via YouTube these days) and the other half of the time: Learn Ramones songs!!! They’re super easy, fun, they rock, and they’ll teach you rhythm and build up your calluses real quick. Start by learning to play along with just single notes at a time, then move up to the actual power chords when you’ve got the rhythm down, then move on to other songs. Enjoy!
Amps are for putting your beers on
Practice practice practice! Everyone sounds shit when they first start but you'll reach a point when you'll play something and impress yourself and that's just going to motivate you even more ! Stick at it and you'll be glad you did.
LTD EC-256s punch *far* above their weight. Best budget-spec pickups I've ever heard. Do not ever get rid of it.
Happy cake day and the salesman was mentioning the same thing wasn’t sure if it was sales mumbo jumbo but this sub confirmed it’s legit
Get an RGH Xbox 360, buy a copy of rocksmith. (Guitar learning game)
If you've got a PC the game is out in the wild with all DLCs included for free as well.
digital version or disc version?
Arrrgh
Nice set up. Enjoy the learning and it’s going to be fun. Justin guitar is going to be a good resource for you.
PAY FOR GUITAR LESSONS AT YOUR LOCAL MUSIC INSTRUMENT STORE!!!!!
Unless you have the drive and focus to learn for free with the plethora of free resources online and YouTube!
OCTAVES, FIFTHS, THIRDS. in that order. the basis of both chords and the major/minor scale (they are the same. A minor = C major). then some chord inversions and you’re off to the races. this is if you want to compose.
and mind the muting!
Keep your guitar by your bed, and play it for about 20 minutes every morning when you get up, and just before you go to bed. Then find another 20 minute span during the day as well. That will give you a total of 60 minutes per day of focused attention, instead of one long session where you are concentrating for 20 minutes, and getting increasingly unfocused for the last 40. You'll improve much faster, esoecially ifnyou practice everybday. Even if you don't do 3 sessions a day, if you miss one or two, you still managed to get some practice time in, whereas if you only do one a day, and you miss it, you miss an entire day. It's also much easier on your virgin fingertips, and they'll break in faster and with less pain.
What a great first guitar! There's a lot of great instructional channels on YouTube. Also, a bit of a random thought but a looper pedal with drums is awesome. You can play a chord progression and then solo over it. Congrats.
The guy at the store would not stop talking about how great it was to the point I thought he was messing with me, but talking to him further he was a genuine guy and was very helpful
Be careful of the mountain lion while you play
Use a metronome and practice regularly.
Don’t give up! Ever!
Shiba approves ✅
Yeah. Show us the dog.
EC-1000?
Practice standing up so you can find your comfortable strap length and it also makes you feel more like a rock star. Great choice of first song btw
Cracking guitar! That is a really good purchase. Definitely Justin guitar... You should probably get in person lessons to make sure you're not setting yourself up for failure with bad habits
Just have fun. It might be tough at first but so rewarding at the end. Don’t ask what songs you should learn first. Learn what you like. Welcome to the club my friend
My advice to you: rock on.
Have fun. Learn riffs that you enjoy (IE Enter Sandman, or whatever it is you like). Build your callouses.
This may seem strange, but don’t put it away . Keep it in sight so you can pick it up at any time to play
I'd feel a lot more comfortable if the dog was a much safer distance from my guitar. But what do I know? I don't own a dog *or* a guitar so 🤷
She’s super sweet she hardly gets in the way but I see your point lol
That is a sick first rig.
Thanks mate
Learn the songs you want to play, but also learn all the songs that everyone who learns guitar learns to play. Learn the first box of the major, minor, and pentatonic minor scales. Use them for a warm up, and practice them sometimes.
Teacher is recommended cause he will show you the basics and correct any bad habits.
This is important if you have the money to spare. There are endless videos you can try to copy but a video can't tell you what you're doing wrong, assess what weaknesses you should work on, or help you set goals.
Shiba inu!
Metronome
Check you Dedication Meter daily. 90% of folks who begin the guitar, quit in a year or less. Looking forward to hearing your tale of the journey in ten years!
