After years of resistance, I helped a friend move, and spotted a guitar he'll never play (he's an inveterate buyer of toys he'll never use). He turned me down, and 6 months later when I was helping a mutual friend move, he changed his mind. So now I have a $500 guitar for 200 bucks. And I need to learn to play it.

To start with, I've turned to the songbooks I already own which have chord diagrams at hand. A Dubliners songbook, the Stan Rogers songbook, and the Songs and Dances of Ireland and Scotland (The yellow books, if you know them)

Some of the diagrams have Os above some but not all of the open strings. Others have the same fingerings and the same name, but have no Os. Others have Xes on some open strings. None have both Xes and Os.

So how should I interpret these? Hit the Os but avoid the Xes? Ignore both and strum all 6? Wait until I've got the fingering nailed before I work on skip-string strumming patterns?

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And now there was no doubt that the trees were really moving - moving in and out through one another as if in a complicated country dance. ('And I suppose,' thought Lucy, 'when trees dance, it must be a very, very country dance indeed.')

C.S. Lewis

Yes. But avoiding the Xes at all cost is not always necessary - they may disappear in the general noise. Depends on the chord. If it doesn't sound bad then don't worry. It'll become easier with time in any case. Is it acoustic or electric? For electric guitars you mute the string(s) instead of not playing them - with the heel of your right hand, or a finger on your left, or some other way - players have their own ways (on electric guitar it's much more important to mute those strings. On acoustic you can mostly get away with not doing it.)

Boy, some friend you are. Was he stuck there all that time because you wouldn't help until now?

https://www.justinguitar.com/en/BC-108-TABandBoxes.php

Watch the video, or scroll down to the diagram:

Thanx everybody for your comments.



It's one of these:



Not a big fan of 'bursts, and that nonsense on the pickguard is a bit twee, but I like the sound.

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And now there was no doubt that the trees were really moving - moving in and out through one another as if in a complicated country dance. ('And I suppose,' thought Lucy, 'when trees dance, it must be a very, very country dance indeed.')

C.S. Lewis

Steel strung. You may want to use a pick.

Kkrell's diagram is spot on.

Caution - if you wash the dishes by hand, wait until your hands are thoroughly dry before trying to play guitar - or you will shred your fingertips or at very least find it uncomfortable. Fingertips do get harder with use.

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Wizard needs whiskey, badly!

Thanks. My mandolins & TBs are all steel strung, or at least phosphor-bronze, so I'm familiar with at least that part of things.

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And now there was no doubt that the trees were really moving - moving in and out through one another as if in a complicated country dance. ('And I suppose,' thought Lucy, 'when trees dance, it must be a very, very country dance indeed.')

C.S. Lewis

Nice enough guitar, despite the sunburst finish. You might benefit investing in a professional setup by a luthier (neck relief, nut & saddle height, intonation, possibly any fret leveling), if you are not comfortable performing such tasks yourself. The generally low cost can be worth it in terms of improving playability & comfort, thus cutting down on some of the frustration of playing an instrument that might have barely made it through the manufacturer's quality control. Also, consider how you are going to keep it properly humidified for its best sound and longevity.

I'm going to house it here in the great north-wet, humidity's native abode.

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And now there was no doubt that the trees were really moving - moving in and out through one another as if in a complicated country dance. ('And I suppose,' thought Lucy, 'when trees dance, it must be a very, very country dance indeed.')

C.S. Lewis

Nice guitar, tho like you I dislike the Gibson Hummingbird style pick guard (based on a Gibson Hummingbird J200)

You can either play with a pick or use your fingertips/nails and play fingerstyle . I find that more satisfying.

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You don't stop playing when you get old, you get old when you stop playing!
My musical endeavours on my blog https://mymusictree.blogspot.co.uk/

Congrats, that's a very good guitar! Had a chance to play such once and enjoyed it a lot, so guess you're very lucky

Have fun with your guitar adventure. If you are a mandolin player you already have a feel for string instruments.

Your guitar is a good starter guitar. I own the original version, a Gibson Hummingbird (One of my Favorites).

I'd like to suggest you bring the guitar to someone who plays to make sure the action is set correctly. Most guitars need to be tweaked a little.

You don't need to use a pick just because it has steel strings. Short nails or just the flesh is fine for a bit of fingerstyle.
Nice guitar BTW, but I agree on the pickguard. Still at least it doesnt have the bridge from the Gibson J200, which it is based upon.

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You don't stop playing when you get old, you get old when you stop playing!
My musical endeavours on my blog https://mymusictree.blogspot.co.uk/