Basics:
- 6th string is the one closest to you, 1st string is closest to the floor, lol.
- What standard tuning is from the 6th to 1st string... EADGBE.
- No matter how bad you want to shred leads, start with rhythm, you won't regret it and in the end you'll be a well rounded player.
- Playing guitar isn't something you can "do" in a month... it's a life long thing. It may take years for you to get to a point you'll happy with. Just remember, Rome wasn't built in a day!
- Playing chord progressions is a great way to train your fingers and finger independance. Don't waste your time on all these exercises and books that say it'll help you so much. I made that mistake when I started.
- Don't spend your time on exercises that "keep your fingers close to the fretboard"... biggest waste of time ever. That comes with time and patience, as you build speed you'll see you'll be doing it on your own without even knowing it.
- Play clean before you play fast. The way I see it, if you can't do it cleanly, you can't do it at all. Take your time and slow it down as much as needed... playing guitar isn't a race.
- Always start slow and build speed up.
- If you get bored with chord progressions find a tab for a tune that incorporates some of the chords you've learned. Use
http://ultimate-guitar.com, hands down the best site around. AC/DC is a great place to start.
- Most of all, have fun!
Hope that helped a bit, good luck with the playin'!