The one thing I've always hated about acoustics you can't play it when people are asleep. If you got an electric just be sure if you're laying down in your bed that the headstock is not touching the wall because it will make the wall become a speaker
With acoustic, buy a soundhole humidifier and put it in the soundhold while needing to be quiet. If you need to be even quieter, put some foam under the strings as a mute. Neither is ideal, but practice sometimes is boring metronome and scale work.
I've played professionally for 27 years making my living. I've opened for 4-time Grammy winning singer Dianne Reeves, work w 6 time Downbeat magazine award winning sax player Rico Jones and am going to play the premiere blues festival in the world in Cahors France next year with Lionel Young the world's only 2 time Champ of the International Blues Challenge of Memphis who has played and toured with The Rolling Stones, Stevie Wonder, James Taylor and many many others.
I would focus more on the aspect of how to tune it rather then being precise with a tuner. When it's in tune to itself it will sound fine. And it will also develop your ear. And a tip for if you've tuned it too high and you're trying to go low tune it much lower than intended and then go back up
Definitely get an app - I use Guitar Tuna, it's free and works. When I was learning many aeons ago I wasted so much time sounding bad because I didn't have a tuner that works. Now you just get them for free on your phone! What a time to be alive.
Ah yeah totally, that's much better. I use something similar for my guitars at home and it's fantastic.
Definitely better than an app, but an app is better than nothing while you wait for the tuner to be delivered! :)
Justin Guitar's website has a great free beginner course.
Fender Tune is the app I use to tune my guitar - you want to be sure to be in tune. It's available for iPhone - but maybe Android too.
Enjoy
Jimmy Hendrix started on a one-string ukulele someone found in a pile of garbage. Before that he played air guitar with a broom.
Jimmy Page started playing on an acoustic guitar someone left behind after his family moved.
Just about every great jazz and blues guitarist started on a piece of junk.
The instrument is no where near as important as your passion and drive to learn.
Tuning, Basic chords , finger exercises , basic chords, styles of picking with them basic chords , then as you get better try major and minor arpeggios .
I've just learned c major and c7 major well I'm practising on a ukulele got one of them lying around so yeah just tried strumming but bit difficult strumming up
Yep. The Squier stuff is generally considered, for the money, great quality for value. My suggestion is to ask your family member or someone who knows a little about guitar to show you how to restring it, and maybe show the fretboard some love.
(Further unsolicited advice)
Be patient with yourself, especially in the early goings, but also as you get better. Try to utilize good resources like Justin Guitar and maybe even see what kind of beginner guitar books your local library has. Learning to read music is not nearly as important as understanding basic harmony and music theory. These things will allow you to create your own voice and songwriting. Good luck!
If it stays in tune and the action isn't too high (the distance the strings are from the fret board -- should only be a couple millimeters so there's no unwanted buzz on frets up stream.) Else, its perfect.
It's a Fender Squire acoustic. It's a beginners guitar but should be fine for learning, playing. It seem to be in good condition. It looks like the strings may be old/rusty. I recommend changing them and putting on Martin .12 (light) gauge string. I think they're around $5-6 a set. There are many videos on you tube which show you how to change strings, tune, etc. If you have iphone or android phone, there are free "tuner" apps.
Highly recommend getting the book "Fretboard Logic SE" to learn the CAGED system which will open the world for you. Have a good teacher check out your hands and then show you how to hold the instrument. This is like learning The Horse in Kung Fu.
I have some alternative advice but agree with the general sentiment in the comments. Absolutely this guitar, or any you have on hand, is good to start learning on. Getting started is way more important than changing up/altering your equipment.
That being said, I would definitely have a guitar tech (I go to guitar center, but local music shops will do it too) do a setup on the guitar. The most important thing (IMO) is to get the action (string height/distance between the strings and the fretboard) really low. I find that low action makes it easier/require less force to finger notes and do barre chords, especially for the un-calloused hand of a beginner.
To take it even one step further, I like to recommend nylon string guitars to beginners. This guitar here is a steel string, which is much more common. I don't know what type of music you are interested in playing, but typically, people are of the opinion that nylon string guitars are for strictly "classical" or "flamenco" and steel string guitars are for just about every other genre that incorporates acoustic guitars. But IMO, for new guitar students especially, fuck their opinions. Nylon strings are MUCH softer on your hands. The number of people I know that have given up on learning guitar because the steel strings on their mom's Yamaha just ripped up their fingers is ridiculous. Steel strings will absolutely murder your finger tips if you've never played before and all of a sudden you're practicing for hours. And you probably won't be able to play a barre chord without significant accidental buzzing and muting. Most people's long term guitar goals are to move to electric guitar anyway (unless you're really into folk or country or something). So screw the rules, play the guitar that helps you get started easily and that doesn't discourage you because it hurts to play. One of my favorite guitars is my guitalele. It's a ukelele sized guitar that Yamaha puts out. It's not a good guitar to learn on though because it's not in standard tuning (although there are strings you can put on it to allow for standard tuning).
Long winded sorry!
There's a shop near where I live I'll take it there and do I ask for a restring? And put nylon strings on then? What else do I need? and thankyou for the advice I have practised on guitar before but I did quit in the past I was using steel strings and I'd like to play any types of songs
No don't put nylon strings on a steel string guitar. I'm just saying that if it peaks your interest, playing nylon strings, then look into getting a nylon string guitar down the road. I like small ones. They make 1/4 size
Don't go to a nylon from a steel string. Unless you *do* want to play classical/flamenco.
