I'm relearning guitar and was wondering what's the best way to learn the guitar--notes then chords or chords then notes. I'm doing a mix trying to see what works. I started out with chords but now going back to note picking (I'm using several books and have a cd to listen to so I know what the songs are supposed to sound like).

Any suggestions? Not sure if this makes sense.

Thanks

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It makes complete sense to me. Basically its what works for you. Personally for me it was chords and then I would dissect them to the individual notes to see just how they worked.

Best of luck!

CC

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id suggest notes first because then when you learn the movable chords you'll know what chord your playing and where to find it on the neck every time

Makes sense. Thanks. Mastered the art of "jingle bells" LOL

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"While My Guitar Gently Weeps."

My dad said, "I'm going to miss you."
I said, "Well, now that I broke that sight off your rifle..." (Emo Philips)

also, to help learn said chords i would suggest bands like green day and nirvana as their songs tend to be pretty simple chord progressions

I've been playing 45 yrs now and I always mixed it up(short attention span lol)and that's worked for me.It also keeps the fingers limber.

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Single notes then chords.

Chords are nothing more than a bunch of single notes played at the same time.

hey! I completely get ya lol! I just started 2, & it wuz helpful 4 me, 2 learn chords 1st(:

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"being a rock star is the intersection of who you are, and who you want to be." -Slash

Don't ask me, I play by ear.
You should see the calluses on my lobes.

Hi,

Listen to your self, try one approach if it's not working try another. You will feel an immediate improvement everyday when the things click for you.

I tried notes first and that did not work or maybe was the teacher and I did not click, when he was all about the "proper" classical style and I wanted to play the blues

Hi LadyVendettaAngel: at the risk of sounding glib - both. Far as guitar is concerned playing a tune, especially on your own, is usually a matter of playing phrases made out of a sequence of notes over the top of voicings made out of chords.

If that sounds confusing, Hendrix is often a way into it people find understandable. Much of his playing is kinda expanded rhythm work. He plays sequences of chords, but finds ways to hold the chord while using his spare fingers to pick out phrases. Other times he does a little run of single notes; other times again he just strums some chords.

The first fret F major chord shape and the open A shape are ones he uses a lot for this, in different parts of the neck. You can play those chords with fingerings that leave you a finger or two free to hammer-on or pull-off notes above the shape and build single note lines like that.

One of my all-time fave numbers, The Wind Cries Mary, is a good place to hear this kind of stuff in action.

Any of that make sense to you?

Good luck - C

Chords first. By learning the chords and playing them you learn the notes and that way learn how chords within progressions are related, the more chords you learn, the better your fretboard (and arpeggio) vocabulary will be

Unless you learn the CAGED system then you only need to know 5 bar cord shapes to play any chord anywhere
A la the Fretboard logic series.

I'm also a proponent of learning music theory, so you can build chords from notes on your own.

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I agree with the answer -- both. Try to learn about the circle of fifths and it might make more sense as to how they relate (notes/chords).

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Double stops must be a bytch.

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Will