first thing you learned on the guitar?

[ibanezjunkie]

wondering where you guys all started off :D

for me, it was either Highway To Hell (AC/DC) or Bulls On Parade (RATM, obviously without any effects at that point so it sounded pretty lame)

your go :D

IJ.

[rylanmartin]

Very basic blues pattern. Open A string and a shuffle groove going back and forth between the 2nd, 4th, and 5th fret on the D string.

Then when I completely mastered that, I'd move up a string and play on the G string with the D string open. aaaaaaaand then back down.

Then my guitar teacher thought it would be fun to give me some Yngwie Malmsteen arpeggios from hell exercises...

[Plank_Spanker]

House of the Rising Sun

[pes_laul]

Sweet (or maybe suite) madame blue by styx

[Perfect Stranger]

First thing I learned on the guitar......that I could get girls easier! ;)

[markb]

House of the Rising Sun

Hey, you too!

[Katastrophe]

Hank Williams' "Your Cheatin' Heart" via the Roy Clark Guitar Method.

[MichaelE]

REO, Ridin' the Storm Out.

[R.B. Huckleberry]

"Heaven's On Fire" by Kiss. LOL!

[M29]

I'am Your Captain/Grand Funk

[Monkus]

The Wedding Song (There is love) by Peter, Paul and Mary,

[deeaa]

Can't remember for sure, but it coulda been Smoke on the Water. First off, it was just the main riffs of songs, often Purple or Sabbath. First full songs were either Paranoid, or perhaps Motörhead's Don't Need No Religion, or maybe Fade to Black by Metallica. The first one I learned to sing and play was anyway Need No Religion - we got a free training place from the local church youth club, and had to play something there as 'rent' and we wanted to make sure they didn't think we believed in the god stuff any, so we played that :-)

I woulda wanted to play Highway to Hell but it was too difficult to sing by far.

[Spudman]

Taps. My dad was in the military.:o

[sunvalleylaw]

The melody line in open position to "Hush Little Baby". I had just received my acoustic, the boys were still quite young (and their sister wasn't born yet), and they liked for me to play it.

[kiteman]

You Are My Sunshine. :whatever:

[tunghaichuan]

A minor pentatonic scale starting on the 5th fret.

tung

[bigG]

"I Saw Her Standing There" by The Beatles.

[Rampant]

The first thing I learned when I started guitar was that I had no control over the fingers of my left hand. I say my left hand, but really it belonged to someone else - well it sure as hell didn't belong to me!

My first lessons were spent trying to contort my fingers to form basic chords, which led to.....

the first proper song that sensei gave me to learn - The Importance of being Idle by Oasis.

Cheerz

Mark H

[Jimi75]

Hey Joe

[wingsdad]

Surf stuff my cousin taught me. 'Wipe Out' by the Surfaris. (Actually, a pretty decent beginner exercise, when you think of it. Covers a lot of ground.)

[marnold]

Probably "Country Roads" by John Denver. Totally metal, I know. That was the only time I was actually taking lessons. My instructor was using one of the Mel Bay books specifically designed to make guitar playing a tedious chore.

[duhvoodooman]

"Louie Louie" by the Kingsmen, followed shortly thereafter by The Animals' "House of the Rising Sun". I guess Plank Spanker & I must be of about the same vintage.... :D

I picked up the guitar strictly by ear, and have never had a lesson. Unfortunately, it shows....

[Brian Krashpad]

I'm sure it was probably some trad folk song like "Jimmy Crack Corn" or "Tom Dooley" or such.

Whatever was in the Mel Bay Introduction to Guitar book, late 60's or early '70's edition.

One that I specifically remember learning early on was "House of the Rising Sun," but I'm sure I learned some I-IV-V 3-chorders before that.