begginer songs on guitar

[a.sub]

hey guys i am learning electric guitar (1 month in actually) and i am looking for some songs that are just barely out of my reach so i can become better as i learn the song.
just some info to help you help me

songs i can play:
smoke on the water
Sweet child'o mine intro only
asylum of glass (first few minutes
enter sandman intro
godfather love theme (non slash version
and little bits and pieces of other things

things i cant do:
hammer ons and pull offs
tapping
chords (i an do basic 2 string chords but past that it starts to go down hill)[/*]
solos
bending (im ok at this but it definitely needs work

what i use:
Ibanez GSA Gio
Marshall amp (has OD)

any help is greatly appreciated thx
-Adith

[hecter]

Stairway to Heaven.

[HapSmo19]

rock you like a hurricane
crazy train

[lgoasklucyl]

hey guys i am learning electric guitar (1 month in actually) and i am looking for some songs that are just barely out of my reach so i can become better as i learn the song.
just some info to help you help me

songs i can play:
smoke on the water
Sweet child'o mine intro only
asylum of glass (first few minutes
enter sandman intro
godfather love theme (non slash version
and little bits and pieces of other things

things i cant do:
hammer ons and pull offs
tapping
chords (i an do basic 2 string chords but past that it starts to go down hill)[/*]
solos
bending (im ok at this but it definitely needs work

what i use:
Ibanez GSA Gio
Marshall amp (has OD)

any help is greatly appreciated thx
-Adith

I played a little electric then moved into bass instead. Honestly, I think you're taking the wrong approach. Instead of trying all these songs that would be insanely hard (if not impossible) for a beginner guitar player to play all the way through (ie: enter sandman, sweet child of mine, etc...) work your technique. You need to learn things like hammer ons and pull offs before you will be able to play these songs. Using a metronome and doing work-outs with those to improve speed/accuracy then moving into incorporating hammer ons/pull offs etc... would be the way to go. Obviously practicing 3 finger cords will also be imperative.

Start with technique then learn songs- that's probably the most important advice anyone can give you. Practicing with the songs will help you understand/improve the technique, but that's where you need to start.

[HapSmo19]

I played a little electric then moved into bass instead. Honestly, I think you're taking the wrong approach. Instead of trying all these songs that would be insanely hard (if not impossible) for a beginner guitar player to play all the way through (ie: enter sandman, sweet child of mine, etc...) work your technique. You need to learn things like hammer ons and pull offs before you will be able to play these songs. Using a metronome and doing work-outs with those to improve speed/accuracy then moving into incorporating hammer ons/pull offs etc... would be the way to go. Obviously practicing 3 finger cords will also be imperative.

Start with technique then learn songs- that's probably the most important advice anyone can give you. Practicing with the songs will help you understand/improve the technique, but that's where you need to start.

That's probably good advice. Though I prefer a keyboard with built-in drum machine instead of a metronome.

Learning songs is good too. It'll keep you interested and you'll no doubt stumble upon other songs in the process because it's all been done before

[TheProwler]

Anything by Albert Lee is a good start for beginners: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGU63KqXuZk

Within a couple more months, step up to SRV: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZoX6Q0UK8A


Seriously though, work on your open chords and proper technique. Learn to feel the songs and not just play them. When you are a little more experienced, play with a drummer and a bassist.

[Nickbaldwin]

The way I see it is improve your technique as a priority, and then assess your overall ability by playing a song through entirely. If you mess up on a particular phrase then you know which area of your technique you need to improve. Technique comes first.

[hecter]

it's all been done before

[StiffMittens]

Working on technique is crucial at the start. However, bear in mind that is very easy to get frustrated and bored with working technique alone. A good regimen, I think, is to divide your practice time into three phases. Phase one warm up with scales and technical exercises. Spend at least twenty minutes on this portion. Phase two: work on practicing songs you already know. The time spent on this varies according to how much material you already know and how well you know that material. Spend at least twenty minutes on this, more if you prefer, but be careful not too spend too much time so that by the time you get to phase three, you're worn out. Phase three is learning new songs or exercises. Continue with phase three until you are done.

Another thing to bear in mind is that adding too many new songs to your repertoire at once can lead to lack of focus in your development. Look for new songs that challenge you a bit (but not too much) and that feature techniques that you wish to learn or want to improve in.

You mention that you know a few portions of songs already. Instead of looking for new songs to play, try to learn the rest of the songs that you only know part of. I've found that learning a song in it's entirety helps a great deal with your overall approach to playing, and also gives you and extra positive reinforcement in the sense of accomplishment in learning the whole thing.

