Guitar Thread

[Tugay One Cup]

I've also embarked on learning guitar. Few lessons to begin with to learn fundamentals and how stuff knits together. I'm one lesson in, bought a fairly cheap acoustic, practicing my chords. Day 7.

Fingers hurt. Bar chords are impossible.

6 months in and I've only just started attempting barre chords.

Did you keep it up?

 

[crublue1]

Never fuck off anything that is hard, a lesson I should have learnt many years ago. They take a while but the longer you leave it the longer it will take.

If I was learning guitar again from scratch, with hindsight I'd be attempting barre chords far earlier than I did.
Even if its just covering all 6 at different frets and getting them ringing out.
It's good preparation.
Most people learn basic chords, then have this bar chord thing thrown at them and it's like learning all over again.

 

[shemnel]

Did you keep it up?

I was trying to remember when I started, so that post was a good reminder. I'm in month 5, with a month of that off due to holidays and some work stuff.

I'm not finding it easy, everyone keeps telling me not to run into it, just take time. E.g. I practice chord changes nice and steady and slowly but then in a song situation, it's all too quick and falls apart. Building in strumming patterns just throws the whole thing out of the window.

But it's better every month, without doubt. I'm going to practice some scales I think, and keep putting in minutes every day to the chord changes, which are really slow going at the moment.

 

[Tugay One Cup]

I was trying to remember when I started, so that post was a good reminder. I'm in month 5, with a month of that off due to holidays and some work stuff.

I'm not finding it easy, everyone keeps telling me not to run into it, just take time. E.g. I practice chord changes nice and steady and slowly but then in a song situation, it's all too quick and falls apart. Building in strumming patterns just throws the whole thing out of the window.

But it's better every month, without doubt. I'm going to practice some scales I think, and keep putting in minutes every day to the chord changes, which are really slow going at the moment.

I guess it's a case of getting the balance right between pushing yourself to improve but also making sure you're enjoying what you're learning.

When I started off I was pretty much only interested in riff based rock and early blues stuff so I only really learned to play one note at a time and proper chords didn't come into it for me until almost a year in. Honestly, six months down the line I was still pretty much entirely tone deaf and my guitar only got tuned when my mate came over. Must have done my parents fucking heads in. So in that regard I'd say you're probably progressing a lot quicker than you realise.

My advice with open chord changes would be to find songs you like with similar chord shapes (E/ Am or G/ C/ F) and practice those until muscle memory sets in.

With barre chords it's just about finding a combination of finger positioning and pressure which is comfortable for you. I had to learn the Hendrix way of doing it (thumb on the 6th string) because I had a pretty fucked up left wrist. It doesn't work for everyone but everyone's hands are different.

Strumming patterns can be tricky but that will just click eventually. If you're playing along to some music I'd just focus on the chord changes for now and slow the strumming down so you're just hitting the chord on the beat or even just once when it changes to the next chord.

I'm (finally) learning to drive at the moment and it's reminded me quite a bit of when I started to learn guitar or drums years ago. It's quite daunting because there are all these little processes that go into it and it's easy for it to all fall apart when you focus too hard or mess one aspect up.

But like I said, muscle memory is what it's all about. Once you get to that point of not having to actively think about what you're doing, that's when it gets exciting and there's honestly no other feeling like it.

Keep at it but make sure you're enjoying what you're learning. If it gets frustrating, try and learn something else and then come back to it later. Countless times I've tried to learn some new technique or whatever else for an hour or two and my stupid fingers don't seem to want to do it. Then I'll put the thing down and try again the next day and I get it right first time.

YouTube was honestly a god send, even moreso now. There are pretty much endless choices for lessons on any song/ technique/ whatever else you could want to learn.

Anyway, a lot of waffle and I doubt any of it is actually of any use but I like hearing about people learning to play instruments because everyone does it differently and it reminds me of when I was younger. You'll be so far ahead of where you are now in no time and you'll still be learning and improving.

 

[shemnel]

I guess it's a case of getting the balance right between pushing yourself to improve but also making sure you're enjoying what you're learning.

