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Aiden James

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Hi all. New member here from Atlanta. I picked up an Epiphone Les Paul about 7 years ago (When I was 16). Unfortunately it's been sitting around ever since, because I didn't have much motivation to learn to play. Trying to change that now.... does anybody have any recommendation on where to start? I know some basic music theory.

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Hi all. New member here from Atlanta. I picked up an Epiphone Les Paul about 7 years ago (When I was 16). Unfortunately it's been sitting around ever since, because I didn't have much motivation to learn to play. Trying to change that now.... does anybody have any recommendation on where to start? I know some basic music theory.

 

Do you know chord shapes? When I learned at 13 I started with what they call the Cowboy Chords. Literally a thousand of songs can be played on the first 3 frets. A good site I joined to re learn from being rusty at an old age was "Guitar Tricks." They take you through the entire course and make it easy for you. Their is around 25 teachers, You can start with the proper way to hold a pick, strumming designs, How to bend strings, Hammer on's and Hammer offs, Vibrate and slides, scales. Chords and chord shapes. You can dive right in with learning songs anytime you want and they have like hundreds of them. Seems you never stop scrolling down through the list and they cover Rock N Roll, Jazz, Country, Surf, Blues, Metal, you name it and they have it. They answer questions and help you out, you can sign up with a personal teacher and he or she will give you lessons to learn. It's a month free trial and if you like it I think they charge $125.00 per year. Which is actually pretty cheap for all they offer and a private teacher would cost more but thats another great choice. I had 2 cousins that played who taught me but I still am a member on Guitar Tricks as they have so many songs that I like and want to learn.

Good luck but the key to playing is tons of practice over and over again until it becomes 2nd nature. When I got back into it again at age 60 I practiced about 6 hours a day or more. Eventually you won't even have to look to see what the fret hand is doing, It will just go to the frets and strings it needs to hit with out looking. That's called, Muscle Memory.

Herman

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Hi all. New member here from Atlanta. I picked up an Epiphone Les Paul about 7 years ago (When I was 16). Unfortunately it's been sitting around ever since, because I didn't have much motivation to learn to play. Trying to change that now.... does anybody have any recommendation on where to start? I know some basic music theory.

 

option 1: make a short list (3 or 4) easy songs you like/love, and look for youtube vid's that show how to play them. Download the corresponding charts if you can find them and note that you will need to check if they are correct. One good example is Musicnotes, this is not a free down site, but, (usually 4/5 bucks a song) but the charts you will down load are usually very accurate

 

option 2: look for a teacher, and start with weekly lessons for a few months if you can afford it. just remember that not all instructors are right for all students, so option involves a bit of trial and error sometimes. Find a teacher that supports your goals.. some teachers have "methods" in how they teach and they don't like to vary from them.

 

option 3: do you have friends that play? Ask if they have time to help you get a jump start.

 

If you can sit down with someone, they can show you things a bit quicker than finding your way on your own. but if you can't, Youtube is really loaded with helpful videos. Follow your desires, look to learn songs you really dig. Start there, and see where you wind up.

 

If you can afford it, I would start with a teacher, give it 5 or 6 months

 

Good luck!

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The best thing would a combination of all three. A good teacher (in person), internet learning, and friends or family that play. Oh, and a fourth one, lots of practice. msp_biggrin.gif

 

The good news is that if you don't have local resources, the internet can give you everything you need. Internet teachers/websites are just like in person teachers, You have to find the ones that work for you. But, they are out there to be found and most have free trials.

 

The most important thing for me is that you're probably gonna have times when you reach a plateau or encounter a wall that you feel like you're not gonna get past. You have to be persistent. Don't give up.

 

Good luck!

 

Oh, and if you're not versed in setting up a guitar, it may be a good idea to have a tech somewhere take a look at it. Having a good instrument that's setup properly will make it easier.

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The best thing would a combination of all three. A good teacher (in person), internet learning, and friends or family that play. Oh, and a fourth one, lots of practice. msp_biggrin.gif

 

 

The only thing I'd add to that is, from a teachers perspective, it's hard to work that angle sometimes. so if I give someone a set of tasks to do, and they show up for the next lesson with three youtube links they want you to show them how to play instead, the material from previous lesson, wasn't touched. This happened a lot when I was teaching. I didn't mind, it was their money, and their dime so to speak, but it made it really hard to keep these folks on the path they started out on. Some of the songs they had found, were way above their ability. Just a different perspective.

 

one thing for sure, daily practice is a must, 1 hour ideal, 30 minutes, good..

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The only thing I'd add to that is, from a teachers perspective, it's hard to work that angle sometimes. so if I give someone a set of tasks to do, and they show up for the next lesson with three youtube links they want you to show them how to play instead, the material from previous lesson, wasn't touched. This happened a lot when I was teaching. I didn't mind, it was their money, and their dime so to speak, but it made it really hard to keep these folks on the path they started out on. Some of the songs they had found, were way above their ability. Just a different perspective.

 

one thing for sure, daily practice is a must, 1 hour ideal, 30 minutes, good..

 

Yep, ya gotta do your homework. msp_thumbup.gif

 

 

 

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Hi all. New member here from Atlanta. I picked up an Epiphone Les Paul about 7 years ago (When I was 16). Unfortunately it's been sitting around ever since, because I didn't have much motivation to learn to play. Trying to change that now.... does anybody have any recommendation on where to start? I know some basic music theory.

 

Check Justin Guitar out, this bloke presents lessons from basic to advanced and is highly recommended. He likes you to contribute if you can afford to otherwise just enjoy the lessons.

 

https://www.justinguitar.com/

 

 

Ian

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  • 4 weeks later...

Hi new today, I just got started playing again after some years because I had carpal tunnel, but got the surgery on both hands so I am back into music. Mostly I have been acoustic, but am looking into Electric and like the look and feel of Les Paul's guitars and I can play either right or left, I think the left cones from playing flute for so many years. If you got suggestions of good Les Paul's let me know.

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