clueless newbie

Listen to your father.  ALWAYS listen to your father.  There are about eight basic cords.  Certain cords alway go together to form a pattern in a song.  Example: G, C, & D.  Learn these cords and strum them this way... (for each / strum downward)  G//// C//// G//// D//// and there you go you making music. 

Start with the basics

Hello calel (clueless newbie) - another thing to consider is that it is best to learn to sing a song as you are learning to play the song.  Ideally, as you are learning to work your fingers and hands you should also be learning to work your voice & lungs.

Playing & singing each take practice - have fun with it and be bold.  If it sounds lousy now, just keep at it and it you will improve rapidly as you keep trying.  Go at it with great gusto and you will find that learning something as complex as playing and singing is very rewarding.

Pick some simple songs to start with and as you master these move on to more difficult songs.  Learning chords just for the sake of learning chords is not much fun.  Pick songs that you like that use chords that you need to learn.

Also, learn about Music - strive to learn about the basics of Music Theory, chord structure, and other technical aspects of making Music.  You need not become an expert in all the details, but it is very useful to understand the basics.

Start with a-f because if you learn them you can play almost any song. <img src="images/smiley_icons/icon_smile.gif" border=0 alt="Smile"> l8er

newbie guy

7 replies so far ( mine being 7) and I can say they are all good replies,

listen not only to your father, but anyone that gives you advice  <img src="images/smiley_icons/icon_lol.gif" border=0 alt="Laughing">

Ken

<font face="Arial">Although the F chord is important to learn, it is not used as much as G,C,D,E, or A.  However, the F chord is also a more difficult one to master.  It is the only major chord (that I know of) that requires two strings to be held by one finger.  Of course, practice makes perfect! </font>

<table border="0" align="center" width="90%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td class="SmallText"><b>rcrritchey wrote on Mon, 30 October 2006 23&#58;16</b></td></tr><tr><td class="quote">
               Start with a-f because if you learn them you can play almost any song. <img src="images/smiley_icons/icon_smile.gif" border=0 alt="Smile"> l8er
</td></tr></table>

hi lisa

welcome to the site.

the number you ask about is the fret. i.e when you see the chord chart and it shows where to put your fingers and it has a number, this is where you start the chord from.

So if you see a chord that looks like the same pattern as an F but it has the number 2 next to it then it will be Bm. ( or thereabouts)

hmm, hope that makes sense ( it is first thing in the morning, just out of bed, hardly any sleep and can still taste the whisky)

Ken