Okay, so the biggest thing I can say right off the bat is to learn the proper posture, and to play plenty of scales. What is the proper posture? *Head level with shoulders *Left hand thumb behind fretboard at all times (unless the neck is narrow, then it's not as necessary) *If you are playing with your fingers, allow your nails on the playing hand to grow out somewhat. Shape them so that the nail and flesh strike the string as you pluck. (It produces the best tone if the fingernail acts as sort of a ramp for the string to glide off of. *Constantly exercise slurs (otherwise known as hammer-ons and pull-offs. It will build finger strength.) *If you are playing with a pick, well, look it up. It's been a while since I've used one. If you don't want to read music, then you can use tabs. (I tend to dislike them because I've been trained to read music, and I find that I can play scores faster than reading numbers.) However, if you really want to get serious about playing, I highly recommend [url=http://www.amazon.com/Solo-Guitar-Playing-Book-Edition/dp/0825636795]this book.[/url] Even if you aren't into classical music, it will teach you a shitload of techniques, how to read music, how to play several fret positions, etc. Resources: I've been playing for 20 years and I've taken private lessons at a pretty prestigious college. (I've gotten rusty :S) Anyway, hope this helps. EDIT: [b]Additional tips[/b] *when you learn a song, try playing it with a metronome. You will be shocked at how many flaws it will expose.Then you can tighten up your play style. *Here is a grueling, yet rewarding exercise you should do every day: -Starting from the low E string, play frets 1-4 -move to next string, do the same thing. Keep doing this until you reach high E. -Do it backwards until you reach low E again -play frets 2-5, repeat the above steps. Doing this will quickly build finger strength. It's boring, it will be painful, but do it enough and your muscles will be learning how to navigate the fretboard quickly. This can exercise can also be used with slurs.