Learning guitar with Rocksmith 2014

[Flying Mullet]

So I decided to pick up Rocksmith 2014 and I'm finally going to learn the guitar. Any pointers out there? I've been cruising various websites learning things to avoid as I don't want to develop any bad habits early on.

Anyone have any thoughts for someone learning the guitar from scratch?

[Lone Wolf Leonhart]

Anyone have any thoughts for someone learning the guitar from scratch?

For the hand on the neck:

Don't neglect your pinky, which is easy to forget the further up the neck you go and the frets get closer together

When you play sitting down, don't rest your arm on your leg

[Slothy]

Play the shit out of the lessons and skill mini games too. Playing along to songs is great, but the bread and butter actual focused skill development will be in those.

[blackmage_nuke]

Dont throw your guitar, once I threw mine on to my bed and it bounced and hit the wall cracking the neck.

If you've yet to buy one then make sure it has a strap nub so you dont have to drill it in later.

Remember to Have fun!

[Flying Mullet]

Remember to Have fun!
I played in my underwear last night. Does that count?

[Slothy]

Probably.

[Bubba]

Remember to Have fun!
I played in my underwear last night. Does that count?

I've played in someone's else's underwear. Not comfortable.

[Pheesh]

I don't know what Rocksmith is but my experience was this. I learned on an acoustic and then when it came time to learning to play an electric it was a very different animal. Through an amp the sound of your hand on the bridge and the slightest touch of the pick to any string will sound like Zeus's thunder compared with playing an acoustic. So my advice would be to decide what you want to play on primarily and learn on that, and if you want to play both acoustically and plugged in learn on electric as the transition is an easier one. That said, you'll learn some really good strumming techniques by practicing on an acoustic and the thicker strings will make playing on an electric guitar feel like a breeze.

Aside from that, don't give up when your fingers start to hurt (and they will hurt at first), or the first time you're faced with learning an Fmaj and all the other dastardly bar-chords, they're really not that bad after a while. Don't just stick to learning things you think you should be learning as well, like chords and scales and beginner songs that people suggest to you, learn things you want to learn, otherwise the light at the end of the tunnel will quickly diminish.

And if all else fails, use this...

F5QCs3PnQBc

[Flying Mullet]

Remember to Have fun!
I played in my underwear last night. Does that count?

I've played in someone's else's underwear. Not comfortable.
He said fun, not comfortable.

[Hannibal_Khan]

What kind of guitar(s) do you have? and what kind of music would you like to play? I used YT and some dvd's to learn like 4 yrs.

On a separate note; every one post some pics of your AXE or other FAV gear. Also your Fav players.

For me, It's Guthrie Govan for electric.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsBzXEJs8SY

And Tommy Emmanuel for acoustic fingerstyle

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vSZ1De4Z6U

[Flying Mullet]

Here's the guitar I picked: https://www.google.com/shopping/product/2098619484087809627?q=eclipse+esp+cherry&biw=1600&bih=829&bav=on.2,or.r_cp.r_qf.&bvm=bv.79189006,d.aWw&tch=1&ech=1&psi=MG1jVKLXGpb_yQSEhIHYCg.1415802122940.5&prds=paur:ClkAsKraX-LwSbesi9nKW9Z9yJhgl37t8tTVoTyD5OcfcfoZTQDKcSTcsSNcQYy1u0Ma265s22Xe1xG8hjjhFZBaEkxG3ofzLJWnEm7jLJ5Cge jM_pbMV7MW5BIZAFPVH73W8dmuVJ29p4Gc8SFWrALo70Q5gA&ei=V21jVNWjC4aZyQSgvoCICw&ved=0CHUQpiswAQ
I picked it up used with a case for $900.

As far as what to play, I'm not entirely sure. It will mostly be various forms of rock. I enjoy a wide variety of music so it will probably be what I drift towards enjoying playing based on the play style.

[Slothy]

Wow, you certainly didn't waste your time with any beginner guitars. I approve. I bought myself an Ibanez Gio because the neck is heavenly. I had been learning with Rocksmith though since school started I haven't practiced much. I plan to fix that though. And even though I can't play worth a damn still, I'm getting a white Fender Tele for Christmas.

[Bubba]

That is a sweet guitar, FM!

[Pheesh]

Wow, active pickups, what I said about every little noise being incredibly amplified is going to hold especially true with that guitar. I think it will be good because you will be forced to learn how to use your picking hand to mute any unwanted noise. Another good tip is you can always tie a sock around the nut on your guitar which will really help eliminate unwanted overtones, I do that every time I'm recording guitar parts.

[Slothy]

Another good tip is you can always tie a sock around the nut on your guitar which will really help eliminate unwanted overtones, I do that every time I'm recording guitar parts.

Lern 2 play n00b.