When I started off I was pretty much only interested in riff based rock and early blues stuff so I only really learned to play one note at a time and proper chords didn't come into it for me until almost a year in. Honestly, six months down the line I was still pretty much entirely tone deaf and my guitar only got tuned when my mate came over. Must have done my parents fucking heads in. So in that regard I'd say you're probably progressing a lot quicker than you realise.

My advice with open chord changes would be to find songs you like with similar chord shapes (E/ Am or G/ C/ F) and practice those until muscle memory sets in.

With barre chords it's just about finding a combination of finger positioning and pressure which is comfortable for you. I had to learn the Hendrix way of doing it (thumb on the 6th string) because I had a pretty fucked up left wrist. It doesn't work for everyone but everyone's hands are different.

Strumming patterns can be tricky but that will just click eventually. If you're playing along to some music I'd just focus on the chord changes for now and slow the strumming down so you're just hitting the chord on the beat or even just once when it changes to the next chord.

I'm (finally) learning to drive at the moment and it's reminded me quite a bit of when I started to learn guitar or drums years ago. It's quite daunting because there are all these little processes that go into it and it's easy for it to all fall apart when you focus too hard or mess one aspect up.

But like I said, muscle memory is what it's all about. Once you get to that point of not having to actively think about what you're doing, that's when it gets exciting and there's honestly no other feeling like it.

Keep at it but make sure you're enjoying what you're learning. If it gets frustrating, try and learn something else and then come back to it later. Countless times I've tried to learn some new technique or whatever else for an hour or two and my stupid fingers don't seem to want to do it. Then I'll put the thing down and try again the next day and I get it right first time.

YouTube was honestly a god send, even moreso now. There are pretty much endless choices for lessons on any song/ technique/ whatever else you could want to learn.

Anyway, a lot of waffle and I doubt any of it is actually of any use but I like hearing about people learning to play instruments because everyone does it differently and it reminds me of when I was younger. You'll be so far ahead of where you are now in no time and you'll still be learning and improving.

all good waffle, i assure you.

yes Youtube is amazing it really is. I quite like the Ultimate Guitar app too, just weighing up whether to take an offer of £20 for the pro full version. i'll continue to press on with chords, barre chords, and the like. it's coming, sequences are better than 2 months ago, but muscle memory still yet to kick in, I can't wait for that!!

edit: just picked up my guitar after this post to go through a few sequences and have my first snapped string! off to the music shop i go for some new strings and advice on how to change them!! was wondering when that might happen....

 

[GornikDaze]

all good waffle, i assure you.

yes Youtube is amazing it really is. I quite like the Ultimate Guitar app too, just weighing up whether to take an offer of £20 for the pro full version. i'll continue to press on with chords, barre chords, and the like. it's coming, sequences are better than 2 months ago, but muscle memory still yet to kick in, I can't wait for that!!

edit: just picked up my guitar after this post to go through a few sequences and have my first snapped string! off to the music shop i go for some new strings and advice on how to change them!! was wondering when that might happen....

Keep up the good work! I’m pretty much a year in and try and play every day if I can. A couple of days this week I’ve not played, I’m blaming the heat, but I think I just needed a break. I’m mostly playing scales and trying to improv with YouTube videos. Some days are better than others!
YouTube is your friend for string changing. Just changed mine last year, probably 3rd time in a year, I think this time was the best effort haha

 

[Onholiday(somemightsay)]

I guess it's a case of getting the balance right between pushing yourself to improve but also making sure you're enjoying what you're learning.

When I started off I was pretty much only interested in riff based rock and early blues stuff so I only really learned to play one note at a time and proper chords didn't come into it for me until almost a year in. Honestly, six months down the line I was still pretty much entirely tone deaf and my guitar only got tuned when my mate came over. Must have done my parents fucking heads in. So in that regard I'd say you're probably progressing a lot quicker than you realise.

My advice with open chord changes would be to find songs you like with similar chord shapes (E/ Am or G/ C/ F) and practice those until muscle memory sets in.

