I'm hoping to learn acoustic guitar while in university, does anyone have any tips?

I'm hoping to learn acoustic guitar while in university, does anyone have any tips?
Like what guitar to get? Important things to learn? Also how steep is the learning curve for a total beginner who has no experience at all?

Other urls found in this thread:

youtube.com/watch?v=MHeHypLZm_c
soundcloud.com/sundreamgun/sets/ttmonjulc378
youtube.com/watch?v=hb5QaCfm7bg
sweetwater.com/store/detail/AW54CEOPN
tinymixtapes.com/chocolate-grinder/listen-sun-dream-gun-oo
twitter.com/SFWRedditGifs

I don't know shit about guitar, but I can give you pointers on what to NOT do, to NOT look like a total faggot who just bought a guitar

1) Do NOT bring it anywhere in public. Everyone hates the faggots that carry guitars in unnecessary places, it doesn't make you look any cooler but in fact GAY

2) Stop strumming the basic chords you know. Just stop. Nobody wants to hear E, A minor, D, and C over and over again. Contain your excitement for when you're alone or when you've significantly improved in skill

3) Don't buy a Yamaha

the peeps at Sup Forums should know what to say

Hey OP, 15 year guitarist here. I would suggest getting a sub $250 Alvarez acoustic. From my experience (differing from a previous anons opinion), Yamaha also does make a decent sub $250 guitar.

As for learning, it depends on your learning style. Personally, I benefitted mostly from finding songs I enjoy listening to and finding their tabs (I recommend ultimate-guitar.com) to play along. Instead of learning 20 riffs from different songs, focus on learning songs well enough to play them all of the way through. The F chord, barre chords, fingerpicking and many right hand dynamics are a bitch, don't beat yourself up if it takes a few months. Best of luck, OP.

any fender acoustic is a great beginner acoustic. cant go wrong with a cheap fender.
learn basic open chords.
progress to barre chords when you can interchange chords quickly.
learn scales, major and minor.
learn the modes.
memorise the notes on the fretboard.
do all those things and you will be building chords and soloing all over the fretboard with ease.

good luck mate

Epiphone do nice accoustics, as a guitarist I hate them because they're the gibsons autistic younger brother, but they are nice guiars, and sound really nice so get one of those

thats if you want to solo and play with a pick, otherwise work on finger picking arpeggiated chords

>nobody wants to hear E, Am, D and C over and over

tell that to the recording industry because that is every pop song recorded in the past 60 years

>don't buy yamaha

yamahas are top tier for poorfags

learning curve depends on what you want to play

any imbecile can probably learn the above mentioned chords in no time and play just about every song recorded in recent history, but if you want to play like joe pass or ralph towner or something then prepare to sit in your room practicing daily for years.

I once picked up a Fender Stratacoustic for about $100 (wish I still had it, they're about $300 now) and it was a great guitar. If you're willing to drop like $250

guitar is for idiots who are trying to be deep about music and people who think they the shit but they aint

real smart people would learn piano, sounds 4000% more beautiful and is much more versatile.

That's the stupidest comment ever posted on Sup Forums

Die

Hey Op, been playing for 10 years.

This guy is worth listening to, so is this guy.

Everyone else here is useless.

easy to learn, hard to master. don't get stuck learning songs with just chords in them- scales and learning to read tab will greatly improve your skills. start with really simple songs like thirty three (smashing pumpkins) and four chord songs, then progress to basic riffs like electric funeral (black sabbath) then shit like sweet child o mine. practice as much as possible but also just spend time playing and not thinking about it. also, write some of your own stuff

Really? GTFO.

Samefag

>piano is more versatile than guitar

Harmonics, bending notes, hammer ons, pull offs, pinch harmonics, strumming patterns, picking style, up vs. downstroke, whammy bar, general tone, all things you can do on a fucking acoustic or an electric without any effects that you can't do on a piano. You also have to sit to play it and it's a bitch to move around.

You're a clown.

Prepare for pain. Until you build up the calluses you need on your fingers, it's gonna hurt.

You will need to increase the flexibility of your hand too.

Don't spend too much on your first guitar, just pick up a cheap one at a pawn shop. That way if you decide not to pursue it, you aren't out too much.

Consider nylon strings, rather than steel. They sound mellower and are a little less painful

Nope, kill yourself.

No piano ever sounded this good

youtube.com/watch?v=MHeHypLZm_c

That's first one is null if you get really good. Like really good.

I'd disagree with this, if you learn on a classical guitar it might be a setback

Lets see you bring your piano around to other places than your home.

Fucking peabrain idiot

Get any guitar. Tune to 432, not 440. Play around in DADGAD. Learn all the keys.

It's going to suck for years.
This is my stuff. Yeah, that's me on everything.
soundcloud.com/sundreamgun/sets/ttmonjulc378

This.