Playing along with metronomes is a good idea, but don't forget that music can be played in too metered a style. So play along with the recordings as well, to get a better feel for the "groove" of the song. And also nothing beats playing along with other musicians to sharpen your skills.

[a.sub]

hey guys thx a bunch for ur help ill make sure to go for the technique first. but on the technique how should i work on hammer ons and pull offs? (remember im teaching my self) should i just try them over and over again until i get somewhere? and i will make sure to continue on the songs i know of now, like sweet child o mine and prolly enter sandman

[porkenbeans]

http://www.justinguitar.com/forum_frame/ This guy is a great teacher. Go check out some of his free online lessons. Go to his forum. It is there for guys just like you. There you will find the answers that you seek my friend.

[jnd94]

From a kinda beginner guitarist:

Learn the chords. Learn regular chords, power chords, and bar chords. Don't learn that really hard stuff until you are comfortable with what is common to songs. Most rock songs have bar chords, and most punk songs revolve around 3 or 4 power chords. Regular chords are good too, and are easy to understand.

[dewey316]

Technique is very important, I to this day (been playing guitar for about 12 years now), always warm up by running through scales, and modes. I also have a few warm up type songs that make do some various chord changes, etc.

The other thing to bring up, is your musical theory knowledge. If you already play other instruments, and understand a bit of music theory, you can ingnore this next part. If you are trying to learn the guitar, and also don't have much of a grasp of the theory, then you also need to devote time to learning and studing that. Memorizing a few songs is one thing, but understanding how music works is hugely important.

The other thing is, try to add in different music styles, not just electric rock. Especialy learning some styles like the Blues, translates over into so many other kinds of music. Learning some simple 1,4,5 blues progressions, and the blues scale (which is really just a minor pentatonic scale, with an extra note or two) will really help you as you go to play other styles. This is part of technique, but you can learn some really basic blues stuff, play along to a background track, have a lot of fun, and also learn a lot about technique.

--John

[Phil1580]

Basic chords is sort of a must learn at the start. If you're really wanting to play some tunes right away, going old school 90s gives you some very simple stuff to play. (Nirvana, Green Day, etc.) I always thought Tom Petty's "Free Fallin'" is a great one to learn at the beginning....just an E, two-fingered A5 and a B5 power chord, and you have a great sing-along by the bonfire.

[a.sub]

thx a bunch, i checked out justin guitar and its amazing! learned a lot from it.

as for chords i believe i saw something about them in the justinguitar.com site but if not ill make sure to learn them.

[porkenbeans]

thx a bunch, i checked out justin guitar and its amazing! learned a lot from it.

as for chords i believe i saw something about them in the justinguitar.com site but if not ill make sure to learn them.

Isnt he a cool dude. When I grow up I want to be, just like justin. lol. Here is the deal, Forget about all that stuff about technique for now. CHORDS, CHORDS, CHORDS. There are hundreds of cool songs that only have 3 chords. Start with G, C, and D. Practice them, until you can go from one to the other with your eyes closed. Depending on how much you practice, You should pick it up in no time. Then hit the free online tab sources. I like chordie.com. You can search by artist or song. Find songs with chords that you know. copy them. Then practice, practice, practice. In a month or two, you will be a guitar player. I would highly suggest that you buy or trade for an acoustic guitar. Estabon has a very good product that rivals the $1,600 Yamahas and such. And for only around $200. And most deals come with an amp. OH and dont forget to pick up an electric tuner. I got a good1 for only $15 on ebay.
The second 3 chords to learn are E, A, and F. The more chords that you learn, the more songs you will be able to play. And dont forget about justins open forum. People there are friendly, and any question that you may have, will be answered. You can also pm me any time for help.

[lgoasklucyl]

Most rock songs have bar chords, and most punk songs revolve around 3 or 4 power chords. Regular chords are good too, and are easy to understand.

The Social Distortion discography revolves around 3 or 4 chords (though I love them to death).

[chaosfactor]

I Suggest You Take that Guitar that you have in your hands, then swop it for spell check.

[HapSmo19]

songs i can play:
smoke on the water

Hey, the verse rythm to Am I Evil by Metallica are the same three chords.
And a good way to remember your strings(open) is:
Every
Acid
Dealer
Gets
Busted
Eventually

[Stephan Wayne]

Highway to Hell
fun as hell and easy

[Stephan Wayne]

and also as long as we are talking guitar who else thinks we should make a guitarst usergroup

[HapSmo19]

Hey, thats a good idea. I think.

Start it.

[a.sub]

id join!

[pimpdave]

Most of Nirvana's library.

[Stephan Wayne]

Hey if you guys really want to we can make a usergroup
if anyone is intersted pm me and ill start it