Guide to picking up the electric guitar

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Your listening to your favourite band and you suddenly decide you want to play guitar. Good decision my friend. As lets face it, when was the last time anyone gave a damn about a bass player? Yeah and drummers always get all those jokes made about them. And vocalists? Standing up and singing in front of people, thats too embarassing right? Good for you.

If you starting, don't go and buy the top of the range guitar as frankly, you may not like playing and you might give up. Buy a cheaper guitar, then when you want a better one, most guitar shops allow you to trade your old one in and get money off the new guitar.

So you've finally got a guitar, great, get it out and plug it in to your shiny new amp what now? I read a lot of stuff and it really does speak a lot of bull. I'll give it to you straight.

First of all, you are NOT going to pick it up and become really really good right away. You will be crap. And don't think "oh it won't apply to me, I'm an exception to the rule" you will especially be crap. BUT through perserverence, you WILL get better. I promise you, if you practise enough you will get better.

Don't be put off by better guitarists around you or that play on record. Guitar playing should not be competitive, however, it is. Your in a guitar shop playing away, secretly, the guy at the other side of the store will be trying to beat you. You go into a band with another guitar player, you can end up trying to out do each other. It is competitive. Don't let this get you down though. Different people are better at certain aspects of guitar playing than others, the Steve Vai clone shredding away in the corner, could be pretty lame at basic rhythm guitar. Try not to compare yourself to other players.

Just remember what Hendrix said once

"Sometimes you want to give up the guitar, you'll hate the guitar. But if you stick with it, you're gonna be rewarded."

It is very true. Stick with it. Music needs all the good guitarists it can get.

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