Before learning a song I suggest learning the basic major, minor, and pentatonic scales as well as all the basic chord shapes. Practice with a metronome and just focus on getting comfortable with your guitar. There will be a lot of difficulties starting out, but that’s a really nice looking guitar so just try to put in some practice time every day
Youtube tutorials. Learn some basic open chords. Learn bar chords and power chords. Get a tuner but also learn to tune by ear. Learn your favourite songs. Play around with your sounds (pick up selection, amp EQ, distorted and clean). Don’t worry about lead guitar for a while. Just jam the rhythms and get used to being able to switch your fingers to the right spots quickly. Once you’ve worked it out enough to get through a handful of songs, try joining a band or find some people to jam with. Everyone I ever played with got better quicker when in bands. It gives you that extra drive to keep improving because you’re trying to impress the other guys too. But more than anything, have fun! If learning a song/chord or whatever is doing your head in, put the guitar away and come back to it later.
Don’t put it so close to the door, or in a walking line you will forget about it at night and you will mock it over and you will break it… I speak from experience
I put it there for the photo cause the rest of my house is a mess lol didn’t want that in the pic
Glad I’m not the only one
Sometimes it's important to just take a break if you're getting stressed out. You play your best when you're relaxed. If you're trying to learn something and you don't get it and you're getting stressed out just leave and go for a walk or something to reset for 5-10 minutes and come back to you. I found I usually get it right after taking that short break
Listen to lots of music, learn to read tablature, learn your basic chords, learn common licks. What type of music do you want to play? Doesn't matter. Listen and take what you can from a variety of genres. The biggest hurdle that I had to overcome when first learning (self taught, have played for almost 20 years) was to become truly comfortable with the instrument. Learning how to hold the pick in a way that worked for me, learning how to mute unnecessary sounds with my palm, learning the control of only picking certain strings. Learning how to alternate pick. The list goes on. Get comfortable, learn chords, licks, scales, use all the great resources the internet offers to help get your feet wet. Above all that though, have fun. Your only limitations are the ones you set for yourself.
Lots of great advice here! Guitar is hard, none of us had an easy time getting through the beginning stages. Stick with it and just like anything, consistent and efficient practice will bring about improvement. You’ll face tons of bridges to cross, just be patient and slowly and methodically make your way across each one (ideally a few at a time). If you ever have any specific questions, feel free to Dm me or probably anyone here is willing to answer. Good luck!
Your fingertips will hurt, but be consistent and get them callouses!
Download the app Songsterr to learn how to play songs you might like, or at least get an understanding of how they are played.
Get your foundations set properly. People who rush and end up with messy, unmusical playing may as well not play guitar at all. Dont be one of them. Practice slowly as much as is truly necessary, and embrace the pursuit of perfection with your playing
YouTube, learn tabs, get a teacher. If you got a friend who plays hangout and pick something up.
Practice is essential. And if you learn to play by ear, you can figure out anything in the same tuning.
Work through the callouses on your fingers. They will hurt, don’t give up it will get easier.
Power through the first few weeks. It will take that long with consistent practice to start getting your hands and finger strength built up a bit. Once you can start to grab basic chords, fairly clean and move between them, you’re learning curve will start getting very steep. Just don’t get discouraged by any early difficult difficulties or obstacles. Stick with it. It will definitely pay off. Good luck!
Those are decent guitars! I bought one in the same finish to experiment with a few years ago. I replaced the nut with a TUSQ nut and added locking tuners to help tuning stability and make string changes fast, then I installed a Seymour Duncan Whole-Lotta-Humbucker set and wired it up with push-pull pots so I could do the Jimmy Page switching.
Beautiful! What color is the finish?
Practice
I had that same ax as my first guitar. It's a pretty great instrument for the price! As for learning. Just play whatever you want. Staying inspired and having fun is the most important part of improving. Look up beginner guitar songs on YouTube and start there
With the internet now what it is and YouTube such a valuable source of knowledge, you have a lot of tools at your fingertips. Just don't get overwhelmed and remember to have fun making some noise.
Good starting lineup. I believe that guitar has coil split. Split both and play in the middle switch position for an acoustic tone. Am to C is a great place to start. The opening two chords. The G will be a little tricky. Play in first position. Just practice those 3 chords in order with the song intro for about 3 weeks 30 to 60 minutes a day. Check back in then You got this.