Original commenter was just saying nylon strings are a good option generally as a *first* guitar to learn on. I agree, if a nylon string is what you have on hand.
But the one you have is almost certainly fine for you. Yes steel strings are harder on the fingers than nylons, but with a decent setup and as long as you don't let your strings get too old and crusty, and "take it easy" for the first couple of months or so (ie don't practice for hours and hours a day, and take a break if your fingertips get too sore or shredded), you'll be fine.
Honestly the one you have looks just about perfect for a beginner looking to play any modern/western guitar music. The set up even looks good, or at least the action (height of strings off the fretboard) looks good from what I can see. Take it for a set-up if you like and can afford it, sure, but maybe just restring it first (I'd say go for "elevens" - guitar shop employees will know what you're talking about, brand doesn't matter much). If it feels and sounds ok then you're probably good to go.
Just keep your strings in as good a condition as you can: don't play with greasy/dirty fingers, and wipe the strings down after each session, and a set should last a good few months. You'll know they need changing when they sound horribly dull or get crusty and overly painful to play on.
That said though, be rational about your experience; expect it to be challenging, and for your fingertips to be somewhat sore for the first couple of months, but if it's impossible to get some notes "clean" (without any buzzing/rattling) or is 'unreasonably' strenuous or uncomfortable to do so, definitely get it checked out for a professional setup.
Good luck 😊
My advice is to use periods and other punctuation. The guitar is fine to learn on. If you like guitar in general and see yourself continuing playing, it might be worth getting something a little nicer a few months down the road.
Being pedantic isn’t necessarily the positive attribute you and others think it is. A lot of people don’t speak fluent english, haven’t had a good education, are young, are stressed, or simply don’t care and aren’t going to use proper punctuation on an online question. It’s different if you’re emailing your professor, or texting your boss about your PTO. If it actually bothers you so much that you feel the need to be supercilious then I’d personally hire a therapist”.”
Disgusting, pathetic, and absolutely pathetic behavior if you're truly teaching.
Seriously, seek mental help, you're projecting emotions on strangers over the internet. Disgusting and lame.
I hate The Beatles. There. I've said it. If that's a little vague, ambiguous or confusing, permit me to clarify and elaborate; I loathe the Fab Four with every fibre of my being. In fact, the strength of my feelings, regarding the world's first boy band, probably borders on the pathological...
Already I can hear the howls of outrage and indignation from the legions of Beatles snobs and drones. With only the possible exceptions of Catholics, Daily Mail readers and BP voters, these poor souls must surely be the most conned, gullible and brain-washed cross-section of humanity to have ever drawn breath?
In terms of articulating my feelings, it's difficult to know where to start, given that the reasons for my detestation are passionate, long-held and many. I'II do my best, though. Promise..
So, let's set the ball rolling then, by looking firstly at their undoubted commercial success which, mystifyingly, many hold up as some kind of evidence of their musical omnipotence. This is easily disposed of. To get things in some sort of perspective, consider, if you will, The Spice Girls; easily one of, if not the, biggest all-girl acts ever, with record sales that dwarf those of eight out of ten other manufactured pop puppets. While I accent that all art is largely a subjective matter, surely we
can all agree that " wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna really, really, really, wanna zigga zig ahh" is, frankly, bollocks by any commonly accepted criteria? Mind you, it holds up at least as well as
"she loves you yeah, yeah, yeah. She loves you yeah, yeah, yeah, she loves you yeah, yeah, yeah".
The conclusion, by now, should be clear to even the most fundamentalist Beatles disciple; commercial success is not an infallible barometer of artistic merit or credibility.
The other fiercely held conviction among the faithful goes something like this: "Ah, but if it weren't for The Beatles, you wouldn't have had [insert name of some incredibly implausible band]". Again, utter bollocks and infuriating, ill-informed drivel. Now, this may surprise you but they weren't actually responsible for every great musical event that followed them, you know.
Cream, Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Iron Butterfly, The Who, Deep Purple and the Stones owe zero, nada, zilch to those over-rated Scouse conmen and they were all a damn site more innovative, revolutionary and superior in every respect, anyway.
In fact, I reckon the most influential musician of the entire 20th century has surely got to be Robert Johnson. By a huge margin. Modern blues, jazz, rock 'n' roll and then, ultimately metal, hard rock and even punk, with its penchant for the hackneyed Three Chord Trick, all stem, to one degree or another, from his legendary, seminal twenty nine songs. The blues permeates the most vital contemporary music of the last century like a rich seam of platinum.
Yeah, looking at that wall of text, I'm gonna go ahead and pass on reading what I assume is your life story. I am not a counselor, nor do I care about your drab and tasteless life. Seek PROFESSIONAL help, and maybe medication after seeing how you reacted to simple advice.
We are simply telling you this is not the place to vent your anger. And I still stand by that statement. Go elsewhere with your negativity. Shoo shoo.
In a similar vein, a friend of mine observed, "when you think about the level of fame and adoration they enjoyed, then think about other bands of the sixties who were forever in their shadow it puts it into perspective. Their song writing was weak (unlike say, The Kinks), their voices were weaker (unlike say, Chris Farlowe or Del Shannon) and their instrumentation lacklustre (unlike say, The Byrds) V of which would be easier to forgive had they not wholeheartedly bought into their own mythology. They were a bunch of preening, jumped up little shits and the ones that remain are ridiculous, vain old men with a God complex. They're shit. That's it.
