New to Guitar

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Minella

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Hi all! I'm from the US and I am an Accountant. Aside from work, I play video games and attend college. I needed a new, and completely different hobby, so.....

I just picked up my first guitar... ever. I got an Ibanez RG8 and I have been having a lot of fun on it! I've only been learning simple riffs and a few chords, trying to get my tiny hands to adapt to the size of it. I got it used for a pretty good price with EMG 808x's already installed. Any advice for someone so new? Any song suggestions? I'll take anything! Haha.

PICS:
So, when I bought it it was decorated all "Halloween"... The movie, not the holiday. I've since removed a decent portion of the Halloween stuff, I really just have the knives on the neck and the remainder of the skin under the bridge (you only really see it peek out at the edges). The Halloween skin really did give it a cool effect, but I'm more of a simple person - so going back to black was a necessity. The left side picture is when I first got it, the right is after removing a decent amount of the decals.
instasize_190209192116.png

Any advice anyone might have would be great! We have two seven strings in house (Ibanez RG1077XL and Douglas Scope 727(I think??)) as well, so even riffs I can focus on using those would be appreciated to get the hang of it! Also, what are some things I should avoid doing - bad habits I should avoid learning?

Thanks!!
 

Catalyst Collide

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Welcome and congrats on picking up a new hobby! I think you made an improvement by taking off the decal.
An 8 string in an intense way to start (versus 6) but kudos to you for jumping all the way in (I'm challenged enough when I go to 7). Upside is once you'll never be used to anything different. Someone might jump in here trying to be helpful (or just an ass) and tell you that you should have started with a 6 string. They might not be wrong about it being easier, but you do you, don't let anyone discourage you.

As for tips, since I'm first I'll give some of the obvious answers:
Youtube is full of good stuff (and plenty of crap). For beginners I recommend Justin Guitar. For metal / shreddy stuff - can't go wrong with Ben Eller or Chris Zoupa (but that stuff can int. There are lots of others.

Take at least a couple of lessons. Finding a good teacher can be tough, but when you find one they're worth their weight in gold. I've never tried skype lessons, but I know a lot of people like those as well

Simple riffs and chords are good! Keep doing that, learn some simple songs, build your confidence and muscle memory / movement. This is where someone would say it's a marathon not a sprint.

Just play... a lot. No piece of theory, trick, gear or gadget is a substitute for time with the instrument. Focussed practice is great, but just exploring is also valuable.

Consume knowledge - youtube, websites like this (check the instruction sub-forum), friends, etc. Skip the drama, name calling, scene crap and other bullshit.

I'm not an 8 string player so I don't have any specific guidance for you there.
 

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Minella

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Welcome and congrats on picking up a new hobby! I think you made an improvement by taking off the decal.
An 8 string in an intense way to start (versus 6) but kudos to you for jumping all the way in (I'm challenged enough when I go to 7). Upside is once you'll never be used to anything different. Someone might jump in here trying to be helpful (or just an ass) and tell you that you should have started with a 6 string. They might not be wrong about it being easier, but you do you, don't let anyone discourage you.

As for tips, since I'm first I'll give some of the obvious answers:
Youtube is full of good stuff (and plenty of crap). For beginners I recommend Justin Guitar. For metal / shreddy stuff - can't go wrong with Ben Eller or Chris Zoupa (but that stuff can int. There are lots of others.

Take at least a couple of lessons. Finding a good teacher can be tough, but when you find one they're worth their weight in gold. I've never tried skype lessons, but I know a lot of people like those as well

Simple riffs and chords are good! Keep doing that, learn some simple songs, build your confidence and muscle memory / movement. This is where someone would say it's a marathon not a sprint.

Just play... a lot. No piece of theory, trick, gear or gadget is a substitute for time with the instrument. Focussed practice is great, but just exploring is also valuable.

Consume knowledge - youtube, websites like this (check the instruction sub-forum), friends, etc. Skip the drama, name calling, scene crap and other bullshit.

I'm not an 8 string player so I don't have any specific guidance for you there.
Thanks! On the few YouTube videos I've watched, I have seen people saying that... "you're wrong to start with an 8 string". My thought is that I want to be excited to play, not forced to play what I dont think I'll enjoy as much! I'll do some digging into lessons around me to get a better grasp on chords I think - I think that would be a great idea. Thank you!!!
 

Minella

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Play whatever you think sounds good. But it wouldn't hurt to learn your basic scale positions. Helps you feel a bit less lost.
I've been playing songs on familiar with so it's a little easier for me to follow and I think that's been helpful. You absolutely did help!! Thank you!
 

DudeManBrother

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Learning guitar is hard. Pick the number of strings that motivates you to play. Starting on an 8 string is no more or less difficult than a 7 or 6. It’s all completely foreign; so good on you for grabbing the one that you want to play.

