I’m going to be taking lessons for it in a few days. I got my guitar yesterday. It’s black. I can only play a few simple melodies so far. I’ll have to wait until properly instructed. However, I have been taking piano for 10 years so i’ll have the advantage of being able to read music. Any tips for this beginner?
Hi Primitive,
Get a fake book by your favorite band (the Cure perhaps?). They usually give you chords in the form of tablature, which shows you the fretboard and where to put your fingers in order to form the chords. I learned basic rhythm years ago using a fake book and got into leads and reading music later.
I think I know every Zeppelin tune as a result!
The problem with reading music for guitar is that the same notes are found on several strings so it may be difficult at first to learn how to play by just looking at music notation. Although you’re an advanced student of piano so you may not have a problem.
Good luck!
WB
Can’t help. My guitar is yellow, not black.
Seriously, if you want to get really good do not overdo it. You can get the posture and the finger techiques all wrong. Same as with piano, I am sure. The big difference is that piano will not make the tips of your fingers bleed. Try to develop those calluses (calla) s l o w l y.
I used to work in a music store, and their advice to beginners was to burn their finger tips. Seriously. But only if you can stomach it. Burning them makes the callouses develop right away and then you can avoid the weeks of bleeding and pain.
But um… most people don’t do it that way cuz it seems rather masochistic.
Is guitar really that hard on your fingers? I’ve played violin for years now and I’ve never come even close to bleeding from it, and violin strings are thinner too.
The strings are quite thick but also ridged and rough. Plus you have to press down quite hard on them in order to make it work. And then of course you’re moving sideways along the strings too. Lots of beginners end up with blisters and bleeding, until the callouses develop. 
What’s all of this talk about calluses? You have to suffer for your art. Are you going to let a little fingertip pain stop you? C’mon already.
WB
Piffle. The high-E course on a mandolin is like playing a cheese-cutter.
Maybe, but who plays the mandolin anyway??
I just had my lesson. The guy was kinda…weird. Well it was like taking lessons from a reitred rock star and I have an acoustic guitar. Well he showed me posture and stuff like that. HE showed me an Em chord and some funky F# chord I forget all the facy shmancy stuff after (sus 7 b11 w/e). And thats really all. I’m going to another lesson with someone else in 2 days and then I’ll make a decision to who I’m gonna stay with.
Oh NO! Those calluses (calla). Now I’m going to have them not only on my finger joints (golf) but on the tips of my fingers. Ahhh!
The one thing I have trouble with is touching other strings I’m not supposed to. It messes up the chord. So I’ll have to work at that. Oh I also found out that my guitar is flawed somehow. The neck is slightly bent in one area and it can’t be adjusted without the problem still there. So I’m getting a new guitar tomorrow! Mwahaha! (it’s still going to be black 
)
Mandolin - Chris Thile Rocks !
Keep playing, it can hurt, but the callouses aren’t that bad.
You should arch your fingers. If you put the tip of your thumb on the center of the back of the neck you’ll find arching your fingers easier to do.
And don’t forget to practice those rock star poses in front of a mirror for maximum effect.
WB
I second that endorsement. I’m also a big fan of Andy Statman. “Andy’s Ramble” is one of my all-time favorite albums.
Primitive, if you practice hard this can be you in six months. So keep playing until your fingers bleed.
WB
In the days when I tried to learn the guitar I used to harden my left-hand fingertips with methylated spirits (I think in the US you would call this ‘denatured alcohol’?) It seemed to make the calluses grow quicker. Hope this helps.
haha but I’m going more for a
look.
Well my guitar was ‘flawed’ so I got to go back and get a brand new one that’s twice the price for free…hehe.
Good advice William. That helped! 
Hey Primitive…glad to be of service! Once you get your new guitar just keep playing. You’ll be surprised at how quickly you gain ability if you strum just an hour or so a day.
WB
Do you have one of those medieval hats with the feather in it to go with that instrument?
…And if so, why is it missing from the picture thread? 
I used to work in a music store, and their advice to beginners was to burn their finger tips. Seriously. But only if you can stomach it. Burning them makes the callouses develop right away and then you can avoid the weeks of bleeding and pain.
Hello, my name is Rafael Compte. I’m 24 years old. I’m a classical guitar player. I’m still studying though, I’m still in the conservatory. It really surprises me what you say. Guitar strings are not that painful. You can feel pain of course if you play for hours and hours (as sometimes I do have to 
). To tell you the truth, if I play guitar for two hours I have to make a pause because I’m tired and my back hurts, not because of my fingers. Also, I’ve never heard of any bloody incedents and the burning the fingers solution sounds more like an irresponsibility to me. That could be dangerous! 
R.
Well, you could be right. I don’t play myself, so I can’t speak from experience. But I can say that the people who told me this were qualified and experienced guitarists. That doesn’t mean that everyone should do it that way.