[All_¥our_Bass]

I've been playing for about three (3) years and have my stuff down pretty well (not trying to brag, I'm a fast learner).

A friend of mine wants to learn how to play guitar-just got a six string as a present very recently, and knows nothing yet.


What should I start with?
Are tunning, string names, note names and chords a good place to start?

Any and all help is very welcomed.

[Desecrated]

ask him what he wants to play, if he says "change of season" with dreamt heatre, just break down that song, explain everythinng that is used in that song, explain which scale are used to form the melody, why does chords goes over does scales, what all the notes is called. what rhythm they are in and so on, I´m sure you could study change of seasons for about a year and learn more about music and guitarplaying then going throught some of these "learn how to play the guitar"-books.

[distressed_romeo]

There was a whole thread on teaching in the lessons section that you might want to look at, as there was a lot of talk about teaching beginners.

[Mastodon]

You can probably be more upfront with him than if you were a teacher.

So if he said something like "oh I just want to learn to play these songs" you'd be able to tell him straight up how he should start learning scales and chords now because they'll come in real handy later on.

So as already mentioned, ask him what kind of stuff he wants to learn, if he has any songs in particular he wants to start on, but also give him a handful of open chords or something to learn along side.

[Ancestor]

Originally Posted by All_¥our_Bass

I've been playing for about three (3) years and have my stuff down pretty well (not trying to brag, I'm a fast learner).

A friend of mine wants to learn how to play guitar-just got a six string as a present very recently, and knows nothing yet.


What should I start with?
Are tunning, string names, note names and chords a good place to start?

Any and all help is very welcomed.

Yeah, I think you've got it right there, especially tuning, string and note names. That's the beginning.

Your friend is lucky to have someone to show him/her.

[Vince]

Originally Posted by All_¥our_Bass

A friend of mine wants to learn how to play guitar-just got a six string as a present very recently, and knows nothing yet.

What should I start with?
Are tunning, string names, note names and chords a good place to start?

1) Tuning, string names, note names, chords

2) Teach him the 5 basic chordforms, C, A, G, E, D.

3) Teach him the 6-string major scale (box, not ascending)

4) Teach him the 6-string minor scale (box, not ascending)

5) Once he's got that down (the fundamentals) have him pick out a simple song or two from the radio he likes and teach it to him in the simplest format possible. Chords, power chords, etc. It doesn't have to be exact, just enough so he can play along with the song and have fun.

That's what I'd do with a beginner. Give them the basic fundamentals, then let them have fun. I would steer WAY clear of Change of Seasons or anything remotely resembling difficult work until the student has shown the ability & desire to play a piece like that. Let them have fun first

[Naren]

I agree with Vince on everything, especially this:

Originally Posted by desertdweller

I would steer WAY clear of Change of Seasons or anything remotely resembling difficult work until the student has shown the ability & desire to play a piece like that. Let them have fun first

I have taught some beginners before and a lot of them quit when they're having trouble fretting individual notes (not talking about anything complicated) or when they're trying to play an A major chord. So, I would definitely not start out with some song like "Change Of Seasons" which realistically would take years to learn to play considering the person's current level.

In the times that I have taught before, I always started out with the string names. Next I would teach the relations of the notes to the strings. For example, I would just teach how the 12th fret is the same note as the open string, just an octave higher. I would teach how the 5th fret of this string is the same note and the next open string and how the 7th fret of this string is the same note as the previous string (but not for all strings). Then I'd teach basic open chords. I always start with E minor because that's the easiest one to fret (only 2 fingers), then I go to E major, then D major and A minor. Then C major, then G major, then A major. After they've got open major chords down, I'd teach barre chords and how they relate to the E minor and E major forms (s)he'd just learned and how they relate to the A major and A minor forms (s)he's just learn. Then I'd teach the basic major and minor scales.

That's good for a beginning. I definitely wouldn't start out with a song (with anyone). After they've got the above information down, then they can start learning a basic song they like (I wouldn't recommend learning even a simplified version of a complicated song until later).

[distressed_romeo]

Agree with Vince and Naren. Something like ACOS is just going to intimidate a player when they're starting out, no matter how slowly you break it down. At the stage, the rewards wouldn't justify the work you'd have to put into it. If they are into technical music, treat it as something to aspire to, and give them easier stuff in the same vein, then gradually build up to more intricate stuff as they become more knowledgeable.
I said this in a different thread, but if, for instance, a beginner in showing an interest in neo-classical playing, start them off with Richie Blackmore and Uli Jon Roth rather than George Bellas and Rusty Cooley.

Also, don't let them develop any bad habits in terms of technique. It might not matter when they're playing simple songs, but they'll thank you for it once they try and play something more difficult later.