Learning guitar -- any good book or DVD suggestions?

Hey all,

I'd like to learn some basic guitar chords and music theory. I've never played an instrument besides some drumming in drum circles (does that even count?:) ), so I'm a total newb.

Do you all have any recommendations on beginners DVDs, books, or online sources that will help me out? There seems to be an endless amount of material out there so I'm not sure...

Thanks!
:toast:

A good teacher is by far the best way to go, I think, but that can get expensive. Try to get someone who's played for at least a couple years help you pick out a guitar. You don't want to get discouraged by a shitty instrument right off the bat. My girlfriend's dad a few years ago thought he'd take up banjo, and he gave up on it mighty quickly; the action was ridiculous, I could barely play it and I've played guitar and bass for about 15 years. A bit of forewarning: playing guitar is physically painful until you've at least built up some callouses.

Get a teacher. Unless a beginner is a prodigy, the teacher is going to be better and know more. So, one should be able to play without developing bad habits.

One thing, though: NO TEACHER SHOULD MAKE A STUDENT PLAY SONGS THEY DON'T WANT TO PLAY! A good teacher will be able to adapt whatever method they use to show a student how to play, how to understand the instrument, and how to hear the music well, while learning tunes the student actually wants to play.

I never taught a student a song from a method book. I would even do simplified versions of transcriptions of songs the student wanted to learn. (Notation, never tabulature, unless it was strictly chords for strumming.) That's for guitar, of course. I can't teach beginners piano. I started playing piano in October of 1959. I don't remember what it was like for it to be hard. So, i'm not very empathetic with beginners. Not on them. Strictly on me.
The Professor

of guitar instructional books and videos.

http://www.melbay.com/

as far as you can go financially...this is a must...
buy some anthology music books...pop...country...oldies...whatever turns your ticket...
then start teaching yourself songs that you enjoy using the chord diagrams and your individiual knowledge of the particular tune...
practice everyday...

take those private lessons...

I take guitar lessons and this is the book my teacher has me use. It has CDs so that you can hear what the songs are supposed to sound like. :D

i've seen a couple lesson books that teach by building on the repertoire of one group... beatles and jimi hendrix are the ones i saw. it's a neat concept because it is not so abstract, and the results would seem more obvious. i looked at the beatles book, and it seemed pretty well paced and fairly comprehensive (of course, their music was very compprehensive, technique wise). i think it had a cd with it. those might be a good start.

if you can't afford a teacher, at least get some one to help you pick out the guitar. seriously... a cheaply built, 'entry' guitar will throw you off playing in the first week. you can get a good guitar for a low price. i bought my first guitar, a fender acoustic, six years ago for ~$150 new. it has been a great guitar, and worth every penny. you just have to know what to look for. i was lucky enough to have a very reputable guitar store whose staff would consider it shameful to make a sale to move units, and they recommended it.

www.ultimate-guitar.com There is a ton of stuff there...

Lots and lots of stuff there.

Redstone