1 (edited by Hotwire 11-05-11 05:10:53)

Topic: Hi from a new learner

Hi there.  Felt a strong urge recently to learn gutiar and how to sing along.  I love music (some faves, Leonard Cohen, Niel Young, Cure, Smiths, Nick Cave, old Smashing Pumpkins, The stones etc) and just really feel I'd love to sit before or with a few people and play some good acoustic songs well one day.  I'd love to be able to play some of my fave songs from Leonard Cohen's first album.

I learned 11 years ago at college but my ego wasn't patient enough to master the basics and foundation as I wanted to be off playing my favorite songs etc, which of course I never was able to do as I had crappy techniques and never got them down!

This time around I'm goig slow, learning from the absolute bottom up and doing it thoroughly, not moving on from any one stage until I have it down good and clean.  Am using the 'Learn and Master Guitar' programe which seems to be a completely solid resource, as well as Justinguitar.com's beginner's course.  I even want to learn how to learn notes by ear rather than relying on an electric tuner.  Same with cords, I'll play them again and again until I can commit to meory exactly how they sound.  I will follow the course to the t, learn music theory, tab, how to recognise by ear, the whole shebang.

Already, 2 days in, those two resources have got me thinking abut posture, how I'm handling the guitar and trying to get each string of each chord to ring true and clear and not moving on from each one until I have buit up the finger strength and technique to do that.

Been doing finger and strumming exercises yesterday and today and some open chords.

A, E, G are fine, can get them good and clean. in minor and 7th too.  C and D are hard though to get really clean.  Hard.

D I find just hard to get the bottom E string to ring clearly and with no buzziness, very hard for some reason for me that bottom string, 2nd fret.  Hurts like heck and seems no matter how hard I press it any distance from the fret; it still buzzes!  I'll get it though.

C I find hard because of the distance your fingers have to stretch on the fretboard.  I can finger it okay, but when fingers are spread out like that, hard to put a lot of pressure.  Also my 2nd finger touches the string below it muting it slightly.

Still, only 2 days, so to be expected for at least the 1st few months.

Am enjoying though.

Also practiced 'anchoring' with 1st finger.  Changing from A, D, E using the first finger as the anchor.  Yeah, makes it so much easier than lifting your fingers up and then pressing the next chord.  Just lift up 2 and 3 and slide 1 over and replace 2 and 3 on the new chord.

Anyway I'm sure this is all very boring, so I'll shut up.

Will practice at least an hour every morning mon - fri (I work 1.30pm - 9pm) and several hour long sessions with breaks between at weekends as I'm trying to save money and quit gambling, so I'll do this instead of going to Seoul every weekend (I live in South Korea.)

Am liking this.  Nice to have someting my mind is focused on, and to persevere with.  Feels good.  My mantra of sorts at the moment is 'I have to adapt myself to the guitar, it doesn't work the other way round, you don't just pick it up and it works for you immediately.  You have to get used to using your hands etc in new ways.'

When I feel I can play the caged chords true and clean, and can transition between them with controll, smoothness as well as speed, I'll find a four chord song to try and get down.

Untli then, building up that finger strength....

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Re: Hi from a new learner

hello

Imagine if the words of Imagine ever came true.....

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3

Re: Hi from a new learner

Hi and welcome to the forum!

Don't get too hung up with not getting each note to ring out right yet - especially as you are only a few days in. The fact that you know it is not sounding correctly is great and that will allow you to fix it as soon as you get more used to the shapes.

It is most likely not that you aren't pressing hard enough but more that you are not pressing in the correct position or one of your other fingers is also touching the string!

Anything we can do to help just ask!

Re: Hi from a new learner

welcome m8

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Re: Hi from a new learner

I think this comfortably wins the longest first post award  default/big_smile

Hotwire wrote:

Hi there.  Felt a strong urge recently to learn gutiar and how to sing along.  I love music (some faves, Leonard Cohen, Niel Young, Cure, Smiths, Nick Cave, old Smashing Pumpkins, The stones etc) and just really feel I'd love to sit before or with a few people and play some good acoustic songs well one day.  I'd love to be able to play some of my fave songs from Leonard Cohen's first album.

I learned 11 years ago at college but my ego wasn't patient enough to master the basics and foundation as I wanted to be off playing my favorite songs etc, which of course I never was able to do as I had crappy techniques and never got them down!

This time around I'm goig slow, learning from the absolute bottom up and doing it thoroughly, not moving on from any one stage until I have it down good and clean.  Am using the 'Learn and Master Guitar' programe which seems to be a completely solid resource, as well as Justinguitar.com's beginner's course.  I even want to learn how to learn notes by ear rather than relying on an electric tuner.  Same with cords, I'll play them again and again until I can commit to meory exactly how they sound.  I will follow the course to the t, learn music theory, tab, how to recognise by ear, the whole shebang.

Already, 2 days in, those two resources have got me thinking abut posture, how I'm handling the guitar and trying to get each string of each chord to ring true and clear and not moving on from each one until I have buit up the finger strength and technique to do that.

Been doing finger and strumming exercises yesterday and today and some open chords.

