Hi Newbie

spottydog · Post by **spottydog** » Fri Apr 08, 2016 3:40 pm

Hi I have just joined the forum. I am 56 years old and have been trying to learn guitar for a number of years now and not really getting anywhere. I have an Epiphone Les Paul Special II guitar and am working through Joseph Alexander's book Beginner's Guitar Lessons. The Essential Guide. Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks

polyal · Post by **polyal** » Fri Apr 08, 2016 9:44 pm

my advice ( FWIW ) as always is.....without any hesitaion
get one to one tuition with a reputable teacher in your area
1 lesson with a teacher is worth any amount of books
although good books should be used for reference purposes and never ignored
you tube is another good source of information but sometimes its like the blind leading
the blind .... a good teacher will always POINT YOU IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION
and tell you what to watch and what not to watch as far as you tube is concerned
the old saying.. dont believe everything you read also applies 100% to utube
and remember you dont know whats right or wrong ( in the beginning ) a bit like the majority of utube
tuition vids
i think your comment 'have been trying to learn guitar for a number of years now and not really getting anywhere'
proves the point

spottydog · Post by **spottydog** » Sat Apr 09, 2016 6:20 am

Hi polyal. Thanks for your advice I will look for a good teacher in my area and start to get some lessons.

spottydog · Post by **spottydog** » Tue Apr 12, 2016 11:59 am

Hi,
Following advice from polyal I have found a guitar teacher and my first lesson is on Wednesday 20th April. I am really looking forward to starting and finally learning to play the guitar

polyal · Post by **polyal** » Tue Apr 12, 2016 2:23 pm

nice one..if you stick to it the only way is forward
rock on

spottydog · Post by **spottydog** » Tue Apr 12, 2016 5:34 pm

Thanks I will let you know how I get on

spottydog · Post by **spottydog** » Wed Apr 20, 2016 10:51 am

Hi. just had my first lesson with Roger. Brilliant !!!!! He started by setting up my guitar for me and boy has it made a difference. It is now much easier to play as the strings are not so far from the frets. He has started me off with "ode to Joy" and "Hush Little Baby". He said I was better than he thought I would be so I have taken that as a good sign. Can't wait to start practicing and for next week to come round.

polyal · Post by **polyal** » Wed Apr 20, 2016 6:37 pm

a well setup git is the most important criteria for every git player
no good having a fantastic sound if you cant play the f***er
anyway best of luck and dont forget the three main words
...practice practice practice

spottydog · Post by **spottydog** » Fri Apr 22, 2016 4:50 pm

HI, Can just about play ode to joy now without mistakes. It's great to finally be able to get a recognisable tune out of my guitar and even though it is just single notes it is very inspiring and a great sense of achievement. I move onto

spottydog · Post by **spottydog** » Wed Apr 27, 2016 2:38 pm

HI. Just had my second lesson have now moved onto

spottydog · Post by **spottydog** » Wed May 04, 2016 5:09 pm

Hi. still learning how to find strings without looking. Has anyone any tricks to do this or is it just down to practice and more practice

polyal · Post by **polyal** » Wed May 04, 2016 5:22 pm

spottydog wrote:still learning how to find strings without looking

without looking where?

spottydog · Post by **spottydog** » Thu May 05, 2016 6:31 am

without looking at the strings

polyal · Post by **polyal** » Thu May 05, 2016 7:15 am

most players look at what they're doing ..shouldn't worry about that at this stage
you need to see and understand everything you''re doing

spottydog · Post by **spottydog** » Thu May 05, 2016 9:25 am

Thanks for the advice. My teacher says should be able to find strings without looking and be able to feel where frets are and where strings are without having to look for them.

spottydog · Post by **spottydog** » Tue May 10, 2016 10:28 am

Hi. Does anyone have any views about using fret markers when starting to play guitar. Many thanks

polyal · Post by **polyal** » Tue May 10, 2016 1:53 pm

almost every guitar has got fret markers ie the dots or inlays
usually there is a dot at the 3rd 5th 7th 9th 12th 15th 17th etc..this is standard
+ there might be a corresponding dot thats visible on the edge of the fingerboard
so if you are playing the bottom E string that would equate to
a G A B C# E G A B etc
therefore if you are playing the string one fret higher than the 9th (fret ) pos dot you know you are playing
a D.. one fret lower would be a C
so if you learn all the notes on each "marker" (dot ) on each string then its relatively
easy to work out the notes in between ( # or b )
hope this makes sense

spottydog · Post by **spottydog** » Thu May 12, 2016 6:39 am

Hi Thanks. it makes perfect sense. but I was also thinking about the stick on markers that every note on the fretboard I wondered if anyone had come across them or maybe used them in the past

polyal · Post by **polyal** » Thu May 12, 2016 7:42 am

what does your teacher think?
it sounds very messy and unnecessary
+ i've never seen it or even thought about it
you don't need " markers" when learning and memorising chords..thats what chord charts are for
do the same with individual notes
you should know what note each string is.. go from there..its all very logical
+knowing every note on every string spontaneously at this point is quite a bit OTT

in a nut shell theres no quick fix ..but there is a fix..knuckle in and get memorising

spottydog · Post by **spottydog** » Thu May 12, 2016 5:24 pm

not talked to him about it yet. thanks for good advice not sure if the old memory is still up to memorising all I need to any longer. Now what was I talking about ha ha

polyal · Post by **polyal** » Thu May 12, 2016 8:33 pm

what was who talking about?

oh yeh..
for your circumstances it would seem that you would have to use note markers for ever
..because once you removed them you
wouldn't know what the notes were unless you memorised where the markers came from
its a bit of a catch22
best not bother with the markers and spend the time learning a few chords
and some salient notes on each string
'no wo a mean arry
rock on

spottydog · Post by **spottydog** » Fri May 13, 2016 6:59 am

Good advice "arry" i'll do that always best to get a second opinion thanks

spottydog · Post by **spottydog** » Thu May 19, 2016 2:32 pm

Hi. Had my next guitar lesson. According to my teacher I'm not coming along to badly. He has now started me on the C maj scale which everyone will know sounds like do,ra, me. I have also started to learn the song Good Luck Charm using G C and D7 chords to get used to strumming patterns. I also have two strumming patterns d d u dd and d d u d which still sounds musical but gives me a bit longer to change chords by missing out the last downstrum. I am learning at 60 bpm and trying to increase speed as I get more practice and hopefully better at playing. Has anyone any tips on practice routines. Many thanks

polyal · Post by **polyal** » Thu May 19, 2016 3:15 pm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIzYq6SZQVI

spottydog · Post by **spottydog** » Fri May 20, 2016 10:08 am

Thank you very interesting and very informative. Accuracy and stamina are the key to good playing and what I need to work on.