With barre chords it's just about finding a combination of finger positioning and pressure which is comfortable for you. I had to learn the Hendrix way of doing it (thumb on the 6th string) because I had a pretty fucked up left wrist. It doesn't work for everyone but everyone's hands are different.

Strumming patterns can be tricky but that will just click eventually. If you're playing along to some music I'd just focus on the chord changes for now and slow the strumming down so you're just hitting the chord on the beat or even just once when it changes to the next chord.

I'm (finally) learning to drive at the moment and it's reminded me quite a bit of when I started to learn guitar or drums years ago. It's quite daunting because there are all these little processes that go into it and it's easy for it to all fall apart when you focus too hard or mess one aspect up.

But like I said, muscle memory is what it's all about. Once you get to that point of not having to actively think about what you're doing, that's when it gets exciting and there's honestly no other feeling like it.

Keep at it but make sure you're enjoying what you're learning. If it gets frustrating, try and learn something else and then come back to it later. Countless times I've tried to learn some new technique or whatever else for an hour or two and my stupid fingers don't seem to want to do it. Then I'll put the thing down and try again the next day and I get it right first time.

YouTube was honestly a god send, even moreso now. There are pretty much endless choices for lessons on any song/ technique/ whatever else you could want to learn.

Anyway, a lot of waffle and I doubt any of it is actually of any use but I like hearing about people learning to play instruments because everyone does it differently and it reminds me of when I was younger. You'll be so far ahead of where you are now in no time and you'll still be learning and improving.

There is a lot in the bit that I have highlighted - I'm 36 and I've only recently realised that I effectively learn better subconsciously (i.e. have a go, fail, put it down, try it the next day and I've generally got it).

Lots of good advice in the above............

 

[Onholiday(somemightsay)]

I was trying to remember when I started, so that post was a good reminder. I'm in month 5, with a month of that off due to holidays and some work stuff.

I'm not finding it easy, everyone keeps telling me not to run into it, just take time. E.g. I practice chord changes nice and steady and slowly but then in a song situation, it's all too quick and falls apart. Building in strumming patterns just throws the whole thing out of the window.

But it's better every month, without doubt. I'm going to practice some scales I think, and keep putting in minutes every day to the chord changes, which are really slow going at the moment.

You'll pick this up with practice but you can 'hide' the chord change with your strumming pattern (either muting the chord allowing you to get your fingers set or open stringing it or hitting an individual string).

It basically buys you time on the transition if that makes any sense - I don't have quick hands so you just kind of develope a style that hides your weaknesses.

Well it worked for me anyways.

Enjoy and keep it going mate, it can be so so rewarding.

I still get a buzz off playing Neil Young's 'Tell me why' as it is completely different from how I used to play and really enhanced my basic style........... :-)

 

[ballbag]

Did you keep it up?

Yeah and thanks for asking. Can play barre chords to a certain degree now. Had a mate over from Sweden the other month who played for years and he gave us a few good tips and I've started practicing some songs now I'm happy with my chord transition and strumming. Using YT vids as suggested and some really decent beginner versions of some top tunes. If it takes 10 more years to sound decent, then I'll enjoy getting there.

 

[cucumberman]

Can’t remember if I posted in this thread before but I might have.

Just to walk down memory lane. I bought my first electric guitar from Argos in 1994. It was a black strat-copy called Hohner. Over the years I spent too much on guitars to the point I had about 15 at one time. I frequent Dawsons at City Centre as it’s along my walking route. Some beautiful guitars. I bought a few there. A Nighthawk tobacco sunburst, a Chris Shiflett Tele. But I also got a few from Thomann online. My Gibson, Gretsches and Fenders were from Thomann. I had to part with them on an emergency basis so had to pawn them off to that guitar pawn shop next to Arndale side entrance. Next to Johnson cleaners I think. No choice as I couldnt get any buyers in the short amount of time.

My dream guitar is the Gibson DG335 (the sky blue signature Dave Grohl) but hefty price.

Not a die-hard Metallica fan (as I’m more Led Zep person) but currently teaching my 12 year old to play Master of Puppets, because she watched Stranger Things.