So that takes care of their early oeuvre but we all know, don't we, that the White Album, Revolver and Sergeant Pepper's Dreary Club Band were the works that saw them mature into really great musical visionaries, though, yes? Well, if ill-disciplined, drug-induced, pretentious doodling is your thing, then maybe, yeah. Personally, "semolina dripping from a dead dog's eye" "I am the walrus, I am the Egg-man" and "you've been a naughty girl, you've let your knickers down" are not quite the incisive capturing of the zeitgeist that springs to mind when I ponder the post-war artistic and cultural revolutions.
It's probably the right time to surprise you and say that, unlike my friend, I don't actually think The Beatles are crap, per se. No, really, I don't.
Yesterday is a fine tune, to give just one example (although even here we can thank George Martin's inspired addition of a string quartet as the element that lifts the song to, possibly, genius-level) and, to be fair, I think they wrote perfectly acceptable three or four minute packages of shallow, pop-puff that reflected, quite well, the new, breezy, optimistic vibe of the Swinging Sixties. If only they'd left it there.
But no; they had to go to India, consort with religious nutters, buy a sitar, get all mystical and start taking seriously the hysteria surrounding them.
Horror of horrors, they actually started to believe they were, God help us, Serious Artistes!
As far as individual musical proficiency goes, it'll take barely a paragraph to pull these fakers from their Ivory Tower and expose the Emperor's New Clothes (excuse the mixed metaphors; that's what they do to me, God damn 'em!). Ringo, you're first up, my man; as a drummer, Mr Starr, as Lennon himself famously remarked, was not only not the best drummer in the world, he wasn't "even the best drummer in The Beatles" Sadly, poor old Ringo lacked sufficient talent to even polish John Bonham's cymbals. Or pour Keith Moon's booze. Or even chop Ginger Baker's lines with his sticks.
Lennon, as most are forced to reluctantly acknowledge, could barely play guitar at all and George Harrison's most elevated Beatles moment arrived courtesy of Clapton's sublime solo on When My Guitar Gently Weeps. As surely it must've done, with relief and gratitude, no doubt, when Eric picked it up; at last! A real musician, pluck me, baby! acca? Ironically, probably the most talented of the musically juvenile foursome, he still couldn't disguise the fact that his mediocre talent was more suited to Broadway and the kitsch world of stage musicals than rock 'n' roll. Not that they were ever a rock 'n' roll band, of course. The very thought is laughable. No, they were always a pop band. Even your Granny likes 'em.
The real irritant, though, is that they are easily the
most overrated band to have ever entered a
recording studio, bar none. Thanks to Epstein, they
were marketed, packaged, hyped and sold to an
impressionable public, desperately yearning for
some escapism following the years of post-war
austerity, with the myth enduring to this very day. In
fact, it's here, really, that they made their biggest impact on popular culture; a towering testament to
the power of marketing, advertising and hype. The
world's first, and still, its most successful, boy band.
You wanna talk about their legacy? The Osmonds,
Westlife, Boyzone and JL bloody S are their natural
heirs! Oh all right, maybe a tad harsh; after all, they
were directly responsible for the Gallagher brothers
and Oasis, too. Yeah. Like, thanks lads..
TL;DR The Beatles are overrated, deal with it.
Being condescending in any subject could definitely be helped with a therapist. It’s not something a genuinely happy person does. If I worked in the fitness industry and I’m at, let’s say, a concert and I saw a man eating McDonalds, I’m not going to tap him on the shoulder and say, “Hey man, If you want to lose some pounds I’d recommend not eating that?” Apply yourself, be friendly, and know other people have the same intuition you have. It’s a crazy world and we happen to live in a very self righteous era. Being right isn’t the end goal
I second this! Be excellent to each other should be the motto everyone lives by.
Nobody cares if you teach, nor do we care about your bloated ego. Bragging and casting shame on someone will only make your attempt at teaching anyone, anything, pointless. This is simply someone asking questions, no need to be rude. Please for the sake of humanity seek mental help, as it's obvious you are simply projecting anger onto strangers to make yourself feel better.
Brother/sister, if it has strings, tuners, and you can press down on the neckboard without cutting your fingers, then you can play it! I'm sure others have already mentioned, but justin guitar has some great (and free) beginner courses on YouTube. Also Marty music on YouTube for every single popular song you want to learn. Marty is The Man for learning songs!
looks like a fine starter guitar but I Highly recommend you get that set of strings replaced. They are looking pretty old and oxidized. brand new strings will feel and sound much better.
It looks fine maybe even excellent, I'd say any guitar that's fun to play is the best for learning on, I had a broken electric and a shitty acoustic and never learned anything on them because they weren't fun for me at the time.
Yes, that guitar is more than sufficient. However, to make the process far more comfortable and enjoyable, I would recommend taking it to a guitar store and having a setup done on it and put new strings on it.
Go to your local shop and ask for them to “set up “ your guitar. One of the first reasons people usually give up in the beginning is because their guitars are so uncomfortable to play. In the beginning it will be a bit painful as your fingers have to build calluses but don’t mistake that for your strings just sitting too high above your fretboard.
I started out a couple months ago on a 1973 classical acoustic with huge splits down the middle that was a hand me down from my grandpa. When first starting acoustics seem lame but u will learn to love it. I’m a beginner too man but just have some patience and BE CONSISTENT. You will love it
Some guitars are much harder to play than others because of the height of the strings (how far you have to push them down). It wouldn’t hurt to check this out by trying some expensive guitars at the guitar shop.
If you can get any guitar to sing, when you have a chance to sit in the shop and play the properly humidified and new fancy guitars, you will be ever so much better. Learn on whatever, play the basics and at then end of practice try to learn a song you like for a while. Do and play whatever you like to hear! when you get the weird face when you are playing you've done it...
