I have made a few CBG’s, now what. 

I have no musical experience but I really want to start playing these bad boys. Where is the best place to start for a true beginner? I have found a lot of videos on YouTube, but they are out of my league. Is there a certain approach to take for absolute beginners? Does it matter what I learn first? I would love to have a road map of what to learn before moving on, or any other advice. 

Thank you all for any help with this. I am super excited about them but I fear playing them is beyond me. 

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  • Check out Uncle Marks Cigar Box Guitar on Youtube. Heaps of beginner lessons right up to advanced stuff.  

  • if you can , a little bit of music theory will help. it helps to explain why certain chords and notes are used in a song, what key the song is in etc. not essential but helpful . 

  • Huge thanks to everyone who has taken the time to respond to my question. I am sure this is a common question that you have all been asked a thousand times. So again, thanks for your time and insights.

    • Hi Tyler, Everybody's on the ball here, but I will mention two things from my experience.

      One: if you are having trouble getting good sounds or finding it difficult to play, look at how you are holding your guitar and/or the angle your hand/fingers approach the fingerboard/neck. I find when teaching others that is one of the first things I set right.

      Two: I had a guy I was helping play blues [he was so keen that he even bought a Gibson Lucile 335, cos' B B King played one] Anyway he came to me all proud and full of smiles because he had learnt heaps of patterns, riffs and stuff and played them for me. Yes he had learnt the notes and was pretty fast, but I had to ask WHERE IS THE FEELING we're playing the blues.

      If you are listening to music listen to the FEEL as well as the notes. A lot of what adds to feeling is covered in Korrigan's list. 

      Enjoy Taff

       

  • Absolute beginner? Spend the first few weeks just noodling around and making sounds that you find pleasing. : )

    • Great advice Korrigan, just play... Don’t think too much. If I can learn to play delta blues on my own, by listening to records at age 16, then it’s not really that hard? I was advised by a veteran slider, to just play & I got better by just letting my fingers take over. no pressure, just play what your heart desires? you may want to peruse Shane & Glenn’s beginners videos in the Resources tab & take it slow?  Good luck to you

      • Thanks BrianQ and Korrigan. I have been fooling around and making noise and I do enjoy it. I was just curious is there was a "road map" so to speak on things I should focus on in a particular order, to get a better understanding of the instrument and music. I will keep plucking away and hopefully make noises that sound closer to music at some point.

          

        • I don't know about you but for me, if I'm following a "road map" I'm probably not having fun... and if I'm not having fun doing something, and I'm not getting paid for it, I probably won't be doing it for long.  : )

          That said, in no particular order, things to explore (YouTube is great for this)...

          • Chords
          • Scales
          • Hammer-ons
          • Pull-offs
          • Capoing
          • String bending
          • Sliding notes
          • Flat picking
          • Finger picking
          • ̶N̶o̶s̶e̶ ̶p̶i̶c̶k̶i̶n̶g̶
          • Natural harmonics
          • Pinch Harmonics
          • Muting
          • Tapping
          • Sliding (with a slide)
          • Alternate tunings

          Whatever you do... have fun!

          • This is perfect! Thank you Korrigan. Now I know what to look for and have plenty to keep me busy learning the lingo and the techniques.

  • EASY  SLIDE ALSO

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