How should I start with my elec guitar?
I finally managed to get myself an electric guitar after saving up... Now the problem is learning to play this thing, and I really have no leads. I don't have the money to afford lessons (from paying for the guitar), I don't know anyone who can teach me, and all I got are sites that are perplexing and mind boggling.
I tried reading some websites on beginner guitar... And I got to say, the chords confuse me to hell. Sites even WITH pictures for dummies like myself, still confuse me and my head just starts hurting. Never did I realize how dense or stupid I was, but admittedly learning to play guitar is the hardest obstacle I've ever encountered in my life.
If anyone can suggest a lead I can attempt or any other tips, they will be much appreciated...
My first and primary suggestion... play SOMETHING every day. You have lots of learning to do, and that's going to take time and effort. You need to build up calluses on your fingers, and you need to learn how to work the fretboard.
Much of that's muscle memory, and it's not something that you get without practice. I think it took me a year before I could go cleanly and quickly between chords. Don't expect to be perfect at this from the start.
The secret about music with chord notation is that the player knows the song, knows the rhythm (that's your right hand's job.. strumming defines the rhythm), and all the chord listed tells you is what your left hand is doing (assuming you're right handed). You shouldn't really try to memorize chords at first, you just try to finger them based on the diagrams, and eventually, you will remember them. Lots of chord shapes may not sound great at first, but they will get better, and more accurate, with practice... and only with practice.
You might want to start out with a few very simple riffs... this is how I started... and I started on an acoustic. It makes even more sense on an electric. Pick a song you like with a slow riff... something like "Smoke on the Water", "Seven Nation Army" (one I learned early on), really anything. Yes, you want to learn chords and the fretboard and all... but the first thing you need to do is get comfortable with the guitar. So do anything with it right now that keeps you coming back to it each and every day.
If you're having trouble learning from the many on-line tutorial, maybe you'd learn better from watching a video. Don't think you're stupid... there's are road blocks in the way for everyone trying to learn any new skill, and they don't vanish overnight. I actually minored in Psychology in college, so when I took up guitar, I knew the kinds of things to expect, and never really got frustrated. Most people run into their first hurdle where you are, just trying to get something to happen on the guitar, and probably another when they're first nearly ready to string a bunch of chords together, or when they try to sing and play at the same time. It's normal, everyone experiences it, and you WILL get past it if you keep trying. That's guaranteed -- it's the way the brain works. If you keep trying something on your guitar, you will get better at it. If it's sitting on a stand in the corner of your room, you won't.
If you have iTunes or another podcast manager, look up some guitar lessons for beginners. A company called iPlayMusic has a series of 35 very early beginner lessons out on iTunes... you can download iTunes free from Apple.com even if you don't have an iPod, and search for this, or something similar... it might be better for you that the "static" lessons.
Along with playing a few basic riffs, I started with a really basic guitar book. It showed all the chords in gigantic type, and it did start me off in the right way. I spent about an hour a day at it... and still do, sometimes more. Your fingers may take awhile to get you to an hour... if so, just play until you can't take the pain anymore (well, don't do any serious damage). This is the same "ritual" every guitar player goes through.
Anyway, the book worked for me. I recommend trying something, whether on-line or not, video or podcast or print, chords or riffs or whatever, and just stick with it. You can play the basic "Seven Nation Army" riff on just the low E string... even that's a start (Jack White actually uses a pitch shifter on the album, so it's not going to be as deep, but it is played on a guitar, not a bass... but I digress). There are bunch of famous rock songs that sound fine on two or three simple chords (You can play the main riff in Nirvana's "About a Girl" with just Em and G chords, both really easy ones). Here's a site with some easy riffs in TAB notation:
http://www.guitarnoise.com/article.php?id=206
Learn the tab notation.. that's really just a map of where you fingers go on the fretboard. Play around with it... no one needs to watch you at this stage, it's ok (and expected) to screw up 1000 times... but the first time you don't, you'll feel good. And if you keep trying, it will happen.
Stick with it, force yourself you to do it every day for two weeks. You will see SOME progress even in that short time, if you stick to it.
Guitar Lessons For Dummies Beginner Week 1 Lesson 1
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