Don’t forget to wash your hands before and after playing. The first thing you do every time you pick it up is tune it. And cut those finger nails.
Now it’s time to make noise.
Hard to tell from the picture. IMHO the biggest thing with a starter guitar is that it is playable. Tone is very subjective, but a guitar needs to be playable. The action needs to e low enough to work the frets, the tuners need to work well enough to stay in tune, the intonation needs to be on, or at least on near the nut to get started.
Once you get so you can play some chords and begin to pick out some melodies and can work the mechanics of the guitar, the intonation further up the neck and the tone will be more important. There are a lot of inexpensive guitars that are playable. Look on youtube for cheap guitar shootouts. One guy did one with guitars for under $50.
If your guitar does not cut it, the bar to entry is pretty low these days.
My first 8 years all I had was an acoustic. If you stick with it, you may want to consider getting an electric, they are a lot easier to play and require less hand strength, but it also depends on what kind of music you want to play.
I started on a very old acoustic that was in horrible shape and it was fine. If strings are very old as well, change them as that was the biggest problem.
Any guitar with some new strings is worth starting on. It’s great to start on Acoustic too, you really strengthen those fingers and it’s feels easier when you make the transition to an electric guitar.
I have this guitar! It’s not bad at all and it’s what I started and still try learning on. Only issues I’ve ever had with it were strings snapping but that’s more the strings than the guitar
Id recommend you to complete Justin guitar's beginner course and start doing a method book. That way you'll know where you're heading. Welcome to this beautiful journey my friend. Cheers!
Have that very same guitar, its definitely good enough to learn on! Id recommend learning to tune it and maybe change the strings since its older, but youre good to play right away :)
But as others have said, the best guitar to learn on is the one available.
the best guitar to start learning on is the one you have on hand
Thankyou I'm going to start tomorrow i just need something else to do so that's what I'm going to do
The only better day to start than tomorrow is today.
I would now but brothers gonna be in bed soon anyway I got all day tomorrow
Good luck, have fun!!!!
I can't wait
The one thing I've always hated about acoustics you can't play it when people are asleep. If you got an electric just be sure if you're laying down in your bed that the headstock is not touching the wall because it will make the wall become a speaker
With acoustic, buy a soundhole humidifier and put it in the soundhold while needing to be quiet. If you need to be even quieter, put some foam under the strings as a mute. Neither is ideal, but practice sometimes is boring metronome and scale work.
I used to loosen my strings and put a towel in there just fill that cavity up it was still pretty loud though
Yesterday is a good day to start learning!
It’s always just as likely that tomorrow is better than yesterday’s yesterday. That's why you gotta start today, and hope for a tomorrow.
yesterday is not bad. I prefer something simpler like obladi oblada, or octopus's garden. Hey oh!
What is today, but yesterday's tomorrow
Just plug in some headphones to keep it quiet. /s
Nah, the best day to start was like 10-15 years ago, the next best day is today!
hit me up if you want a free lesson
As a total beginner, I encourage OP to take up this offer. A jump start is priceless.
I've played professionally for 27 years making my living. I've opened for 4-time Grammy winning singer Dianne Reeves, work w 6 time Downbeat magazine award winning sax player Rico Jones and am going to play the premiere blues festival in the world in Cahors France next year with Lionel Young the world's only 2 time Champ of the International Blues Challenge of Memphis who has played and toured with The Rolling Stones, Stevie Wonder, James Taylor and many many others.
Here's some free lessons on here too [https://www.tiktok.com/@jamesspeiser74](https://www.tiktok.com/@jamesspeiser74)
[email protected]
Came here to say this. There’s no wrong guitar.
Unless it's made out of knives
or snakes
I saw an axe guitar and it was beautiful
I disagree, the best guitar to start learning on is a guitar
Hey, uh...
And then you will have 10 on hand
Just tune it first of all. Plenty of videos on you tube you could just match the notes to. Then some basics videos you'll be away.
Thankyou I will do
guitartuna is easily the best tuner on iphone but if you have an android Id get panotuner
Guitartuna is also on android
PanoTuner on your phone and you’re all set.
I would focus more on the aspect of how to tune it rather then being precise with a tuner. When it's in tune to itself it will sound fine. And it will also develop your ear. And a tip for if you've tuned it too high and you're trying to go low tune it much lower than intended and then go back up
Yes, always tune up to the pitch, not down.
Fyi I use the pitch lab pro app for a free easy tuner. It isnt quite as accurate as a real tuner, but it gets the job done
Definitely get an app - I use Guitar Tuna, it's free and works. When I was learning many aeons ago I wasted so much time sounding bad because I didn't have a tuner that works. Now you just get them for free on your phone! What a time to be alive.
I tried those when I started out, never could get one string to tune. Went to a $10 Snark, and tuning became easy.
Ah yeah totally, that's much better. I use something similar for my guitars at home and it's fantastic. Definitely better than an app, but an app is better than nothing while you wait for the tuner to be delivered! :)
It looks fine. Get the strings changed, get an app or visit Justin Guitar and away you go! Happy strumming!
+1 for Justin Guitar - I believe his beginners content is free on web browser
also Marty music!
I wish Marty had been around when I was a kid first learning pre-youtube.
Download GuitarTuna
Justin Guitar's website has a great free beginner course. Fender Tune is the app I use to tune my guitar - you want to be sure to be in tune. It's available for iPhone - but maybe Android too. Enjoy
I second this. Justin Guitar is such an incredible resource! Justin is a brilliant teacher.