Also buy a Taylor acoustic or a Fender American made Strat. Or a Les Paul. A good guitar is a pleasure.

No.
Buy a good guitar.

You will practice more and sound better.

You people are recommending acoustic guitars to OP whi wants to study at a university. OP, you're going to be learning to play classical music and will more likely than not be using your fingers to pick. You're going to need a nylon string classical style guitar. I reconmend Cordoba. They're cheap and sound orgamic. You're going to be learning a lot more than just strumming C and Em chords like every other "guitarist" out there.

>hey learn in my random open tuning just because

That's stupid advice chief.

>you need a classical guitar if you want to learn anything complicated

This thread is fucking filled with bait.

Damn, I have soft bitch hands too so I'll definitely get a lot of calluses. Also how do I increase the flexibility of my hand? Are there specific stretches and exercises or do I just develop it with time?

Also minor setback is that I'm left handed, is it worth investing in a left handers guitar (I heard they're more expensive) or not? I don't really see the problem since the left hand is used to change chords.

If you're learning guitar for the sole purpose of getting laid and look cool you should fuck off and die in an avalanche.

If you're really serious about learning to "use" the guitar, i'd suggest an Ibanez Talman TCM50E.
Easy to use, good for your hands and fingers, a little bit more handy and it looks pretty cool.

All you need to know about guitars is the pointier it is, the cooler it is

Also get a full stack and blast it in your dorm room. Everyone in the building will think you're so cool

piano is a garbage instrument

nothing is justly intonated don't tell me that shit sounds beautiful.

things that sound beautiful include: aged brass, carved URBs, Fhorns in general, master class nylon guitarists, and the alto voice.

Actually not bad....

10 year guy here, don't buy a nylon string unless you want to play classical pieces. He's fucking retarded.

You will use both hands equally and in different ways. just play righty

This thread is for cucks

No, classicals are just much better to learn on and you will get every one in a room wet simply by playing a fucking etude.


Etude in Em has gotten me laid prolly 3 tmes. Great song. Total bro.

I dare you to listen to my music, chief.

It's good, the point is that telling someone to start learning guitar in open D is retarded. You should learn guitar in standard, you know because the vast majority of music is played in standard.

Your sounds are shit
Your advice is shit
Your tuning stupid beyond comprehension, and fucking shit.

Why do the fuck would say such stupid shit? What in the name of unholy fuck makes you Think this is good advice for anyone except mentally retarded species like yourself.

Take your goddamn medicine boy!

Op, the good thing about most classicals, umless it comes with an electric pick up system, is they're symmetrical and you can just rearrange the strings to fit your lefty faggy ass.

Lol word

There are specific stretches and exercises. Mostly to increase the span of your fingers and increase the strength of your ring and little finger. Google is your friend on this.

Right or left handed doesn't really matter. If you wanna strum left handed you just string it upside down, ie: Big E string would be at the bottom. The only difference, with an acoustic, is that the tuning pegs will be on the bottom of the head and the pick guard will be above the sound hole. Jimi Hendrix played like that for years.

If you wanna practice and save your fingers from some pain, just stretch rubber bands down the neck of a cardboard cutout guitar. A friend did this just so he could practice fingerings while his calluses built up.

Op.

Don't get advice from Sup Forums. I could go through and tell you why the majority people here have stupid opinions, but it's too much effort.

As I already told you, there are only like 4 people in this thread with good advice.

Go on a guitar forum somewhere, don't go on Sup Forums either.

Start by learning basic music theory, you won't regret it and you can avoid the trap of just playing 4 chord songs to start with.

Just learn the notes of the first 3 frets and try some vocal melodies and things such as the theme to Ode to Joy. Then as you start to build dexterity you can learn pretty much anything due to your theory knowledge you have built and the ear that came with playing vocal melodies.

lol I got moderate amounts of pussy for being the "idiot with the guitar". Granted I did a fuckload more than 4 chord songs.. could play most shit they wanted to hear.. and learned it by ear on the spot if they had a walkman w/ a cassete of it (what? I'm old, fuck you!).

Married now, from a girl I met through music as well.

Ground rules are:

1. Don't be a faggot, don't show off to EVERYONE.. just play because you like to play, things will go much better for you.

2. Practice daily. 20min of practice a day will likely help you get much better much faster than spending the whole saturday afternoon doing it and not touching the guitar during the week. I taught many how to play.. this applied every fucking time.

3. If Nylon (classical) - Alhambra or the most expensive YAMAHA you can find. Don't get a Fender acoustic unless you're ready to suck dicks all day every day.

4. Find a way to have fun while practicing the harder things as far as technique goes. Make your own exercises if you can. It'll take tons of repetition, preferably with a metronome, to get things going from "ehh.. sounds kinda like it.." to.. "holy shit you're a freak.. you can play any song you listen to!!".

