Guitar players

[napa02]

I just purchased my first guitar, however I have zero skills ( aside from some mad air guitar skills from my youth). Any one have a favorite " learn to play" website they can recommend ?

[carrosene]

I don't know of any good Learn to play sites but I learned from looking for the tablature of songs I really liked. If you don't know what tabs are it's just an easier way of reading music if you don't know how to actually read music.

Eric

[johnnysquare]

http://www.amazon.com/Guitar-Handbook-Ralph-Denyer/dp/0679742751

Get the Guitar Player's Handbook by Ralph Denyer. I bought a copy early on when I was teaching myself (circa late 1980's) and it was invaluable. It covers chords, theory, soloing techniques, equipment, minor adjustments, guitar typologies and manufacturers. It might be at your library, too.

There are plenty of tabs and information on the web, but often you get what you pay for. Tabs are good if you want to impress your friends, but will add very little knowledge of the fretboard or music theory. Some instant gratification can be good, for sure, and go after some favorite tunes immediately, but don't skimp on learning what you need to learn.

Learn all your basic open major chords asap, with some minors. Some of what you need to learn depends upon the style of playing you will do-- acoustic? electric?

It's one of the easiest instruments to play, but one of the hardest to play well.

The best thing to do is find a local guitarist with a decent haircut to give you some lessons. I wish I had done that because I developed plenty of bad habits teaching myself and I'm trying to unlearn them.

Have a great time.

jb