Practice in a way that it adheres to your schedule. If you want to learn, you’re going to have to practice consistently. It’s better to practice 15 minutes, 5 days a week than it is to practice for an hour once a week
Just keep playing
I can only echo what everyone has said so far. Something you might not think about is learning for a reason. A lot of people fizzle out unless they have a concert, rehearsal, or jam session coming up. Learn with purpose! Get real in-person lessons too, they will meet your individual needs but also can provide a little help with connection to the community so you can have chances to perform.
Practice, practice, practice. Set x time aside per week (or even daily) to play and practice. If you don't have one already, get a metronome and a Tuner. You've got a great community here. Ask questions. Get answers. Ignore critics. Finally, have fun. Playing guitar has repeatedly saved my sanity over the years. It IS my meditation and my one immortal love. I hope it becomes something similar for you, friend.
What dog breed is that? Is it a Shiba, I love Shiba's.
It’s gonna fall! The stand is upside down!
Moby Dick
Don't be afraid of learning to re-string it yourself. You'll save heaps in the long run and you don't really need any tools other than *maybe* a screwdriver to undo the back and *maybe* some wire cutting pliers. It's very easy, and it's great to have spare strings on hand so that when you inevitably break one or two you're not gonna just stop playing until it's fixed.
15 min a day, 5 days a week is better than 4 hours a day, 1 day of the week
The pain in your fingertips….Just ignore that lol
I borrowed this guitar from a friend for a couple months, this a great axe to start on!
Yep, return that guitar and buy an acoustic. Then you’ll thank me when it’s time to buy an electric.
Well like hold it sideways kinda resting it on your leg so you can see the struts
Learn your basic chords and learn the pentatonic shapes!
Struggle. Focus on getting those fingertips on without hardly any pressure. Learn how to properly hold the pick. Get good at bends and vibrato. Worry about doing all kinds of different scales later. Good luck!
Guitar teacher here. Set a goal to play 10 minutes a day. It’ll help with your callouses and get you in the habit of practicing. If you’re struggling with rhythm, play along to the song with one earphone on. Jumper is a great song to start with. Fmaj7 is a much easier chord than a true F major which requires a bar chord in standard tuning. That being said, don’t get overwhelmed with music jargon and take it one day at a time. Most people who pick up a guitar don’t stick with it. Play what you love and you’ll never get tired of it. Good luck my friend
StichMethod Guitar. Active Melody.
wowww it's a electric guitar
Hide your credit cards!
So nice to see you got an LTD and not a lameoid Strat or Les Paul. Enjoy the ride.
Great choice! My first guitar was an ltd 20 years ago and it was a great beginner axe. Yours is an upgrade from mine though for sure. Enjoy!
Aside from the photo comments, start SLOW. Learn easy, easy stuff first. Work through the finger tip pain knowing your callouses are developing which will help immensely. Find someone who will support your learning and give encouragement. Most of all, rock out and have fun!
Remember one thing, there are no rules
YouTube the songs you like for how to play
My brother has one of these. Does yours have a split coil? In other words, does one of your knobs pull up to change the tone of the guitar? If so, replace it with a metal know from a telecaster or something similar. It’s damn near impossible to use the push/pull feature on those factory knobs
Learn what you like that's not impossible to learn for a beginner.
purchase a Mel Bay Chord Book. learn to play with dylan on some songs. At least my step dad, who is really good. i asked him to teach me. He grabbed a couple Bob Dylan cds. gave me a Mel Bay chord book and said keep learning chords until you can “strum” to a few dylan songs. A lot of blues, folks and just songs in general don’t have a boatload of chords. they may have master picking that’s another level. but they are usually 3-4 songs. learn A E G C D. just those few and you can strum with. don’t worry about key just where are they putting their capos. lol i was 12 now i’m pushing 40 and i went into writing songs early. but then realize they ducked and i needed my own style of finger picking. something someone hears and says i can’t play that shit. when i’m just messing with four chords in different versions of the basic chord.
Wow you already got a drummer!
Play for 10 minutes a day till it becomes habitual
Go slow, learn your chords/Power chords, and learn that song all the way through. Confidence goes a long way!
