Guitar help needed

[Jules001]

I am getting my daughter an electric guitar for xmas as she wants to learn how to play - I know nothing about guitars and thought I would buy a book to help her, I have seen several including lyric and music books, but they don't always say they are for electric guitars can anybody tell me are the chords etc the same on an acoustic and electric or should I be shopping for purely electric guitar books. She has a friend who will be able to help her learn, but I can't ask her about the books in advance.

TIA

[IbanezGuitar]

Hi there

if you can get it one of the best books for a beginner is by a vintage guitarist by the name of Bert Weedon and is called Play in a Day it could be difficult to get....maybe try EBay?
many of our top guitarists used this book to start themselves off and it really simplifies the basics

Another book I rate is Total Guitar Tutor by Terry Burrows published by Colour Library Direct again this goes from the very basics but indeed advances much futher than Weedons book and takes in some more advanced work.

Basically electric and accoustic chords are very much the same and certainly for starters there will be no need to try and differentiate between the two......others may disagree but for what its worth that is my opinion

If i can be of help just let me know.........Good Luck

IbanezGuitar

[198x]

Music notation is universal for guitars.

The only real playing difference between an acoustic and electric guitar is that with an acoustic you can finger pick the strings but with an electric you'd setttle for a plectrum/pick to strike the strings.

Amazon has some good selection of books for beginners, also try a local music store and specify it's for a beginner and they'll probably give you some extra tips.

I'd recommend a book called 'The Complete Guitar Guide' published by Hal Leonard Prod. as it introduces you to parts of the guitar, reading music notation, playing each string individually, then reading guitar tablature, playing chords, scales etc etc. and comes with a CD so you can listen to the tracks you play along with.

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If your daughter is young, there are usually 3/4 size guitars that are specially made for junior players. I've no idea if this would really be beneficial to your daughter as I wouldn't know her age, but I know that younger players have a harder time stretching to reach the end frets,

[Bigguy]

Here in the states bookstores and music stores alike have dozens of books from which you can 'learn' guitar. I've never seen one that is head and shoulders above the others, and from what I've seen, there is certainly value in having several. Each will have a different approach and your daughter will learn some from each book.

That having been said, I add that you cannot learn guitar from a book alone. You need to have a decent guitar that doesn't fight the student. PLEASE don't get the cheapest guitar on the shelf. They can be difficult to chord with the left hand, difficult to keep in tune, and uncomfortable to play. All these factors will discourage practice and enjoyment of the instrument. Certainly avoid anything with a so-called tremelo, which is actually a vibrato, for a beginner. I've long thought that a Gibson SG style guitar would be good for a beginning electric guitarist. If you're going electric, even a cheap amp is better than none at all, but get one without all the sound effects so that the student can hear the sound of the guitar, not the amp.

Acoustic guitars take more muscle from the hands to play, and extra expense in getting a decent one will pay off well in the long run. You don't have to spend a fortune but I'll give you this guideline - find the absoulute cheapest guitar you can find (not a toy one, a real wood one) and multiply the cost by about 2.5 for one that could be worth trying to learn on.

You may also consider instructional DVD's to supplement the guitar books.

Sorry about being so long winded but I wish someone had given similar advise to me and my brother years ago.

Bigguy; Rochester, New York, U.S.A.

[NH]

Play in a Day:

E-mail [email protected]
or call the Music Mail Order Hotline [phone]

[bigbadern]

Try Bert Weedons steps to playing a Guitar, if that fails Purchase a Drum Kit .

[hartley]

My dad bought the Weedon book partly because he'd heard of Bert Weedon and partly he read that Eric Clapton learnt from it. It is a good intoduction to basic theory but it was written in the 1960s and it shows. When I was learning much preferred trying to play songs I knew and liked rather than Michael Row the Boat Ashore.

If your daughter is 'into' a particular band it might be worth getting a book of their music rather than (or as well as) a book like the Bert Weedon's. Some of the songs might be too difficult at first but when I was learning I preferred learning how to play Dire Straits (!)and Beatles songs. If you get her chord dictionary she should be able to work out how to play most things.

If she's anything like I was she'll get more of a kick out of struggling to play a half decent intro to Day Tripper than a note perfect Greensleeves. Yes, some basic theory will help but it isn't the only way....

[Jules001]

thanks everyone for all your help, I finally got to the book shop and found a couple of books which I think look good, the trouble with buying books like this on the net is you can't actually see what the content is like. The books I bought one has got very good graphics showing chords etc and the other has got lots of music in there, so she could be playing a passable version of House of the Rising Sun before long :)