[Guitar] Best way to learn, without having lessons

So I dont have any money for lessons, and I just want to learn some chords and strumming patterns.

Is there a good howto site online, or any other resource?

Learn the notes of the fretboard. All of them.
Learn basic music theory. Like what composes a chord.
Use those two to come up with your own chords. That way you ll understand the idea behind it and it wont be spoon fed.

There are so many sites out there, I'd say just google around. Are you looking for stuff like this?:

Basic Guitar Chords | Beginner (http://www.guitarchordsmagic.com/basic-guitar-chords/basic-guitar-chords.html)

YouTube - ViewDo: How To Play Beginner Guitar Chords (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lcmb4RplClQ)

Learn the notes of the fretboard. All of them.
Learn basic music theory. Like what composes a chord.
Use those two to come up with your own chords. That way you ll understand the idea behind it and it wont be spoon fed.

complete overkill for what he wants.

izod, there's plenty of resources online and just as many beginner books (go check out the music section at barnes and nobles) with what you're looking for. i've bought 3 song books, and each one has strumming patterns listed in the back and most songs tell you what chords to play. search online for open chord positions - they're the easiest and most common chords. if you learn G, C, and D you can play almost any bob dylan song ;)

complete overkill for what he wants.

izod, there's plenty of resources online and just as many beginner books (go check out the music section at barnes and nobles) with what you're looking for. i've bought 3 song books, and each one has strumming patterns listed in the back and most songs tell you what chords to play. search online for open chord positions - they're the easiest and most common chords. if you learn G, C, and D you can play almost any bob dylan song ;)

sweet. and AniMisM those links are awesome. especially the video

i like when i can see the strum so i can (try to :p) emulate it.

NOOOOOOOOOOO.

Don't listen to dave, he is a faggot and still owes me spaghetti.

ok so i am trying to get bar chords down, but i must not have strength in my pointer finger, cause i either get muted sounds or fret buzz.

anyone have any tips?

these are the chords
e|--------10-----------x----------9------------10---------------------------|
B|--------10-----------x----------10-----------11---------------------------|
G|--------11-----------11---------11-----------12---------------------------|
D|--------12-----------11---------11-----------12---------------------------|
A|--------12-----------12---------9------------10---------------------------|
E|--------10-----------9----------x-------------x---------------------------|

Use a tennis ball while you aren't playing to build finger strength in your left hand.

Don't listen to dave, he is a faggot and still owes me spaghetti.

Ya, i sure hope you liked that MA to YO FACE NIGGA.

stfu and make me some sghetti you wop.

See my sig, bitch.

see my sig bitch

I just spent half an hour drawing what I think are the "essentials" all beginners should learn.

These will look like they're different to the regular chord patterns at first, but they'll help you understand what a chord is composed of, and to know more chords while memorizing less patterns.

If you're not yet familiar with what an Interval is, it's just the "fret distance" between a Root note and another note. Guitars in standard tuning (EADGBe) repeat their notes (except an Octave higher) on the same string every 12 frets.

Standard tuning (except the B string) is in Perfect 4th tuning. Which means that the note on the string above/below in the same fret is a "4th" interval away from the lowest note.

Start with the 3 most common chord-patterns.
You can use these exact chords anywhere up the neck provided your Root note remains on the E string. They have to be changed slightly when you change to using less than 6 strings.

Power Chords:

http://www.team5150.com/~random/guitar/power_chords.jpg

They consist of a Root note, a Perfect 5th interval, and an Octave (the Root note at twice the frequency). Practice these with your 1st, 3rd and 4th (pinky) fingers.
A variation on these is to use the Perfect 4th (that has an oriental sound) interval, or an evil Tri-tone directly between the 4th and 5ths.

Once you've got Power chords sussed on the EAD strings, move your starting (1st) finger down to the A string and use ADG for them, practice up the entire fretboard.


