Teacher Professor

When learning the guitar, is it better to start out learning one song or better to learn all the chords?

I have an acoustic guitar. I have been learning Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here piece by piece. I was curious if this is a good approach to take in learning how to play. Would I be better off just learning all the chords and notes first, then trying to learn songs? Thanks for your input.

Public Comments

1. I'd go for basic chords.
2. When you learn new songs you will also learn and teach yourself new chords. Practice, practice, practice! Now get to it.
3. The best way to learn is to play songs, but to get more variety try learning a few chords that you dont know as well. Learning to play songs shows you how chords go together and learning individual chords will help you recognise them when you are learning a new song.
4. Condition your fingers first. Buy a chord dictionary, and practice the basics, C-Am-F-G. Learn to play full chords, and progress from there. Find a song you like, and learn how to play it completely. If you can do all that, then you shouldn't have a problem learning. It's not the best way, but it is a way. http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=free+Beginner+guitar+lessons&fr=ush-ans
5. Wow we just went through this with my son. It is best to learn the chords first, however, like in my sons case, he can hear a song on the radio & literally play that song from start to finish perfectly. In his case when we started him out with guitar lessons he just couldn't grasp learning the chords first. It's very weird. in other words I guess he's learning backwards. However he has become very successful & is now in a band, so for him it was best to pick up the songs 1st. If you got that special ear for music I say stick with what your doing. He's got the electric schecter synster & for another strange reason he couldn't play the acoustic.. Well, good luck
6. Well I teach classical and acoustic and I don't start out students that way....we start with the basics, the strings, the notes, how to read music...I was telling everyone here that I just got a new student about a month ago, last night was his fourth lesson.....and already he knows about five scales, ten chords, some theory, (when he plays a song he knows what key it's in.... and can change without hesitation, can read and play all the notes in the first position, and a few songs....and he's left handed and plays right handed. Through the years of teaching I've noticed that most self taught students, learn a few chords, and rock songs and then wonder why they suck at guitar, (their words). They don't even know what key their playing in and have not idea about time signatures. My best suggestion to you is to have a teacher and learn the correct way, from the beginning, learn how to read music, and forget about tabs....doing it this way makes you a better musician. If you can't afford a private teacher go to a music store, check around some give lessons for as little as $15.00 for a half hour.....also check with your local colleges, some students who haven't received their degree yet teach for a lot less then those that have their degree, they usually post on the bullitin board. Some of the music stores have group lessons that are less expensive. If all this doesn't suit you then check out the lessons online, some have tutors, Cd's, DVD's, videos, and books with Cd's. If your interested in that post again and I'll give you a whole list of places to check out.....good luck to you.!!!!!!!
7. Learn basic chords and a song or two that uses them.
8. It's always better to learn your chords. Why ? At least, when you solo in a certain position, you will know the chord position where to solo on. Also, ear training is a major factor in music. The more you play along with music, the more your ear develops and able to pick out chords without even using the instrument.
9. Learn the chords and notes first to get the dexterity in your fingers. It will also help you learn to write your own music. Check this site for help with that. http://www.rockhousemethod.com/?friend=113895