Beginning electric

[Christinme14]

I'm totally new to guitar in general, and i was just wondering how long it usually take to get to a point where you can play most worship songs.
thanks
Chris

 

[codya517]

Well I would suggests lessons. It really does help to have a teacher who knows how to teach to show you and play along with. I and many are blessed that there is a christian music shop (fender dealer) out this way so it's not awkward to ask how to play worship music, good environment. But yeah, I've had my guitar for almost two years (i'm terrible.) and this summer I started taking actual lessons and I can say it really helps. It gives you small goals to practice with guidance so it goes a long better and you get to jam with someone

 

[SGM4HIM]

It depends on your enthusiasm!

That being said in 3 - 6 months you should be able to strum 3 or 4 chords necessary for a song. One of the easiest progressions to learn is G, Cadd9, and D. Here's a web page that shows the fingering of these chords. http://www.freeguitarvideos.com/Beginner/Beg_03.html .
(They show the progression d,cadd9,g but learn it opposite first.)

You can also through in a 4 finger Em7 and keep similar fingering. http://www.8notes.com/guitar_chord_chart/Em7.asp. It's the one 2nd from the bottom.

Here's a good Christian guitar site that shows chord charts and videos of popular praise and worship songs, (many using the chords above) It's free too. http://www.worshiptogether.com/

Hope this will encourage you

 

[soul_on_fire]

it would take you about a week with everyday practise to master an easy song =)
for example, my teacher started me off with oasis' wonderwall (which is an extremely easy song to play) and a week later i was perfect at it =] (modest i am not, but it kinda is the truth xD)

you could try using chordie.com, it has a lot of songs and the chords are shown at the side (you can see where you should put your fingers on the fretboard). Some version have tabs, but they're quite easy to read too

 

[pressingon17]

Umm,I would start on acoustic,but if you only have an electric that's okay,the electric guitar corrects mistakes when you play,I once got really good at a song on the electric,then when I tried it on the acoustic,it sounded horrible.The average time too get good enough to play in church,I'd say is at least a year.

 

[integra evan]

Pray, worship with some of your favorite worship leader's music, start practicing.
I'll tell you a secret...A LOT of common, powerful, simple, and great worship songs use one of the easiest progressions....G, D, Em, C.

 

[ephesus32]

it really depends on the player and how much you practice. when i started playing, playing with the worship leader chords (G, C, Em, D) just came easily within a couple of days. but i know other people it takes months. just practice with worship songs from your church and if you can, try to get guitar lessons. Your teacher will probably correct your mistakes before it becomes a habit too which is really helpful.

 

[rdclmn72]

Books can't answer questions.
If you are lucky enough to have someone with experience playing the most common chord progressions, you will speed up your progress in warp drive.

Major natural chords;
C-G-C-Cdom;
F-G-C-Am-A-Dm-G-C.

Minor Natural;
Am-E-Am-A;
Dm-G-C-F-E-Am.

Learn the open positions.
Then you learn the barred versions up theneck.
The last step is to slide the chords;
0 fret-C/Am
2d fret -D/Bm
4th fret -E/Dbm
5th fret -F/Dm
7th fret -G/Em
9th fret -A/F#m

Chords and scales slide as one.
Every other combination you'll get with time.

 

[SparkyMaddie]

I'm new to electric too but have been playing acoustic for almost 4 years.

 

[Jannes]

id say a year, but it depends on how much u play

 

[sylk]

It took me two months to sing and play guitar (learn guitar (The Electric/Acoustic) and sync it in with my vocals); I than played in front of a huge crowd. But it varies with each individual. It depends on your drive. I was STRONGLY determined, which you may be as well.

GOOD LUCK!

 

[HavanaNights]

you can play church songs strait away, they're easy as pie

 

[BroBarry]

Yeah, church songs are not very hard to play, but it really does depend on your drive and how excited you are about playing as to how fast you'll be able to learn them. When it comes to church music, make sure you really practice your rhythm. It's one thing to be able to play the chords, but you want to make sure you play them at the right time and in the right fashion.

Playing along with CDs or just practicing with other people is the best way to get your rhythm skills up.

And also, practice tuning alot. You'll always sound better if you tune as close to the right note as possible, instead of halfway doing it.

 

[Audiomatic]

Newer Christian songs are relatively easy. Hymns were written for piano (or organ) and can have some unusual chords that would be difficult for a novice.

I don't necessarily agree that a teacher would be helpful. In my opinion, the only way to learn how to play guitar is to play guitar. The easiest way to play guitar is to have a reason for doing so. Perhaps you know a nice worship leader who'll provide you the songs and allow you to sit in on practice (unplugged?) each week. You'll be astounded at your progress when you have to practice specific songs to play at a specific time, and you'll learn so much from the other instrumentalists.

Barry's right: nail the rhythm first and the chords will catch up soon enough. If you try to nail the chords first, it'll take longer to get good at it.

 

[Idratherstayanonymous]

It varies from person to person.. Some will pick it up really quick, some will need some more time. I can recommend you to take lessons, they are really helpful for beginners.

 

[guitarpraise]

First, pray for the Holy Spirit's guidance. A good music teacher you can relate with can/might help speed up the process. It really depends. My daughter started playing guitar without a teacher. She enjoys the challenge. On average without continous daily practice, 3-6 months would be the norm according to my experience.

Good on you. I pray that there's somebody else in our church that will play electric guitar because I'm looking to pass on a guitar. God Bless and keep it up.

 

[SwiftShadowFox00]

i would probably have to agree with most of the people here. after playing instruments my whole life, it really should take you only about 2-4 months to complete a simple song like Lord I lift Your Name on High. because of its simple chord progressions you should be able to learn songs like it VERY easily

 

[rdclmn72]

Getting used to an electric, you have to learn to control that right hand. The only way to get some finesse is to play it amplified until you can play chords without the notes popping at different volumes. That is what acoustic players have to go through when they switch.