I 'm suffering a mid-life crisis and bought an Ovation Celebrity today, having decided I want t learn to play. I've played bass for years (back in HS and college with some garage bands) and played trombone from 6th grade thru college - so I'm not a stranger to music.

Here's my question - as a beginning guitar student how would you go about learning to play - personal instructor? books/dvds? online lessons?

How do I go about finding a good instructor in my area?

 

If you have comcast on demand i think theres some stuff in there that could help ya out.

Just start playing get a feel for it and then find a instructor.

 

If you have experience in music than you should know all the notes. I would start by researching online and inDVDs and such to familiarize yourself with the instrument. I.E tablature, which string is which which notes are where and how to place your fingers. Once you have a basic understanding then go ahead and pick up lessons. And if you played bass before then you've got a head start on everyone! You just gotta pick up those extra B and E strings

 

Start with Tabs and using open chords. http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/ has lots of tab and instructional vids. I keep a notebook of tabs and play through them on a regular basis. Start going to the local guitar shops and ask about teachers that have a good reputation n the style that you want to learn. Other than that, just play, play, play. A basic chord referance book is also handy.

 

Spike you beat me to it. Ultimate-Guitar is a great website. And like other said, I would play by yourself for awhile and try to figure it out. Once, you build up your fingers, then look for instruction. B/c if you pay for an hour of lesson, you wanna play for as much of that hour as you can.

 

I have taught private lessons for a decade to violin and guitar students. Your best bet is to focus on a style of music you like. Find acoustic guitar music you enjoy, go to ultimate guitar tab and find the tab for the song. Use windows media player to slow the song down as you learn it.; Pay a few bucks for some private lessons, they will get you up to speed uber fast.

 

Taking lessons helps a lot, if you're taking them from someone who knows their stuff. There's no real "right" or "wrong" way to play guitar, but there are a few bad habits you want to try to avoid (because once they become habits, they become very, very hard to break) and a good instructor will teach you how to avoid them.

Download Power Tab software (it's free), and go to ultimate-guitar.com and search for something you want to learn. Download the Power Tab for that song, and you'll be able to break the song down piece by piece, see how it's timed, get chord diagrams and tuning info, all at your own pace. It's good stuff.

Speaking of tuning, if you don't have one, you need a tuner.

Once you get the basics down, it's repetition. Expertise is nothing but the basics mastered. Play, play, and play some more.

 

Nice choice of guitar.
If I were to purchase a guitar it would be an ovation.

 

TABULATURE!!!!!!

ever seen guitar hero?

same thing.

6 lines.

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each line represents a sting on the guitar.

if theres a number there, it means you hit that string. the number is where you put your fingers.

there. i just gave you a free first tab lesson.

now go to youtube and search for-


guitar tab

 

Love accoustics.
Ovations are great guitars. Find a local teacher in or around a local music store.

 

nope...

 

Ovations sound weird to me, very unnatural or artificial, I think from the materials they use to build them or the goofy offset soundholes. But that's irrelevant, if it sounds good, feels good and looks good to you, then it's right.