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never mind the tabs; listen to the records and dissect 'em
No offense personally meant to the original poster, but I get so pissed whenever someone says that, because, as another person said in reply,
NOT EVERYONE CAN DO THAT, ESPECIALLY RIGHT AWAY! The guy who said it originally is right, but only to a point. If you can, screw the tabs and play by ear, but only if it comes at least fairly easy, otherwise a beginning player needs to be taught songs to play in order to begin to understand structure, then as time goes on, the ear may develop, but it may not, or it may take several years. My sister, who is 4 years older than me, started playing when she was around 16. Our Dad drew out a few of the basic chords for her, and very quickly she was playing along with what seemed like every song that came on the radio. I followed suit shortly after, when I was around 11/12, and I was absolutely hopeless at playing by ear, I just could not do it. It wasn't until I was in my mid to late 30's, and had been in a couple of bands, that I finally developed a decent ear. I'm 40 this year and I'm a decent player, but I still sometimes struggle with anything approaching a more complex structure or involving more abstract chords. If it's barre chords and/or in the I-IV-V (1, 4, 5) song structure, usually I have no problem, but anything else can be dicey. Some people just don't have the knack for it, and at a young age the frustration it causes can be very discouraging, I quit playing numerous times because of it. And everyone on here is correct, the internet tabs can be horrible. I've found tabs that are in the wrong key, incorrect notes, poor advice on how to play the song, you name it. A store bought tab book is the way to go if tabs are to be used. I also recommend videos, as you can see and hear exactly what to do. But the best way to learn is to take lessons, if the right teacher can be found, which generally isn't too difficult. I recommend talking to the teacher first to feel him out, hear his thoughts on how to learn, and what his overall philosophy is. It's important for him to like teaching kids. It also helps if your son has a good idea of what he likes and would like to do, and if the teacher's style lines up with that.