Learning to play the Guitar...

[Biarien]

I was considering learning to play the guitar, and was wondering how hard it would be to teach myself from instructional books. I have many friends that play that I can "check up" with, but I don't know if they have time to be a formal teacher.

For reference, I've included my musical history below:





Ok, so I have absolutely no experience with music.

Will this be impossible, or..?

Any advice, stories, or whatever is appreciated.

 

[Chrome]

gave me a chuckle. heh

anyway, this should probably go in the guitar forum but what the hey.

i learned bass by myelf, no teachers, no books, most of the music theory i know, i just looked up on the internet.

leanring to play isn't hard, but knowing what you play music is different. i mean i can hit the fourth fret on an E string, but do i know that it is a B and that the second thinnest string is also a B of a higher octave? I'm just saying, books will help with technical stuff and so will teachers, but if you just want to learn to play just as a hobby or whatnot, then just get some basic knowledge (like how to hold the pick and guitar and stuff like palm-muting (essential for even the softest rock), slides, bends, hammer-ons and pull-offs, and later, pinch harmonics and triplets)

 

[Biarien]

Er, I didn't realize there were instrument-specific forums, as I've never had a reason to look there before. ; I shall re-post this there.

 

[blackwasp]

I learned bass and guitar on my own, and I'm not very musically inclined. If I could do it all over again, I would neglect learning the blues scales and basics (other than chords)...I think they can be a crutch and hindrance on creativity. It would be cool to try to familiarize yourself with the neck and basic picking, and once you're comfortable, learn how to play by ear, practicing in the dark. There's little more freeing than playing guitar without any visuals...only by feel and sound.