aggravated!

[danish]

i'm new at playing guitar (i've been trying to play for around a month) and so far i have been learning and practicing the intros for these two songs: 'otherside' by rhcp and 'what its like' by everlast. the reason i started out with those was because one of my friends that also plays guitar started out with those songs and he told me they were good songs to start out on.

well, so far i can't see any progress in my playing. i was wondering, is there anything else that i should practice first, such as the basic chords listed on this site, rather than trying to jump right in and play songs? or should i just stick with those songs, and then practice chords, scales, etc?

thanks

[ParrotChick]

I donno, but you probly should know the notes and learn chord construction first... because it's one thing memorizing a song, it's another to know how to play an intrument

[Levinson Blade]

Just to point out you say you are making no progress well you will be suprised at what progress you are making TIP record yourself playing and play back what you have recorded you WILL SEE AN IMPROVEMENT its just that it takes time
Anyway my tip is to try and play some songs you actualy like to listen to I think that theory of guitar should be a little after you can play a couple of songs it will keep you interested
This web site has a lot of great lessons to keep you going

[cyberfret]

If you have not learned your basic chords, or learned some of the fundamentals of guitar and music, that is definitely something that is going to hold back your progress on the guitar.....in a big way. You should try and jump in a play some different songs, but you need to learn the those basics as well. It is not a one or the other answer. You should both be learning things like chord, strums, note names, techniques......and learning songs.

My favorite analogies is a football team. If a football team was to just play the game, how good do you think that they would be? They need to lift weights, run laps, memorize plays.....and work on the fundamentals of the game. Your game is playing music, and if you just play songs, you are missing out on the skills that you need to play your game better.

Check out the first fret section, you will find links to some of the fundamental lessons that you should go through.

First Fret Section
http://www.cyberfret.com/first-fret/index.htm

--Shawn

[danish]

thanks for the advice :)

[disturbed_pyro]

I have been playing for just under a year, and have not taken any lessons. The only teaching I've had is Beginning Guitar class in school. Now that I've joined my church band, I wish I would have payed attention in class. I have to "re-learn" all about chords, scales, etc, since all I did was play Metallica riffs all day...but ya live and ya learn...
Speaking of Metallica riffs, Enter Sandman is pretty easy to play, esp. the intro and rhythm parts.