Anyone Play Guitar?

[jake_twothousandfive]

Well guys, today I finally got one. I ended up with a Yamaha FD01S acoustic guitar. I bought it as part of a package as the friend I had with me told me it was solid value and that the hard top made it worth the extra $30 over a similar package with a lessor guitar. I then headed over to Barnes and Nobel and grabbed The New Complete Guitarist by Richard Chapman for some reading material.

I have tomorrow off work so I'll probably just sit around trying to learn a few things all day. Thanks to everyone for the great advice.

[Omaha Red Sox]

Nice job Jake. Try your damndest to work with it daily, even if it's only for 20 or so minutes a time. Get those calluses built up.

[jake_twothousandfive]

Nice job Jake. Try your damndest to work with it daily, even if it's only for 20 or so minutes a time. Get those calluses built up.

Thanks man.

Does it make a difference if I use a pick or my fingers? Would you recommend one over the other initially?

[acsguitar]

Chicks like bloody finger tips. Not really. But they like it if you play crappy girl songs. So learn some of those too just so that you don't get to depressed when you don't get laid playing Cliffs of Dover.

[Omaha Red Sox]

Nice job Jake. Try your damndest to work with it daily, even if it's only for 20 or so minutes a time. Get those calluses built up.

Thanks man.

Does it make a difference if I use a pick or my fingers? Would you recommend one over the other initially?

Fingerpicking is more difficult to learn and master. I've always used a pick. I think you'll get better, more consistent sound with a pick. More versatile too since every genre uses a pick, fewer use fingerpicking.

[teddy ballgame]

When I first started I didn't like the way a pick felt in my hands. I used just my fingers for probably a year. Then I slowly started to try using a pick and pretty shortly after that began using them exclusively. There's some techniques I picked up from using my fingers, like playing songs that require you to pinch two strings and move between the others fairly quick, that is hard to pull off with a pick, so for that I would prefer fingers, otherwise I think a pick sounds better on pretty much everything else.

BTW a good song for what I mentioned with the fingers is "Landslide" by Fleetwood Mac.

[jake_twothousandfive]

When I first started I didn't like the way a pick felt in my hands. I used just my fingers for probably a year. Then I slowly started to try using a pick and pretty shortly after that began using them exclusively. There's some techniques I picked up from using my fingers, like playing songs that require you to pinch two strings and move between the others fairly quick, that is hard to pull off with a pick, so for that I would prefer fingers, otherwise I think a pick sounds better on pretty much everything else.

BTW a good song for what I mentioned with the fingers is "Landslide" by Fleetwood Mac.

Cool good stuff. But I don't think I'll be getting into actual songs anytime soon. I have what looks like a pretty good book that should take me all the way through the basics. I'd like to have it pretty well down before I move onto something else.

Also, one more question. I don't know if this was entirely necessary or not, but I got a guitar humidifier as well. It was only $10. It rests between the strings in the soundhole of the guitar. I just don't know how often I should be using it. Should I use it whenever I'm not playing it?

[Omaha Red Sox]

When I first started I didn't like the way a pick felt in my hands. I used just my fingers for probably a year. Then I slowly started to try using a pick and pretty shortly after that began using them exclusively. There's some techniques I picked up from using my fingers, like playing songs that require you to pinch two strings and move between the others fairly quick, that is hard to pull off with a pick, so for that I would prefer fingers, otherwise I think a pick sounds better on pretty much everything else.

BTW a good song for what I mentioned with the fingers is "Landslide" by Fleetwood Mac.

Cool good stuff. But I don't think I'll be getting into actual songs anytime soon. I have what looks like a pretty good book that should take me all the way through the basics. I'd like to have it pretty well down before I move onto something else.

Also, one more question. I don't know if this was entirely necessary or not, but I got a guitar humidifier as well. It was only $10. It rests between the strings in the soundhole of the guitar. I just don't know how often I should be using it. Should I use it whenever I'm not playing it?

I've never used one and honestly don't know anyone who does so I'm not sure of their necessity. Though I would imagine, especially for only $10, that it wouldn't hurt.

Found something here - http://www.taylorguitars.com/global/pdf ... difier.pdf

[acsguitar]

Meh on a 200 dollar guitar I wouldn't bother