5. Don't shove it in everyone's face that you play guitar. Bring it out ONLY if you know you'll be practicing / chilling with people who you practice with. You'll suck major balls for 4-8 months regardless of how much you practice and other people will hate you for bringing the guitar along everywhere and either not playing or sucking at it.

Enjoy!

kek

This is just how I learned, may not work. I spent about 2 years as a child playing vocal melodies and then basic classical (grade 2 trinity) and then grew bored and junked my teacher. Within a year I realised I was bored because I wanted to play the music I liked, but didn't regret the teacher because he gave me the skills to transcribe by ear.

Don't pay too much in case you don't enjoy it. Check out Justinguitar.com for free decent lesson plan.
Check in on Sup Forums guitar general often. Most of their user base is very helpful.
Good luck!

By practicing covers you'll learn different techniques(fast strumming and finger picking) and keys, and how to properly implement them. Eventually you'll develop your own style. Also, remember to use your pinkey

>can't go wrong with a cheap fender
Yes.. yes you can. They suck balls compared to similar priced guitars from lesser brands.

Fuck me.. Alvarez, Alhambra, Yamaha, Epiphone.. all of those happen to make better acoustic guitars than Fender.

I'm a strat man.. love 'em to death. But cheap Fender acoustics are only good for keeping the fireplace going... if that.

Get a steel string acoustic. Nylon strings are for girls and learning to play on an electric is just wrong.

nylon help can give you a more flamenco sound

Nylon is great for classical, you're right. Most people aren't too into classical / finger picking right away tho

youtube.com/watch?v=hb5QaCfm7bg

Watch this video
???
Profit

you're gonna get frustrated for sure but gradual progress will happen. Just keep focusing.

>beginner advice
>tune to open tuning and get started
yeah m8
it's not that open tuning is hard to play
but standard is probably the best to learn to play

this 100%
you don't need to spend 1000 dollars, but seriously, do yourself a favor and spend at LEAST a good 3-500 bucks on one if you're serious about learning, you'll thank yourself later

best way to learn i have found is to buy a chord chart that shows the most common, if not all the chords, then pick a song you want to learn and put them together.

secondly when you are learning a new chord. go between the chords you know (once youve learned some basic ones) and the new one to git gud at changing them quikly

and when you are learning a new chord also get you fingers in the right position and then squeeze and release a few times... helps build muscle memory.

good luck accoustic OP

In the beginning, technique is the most important thing to concentrate on. Think of it as the foundation that everything you learn will be built on. What technique you use, will obviously depend on the style off guitar you choose to play. But whatever that style, things will be much easier to learn with a good technique.

Get a decent guitar. Most people buy cheap starter guitars, but they are uncomfortable, even painful to play. This is a big thing that discourages a lot of beginners.

in addition i'd look at the way mark knopfler (of dire straits fame) finger picks.

it sounds really good and it works well on accoustic i do it myself.

i enjoy finger picking more than using a pick so i might be biased

I never learned from a book, I have no idea how to play anybody else's music except my own.....
I just went with whatever sounded good lol

So why does literally EVERYBODY tell me my music is incredible?

>literally EVERYBODY

Please reassess your mental health

Yawn.

You are basically wrong on every count

1. Don't just show up unannounced, but bring your guitar if people want to hear you play
2. There is absolutely no reason not to practice simple chords, no need for showoffery. Jeff Mangum made millions and has an army of fans and one of his songs is just the A chord for six minutes.
3. Yamaha is great.

Maybe gas yourself.

Oh yeah, sitting motionless in front of a giant two-ton piano that cannot be moved is sure to get you laid... not

are you actually responding to me? not the other guys attacking your soundcloud thingy?
I never said anything about that, I just said learning to play in open D is a horrible idea

sweetwater.com/store/detail/AW54CEOPN

I'm saving up for this one myself.

Good experiences with this brand?

I literally never use Standard.
I'll use Drop D for recording solos.
But it's DADGAD all day, every day.

OK special snowflake.

soundcloud.com/sundreamgun/sets/ttmonjulc378
I definitely agree with you about the special snowflake.

Where the hell is the acoustic?

Lol I literally JUST found this
tinymixtapes.com/chocolate-grinder/listen-sun-dream-gun-oo

so you REALLY dont wanna learn barre/open chords in standard tuning or what? for what purpose to you prefere open tuning? Im too lazy to check anyways but if you are playing open tunings, why arent you playing open minor?

Yamahas are good starter guitars.

Op you should research what tone you want, look into differences between folk and dreadnoughts. Watch out for humidity.

Also, electric is easier and more versatile and if you live in residence you can use headphones and not have to worry about bothering anyone or sounding shitty.

Also, if you invest in it, then you need to keep practicing. It's a good instrument to get into music, but it's really more of a personal hobby. Lots of people play guitar, and with all the electronic music people listen to no one really cares if you can sorta play an instrument.

Also check out seagull. Amazing guitars for the price.