Topic: questions for a beginner

I am new playing the guitar.  I bought my son a first act last Christmas, but I am the one really trying to learn to play it.  (Fathers should take note there smile  I can play a few chords and move around a bit, but I am still slow with moving around at this point.  When I look at a song written in tab from this site, it is difficult for me to quickly find the notes to play with my fretting hand.  Are tabs a particular chord shape that are picked individually?  What is a good way for me to start practicing this?  When picking notes, how is your picking hand, i.e. are you using a pick or using a claw technique?

Thanks a lot

Re: questions for a beginner

TABS are 6 lines, each line corresponding with a guitar string, and tells you where to put your fingers, to play some intro's, songs, solo guitar.
CHORDS, they usually have a letter: A  B  C  D  E  F  G, these are the 7 major chords.
You can google guitar chords, and you can find a lot, not only the major chords but almost every existing chord. Here you can find songs, with tabs and/or with chords.
It is, depending from person to person, not too difficult and a chord shows a diagram where the black dots, on different strings show you where to put your fingers.
I hope this info is useful

[color=blue]- GITAARDOCPHIL SAIS: TO CONQUER DEAD, YOU HAVE TO DIE[/color]   AND [color=blue] we are born to die[/color]
- MY GUITAR PLAYS EVERY STYLE = BLUES, ROCK, METAL, so I NEED TO LEARN HOW TO PLAY IT.
[color=blue]Civilization began the first time an angry person cast a word instead of a rock.[/color]

Re: questions for a beginner

Thanks for the reply.  So when you see:
--3---3---3---3- | --3-----3-3-----   | --0-----3-------    | --0---2---3---3- |
--3---3---3---3- | --3-------3---1-    |  --1-------1---1- | --1---3---3---3- |
----------------    | ----------------      | ----------------    | ---------------- |
----------------    | ----------------      | ----------------    | --------0------- |
------2-------3-  | ------3-3-3---0-   | ------0-0-0---3-  | ---------------- |
3---------------   | ----------------      | ----------------     | --------------3- |
I know you pick the the low e first, then do you strum the b and high e at the same time?  That is the confusing part to me because that doesn't look like a chord.  I know I probably sound very elementary in regards to this.  I can learn the chords in order to play this particular song, but it seems like some songs sound better picked.  This is an exerpt from More than Words by Extreme.

Re: questions for a beginner

tab can be used to show lead (notes) or rythm parts (chords)

however rythm parts are sometimes more easily shown using either the chords names or chord charts above the lyrics

if the tab shows notes vertically the notes are played together

two notes do not make a chord. however they might be intended to form part of  a chord

chord fragments could be strummed (although as you say you can pick two or more notes at once using a claw )

playing individual notes in a chord is called arpeggios. arpeggios are not written vertically 

This is a D arppegio

-- 2---------  2---
----- 3--- 3-----3---   
--------2----------  2 
-0---------------
------------------     

know the song but never played it

hope this helps

5 (edited by Guitarpix 2007-10-10 01:10:55)

Re: questions for a beginner

Well for more than words I'd hit the low e then pluck the high E and the B together with your fingers, then you'll pluck the A at 2nd fret, the E and B all together and so on. The chords shown over most tab like this just gives you a workable finger positioning for the picking (for example I would guess the first chord to be a g) Or at least thats what I would be using. for the picking hand I'd use my thumb on the root notes and keep my next 3 fingers on the g,b and e strings for the plucking. Hope that helps a little...Peace!

[b][color=#FF0000]If your brain is part of the process, you're missing it. You should play like a drowning man, struggling to reach shore. If you can trap that feeling, then you have something.
[/color][/b]         [b]Peace of mind. That's my piece of mind...[/b]

Re: questions for a beginner

Fantastic here, eveybody helps eachother.
A chord is like this, I will try to take DO AKA C (major) chord.
ATTENTION MY CHORDS ARE LIKE THIS: O= place to put your finger, X = NO finger, name of the frets on your guitar.
x   x    x    x    o    x   fret: 1
x   x    o    x    x    x   fret 2
x   o    x    x    x    x   fret 3
My example is correct but a little bit strange.
www.8notes.com is a website where you can see most of chords, or else, just google guitar chords

[color=blue]- GITAARDOCPHIL SAIS: TO CONQUER DEAD, YOU HAVE TO DIE[/color]   AND [color=blue] we are born to die[/color]
- MY GUITAR PLAYS EVERY STYLE = BLUES, ROCK, METAL, so I NEED TO LEARN HOW TO PLAY IT.
[color=blue]Civilization began the first time an angry person cast a word instead of a rock.[/color]

Re: questions for a beginner

pajack wrote:

Thanks for the reply.  So when you see:
--3---3---3---3- | --3-----3-3-----   | --0-----3-------    | --0---2---3---3- |
--3---3---3---3- | --3-------3---1-    |  --1-------1---1- | --1---3---3---3- |
----------------    | ----------------      | ----------------    | ---------------- |
----------------    | ----------------      | ----------------    | --------0------- |
------2-------3-  | ------3-3-3---0-   | ------0-0-0---3-  | ---------------- |
3---------------   | ----------------      | ----------------     | --------------3- |
I know you pick the the low e first, then do you strum the b and high e at the same time?  That is the confusing part to me because that doesn't look like a chord.  I know I probably sound very elementary in regards to this.  I can learn the chords in order to play this particular song, but it seems like some songs sound better picked.  This is an exerpt from More than Words by Extreme.

