Members hobbesy Posted April 11, 2008 Members Posted April 11, 2008 Well I'm about two weeks in now. I'm 37 and finally bought a guitar after thinking about it for years. Seagull S6. A LOT tougher than I thought it was going to be:) A LOT! But I'm really enjoying it so no worries there. Just had a few questions. I bought "Guitar From Scratch" and have been mainly working on chords and the really, really simple songs in the book, but don't have any yet that I can sit down and play without HUGE hesitation during changes. Just hit the first clean F chord a few nights ago (the simple one with just the first two strings fretted) and was pretty jazzed about that:) I've got really small hands, but so far I've been able to comfortably get through all the chords I've tried after working at it a bit. Stumbled onto Justinguitar.com tonight and went through some of his basic lessons that mirrored what I've already done and got to the minor pentatonic scale and it was absolute murder on my hands. Especially the low E and A..... First time I've felt like my small hands were a major issue. On scales am I supposed to be trying to hit the notes with the tips of my fingers straight like I am with chords or is it alright to hit the notes with the fingers flattened? In a way that would mute the strings above. I just can't hit the 5th and 6th strings with my pinkie straight unless I really contort my hand. It's much more comfortable if I switch the guitar over to my left knee so my elbow doesn't start to crowd my body, but it's not a real comfortable way to hold the guitar. Lastly for a beginner what, in your opinion, should I be spending the most time with right now? How do I get comfortable with the fretboard quickly? How do I stop having to pause and stare at my left hand when making changes? Scales? Just running through chords? Is simple repetition good or bad? I'd like to think nothing right now is completely wasted time and I'm not worried about being bored, but I'm sure that some things that I might not see right off would be better than others. Thanks
Members jeremy_green Posted April 11, 2008 Members Posted April 11, 2008 At this stage the most important thing for you is to just not give up. Work on a combination of chord changes, simple songs and scales. Dont beat yourself up it sounds like you are on the right track it just simply takes hours thats it. Put in the hours and make them as fun as you can. The more you play the better you will be. Do yourself a favour and get the idea of shortcuts out of your mind. Learning an instrument is a craft and the reason it is such a respected trait is BECAUSE not everyone can do it. There is no quicker way and time is not measured in days or years. It is hours with your hands on the neck. Keep it fun and dont give up. The rewards will come soon. Unfortunately in this fast food generation most people get frustrated with the lack of instant gratification and never make it through the wall to the good stuff.
Members hobbesy Posted April 11, 2008 Author Members Posted April 11, 2008 Do yourself a favour and get the idea of shortcuts out of your mind. Learning an instrument is a craft and the reason it is such a respected trait is BECAUSE not everyone can do it. There is no quicker way and time is not measured in days or years. It is hours with your hands on the neck.Keep it fun and dont give up. The rewards will come soon. Unfortunately in this fast food generation most people get frustrated with the lack of instant gratification and never make it through the wall to the good stuff. My wife walked into my tiny little slice of the house last night and wanted to know how it was coming along and I said that I felt like my hands had turned into oven mitts. I just couldn't believe that EVERYONE could play this thing! I'd always assumed it was kind of a simple instrument that you just picked up and immediately started to play. I did eke out a pretty impressive "Camptown Races" last night though. Well if you say not everyone can do it I can at least stop worrying that I was born without some necessary guitar gene:)
Members Virgman Posted April 11, 2008 Members Posted April 11, 2008 Hobbesy, You just started. Give it a few years to take hold.
Members Siwash Posted April 11, 2008 Members Posted April 11, 2008 Skills that are truly worthwhile take time to develop.
Members cheapskate Posted April 12, 2008 Members Posted April 12, 2008 Don't give up,there will be times when you'll get get frustrated and want to quit.As your fingers get tougher and get used to making some of these nearly impossible shapes things will start to get easier.A good structured practice routine is great but also keeping your guitar in an easily accessable place helps,you'll be surprised how much progress can be made just a few minutes at a time.Good luck and just stick with it.There is lots of good help and information right here on this site.
Members stratitude Posted April 14, 2008 Members Posted April 14, 2008 Here's my two cents: When first starting out people tend to want to be much further along. They want to be able to play right now, and don't realize that this instrument takes a long time to learn. In my opinion you are at the perfect place - the beginning, where everything is new, and you haven't built any bad habits or destructive belief systems about the guitar and playing. I recommend at this point you check into some instructional materials that will not only show you what you should be doing (chords, leads, etc) but also how you should be doing it (how to place the fingers on the strings, how to correctly do bends, hammers and pulls, how to correctly pick notes or play fingerstyle, how to discover muscle tension, etc.) If you fill yourself with the knowledge of what the right thing is to do, and insure you do it in your practice, you will have the foundation to become as good as you want to be. Good luck, and have fun!
Members PunkRudeBoy Posted April 14, 2008 Members Posted April 14, 2008 The biggest thing to remember is that it all just takes time. You have to earn something to truly appreciate it. Before you know it you' have no problems running through the scale you been working on for weeks, then the process starts all over when you learn a new scale, but runs a little bit smoother than before. Again just keep at it, If you get discouraged take a break, grab a drink or a snack, and come back to it a little bit later and you'll notice that you'll nail it a little bit better than before cuz your stress is relived. Anywho good luck and remember its supposed to be fun.
Members nuke_diver Posted April 14, 2008 Members Posted April 14, 2008 If you are really serious I suggest lessons. The internet or a book cannot tell you if you are doing something wrong. Not everyone has had good experiences with teachers and it might take some time to find one that works. But I think live one on one lessons will help you progress faster. My qualifications...not taking lessons for years and now that I am and have found the right teacher for me I'm finally beginning to think that I actually can play...maybe
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