A, E, G are fine, can get them good and clean. in minor and 7th too.  C and D are hard though to get really clean.  Hard.

D I find just hard to get the bottom E string to ring clearly and with no buzziness, very hard for some reason for me that bottom string, 2nd fret.  Hurts like heck and seems no matter how hard I press it any distance from the fret; it still buzzes!  I'll get it though.

C I find hard because of the distance your fingers have to stretch on the fretboard.  I can finger it okay, but when fingers are spread out like that, hard to put a lot of pressure.  Also my 2nd finger touches the string below it muting it slightly.

Still, only 2 days, so to be expected for at least the 1st few months.

Am enjoying though.

Also practiced 'anchoring' with 1st finger.  Changing from A, D, E using the first finger as the anchor.  Yeah, makes it so much easier than lifting your fingers up and then pressing the next chord.  Just lift up 2 and 3 and slide 1 over and replace 2 and 3 on the new chord.

Anyway I'm sure this is all very boring, so I'll shut up.

Will practice at least an hour every morning mon - fri (I work 1.30pm - 9pm) and several hour long sessions with breaks between at weekends as I'm trying to save money and quit gambling, so I'll do this instead of going to Seoul every weekend (I live in South Korea.)

Am liking this.  Nice to have someting my mind is focused on, and to persevere with.  Feels good.  My mantra of sorts at the moment is 'I have to adapt myself to the guitar, it doesn't work the other way round, you don't just pick it up and it works for you immediately.  You have to get used to using your hands etc in new ways.'

When I feel I can play the caged chords true and clean, and can transition between them with controll, smoothness as well as speed, I'll find a four chord song to try and get down.

Untli then, building up that finger strength....

Looking for a new guitar that suits your needs? Support your local guitar shop while its still in business!

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Re: Hi from a new learner

hahaha default/lol

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Re: Hi from a new learner

LOL - yes!  default/lol

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8 (edited by Hotwire 08-06-11 06:59:53)

Re: Hi from a new learner

Well I can play all the open chords perfectly now, even c and d which I found hard at first. 

Can play all open major, minor, maj7, min7 and sus chords and make them ring out nice and clear.  Chord changes are slow but coming along.  Barre chords, I just learned the 6th and 5th string shapes for major and minor and I expect they will take up to a month to get ringing clear.  Today was second time and they are muted and buzzy as heck.

Am having most fun with learning strumming patterns with open chords and figure once I get the most popular few strumming patterns down and get my open chord changes faster, I'll start my first song which will be Dylan's original version of Knockin on Heaven's Door.

Anyhow, am a month in so thought I'd update.  Trying to do some every day, but tbh it seems to suit my style better to do several hour long session on sat and sun and a few half hour - hr long session during the week.  A couple of weekends I've jus stayed home all weekend and done an hour session, watched a movie, another session, go for a walk, another session, eat dinner, then one more session etc.

Am finding music reading boring as hell though and I hate figures and graphs (which is what the notation looks like to me.)  But I have learned where most of the notes are on the strings of the first few frets.  And some open 5th chords and power chords, but they sound shyte on an acoustic.

Anyway I really just want to be able to get my strumming and chord changes really good, don't think lead style appeals to me at all yet.

Yeah I'm long winded I guess, but still....

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Re: Hi from a new learner

Nice one - sounds like you are making good progress  default/big_smile

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Re: Hi from a new learner

Apache wrote:

Nice one - sounds like you are making good progress  default/big_smile

Thanks!

Was surprised to find that the open chords really weren't that difficult as long as I kept at it and stopped once it felt dificult.

I find my figners and hands are strengthening at an alarmingly quick pace which if was replicated at the gym, I would be ripped to shreds!

3rd barre chords practice session and today I got them ringing out true for a few trimes. 

Am finding just do them for as long as it is comfortable and then stop.  Then magically the next day, you're better at them.  Am thinkin 10 min a day of just forming and holding them, it should take me  few weeks at most to be able to strum them.

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11

Re: Hi from a new learner

Sounds like you are making great progress.

After getting the chords to ring out perfectly the next hurdle is to be able to change chords smoothly and in time.

Keep doing it slowly every day and you will get there quite rapidly!

Re: Hi from a new learner

well done

Imagine if the words of Imagine ever came true.....

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Re: Hi from a new learner

Well the barre chords are not coming on at the same pace as the open chords did with regards to gaining strength.  Man they are toughies.  Both doing them so each string rings well and then moving them as well.

Ah well, do em every day and wait I guess...  I think I haven't been doing them often enough and the increase in strenght you need as compared to the increase in strenght for open chords is much bigger!  Righty-ho, ten minutes just barres in the morning and then same again in the evening.

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Re: Hi from a new learner

I still struggle with bar cords but give it time.

Imagine if the words of Imagine ever came true.....

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Re: Hi from a new learner

We all have been through building finger strenght.

My guitar teacher even told me that the first 6 months are hardest due to the finger strenght aspect default/smile

So don't worry if you practice daily you will make it default/smile.

Just have fun and enjoy the process

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