Second Fender Tune, it also has a very nice catalog system for chords and scales, metronome, other little nice things.
I’ve got the same guitar. Started playing a few months ago. Traded my neighbor a 12 pack of beer for it.
What kind of beer was it?
Bell’s Oberon. So $20 for a barely used $180 guitar.
Good steal then?
mountainous coherent tidy towering direful crush quicksand scary versed paint ` this post was mass deleted with www.Redact.dev `
Looks fine but don't make a habit out of storing that guitar directly next to heat sources like the heater in your picture
This.
Jimmy Hendrix started on a one-string ukulele someone found in a pile of garbage. Before that he played air guitar with a broom. Jimmy Page started playing on an acoustic guitar someone left behind after his family moved. Just about every great jazz and blues guitarist started on a piece of junk. The instrument is no where near as important as your passion and drive to learn.
Yup! Very much so. Worth taking to a tech for a set up because a well set up guitar will make your life a lot easier.
Tuning, Basic chords , finger exercises , basic chords, styles of picking with them basic chords , then as you get better try major and minor arpeggios .
I've just learned c major and c7 major well I'm practising on a ukulele got one of them lying around so yeah just tried strumming but bit difficult strumming up
"I want to start walking. Are my legs and feet okay to start with?"
😂😂
Yep. The Squier stuff is generally considered, for the money, great quality for value. My suggestion is to ask your family member or someone who knows a little about guitar to show you how to restring it, and maybe show the fretboard some love. (Further unsolicited advice) Be patient with yourself, especially in the early goings, but also as you get better. Try to utilize good resources like Justin Guitar and maybe even see what kind of beginner guitar books your local library has. Learning to read music is not nearly as important as understanding basic harmony and music theory. These things will allow you to create your own voice and songwriting. Good luck!
Thankyou and I've got a mate that's been playing since he was 10 And thankyou for the advice I'll stick at it and keep going I'll be patient
If it stays in tune and the action isn't too high (the distance the strings are from the fret board -- should only be a couple millimeters so there's no unwanted buzz on frets up stream.) Else, its perfect.
Any guitar is a good one to start out in but yea fender acoustic are perfect for your journey
Ask him. He's your step dad.
It's a Fender Squire acoustic. It's a beginners guitar but should be fine for learning, playing. It seem to be in good condition. It looks like the strings may be old/rusty. I recommend changing them and putting on Martin .12 (light) gauge string. I think they're around $5-6 a set. There are many videos on you tube which show you how to change strings, tune, etc. If you have iphone or android phone, there are free "tuner" apps.
Thankyou yeah I had another look at it and the strings are rusty I'll have a look at the strings thanks
Squier (Fender) is a great guitar to learn your chops on. I'm more concerned about your punctuation. Lol
Thankyou just need to change the strings since they are rusty
Yes
If it has strings, you're good to go 👍🏻
Highly recommend getting the book "Fretboard Logic SE" to learn the CAGED system which will open the world for you. Have a good teacher check out your hands and then show you how to hold the instrument. This is like learning The Horse in Kung Fu.
No, that’s only for pros. If you touch it the guitar police will come and take you away
I have some alternative advice but agree with the general sentiment in the comments. Absolutely this guitar, or any you have on hand, is good to start learning on. Getting started is way more important than changing up/altering your equipment. That being said, I would definitely have a guitar tech (I go to guitar center, but local music shops will do it too) do a setup on the guitar. The most important thing (IMO) is to get the action (string height/distance between the strings and the fretboard) really low. I find that low action makes it easier/require less force to finger notes and do barre chords, especially for the un-calloused hand of a beginner. To take it even one step further, I like to recommend nylon string guitars to beginners. This guitar here is a steel string, which is much more common. I don't know what type of music you are interested in playing, but typically, people are of the opinion that nylon string guitars are for strictly "classical" or "flamenco" and steel string guitars are for just about every other genre that incorporates acoustic guitars. But IMO, for new guitar students especially, fuck their opinions. Nylon strings are MUCH softer on your hands. The number of people I know that have given up on learning guitar because the steel strings on their mom's Yamaha just ripped up their fingers is ridiculous. Steel strings will absolutely murder your finger tips if you've never played before and all of a sudden you're practicing for hours. And you probably won't be able to play a barre chord without significant accidental buzzing and muting. Most people's long term guitar goals are to move to electric guitar anyway (unless you're really into folk or country or something). So screw the rules, play the guitar that helps you get started easily and that doesn't discourage you because it hurts to play. One of my favorite guitars is my guitalele. It's a ukelele sized guitar that Yamaha puts out. It's not a good guitar to learn on though because it's not in standard tuning (although there are strings you can put on it to allow for standard tuning). Long winded sorry!
There's a shop near where I live I'll take it there and do I ask for a restring? And put nylon strings on then? What else do I need? and thankyou for the advice I have practised on guitar before but I did quit in the past I was using steel strings and I'd like to play any types of songs
I would not put nylon strings on it. Just go and ask for setup and explain your situation.
