Just starting Out

[DODGECOWBOY84]

ok...

i plan to start learning the acoustic guitar soon. Next week I am going to pick up an Alvarez RD-8 and start picking at it. What type of pick should i begin with, or just get a few and mess with them, and where can I learn how to read sheet music, and tableture stuff. any help from y'all would be appreciatted.

 

L8R

Stephen

[seven7]

welcome to the forum!

as for picks:
get a lot of different picks made from different materials, different sizes, different thicknesses, etc. from there find what works best for you. and save what you don't use since you might change your mind later.

hopefully someone else will cover the other questions.

[UGB]

Is the RD-8 the folk model? I think those are decent guitars for all laminate; usually under $200 w/a HSC new.

I like medium picks myself but it's something that you just have to try out and discover.

I'd find a good teacher.

[LesStrater]

If you don't want to start with lessons right away check out some of the instructional videos available on DVD. You can learn the basics from them at your own pace.

And if to decide to pick up any type of instructional book, make sure it comes with a CD so you can hear what you're supposed to be learning really sounds like.

[slider]

welcome to the guitar. now you're in for it.

I dont remember the site, but I found on a web search a place that explains reading sheet music quite simply.

read the lines of the staff as:
Every Good Boy Does Fine E G B F

read the spaces on the staff as:

FACE

a # is a sharp (one fret up) and
b is a flat (one fret down) b is usually shown backward.

[WashburnGuy]

Hi and welcome!

As someone previously mentioned, try all different sizes, shapes and thickness of picks and see what works for you.

If you go the self-taught. self paced route, I'd recommend the e-Media series. That's what I did and I think it worked fairly well for me. You can do it at you own pace and, if you're just not understanding something, you can repeat the lesson as many times as needed. You also don't have to follow each lesson in order so you can move around from one to the other as your interests grow and change.

Good luck and happy pickin'!

[DODGECOWBOY84]

Hey y'all, thanks for you help. I decided on the nicer rd-20 model, I was able to get the guitar, strap w/ button installed, and hard shell black case for $325 from a local shop, he had 2 of the same models, and i chose the better looking one (woodgrain, color etc.) off the shelf, he played it compared to the rd-8 and sound was amazingly louder and brighter, now i just have to learn it. But thank you for the tips, and I will frequent this forum as I go along in the learning.

L8R