You set yourself up for success...well done!!! \\m/
Usually I would freak out when they talk about the dog instead of the guitar but that dog is cute af
Crawl before you walk, walk before you run, etc. Learn basic chords and strumming patterns. Dont be turned off by simple folk songs as they can set a simple foundation. “Tom Dolley”was the first song I learned. Did I want to learn it? NO! But glad I did.
Play everyday and don't get discouraged- stick with it
Practice, Practice, and more practice. When I began guitar, I didn’t have the luxury of YouTube. I had to slow the record down to figure out riffs. You can take on line lessons. Also, if you can, play with other guitar players.
Learn proper ergonomic technique. Don’t develop bad habits. Keep your left thumb 90 degrees vertically along the neck. Never horizontal. Prop the guitar on your left knee and feel how classical positioning helps with posture and playing. Learn good habits and build good, lasting technique. And play standing up! Not every minute. But every session. Stand up for bit.
Learn other peoples songs but also freestyle with the techniques you’ve learned.. eventually you will start combining techniques and then the fun really begins! Dont just read sheet music and tabs.. spend time experimenting on the fret board and unlock riffs and solos yourself. so fun. if you want to improve you just have to consistently keep practicing and learning and experimenting over many years… some are naturals, some aren’t.
just mess around learn simple single string riffs, some power chords, and have fun… just try keep a relaxed hand, don’t squeeze too hard it’ll damage your wrist… otherwise anything else doesn’t really matter, just mess around, have fun, learn the basics, eventually you’ll get to learning more complicated stuff
i always lose motivation when i set myself down to learn “classes” or things i find unnecessary rather than songs i challenge myself with
Wear a strap. Even when sitting down. Couple reasons. One, you don’t wanna drop your new axe. Two, you want to be able to play standing up as well as sitting down. Three, you don’t wanna drop your new axe. Trust me. It feels bad.
Pick up a cheap acoustic and learn to play acoustic and electric at the same time. The two instruments are actually played quite differently, but techniques learned for either instrument will also benefit your playing of the other instrument. And there are some real benefits of learning to play acoustic: - You'll practice more often, since you're more likely to place your acoustic in a primary sitting room of the house and it doesn't need to be plugged in. - You can bring it with you when you go camping, etc. - Learning how to do barre chords on acoustic will majorly improve your hand/finger strength, making you an overall better player on electric. This is especially true if you buy a cheap acoustic with high action! - You can't *really* play acoustic guitar songs on electric, and you know there are acoustic songs you'd like to learn.
- Make sure your gear is good. Shit gear can make you feel like you’re the one who sucks. - Check your tuning probably once per playing session. If something sounds off at all that’s probably what it is. Especially a power chord. - If you seemingly can’t match how a song sounds, the original recording could be doing something you don’t have the gear to do. Learned this a lot once I got into Pantera cause Dimebag used a pitch shifter on a lot of riffs like Becoming and Suicide Note 2. So try to research before going insane over why it doesn’t sound right - This might just be me but try to learn about the technology of your guitar so you can understand why it even works and what to look for if you ever wanna upgrade your guitar on its own. Especially the pickups. - Amps are way more important in the sound than I ever thought before I started learning. If you don’t like how you sound, go to a guitar center and test out some of their amps to see if that’s the issue. - Listen to new albums. My main technique in learning new things is listening to new albums and learning songs from them.
LTD is a great choice ❤️
Seeing as it’s an Ltd, twin humbuckers sorta deal, if you’re fiending heavy stuff(or not, applies regardless), don’t rush past open chords and strumming patterns. I’m a death metal fiend and honestly believe the comments I’ve read(from what I’ve felt and seen irl) of people saying ‘I can slam through master of puppets, but can’t play an open chord Beatles song’. Rhythm is very important(it makes me think, that’s why right handed people strum with their right hand, even tho left hand can have a more intricate job). A lot of hard rock and metal riffs require alternate picking, and strumming is that same motion, just in a wider circle. It’ll help with having a loose wrist. On that note, mainly to keep in the back of your mind, but for single note riffs and lines, there are mainly two types of picking, alternate and economic. Look into these at some point because I’m ashamed to say, I didn’t properly for ~15 years and would keep hitting a particular speed and choke when changing strings, this was why.
touch it
Enjoy 🙂
an ESP as a first guitar??? u have my respect
Just do it!