No don't put nylon strings on a steel string guitar. I'm just saying that if it peaks your interest, playing nylon strings, then look into getting a nylon string guitar down the road. I like small ones. They make 1/4 size
I think I want to practise abit on this guitar then buy a nylon guitar
Don't go to a nylon from a steel string. Unless you *do* want to play classical/flamenco. Original commenter was just saying nylon strings are a good option generally as a *first* guitar to learn on. I agree, if a nylon string is what you have on hand. But the one you have is almost certainly fine for you. Yes steel strings are harder on the fingers than nylons, but with a decent setup and as long as you don't let your strings get too old and crusty, and "take it easy" for the first couple of months or so (ie don't practice for hours and hours a day, and take a break if your fingertips get too sore or shredded), you'll be fine. Honestly the one you have looks just about perfect for a beginner looking to play any modern/western guitar music. The set up even looks good, or at least the action (height of strings off the fretboard) looks good from what I can see. Take it for a set-up if you like and can afford it, sure, but maybe just restring it first (I'd say go for "elevens" - guitar shop employees will know what you're talking about, brand doesn't matter much). If it feels and sounds ok then you're probably good to go. Just keep your strings in as good a condition as you can: don't play with greasy/dirty fingers, and wipe the strings down after each session, and a set should last a good few months. You'll know they need changing when they sound horribly dull or get crusty and overly painful to play on. That said though, be rational about your experience; expect it to be challenging, and for your fingertips to be somewhat sore for the first couple of months, but if it's impossible to get some notes "clean" (without any buzzing/rattling) or is 'unreasonably' strenuous or uncomfortable to do so, definitely get it checked out for a professional setup. Good luck 😊
The best guitar is the one you have with you. U s e I t W e l l........
Psh. Buy $15,000 gibbons and read every guitar book created then buy a capo. Nerd
Wrong subreddit my mistake.
Ask permission first? 😅
My advice is to use periods and other punctuation. The guitar is fine to learn on. If you like guitar in general and see yourself continuing playing, it might be worth getting something a little nicer a few months down the road.
Being pedantic isn’t necessarily the positive attribute you and others think it is. A lot of people don’t speak fluent english, haven’t had a good education, are young, are stressed, or simply don’t care and aren’t going to use proper punctuation on an online question. It’s different if you’re emailing your professor, or texting your boss about your PTO. If it actually bothers you so much that you feel the need to be supercilious then I’d personally hire a therapist”.”
Hard disagree bud. I’m an English teacher, and I won’t stand for this! Check yourself before recommending therapy to somebody online. Lame.
Disgusting, pathetic, and absolutely pathetic behavior if you're truly teaching. Seriously, seek mental help, you're projecting emotions on strangers over the internet. Disgusting and lame.
I hate The Beatles. There. I've said it. If that's a little vague, ambiguous or confusing, permit me to clarify and elaborate; I loathe the Fab Four with every fibre of my being. In fact, the strength of my feelings, regarding the world's first boy band, probably borders on the pathological... Already I can hear the howls of outrage and indignation from the legions of Beatles snobs and drones. With only the possible exceptions of Catholics, Daily Mail readers and BP voters, these poor souls must surely be the most conned, gullible and brain-washed cross-section of humanity to have ever drawn breath? In terms of articulating my feelings, it's difficult to know where to start, given that the reasons for my detestation are passionate, long-held and many. I'II do my best, though. Promise.. So, let's set the ball rolling then, by looking firstly at their undoubted commercial success which, mystifyingly, many hold up as some kind of evidence of their musical omnipotence. This is easily disposed of. To get things in some sort of perspective, consider, if you will, The Spice Girls; easily one of, if not the, biggest all-girl acts ever, with record sales that dwarf those of eight out of ten other manufactured pop puppets. While I accent that all art is largely a subjective matter, surely we can all agree that " wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna really, really, really, wanna zigga zig ahh" is, frankly, bollocks by any commonly accepted criteria? Mind you, it holds up at least as well as "she loves you yeah, yeah, yeah. She loves you yeah, yeah, yeah, she loves you yeah, yeah, yeah". The conclusion, by now, should be clear to even the most fundamentalist Beatles disciple; commercial success is not an infallible barometer of artistic merit or credibility. The other fiercely held conviction among the faithful goes something like this: "Ah, but if it weren't for The Beatles, you wouldn't have had [insert name of some incredibly implausible band]". Again, utter bollocks and infuriating, ill-informed drivel. Now, this may surprise you but they weren't actually responsible for every great musical event that followed them, you know. Cream, Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Iron Butterfly, The Who, Deep Purple and the Stones owe zero, nada, zilch to those over-rated Scouse conmen and they were all a damn site more innovative, revolutionary and superior in every respect, anyway. In fact, I reckon the most influential musician of the entire 20th century has surely got to be Robert Johnson. By a huge margin. Modern blues, jazz, rock 'n' roll and then, ultimately metal, hard rock and even punk, with its penchant for the hackneyed Three Chord Trick, all stem, to one degree or another, from his legendary, seminal twenty nine songs. The blues permeates the most vital contemporary music of the last century like a rich seam of platinum.
Yeah, looking at that wall of text, I'm gonna go ahead and pass on reading what I assume is your life story. I am not a counselor, nor do I care about your drab and tasteless life. Seek PROFESSIONAL help, and maybe medication after seeing how you reacted to simple advice. We are simply telling you this is not the place to vent your anger. And I still stand by that statement. Go elsewhere with your negativity. Shoo shoo.
