Ah, yes, another Guitar Hero convert.

I started about a month ago.

If you 're actually kinda serious about it(and pretend to someday play for someone other than yourself) find a teacher, even a class per week is supposed to be better than no classes at all. Personally I've learned by myself, but I think I play like crap so far.

Guitar Pro is awesome.

On Google Video, there's a link to John Petrucci's Rock Discipline, but I forget where. It has a few great exercises. Just do a search.

Get an electronic tuner and always tune the guitar before playing. Mine doesn't seem to last more than a day without going out of tune in the strings I use the most. After a month, I kinda recognize when a string is out of tune, but I can't tune it by myself. I guess it comes with practice. They tell you to do relative tuning (tune the strings by the sound of the first string, and then the next, and so on), but it's a frickin pain in the ass, and I just want to ROCK OUT NOW.

There's a metronome over at metronomeonline.com , and supposedly you have to use it every time you practice (at first), but I find that guitar pro helps a lot with that. They also sell fancy Metronomes that help you tune your guitar and all that.

Don't get discouraged =(
At first I was about to give up, because I played some lame scales (1 2 3 4 first fret, 1234 2nd fret, and so on) and I could only play at 20 about bpm (which is really, abysmally slow), and here I'm watching Petrucci rock out at 200 bpm. But after a month I'm up to a solid 60 or 70, and the progress is pretty steady. A friend says it usually takes about 3 to 5 years to be "good".

* An important part of the rockin' soundz is the goddamn amps and pedals with effects. So if you're playing a tab and you're thinking "why the hell doesn't this sound like Audioslave?", well, it's because most rock bands use some tricked out amps and pedals and so on. The only ones I can recognize that play "clean" are AC/DC. Then again, if you want to play the blues, they use clean sounds.

Have you chosen your guitar?

IMPORTANT NOTE: This all comes from a guitar n00b who has only been playing for a short time. Someone with m4d skills (like Podunk) get on this thread and confirm/deny.

Two words: bar chords. Add distortion. Commence to rock.

I bet Guitar Hero is actually a viral app that was designed and marketed by an ailing guitar industry leader! Yeah, that's it...

I have no illusions of ever being some kind of rock god anywhere except in the video game. However, getting decent at playing the real thing for my personal satisfaction would be most excellent.

Although this might go without saying, learn your scales. Learn every variation in every key. They will come up time and time again in about everything you play. Doubly important if you ever want to play improvisationally, or rock guitar solos, or blues or jazz.

Learning the standard rock and blues chord progressions too, you'll be able to pick out lots of songs that follow these standard forms.

I used to play, and found it a great way to kill some time. I've had to put the guitar down lately because of my carpal tunnel issues - it was getting too painful to play regularly.

Good luck, and be sure to post some pictures of your sweet axe.

If you want a "cheap" alternative to a bunch of amps and sh*t, try the GuitarPort. I love mine.

Cue Podunk in 3... 2... 1...

I'm going to go ahead and suggest lessons, if for no other reason than this:

Even if you're not interested in learning to play scales, lessons will provide you with invaluable instruction on posture, hand and wrist position and fingering that can save you from tendonitis or carpal tunnel a few years down the road. That's the main reason I wish I'd taken lessons.

Call your local music store or the music department at your local university and ask for a recommendation. Even a couple of lessons will go a long way to set you on the proper path toward developing healthy technique.

How to play the guitar: A primer by Demi J. Urge

Step 1: Rock out.

Step 2: Smash the guitar on the stage.

Step 3: Wait for manager to pay for damages.

I hope this primer has been informative and helpful. Good luck with your career as a rockstar and/or has-been radio DJ.

Ppth. POWER CORDS are where it's at. That and some Pentatonic scale action. Good enough for Angus, good enough for you.

Simply awesome!

Well I was using the standard ones that came with the Guitar (it was an Ibanez starter pack), but I do have a set of Ernie's that I'm replacing as they go.

PLANT!

I dig Ibanez guitars (got 3), but my Les Paul Studio is my baby. I'm self-taught and I really should have taken lessons back when I started. As it stands, I have to read tab as I can't read music. I do know where the notes are on the fretboard, for the most part, but some basic music theory probably would have gone a long way for me.

I found that when I started the driving factor was that "one" song you wanted to play because you liked it. I was big into Metallica back in high school and that's what got me to play. If you tend to like music that's rather difficult to play, this can be a discouragement.

Edit - forgot the Ibanez steel string acoustic, 3 Ibanez guitars for me.

Here is some inspiration for you. Chet Atkins playing his signature pumpkin-top Gretsch. It's incredible to think that it's only one guy playing. Remarkable in his taste, and control.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=_RjkurIdMkY&mode=related&search=

Notice how he used his thumbpick as a flatipick occassionally? Man. Gorgeous playing.