[Hannibal_Khan]

This is my ibanez Montage(hybrid acoustic/electric)

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And here's my baby. Paul Reed Smith Custom-24 SE

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[Night Fury]

Another good tip is you can always tie a sock around the nut on your guitar which will really help eliminate unwanted overtones, I do that every time I'm recording guitar parts.

Lern 2 play n00b.

Playing for playing and playing to record are different. I've heard him play (all the damn time in this house! :mad2:) and he's no n00b.

[Pheesh]

Well... if you're doing tapping (dat casual brag) or any quick riffing of that nature you will want to use a fret wrap for any recording you do. Guitarists 100 times better than me do it, and some keep it on at all times to assist with any noise gates they may have in their fx chain.

I'll post pics of my guitars when I get onto my computer.

[Hannibal_Khan]

Well... if you're doing tapping (dat casual brag) or any quick riffing of that nature you will want to use a fret wrap for any recording you do. Guitarists 100 times better than me do it, and some keep it on at all times to assist with any noise gates they may have in their fx chain.

I'll post pics of my guitars when I get onto my computer.

I use a hair scrunchie, never heard of someone using a sock lol. and bragin aint neccsary, most tapping techniques are not difficult to learn(and you know it). My sweep picking is atrocious tho...


Edit: HEy ppl, can you tell me if my attachments in my last post are working?

[Pheesh]

and bragin aint neccsary, most tapping techniques are not difficult to learn(and you know it).

It took me ages to get my tapping clean and I still wouldn't say I'm great at it, so I don't agree, but to each his own.

Here's my two electrics, both of which are not done any justice by the crappy phone camera.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/40529396/guitars.jpg

Left is my 7 string Epiphone LP, and on the right is my PRS Custom 24. I did the Epi up myself, to the best of what I'm capable of, which meant repainting, adding some new hardware and replacing the stock pickups. I'm actually thinking of changing the pickups again to some BKP's because almost all of my favourite guitarists use them and I only hear good things.

Here's a pic of it just after the repaint which shows the colour a bit better.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/40529396/epi%20paint.jpg

[Hannibal_Khan]

DUDE WE PRS BRO'S! I love the wide/thin neck profile. ANd i had an epi les paul but i traded about a year ago for some other gear. Heres my prs(i dunno why my other attachment aint workin)

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[Slothy]

Another good tip is you can always tie a sock around the nut on your guitar which will really help eliminate unwanted overtones, I do that every time I'm recording guitar parts.

Lern 2 play n00b.

Playing for playing and playing to record are different. I've heard him play (all the damn time in this house! :mad2:) and he's no n00b.

Who the hell takes a post like that seriously? :erm:

[Flying Mullet]

Hanging out in my pj's on a cold fall night learning guitar.

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If anything's wrong with my position feedback is welcome.

[Hannibal_Khan]

It's difficult to evaluate if you using the "correct" left hand positioning from just a pic of a Emj chord lol. Would need to see you playing to critique properly. And honestly, i wouldn't worry about correct positioning yet, just learn your basic chords and the pentatonic scale and you'll be able to play a TON of great ol' rock classics.

[Slothy]

A lot of people told me to keep the tip or your thumb pressed against the back of the neck, elbow out because it let's you play faster, but I actually have some mobility issues with my left wrist right now that make that painful and downright impossible so I basically wrap my thumb around the neck Jimmy Page style. The only thing you need to ask for now is are you comfortable and holding the guitar in a way that isn't putting undue strain on your joints. Obviously there may be some discomfort as you learn from getting used to holding down the strings or stretching for some of the tougher chords and whatnot, but if it's not overall pretty comfortable then adjust how you're doing things. You can worry a bit more about detailed technique as you learn and as you're seeing things in videos, shows, or having it demonstrated by other guitarists, but make sure you're comfortable and not cruising for injuries first and foremost.

[Hannibal_Khan]

I wrap my thumb around the neck Hendrix style

[Slothy]

Well sadly I don't have Hendrix thumbs. Most people probably don't actually. Mine are the size of a mere mortals.

[Lone Wolf Leonhart]

I started with an electric guitar and bought a bass from a friend later on. Any guitar player worth their salt can pick up on bass pretty quickly.

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[Pheesh]

Your thumb will take care of itself, so don't worry too much about it. When you start playing bar chords you'll find it shifting to the back of the neck to give your index finger more strength to push down with. The rest of the time it'll just revert to what is most comfortable. I think the reason a teacher tells you to keep it behind the neck always is because you can do anything on a neck with your thumb in that position (apart from some of those freaky chords that have people using their thumb on the low E I guess), but the same can't be said for having it wrapped over the top of the neck.

Honestly though, once you've been playing a while switching between thumb positions will become second nature just like switching picking styles depending on what you're playing. At the moment just work on getting your finger strength higher.

[Hannibal_Khan]

I wrap m thumb around the neck Hendrix style, even on a Classical guitar. I am the most interesting man in the world. Drink responsibly.