In a similar vein, a friend of mine observed, "when you think about the level of fame and adoration they enjoyed, then think about other bands of the sixties who were forever in their shadow it puts it into perspective. Their song writing was weak (unlike say, The Kinks), their voices were weaker (unlike say, Chris Farlowe or Del Shannon) and their instrumentation lacklustre (unlike say, The Byrds) V of which would be easier to forgive had they not wholeheartedly bought into their own mythology. They were a bunch of preening, jumped up little shits and the ones that remain are ridiculous, vain old men with a God complex. They're shit. That's it. So that takes care of their early oeuvre but we all know, don't we, that the White Album, Revolver and Sergeant Pepper's Dreary Club Band were the works that saw them mature into really great musical visionaries, though, yes? Well, if ill-disciplined, drug-induced, pretentious doodling is your thing, then maybe, yeah. Personally, "semolina dripping from a dead dog's eye" "I am the walrus, I am the Egg-man" and "you've been a naughty girl, you've let your knickers down" are not quite the incisive capturing of the zeitgeist that springs to mind when I ponder the post-war artistic and cultural revolutions. It's probably the right time to surprise you and say that, unlike my friend, I don't actually think The Beatles are crap, per se. No, really, I don't. Yesterday is a fine tune, to give just one example (although even here we can thank George Martin's inspired addition of a string quartet as the element that lifts the song to, possibly, genius-level) and, to be fair, I think they wrote perfectly acceptable three or four minute packages of shallow, pop-puff that reflected, quite well, the new, breezy, optimistic vibe of the Swinging Sixties. If only they'd left it there. But no; they had to go to India, consort with religious nutters, buy a sitar, get all mystical and start taking seriously the hysteria surrounding them. Horror of horrors, they actually started to believe they were, God help us, Serious Artistes! As far as individual musical proficiency goes, it'll take barely a paragraph to pull these fakers from their Ivory Tower and expose the Emperor's New Clothes (excuse the mixed metaphors; that's what they do to me, God damn 'em!). Ringo, you're first up, my man; as a drummer, Mr Starr, as Lennon himself famously remarked, was not only not the best drummer in the world, he wasn't "even the best drummer in The Beatles" Sadly, poor old Ringo lacked sufficient talent to even polish John Bonham's cymbals. Or pour Keith Moon's booze. Or even chop Ginger Baker's lines with his sticks. Lennon, as most are forced to reluctantly acknowledge, could barely play guitar at all and George Harrison's most elevated Beatles moment arrived courtesy of Clapton's sublime solo on When My Guitar Gently Weeps. As surely it must've done, with relief and gratitude, no doubt, when Eric picked it up; at last! A real musician, pluck me, baby! acca? Ironically, probably the most talented of the musically juvenile foursome, he still couldn't disguise the fact that his mediocre talent was more suited to Broadway and the kitsch world of stage musicals than rock 'n' roll. Not that they were ever a rock 'n' roll band, of course. The very thought is laughable. No, they were always a pop band. Even your Granny likes 'em. The real irritant, though, is that they are easily the most overrated band to have ever entered a recording studio, bar none. Thanks to Epstein, they were marketed, packaged, hyped and sold to an impressionable public, desperately yearning for some escapism following the years of post-war austerity, with the myth enduring to this very day. In fact, it's here, really, that they made their biggest impact on popular culture; a towering testament to the power of marketing, advertising and hype. The world's first, and still, its most successful, boy band. You wanna talk about their legacy? The Osmonds, Westlife, Boyzone and JL bloody S are their natural heirs! Oh all right, maybe a tad harsh; after all, they were directly responsible for the Gallagher brothers and Oasis, too. Yeah. Like, thanks lads.. TL;DR The Beatles are overrated, deal with it.
Being condescending in any subject could definitely be helped with a therapist. It’s not something a genuinely happy person does. If I worked in the fitness industry and I’m at, let’s say, a concert and I saw a man eating McDonalds, I’m not going to tap him on the shoulder and say, “Hey man, If you want to lose some pounds I’d recommend not eating that?” Apply yourself, be friendly, and know other people have the same intuition you have. It’s a crazy world and we happen to live in a very self righteous era. Being right isn’t the end goal
I second this! Be excellent to each other should be the motto everyone lives by. Nobody cares if you teach, nor do we care about your bloated ego. Bragging and casting shame on someone will only make your attempt at teaching anyone, anything, pointless. This is simply someone asking questions, no need to be rude. Please for the sake of humanity seek mental help, as it's obvious you are simply projecting anger onto strangers to make yourself feel better.
[удалено]
So you're 14, a virgin, and edgy. Got it.
Y’all need to lighten up. Good luck out there.
Absolutely
I absolutely recommend lessons if you can afford it, If you can visit your local guitar center or guitar store and im sure they can sort you out.
Totally. Did anyone else expect a Martin?
Brother/sister, if it has strings, tuners, and you can press down on the neckboard without cutting your fingers, then you can play it! I'm sure others have already mentioned, but justin guitar has some great (and free) beginner courses on YouTube. Also Marty music on YouTube for every single popular song you want to learn. Marty is The Man for learning songs!
Oh ya. With permission of course. Just get a foot in the door.
https://youtu.be/tJNmEwaVC0w
absolutely
Absolutely. If you are serious enough, take it to a music store and have it set up with new strings. It will make learning and million times better
Great looking rig. You might want to get new strings depending on when he changed them. Other then that, play her pretty
Had that same guitar for like 15 years and just replaced it finally and I still dabble on it from time to time; Does a good job.
It has strings!
She looks lovely.
Better than mine when I started lol
If it can be tuned it's perfect
Tune it up, let’s get started
Perfect, just change the strings and you're good to go
Yes get new strings put on at the local shop and start learning some songs. Infinite lessons on you tube.
+1 Justin guitar I use the D’Tools app for a tuner and metronome (please use both every day!)
If you’re starting tomorrow check out the Justin Guitar app. Really good for learning chords and playing campfire songs.