As far as advice: turn up the gain and work on your palm muting technique. Then practice syncing your left hand and right hand up. There is no substitute for time spent on the instrument, so just play the shit out of it and you’ll be rewarded for the rest of your life.
 

Lindmann

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My thought is that I want to be excited to play, not forced to play what I dont think I'll enjoy as much!
Absolutely!
Motivation is the most important part.
That's why I skipped learning acoustic guitars and camp fire chords and jumped right into metal stuff.
And I never looked back.

It's a hobby. Do whatever you like to do.
 

GatherTheArsenal

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:welcome:

Congrats on your new hobby and 8-string! It's a pretty awesome way to spend the time and definitely a hobby that can last decades if you sink your teeth into it.

What helped me get better when I first started was to play music I liked listening to, because the learning curve can be kinda steep at first so having fun was really key to keep me interested.

Another couple of things i tried is playing for 1-3 hours a day. Half the battle is just getting used to navigating my hands in unison to play something musical on what is essentially just a large piece of wood with strings. We weren't born with them attached to us, so it's not a natural thing to play a guitar. But the more time you spend on it then the more familiar your hands will be with holding and playing one, it'll become second nature in time.

Lastly I'd say train your ear. Sit on your couch, watch TV and whenever there's a tune on in the background of whatever it is you're watching, try to play it. Eventually you'll catch something and your ear will get better at figuring out how to play what you hear (whether in your mind or otherwise).

Curious what made wanna pick up guitar btw?
 

Minella

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Learning guitar is hard. Pick the number of strings that motivates you to play. Starting on an 8 string is no more or less difficult than a 7 or 6. It’s all completely foreign; so good on you for grabbing the one that you want to play.

As far as advice: turn up the gain and work on your palm muting technique. Then practice syncing your left hand and right hand up. There is no substitute for time spent on the instrument, so just play the shit out of it and you’ll be rewarded for the rest of your life.
Thanks!!
 

Minella

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Absolutely!
Motivation is the most important part.
That's why I skipped learning acoustic guitars and camp fire chords and jumped right into metal stuff.
And I never looked back.

It's a hobby. Do whatever you like to do.
That's what I'm doing, too. I'm not interested in acoustic or anything like that. I'm eager to play the music that excites me.
 

Minella

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:welcome:

Congrats on your new hobby and 8-string! It's a pretty awesome way to spend the time and definitely a hobby that can last decades if you sink your teeth into it.

What helped me get better when I first started was to play music I liked listening to, because the learning curve can be kinda steep at first so having fun was really key to keep me interested.

Another couple of things i tried is playing for 1-3 hours a day. Half the battle is just getting used to navigating my hands in unison to play something musical on what is essentially just a large piece of wood with strings. We weren't born with them attached to us, so it's not a natural thing to play a guitar. But the more time you spend on it then the more familiar your hands will be with holding and playing one, it'll become second nature in time.

Lastly I'd say train your ear. Sit on your couch, watch TV and whenever there's a tune on in the background of whatever it is you're watching, try to play it. Eventually you'll catch something and your ear will get better at figuring out how to play what you hear (whether in your mind or otherwise).

Curious what made wanna pick up guitar btw?
That has been the hardest part for me - my hands don't work together at all LOL Practice will make perfect!
 

GatherTheArsenal

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That has been the hardest part for me - my hands don't work together at all LOL Practice will make perfect!

Welcome to the club :lol: we've all been there. In a sense i still am when I try to learn a new technique or a challenging riff/solo and my fingers just refuse to go as fast as I need them to go.

Playing guitar is like a game where it's really really rare for someone to unlock all the achievements, so just enjoy the ride :fever:
 

Mathemagician

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Look up songs by bands you like and start learning from the tabs. Nothing is more motivating than learning what you’re hearing on a record.
 

73647k

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I was cruising through some of the other introduction threads here but I came across yours and wanted to give you props for jumping straight to 8 strings; I really think that is awesome. I've been playing guitar on and off for almost 13 years now and only just started experimenting with the additional strings.
 

narad

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It does make me wonder what life would have been like to start on 8 and somehow completely avoid ever playing a 6/7 until you're like 5 years out. I mean, that's what most of us wind up doing in the opposite direction, and each time we basically have to ask, "Okay, how do I make use of this 'extra' thing?". I think it must be pretty cool to think of 8-string as "home", but I can't undo that now!
 

I play music

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It does make me wonder what life would have been like to start on 8 and somehow completely avoid ever playing a 6/7 until you're like 5 years out.
I think this would feel very similar to how we guitarists feel when we pick up an Ukelele ;-)
 

Konfyouzd

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It does make me wonder what life would have been like to start on 8 and somehow completely avoid ever playing a 6/7 until you're like 5 years out. I mean, that's what most of us wind up doing in the opposite direction, and each time we basically have to ask, "Okay, how do I make use of this 'extra' thing?". I think it must be pretty cool to think of 8-string as "home", but I can't undo that now!
Hell I started on 6s and they still feel funny to me now :lol:
 


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