Minor Chords:

http://www.team5150.com/~random/guitar/minor_chords.jpg

The only real difference between Power and Minor chords, is the addition of you barring your finger across the entire fretboard, playing the remaining 3 strings. Make sure the G string rings clearly or you won't get the "sad" sound.
If you're having trouble getting the 1st finger to bar properly, change the position of your thumb on the back of the neck so it's in the middle of the neck (where it curves the most).


Major Chords:

http://www.team5150.com/~random/guitar/major_chords.jpg

The addition of 1 finger (your 2nd/middle) on the G string makes this into a Major chord. Once again, make sure it rings clearly.

After you master switching between these 3 chord formations, you should be able to play the chords to 99% of all the music you've ever heard, using just those patterns and 12 frets.
Hopefully you'll also start to get good at identifying whether a chord is Major or Minor, and then try to identify what note it is.

If the Root (very first) note starts on an A (5th fret on E string), it's either an A major, minor or power chord. On a C note (8th fret on E string) it's a C, etc.


Now that you're able to play these with your eyes closed, you need to learn your first scale.
This is a really popular one that's used in a crapload of songs.
The red dots are the "Root note", also the name of the scale.

http://www.team5150.com/~random/guitar/blues_scale.jpg

Scales are a bit like ski routes. You start off learning a fundamental one, then you might add a new note to it to give you more freedom, and see whether it still works or not. Eventually you learn more and more scales, and you start to learn how to mix and match them into something beautiful - which is what a good capper could do in Tribes.

The #1 thing to remember about scales, is that you can play them in any order as long as you play only the notes in the scale, otherwise it can sound like ass (unless you know what you're doing).



If you play for at least an hour every day, there's about a months worth of practice in just these 4 images. By now you would've developed calluses, so here's more advice to help you improve.

- Try to listen to songs on the radio/tv and play the chords to them by ear.
- Develop some "warmup/strength" exercises where you identify what needs the most practice (usually your pinky finger) .
- Remember that you're just pressing the string against the metal fret, not against the wooden fretboard.
- Make sure you're always learning at least 1 song you like, otherwise you'll get bored and quit.
- You can turn these chords into Arpeggios by playing each string individually, and if you skip between strings it can sound pretty cool.
- Don't forget to use upstrokes when picking.
- Add a note to that Blues scale, work with it for a week and add another if it still sounds ok. You'll be playing chromatic in no time.
- Practice through an amp if possible, it amplifies your mistakes.
- Use an electric tuner, it takes years to develop perfect pitch.
- If you play daily, change your strings every 3-8 weeks, you'll notice a difference.

- Test your knowledge by teaching someone else to play.

That's all I can think of off the top of my head, so once you've done all that crap, check out this guys site (especially the Guitar/Interval Ear trainer).
Ricci Adams' Musictheory.net (http://musictheory.net/)

see my sig bitch

Ya wow, big fucking deal. Your sig sucks (JUST LIKE YOU LOL).

Oh, and if it hurts, you're doing it wrong.
You should never feel pain when playing guitar, always pay attention to how much your wrist is bent, and try to keep both arms as relaxed as possible.

pure awesome[/url]

holy crap random! thanks. see you in a months time ;) (this is perfect for winter break)

although im still having trouble with the barring part. i cant seem to get it. it is like the B string finds a perfect fit to not play right under my finger.

if you practice "pinching" the neck with just the index finger and thumb, and moving those two up the neck, you should find a sweet spot where all the strings sound clean
lay your index finger across the entire fret at first, then try different positions for the thumb and see what works

ok, i found the sweet spot, but now as i move my other fingers into position, i lose it. i guess it just takes time to get used to it, and have the fingers stretch out a little.

time for finger yoga ;p

Every beginner when playing bar chords seems to think they aren't pushing down hard enough which is normally not the case. The finger hasn't callused down it and the flesh is wrapping the strings and not pushing them down.

In almost EVERY case the student needs to find the elbow position that works best for them. Every hand is different and the slightest change in the elbow can get the bar chord for them. Move your elbow around and see what works best for you, and keep hammering away at them and things will get easier as your finger calluses more.