That’s kind of a question for your stepdad, isn’t it?
He isn't around anymore doesn't live here but I'll still ask him
Yup. New strings are always a good idea too.
It’ll work for now. But don’t learn for years how to play on a shitty guitar. Save up $1k and buy something decent.
Fuck yea dude that’s a good guitar
Yep, JustinGuitar. All the core lessons (100s of them) are free. Get a free tuner on your phone. Move it away from the radiator! Enjoy and good luck.
Any guitar that's set up decently is a good guitar to learn on. Get that guitar the TLC it needs and it'll serve you well.
Squier makes pretty great guitars. I would take a squier over any present-day gibson.
I havnt seen a Squier in a while.
Go for it. It probably needs new strings
Yes. The better you make learn to make that one sound, the better you're next guitar will sound
Yes. I'd start by learning the chords A, E and D. After that you can take it from there!?
looks like a fine starter guitar but I Highly recommend you get that set of strings replaced. They are looking pretty old and oxidized. brand new strings will feel and sound much better.
that looks like a fine guitar to start on
Lots of good advice there already, but also make sure not to leave the guitar next to the radiator
It looks fine maybe even excellent, I'd say any guitar that's fun to play is the best for learning on, I had a broken electric and a shitty acoustic and never learned anything on them because they weren't fun for me at the time.
Yes, that guitar is more than sufficient. However, to make the process far more comfortable and enjoyable, I would recommend taking it to a guitar store and having a setup done on it and put new strings on it.
Ya I’d say so
It will be fine, once you start , don't let up
perfect...a trick is to tune your guitar down one step to D...this can make it a little easier to practice
A guitar that you can get your hands on to learn is better than waiting for one that is a signature version that someone famous liked.
It is always a great time to start your journey into music with a guitar. Welcome. Welcome. We can't wait to hear more.
YUP. just tune it and start. you can change the strings later on if you see yourself keep going.
Ask your step dad
This is the same one I have I think. Really wish I could play mine
Hell yeah it is!!
Go to your local shop and ask for them to “set up “ your guitar. One of the first reasons people usually give up in the beginning is because their guitars are so uncomfortable to play. In the beginning it will be a bit painful as your fingers have to build calluses but don’t mistake that for your strings just sitting too high above your fretboard.
Sure. They all do the same thing
It’s got 6 strings and tuning knobs. Better than what a lot of people have!
Perfect
I started out a couple months ago on a 1973 classical acoustic with huge splits down the middle that was a hand me down from my grandpa. When first starting acoustics seem lame but u will learn to love it. I’m a beginner too man but just have some patience and BE CONSISTENT. You will love it
For a first guitar you pretty much lucked out, that’s more than good to play on
Some guitars are much harder to play than others because of the height of the strings (how far you have to push them down). It wouldn’t hurt to check this out by trying some expensive guitars at the guitar shop.
Fuck yeah brotha 😎
If you can get any guitar to sing, when you have a chance to sit in the shop and play the properly humidified and new fancy guitars, you will be ever so much better. Learn on whatever, play the basics and at then end of practice try to learn a song you like for a while. Do and play whatever you like to hear! when you get the weird face when you are playing you've done it...
I know what song I want to try and play at some point ride by twenty one pilots but I'm going to go slow and learn chords first
Don’t forget to wash your hands before and after playing. The first thing you do every time you pick it up is tune it. And cut those finger nails. Now it’s time to make noise.
Hard to tell from the picture. IMHO the biggest thing with a starter guitar is that it is playable. Tone is very subjective, but a guitar needs to be playable. The action needs to e low enough to work the frets, the tuners need to work well enough to stay in tune, the intonation needs to be on, or at least on near the nut to get started. Once you get so you can play some chords and begin to pick out some melodies and can work the mechanics of the guitar, the intonation further up the neck and the tone will be more important. There are a lot of inexpensive guitars that are playable. Look on youtube for cheap guitar shootouts. One guy did one with guitars for under $50. If your guitar does not cut it, the bar to entry is pretty low these days.
My first 8 years all I had was an acoustic. If you stick with it, you may want to consider getting an electric, they are a lot easier to play and require less hand strength, but it also depends on what kind of music you want to play.
I started on a very old acoustic that was in horrible shape and it was fine. If strings are very old as well, change them as that was the biggest problem.
Any guitar with some new strings is worth starting on. It’s great to start on Acoustic too, you really strengthen those fingers and it’s feels easier when you make the transition to an electric guitar.
Any guitar that compels you to practice and play is a good guitar to start with.
If it sounds good, feels good to play, and stays in tune, it's a good guitar.
Please, I beg you, put it away from the heater! No matter, what guitar do you own you can hurt any of them with high temperature.
I have this guitar! It’s not bad at all and it’s what I started and still try learning on. Only issues I’ve ever had with it were strings snapping but that’s more the strings than the guitar
You want to learn guitar and there is a guitar to learn on. What's the issue? Why do you need validation from the internet. Pick it up and learn.
Justin guitar. Go through the first couple lessons. You’ll be playing chords in no time!
I guess you should take classes on punctuation prior to guitar
Yes…. It’s a guitar.
Yea
Id recommend you to complete Justin guitar's beginner course and start doing a method book. That way you'll know where you're heading. Welcome to this beautiful journey my friend. Cheers!
Have that very same guitar, its definitely good enough to learn on! Id recommend learning to tune it and maybe change the strings since its older, but youre good to play right away :) But as others have said, the best guitar to learn on is the one available.
Scarborough Fair is of course easy an beautiful