I have been lax in not mentioning Google groups before. Newsgroups have been around since the first computer crawled from the primordial slime. If you do not know about them, here is some quotes from the FAQ of alt.guitar.beginner:
“What is a Usenet Newsgroup?
Usenet is an online bulletin board system that began at Duke University in 1979. Usenet users can post messages to newsgroups that can be read (and replied to) by anyone who has access to the system through a newsreader. Over the years, the number of newsgroups has reached thousands, hosted all over the world and covering every conceivable topic.
Google Groups Beta contains the world’s most comprehensive archive of Usenet postings, dating back to 1981. Google Groups Beta eliminates the need for a newsreader and lets you search this archive the same way that you would search on the web. You can also use Google Groups Beta to post your own comments to an existing Usenet newsgroup.”
So basically you do a search in Google groups for a topic that interests you and you can read the archives or ask a question. You might find that Google group members have greater depth of experience than the average members of a guitar forum. Forums usually are frequented by more people looking for advice, but groups often have a whole bunch of people with guitar playing experience going back to before Les Paul was a country gentleman. On top of that you can ask any kind of question you like, such as: What guitar do I buy for my daughter? or How To Find The Best Cheap Music Download Site? Here are some more gems:
“WHAT IS A BEGINNER?
There can be many different versions of what a “beginner” in guitar
actually is, of course, but for purposes of this FAQ (and by extension -
the newsgroup itself), a beginner can be defined as one who is starting,
or has very recently started to play the guitar. It is assumed that if
you post to alt.guitar.beginner, you are either someone who fits this
description, or an intermediate to experienced guitarist who wishes to
answer questions that beginners have. a.g.b is *not* a place to post
questions such as “Would I like guitar?” That is a question from
someone who has not yet even picked up a guitar, and hence is not yet a
“beginning guitarist”. In other words, it is a group for people who
have decided they *are* going to try and learn guitar, not for people
*wondering* if they should. No one on the group can answer that
question any better than the poster of such a question could.
IS GUITAR HARD TO LEARN?
As Einstein said: “It’s all relative”. The first three weeks to
three months of learning guitar are very difficult, if you have never
played a fretted string instrument before. Once you have a few “basics”
down, however, you can probably *progress* on guitar much faster than on
most instruments.
SHOULD I TEACH MYSELF, OR GET A TEACHER?
This is a subjective question, of course - there is much to be said
for both approaches. There are many fine “self-teaching” books
available, from the ancient “Mel Bay” series (still preferred by many)
to the very contemporary “Guitar for Dummies” book (which is
much recommended by many). As a general rule, you can learn better from
the books than you can from videos when you are a first-timer. You can
go as fast or slow as you want, and you do not have to fast-forward or
rewind to get to where you want to be :>)
When you have some basics down, many of the videos available are very
good, and many players swear by them - but probably not as a “first
steps” teaching aid. If you decide to get a guitar teacher, remember
that it’s *your money* you are paying, and you have the right to feel
you are getting your money’s worth. If you don’t like your teacher or
their approach after a few lessons, find another.”
More nuggets of guitar information at alt.guitar.beginner
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