Newbie Guitar Learner

[miaharris]

Hey y'all,

I hope this message finds you well. Recently, I picked up the guitar, and I've been using the Guitar Learning Game by Deplike app to help me along the way. I've been practicing chords and strumming patterns, and I'm slowly getting the hang of it. But I'd love to hear about your personal experiences with learning the guitar. Did you have any challenges when you were starting out? How did you overcome them? And for those who also use guitar learning apps, what tips do you have for making the most of them?

[JKA]

Back in the day when I began learning guitar there was no interweb thingy. This was the late 60's. I had a John Pearce book and some coloured stickers for the fret board so I could try and make a chord shape. Avoided F for as long as I could. Man, that was a hard chord to get down.

What worked for me was a little practice every day and eventually things started to fall into place.

If you can, find someone to play with who is nurturing and patient.

There are so many apps out there it can be confusing so I'd recommend finding an easy song you like and work on that first. Once you can play a song without hesitation you'll be amazed at how quickly you'll progress.

Enjoy the journey but take lots of breaks.

[rsay777]

One resource I used and continue to use today is Justin Guitar online courses. Just search Justin Guitar dot com. He appreciates donations but the most courses are free.

[The Bard Rocks]

Muscle memory is your friend (or enemy). It allows your fingers to "remember" a chord shape and automatically go to it when your brain gives it the OK. It enables your right hand to do repetitive stuff like strumming or fingerpicking automatically, without have to consciously think about it.

We are all capable of harnessing this. Some are faster at it than others. With enough practice, it allows your left hand fingers to even form an F chords with fingers covering more than one string at a time. Or, my hardest, a B7. Later on, your muscles will remember riffs and runs and you won't have to think about it, they will just do it when your brains tells them to.

It's a neat process and there's a lot of fun to be had developing it

[Jamolay]

Originally Posted by rsay777

One resource I used and continue to use today is Justin Guitar online courses. Just search Justin Guitar dot com. He appreciates donations but the most courses are free.

A second for JustinGuitar.com

I would recommend starting at the beginning and following the first 3 course levels in sequence. Well organized.

[JonPR]

I started even before JKA. 1965 for me, and a Bert Weedon book.

My challenges - as I remember them now (seared forever into my memory...)

1. Blisters on the fingers. Played for too long! Have to stop while they heal! (How dumb is that...)

2. Lowering the action by sawing down the nut slots with a junior hacksaw.

3. Putting a shim under the nut because I went too far with the hacksaw.

4. Dreaming about eventually being able to play the F chord! Such crazy teenage ambitions...

5. Discovering F was much easier to play in this shape: x-8-7-5-6-5. This - and the use of a capo - opened the door to what I discovered many years later was called "the CAGED system". If only I'd known people made money out of writing books on it...

[srick]

Mia -

We're all different. And we all come with different strengths and different 'ears' coming into this game.

I started at age 53, and looking back, now realized the challenges that I faced. Here they are:

• Establishing a good sense of rhythm and feeling 'the beat'
• Chord Changes
• Learning how to 'parrot back' the music. IOW, was I listening closely enough to mimic the notes and the tempo?

And there were many other challenges. One that comes to mind is that blues is played 'off the beat' - we call it syncopation. But when you learn, you learn to play on the beat and it doesn't sound right. Sort of like comparing a march done by the Marine Corps band vs. a Dixieland Band. Another was finding a guitar that was a good fit for me.

I am pretty much self taught from online courses. BUT, I have taken in person weekend workshops several times, and they were invaluable. With in person lessons, finding the right teacher can be tough, and they are more expensive.

And maybe the biggest test of how I had progressed was when I decided to play an Open Mic. There's nothing like performance anxiety to really focus you and get you learning.

For now, have fun and explore. Get yourself into that altered state where you can skat sing the songs you like and strum along to them. Act cool and your music will sound cool.

Enjoy. It's a great hobby and a very deep rabbithole.

best,

Rick

PS - you never stop learning; you will never be as good as you want to be; you will always make mistakes and the secret is to keep the rhythm going and keep playing.

[TBman]

When I first learned (1964) I had taken a few lessons (I was 9). After a year or so my friends were also learning and we would get to together with someone's older brother's music books and learn songs and chords. Trying to sing along in tempo and changing chords to keep up was the meat of our little jam sessions.

Now I don't sing and play, I just play instrumental stuff, but get some songbooks of stuff you like and go at it.

As others pointed out, get your guitar setup so playing is not harder than it has to be.

