I've had my guitar for a year now but really haven't had time to get serious with it due to going back to school full time after an 18
year Spring Break. If any of you could recommend any guitar books or videos to get started with, I'd really appreciate it. Any other advice would also be welcome. I'm looking mainly to have fun but really want to use what practice time I have to seriously
begin learning the guitar. I currently have
a Stratocaster and using my sons practice amp. Still saving for that Wolfgang/5150 set-up. Someday. Thanks a bunch.

I think the site www.wholenote.com (http://www.wholenote.com) has some good things on there for teaching....I have to think of others.

2711

I hear www.metalmethod.com (http://www.metalmethod.com) has good videos for learning metal guitar. I used guitar mags to start out.

You most definitely have to get the guitar handbook..you can get it at any bookstore..it actually has 3 guitars on the cover and Eddie's wolfgang guitar is one of them...this will teach you for years to come and is a very easy and informative book. Also you have to decide what you want to learn...songs? theory? everything? I suggest subscribing to Guitar World, Guitar one and whatever else you see...they have great lessons in the mags and also online lessons which you can actually hear some of the lessons.

Then I suggest to get some "backing tracks" ,,,you can find these at Music Land in the guitar songbooks sections..it's backing tracks from musicians who play the backing tracks (minus guitar) to bands like Van Halen , Eagles etc...) Also Steve Vai has several books/cd's that he actually made , with his song transcriptions and actual studio backing tracks to a lot of his songs...these are priceless since it gives you lessons on which scales to use so you can actually make your own solos and change the song a bit to make it almost your own. Very useful !!!

I love just throwing on any old CD and try to solo to it. 9 out of 10 times it really sucks, but 1 time you just hit all the right notes. I really like soloing to REM's "Shinny Happy People."!!!!!!!!!! I just keep playing the same 6 notes and they sound great.

I also love to play "Silent Night". Learned it for my wlife. She's always asks to play it without all the distortion and effects!!!!!!!!!!

I don't know if you can still get it but I found a book called "The Heavy Guitar Bible" very usefull. As far as I can remember it cover a bit of theory and had a whole lot of great excersises in it. The author is a bit of a dork, but it's well written.

------------------
Baluchitherium