[ QUOTE ]
A week ago I played Guitar Hero for the first time, a couple rounds before mahjong with the office asians. I was pretty [censored] amazing, beating up on two poor saps who were dumb enough to play on hard while I played easy. Many comments were made about my ability to play Guitar Hero well at the easiest level.
I said to myself: You should go to Fry's and buy this game. But why would I want to be great at Guitar Hero when I could pay more to be terrible at guitar?
[/ QUOTE ]
First off, Easy mode is hella easy. Being good at that really doesn't mean much.
Second, I hate the fact that some people think that playing Guitar Hero and playing guitar are related. They are only tangentially related. Wanting to be good at one is not at all related to being at the other.
I had bought a guitar 2 years before and played for about a month before I realized I couldn't do a barre chord to save my life and I quit. But I loved Guitar Hero and played it all the time. My wife got sick of me playing a "stupid game" instead of the $300 (or whatever I paid for it) guitar
sitting in the garage. So she bought me some lessons.
[ QUOTE ]
1. Good first songs to aim at. Please note that my metal meter stops at GNR.
2. Good sites/books for music theory.
3. Good sites/books for exercises.
4. Whatever.
[/ QUOTE ]
My teacher is basically just teaching me random stuff, so I supplement it with some books.
I have books from Uncle Tim.
http://www.uncletim.com/. The "first year" book only teaches you the major scales and 6 chords for each scale.
I also bought the pentatonic scales from that site. The pentatonic scales are easier to learn and are probably more common in rock/blues.
According to Uncle Tim, you should divide your practice into 3 equal time segments: 1) scales; 2) chords; 3) songs.
While possibly true, the hard thing about playing songs is that you can't really do that until you become adept at changing chords.
As for lessons, I think they are overrated. But they do have some use. Particularly in watching you play and telling you what you are doing wrong. But I think that the theory I'm learning from the books is better organized than the stuff he is teaching me. I'm stuck in a weekly lesson plan now, but I think I would rather have it every other week. That way I get more time to digest what he is giving me.
Also, don't be afraid to change teachers. The teacher I had from 2 years ago basically went all over the place. He'd show me a song, then have me practice scales, and had no rhyme or reason to what he was doing. My current teacher is giving me exercises that help me practice changing chords and applying scales and actually seems to have a plan.
I also have the Stetina series that someone else recommended. The
Lead Primer book is based solely on the A Minor Pentatonic and seems relatively easy (though I haven't really concentrated on following the book. The
Rhythm Guitar book is based around the power chord. Unfortunately, I can't effectively change the power chord yet. Both seem to be good books, but I seem to be overwhelmed by all the material I have (which is why I think I'll be changing the lessons to every other week).