[guitargabor]

Find a capable in person teacher!

I went thorough a couple before I discovered an exceptional full time instructor.One that had similar musical tastes and connected with my goals.

Instead of adding to our screen time, it's more motivating to drive to a weekly music teaching session .There are huge benefits to a direct personal interaction.

Make sure to have a proper set up on your guitar so you are not struggling with fretting.

I began on electric which offered a nice transition toward acoustic playing.

Like any endeavor ,you only become adept by....practice,practice,practice..

Good luck and enjoy the ride!

[miaharris]

Originally Posted by rsay777

One resource I used and continue to use today is Justin Guitar online courses. Just search Justin Guitar dot com. He appreciates donations but the most courses are free.

I've been using the Guitar Learning Game app. It's really helpful for beginners like me since it turns learning to play favorite songs with a few chords into a fun game. I'll definitely give Justin Guitar online a look too. Thank you so much

[miaharris]

Originally Posted by guitargabor

Find a capable in person teacher!

I went thorough a couple before I discovered an exceptional full time instructor.One that had similar musical tastes and connected with my goals.

Instead of adding to our screen time, it's more motivating to drive to a weekly music teaching session .There are huge benefits to a direct personal interaction.

Make sure to have a proper set up on your guitar so you are not struggling with fretting.

I began on electric which offered a nice transition toward acoustic playing.

Like any endeavor ,you only become adept by....practice,practice,practice..

Good luck and enjoy the ride!

A guitar teacher feels pretty pricey for what I can afford. So, I'm trying to make progress using apps and online resources. Right now I'm using Guitar Learning Game that costs $5 to $10 for me. Thanks for the suggestion!

[JackC1]

Originally Posted by miaharris

Did you have any challenges when you were starting out?

Yes, I had a lot of challenges. So many that I actually quit the guitar. That was my first attempt at learning.

Originally Posted by miaharris

How did you overcome them

My second life in guitar came 2 years ago playing for my son. Having a purpose for guitar really made a difference. Oh, I bought better guitars with setups this second time around; so perhaps having easier-to-play guitars also helped.

Originally Posted by miaharris

And for those who also use guitar learning apps, what tips do you have for making the most of them?

I took in-person lessons both times.

However, this second time around, I also use these additional resources:

- https://www.classicalguitardelcamp.com/ for self-teaching (it's an amazing free resource for the self learner; you post videos of your playing and receive critical feedback).

- Fender Play and Justin Guitar (on Youtube) to learn specific songs;

- I also bought a few guitar books and DVDs on my own for general learning.



Good luck!

[mawmow]

It depends on the target you aim at I guess :
You want to play in your leisure times or get to a level you can sell your playing ?

I am a leisure times player. I touched a bad folk guitar as a teenager… and got
back at playing some years later with a 3/4 nylon (borrowed from my brother).

Then I bought fakebooks, learned new chords through learning new pieces.
I would play pieces I could easily play and try some new ones during a session.
I never tried to rush a new piece in : time and patience help skill progression.

I got more time for the guitar when I retired.
I wanted to add bass runs and turned to fingerstyle while exploring old Blues.
I bought a bunch of Stefan Grossman’s Workshop books as well as others.

I now own a bunch of fine acoustics I would play some every single day.
By the way, a good set up is mandatory.

I had rythm problems for years and took weekly sessions with a professional
player to help cure those as well as correct some bad technical habits.

I still play, more efficiently than ever, but only at home.

[Aspiring]

I started in the early 90s. I stopped for a long while then picked it up again in 2018.

I was working through books and magazines in the 90s. The internet / interactive / video resources available today making things massively easier to learn.

I also had no idea about setups and the guitars I had in the 90s which were both newly purchased and nice at the time (both in the 1k-2k range then) had terrible setups which held me back.

The second time around I also used an in person teacher for a while that really helped with areas that I wasn't able to identify myself.

[ShawnE]

High five brother, I've just started learning as well - maybe even newer than you, I'm only 11 days in....

I can already see that the key for me is to refrain from trying to go too fast too soon - whether that's the pace with which I'm actually physically playing, or the speed of trying to get to the next module sooner. Slow slow slow. Once I think I'm ready to move on I plan to consolidate by spending at least an extra few days (maybe a week) continuing to run over what I've most recently learned from the lesson(s) to date before actually moving on.

I'm documenting my learning journey on YouTube & will be highlighting all struggles I face & how I overcome them - feel free to follow the journey: New Life With Guitar