Sounds like you're having the same problem I did. If you're really having trouble with reading tab try the book "Guitar for dummies". It helped me learn the basic techniques (including how to read tab), and it has a list of 96 chords in the back. You can buy it for around £10 if you shop around.

The highest string notes in the tab above are "double-stops". You play them both at the same time. As johncross21 said, any time when the fret numbers on the tab are directly above each other, you play them at the same time. Therefore the C major chord that gitaardocphil mentioned would look like this in tab:

0
1
0
2
3
-

(the - meaning that you don't play the string)

Re: questions for a beginner

Here ya go man this should explain it quite well.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaNCwR1KQI0   Check out his other vids also! They are extremly useful! Hope it helps peace!

[b][color=#FF0000]If your brain is part of the process, you're missing it. You should play like a drowning man, struggling to reach shore. If you can trap that feeling, then you have something.
[/color][/b]         [b]Peace of mind. That's my piece of mind...[/b]

Re: questions for a beginner

Man!!!This has really helped out a lot!  I can't wait to get home from work to start practicing.  My wife won't like it though.  Again my thanks to all, this is helpful.

Re: questions for a beginner

I would like to see if anyone hase the chords and words to the doobie brothers  Toulouse street

Re: questions for a beginner

Guitarpix, did I read it correct, that you can play "More than Words" by EXTREME?
I want to play this already for years and sometimes I am real close without reading tabs. WHY?

I am not a rhythm guitarist, and I can play only a solo for a few seconds. I play maybe in a strange way. My style is, as a lot of people I know have told me, that using riffs and licks, quit difficult to play, and my "skill" depends a lot on the "how I feel" problem, I play something, it sounds fantastic (TO ME!), and the next day, even remembering the song, it sounds awful, I think a lot of stuff you play, depends on your mood, see electric when feeling more aggressive (I AM ALMOST NEVER AGGRESSIVE) and acoustic, when calm. I wanted to say that your mood affects a lot the way you play. So, most of people tell me that I am more a lead guitarist, playing a song in such a way that you recognise the song very fast.
So, if I am a lead guitarist, and I would play in a band, there are very few solos, and isn't that necessary to be a lead guitarist? I am also very lazy, I studied 7 years at the university to become a Medical Doctor, but I studied 1 month before the tests. I am also someone who doesn't like to read manuals, like for my BOSS BR 600. Conclusion: trying tabs is, knowing me, not my thing, but I think I should try harder to learn reading tabs. DO YOU KNOW A SITE, OR INFORMATION TO LEARN TABS THE EASY WAY? IT WILL IMPROVE MY STYLE, IT IS JUST SINCE A FEW MONTHS (THANKS CHORDIE) THAT I START TO LEARN READING TABS.
Can I have some advise? knowing that I am lazy? Almost never I had to learn, because I think I am blessed with a very good memory, and this fact is not realy healthy, a lot of jealousy, when I was student, and the same when practising. Everything was to easy for me, so a lot of work, and living like a god, and always the first to start with the newest techniques, like laser.
Sex, drugs & Rock 'n Roll AND an awful lot of patients (a lot called me Rockdoc), again causing jealousy between the other doctors and me.
So I am glad that I wrote this, it relieves me and I am not lying or exaggerating things

[color=blue]- GITAARDOCPHIL SAIS: TO CONQUER DEAD, YOU HAVE TO DIE[/color]   AND [color=blue] we are born to die[/color]
- MY GUITAR PLAYS EVERY STYLE = BLUES, ROCK, METAL, so I NEED TO LEARN HOW TO PLAY IT.
[color=blue]Civilization began the first time an angry person cast a word instead of a rock.[/color]

Re: questions for a beginner

gitaardocphil wrote:

DO YOU KNOW A SITE, OR INFORMATION TO LEARN TABS THE EASY WAY? IT WILL IMPROVE MY STYLE, IT IS JUST SINCE A FEW MONTHS (THANKS CHORDIE) THAT I START TO LEARN READING TABS.

As I mentioned before, try the book "Guitar For Dummies". It has loads of info on how to read tabs.

It is definitely possible to be a lead guitarist, listen to any song played by Ash, they have two guitarists, one rythym, one lead. You may have to play a few chords as well, but once you get used to it, that shouldn't be a problem.

Try the Rifftionary as well. Yes that is the correct name. It's entirely in tab and includes the main riff for quite a few well known songs.

Re: questions for a beginner

thanks for help me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!