I'm a beginner guitarist and enjoy looking up chords or tabs on the internet and playing them in my room. It's very relaxing and no one else has to worry about my voice.

So here is the problem, there are many songs out there that I want to learn but don't have the knowledge to figure out on my own yet or I can't find them on the internet. I was wondering if anyone knows where to find a very reliable and well-used source for guitar tabs and chords, or if there is a trick to hearing the chords in a song. Is finding the right notes to play by ear simply a matter of memorization?

You can find a lot on tab sites, but the tabs aren't completely reliable. If you want reliable, tablature books might be the best place. You can buy them in any music store, or try looking in your library. There are a lot to choose from. Here's a good book to start with, maybe. I think my brother started with one of these.

For Lila:

Since you are a beginner,you can save yourself a lot of time and frustration by taking some guitar lessons at your nearest music store.

Unless I'm wrong ,right now you probably don't know how to play a major scale,or how to play a major ,minor or dominant 7th chord.

You probably also don't know the function of a Tonic or Sub-Dominant or a Dominant chord and how they relate to each other.

Until you understand these very basics I'm afraid you will remain very frustrated and unhappy with your playing progress.


I'm not trying to break your wagon or discourage you .

You probably are only interested [at this time ]in trying to play the most current popular tunes of the day ,but as simple as most of them are,you probably won't be able to figure them out by yourself.

Or if you can,you still won't know why some chords work or why they won't.


Taking some lessons will get you to where you want to go in far less time than just flailing around on your own.

If you can't afford lessons,try to find someone among your friends who now plays guitar and ask them to show you a few things.

Otherwise,in about 3 months, you will end up setting your guitar in a corner of your room and you'll never play it again.

I've played music since I was 16 and learned how to play drums,vibraphone,organ,piano piano and played and got paid for many years..professionally.


With every instrument there were new basics to be learned in order to get better at that instrument.

There's no easy way to learn ,but if you truly love music you won't mind the work but it will take a lot of effort on your part,

Good Luck!!!
hippolips