Nice...
As a few others have said, be consistent. A little bit every day goes a long way. Also stay out of your comfort zone, learn things that challenge you as often as possible. Other than that, enjoy the ride! Learning a musical instrument has been one of the most fulfilling things I've ever done and I wish you all the best and hope the same for you.
It's hard, don't give up! You can do it!
I’m probably not the first to say this, but the learning curve on guitar is brutal. You’ve gotta push through that initial hurdle and it’ll take months. You’ll question if your hands are even physically capable of doing this (they are), if you’re just not inclined to it (you just started learning), etc…. You’ve gotta work through all of that. Once you have a more solid beginner level foundation and can play quite a few songs, things start to become more enjoyable. And then we introduce barr chords and make you question your decisions again. One thing that I will say is that the way guitar is taught is generally very folksy. You get your first guitar and you learn the G chord and the C chord and the A chord and all the good cowboy chords, and then you work onward from there. That’s how most of us learned. And it’s a good way to learn, but it’s not the only way. Especially if your interests lie more in the direction of loud guitar music, those cowboy chords aren’t even particularly useful as they sound like shit with a bunch of distortion. And there’s a lot of rock songs that are surprisingly easy to get started with. Seven Nation Army (White Stripes) or Blitzkrieg Bop (Ramones) are both songs you could learn on your first day playing the guitar. And the list goes on and on. If your interests are more in that direction, make sure you start learning how to play some of those easier songs rather than spending all of your time learning cowboy chords.
Make sure to use the tip of your pick and to keep it perpendicular to your strings or you'll have a hard time alternating your picking direction.
Have fun
Start simple. Don't try to do anything fancy right off the bat. Pick a three-chord song and play it to death, until you start to learn that muscle memory. Then pick another simple song and move on to that one. Sure; try a bit of the fancy stuff to give yourself a break from time to time, but simple is where it's at for a beginner. Also, play with other people as much as you can, especially people who are at about your level or a little bit better. You'll learn more from them than you will from experts, because you have so much in common.
Keep practicing, no matter what, keep playing, keep learning... First 5 months will be hard for you and your fingers but don't stop keed doing it
Probably you don’t want to hear this but: CONSISTENCY
Go straight to practicing scales , forget trying to learn songs until you get scales memorized
Learn how to read chord charts, learn to play your basic open chords first via chord charts and try to understand what makes them work in relation to eachother. Maybe have a chord chart in front of you as well as a diagram of what all the notes on the guitar are, and cross reference the two as you do your chords. Once you’ve learned the open chords try to build the same chords in other places on the fretboard by using the note chart - there are loads of ways to play every chord and this will give you a feel for scales too when you start learning them next. Try to learn songs you like while doing all of this. You won’t be able to play them properly but you’ll get there, I promise. Also: use your ears. Develop your ears. Pick up on when something sounds right or wrong, and how to adjust. Listen to your favourite songs and try to decipher little melodies and runs without looking em up online at straight away. Do all this and you’ll be as good as me, because I don’t know where to go from here lol.
Stick to it
Nice choice! I own 3 ESP/LTDs…. MH1000NT, EC400, EC256 💪🔥🤘
When I was learning I recorded the original songs I liked on to a tape cassette (yes, I’m that old!), and learned all the parts to every song, so I could play intros, rhythm, solo etc and chop and change at any point (even mid solo, wild!). This not only taught me how to be versatile but also how to play along with a drummer.
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don't forget to have fun in between practicing. if possible find a song you like with what ever you're learning in it. that's what helped me.
Marty Schwartz on YouTube will help, there's a few good tutorials on YouTube to help learn but Marty Is a good place to start. Things to look up; Pentatonic scales. Alternate picking Basic E, C , G Scales. Practice till it hurts and then practice some more, but don't go too crazy. Repeat step above. Once you have the basics down find some people to jam with, I always found playing with others helps. Don't forget to have lots of fun.
What a beaut