Strummer or Picker? 1st Song?

[Songbird_777]

I'm not against strumming, but when I first began learning guitar, I couldn't understand why my hand was clumsier at strumming the basic chords smoothly versus picking melody notes. Eventually, I do want to achieve at least average competency at strumming after I get better with fingerpicking. Is it true that regardless of whether you're a strummer or picker, it's best to work at a dead slow tempo first and focus on accuracy before speed? I don't intend to be a fast player though... slower and simpler ballad songs are more my style. Learning about music is supposed to give me stress relief so I'll have to figure out how to not frustrate myself when I can't hit the right strings or match the beat.

I'm taking everyone's advice to heart! I sincerely appreciate all the supportive feedback and friendly hellos!

Hey, sroh! I like the videos of justinguitar and guitarnick, but I'll also check out shutupandplay to compare, thanks! There are so many Youtube tutorials, it can be confusing to know where to really start...I really like it when I can see the chord boxes, music notation, and tabs all on the same page! What's weird to me is that while I can read and play the basic melody notes on the music sheet, I have to stop and think to remember what letters those notes correspond to!

As much as I enjoy learning melodies, I suppose it's not a particularly impressive guitar skill to show off when there are the likes of many gifted guitarists such as Sungha Jung... <sighs>

[Steel and wood]

Strummer and a fingerpicker but was a strummer long before I started to fingerpick. (Having said that, I mainly play songs).

[Songbird_777]

Originally Posted by Steel and wood

Strummer and a fingerpicker but was a strummer long before I started to fingerpick. (Having said that, I mainly play songs).

Steel and Wood: What kind of songs?

I prefer my guitar to be more of a solo act, but not in a show off kind of way. It's like the guitar becomes my heart and an extension of who I am inside. I don't have the musical brain to create my own melodies, but I like to change a tune to sound personally meaningful to me. Does anyone know where I can get a simple, melody arrangement of The Fray's 'How to Save a Life'? The best I could find was one written by thestrayant on Youtube, but I think it can be simplified and shortened more. The MASH theme song fingerstyle is also soothing to listen to...And then, there's the 'Cheers' and 'Friends' theme song guitar covers too that I wish I could magically play by ear!

[Songbird_777]

I guess there are also certain songs that sound better with strumming than picking and vice versa?

[Riverwolf]

Originally Posted by Songbird_777

As much as I enjoy learning melodies, I suppose it's not a particularly impressive guitar skill to show off when there are the likes of many gifted guitarists such as Sungha Jung... <sighs>

Are you talking about picking single notes one after the other using a guitar pick?
Many people start out that way. I still devote 10-20 min per day as a flatpick exercise and because they do sound nice, some are-

Come Saturday Morning
El Condor Pasa
Greensleeves
Killing Me Softly
Moon River
Scarborough Fair
Speak Softly Love

All of these I play slowly with emphasis on timing and strength of pick attack (?)
You can also look into some slow simple Carter style songs which typically use a few basic open chords weaved with picking the melody notes and bass note runs.
It really is a big world.

[Songbird_777]

Hi, Riverwolf! And yes, I do enjoy picking notes one by one slowly for the melodies you mentioned. Scarborough Fair, Greensleeves, Danny Boy, and the Titanic theme song are among my favorites as well as Xmas songs. What are Carter style songs?

[Riverwolf]

Try google and youtube.
Also I use this guy - under 10 bucks each = note for note video and tab.

http://www.musicwithryan.com/

Titanic theme? I will look into that.

[sroh]

Originally Posted by Songbird_777

I'm not against strumming, but when I first began learning guitar, I couldn't understand why my hand was clumsier at strumming the basic chords smoothly versus picking melody notes. Eventually, I do want to achieve at least average competency at strumming after I get better with fingerpicking. Is it true that regardless of whether you're a strummer or picker, it's best to work at a dead slow tempo first and focus on accuracy before speed? I don't intend to be a fast player though... slower and simpler ballad songs are more my style. Learning about music is supposed to give me stress relief so I'll have to figure out how to not frustrate myself when I can't hit the right strings or match the beat.

I'm taking everyone's advice to heart! I sincerely appreciate all the supportive feedback and friendly hellos!

Hey, sroh! I like the videos of justinguitar and guitarnick, but I'll also check out shutupandplay to compare, thanks! There are so many Youtube tutorials, it can be confusing to know where to really start...I really like it when I can see the chord boxes, music notation, and tabs all on the same page! What's weird to me is that while I can read and play the basic melody notes on the music sheet, I have to stop and think to remember what letters those notes correspond to!

As much as I enjoy learning melodies, I suppose it's not a particularly impressive guitar skill to show off when there are the likes of many gifted guitarists such as Sungha Jung... <sighs>

Good for you that you're thinking about the actual notes and not just memorizing fingering. I'm just trying to make some listen-able music and what hits home with me are the fingerpicking of songs including melodies. A lot of Justin's beginner songs are rhythm strumming of popular songs. I've learned a bunch of them; they are great if you are using them to accompany you or someone else singing. But my singing is worse than my guitar playing. so it's not a good combination.

On the other hand, learning and memorizing 5 or so easy fingerstyle songs has my family and friends pretty impressed with my progress. It sounds like you have similar taste in music (soft ballads, classic tunes/melodies) as me. Keep it up; you'll have a library of songs in your music box in no time!

[Songbird_777]

Thanks for sharing that link, Riverwolf! For a beginner like me, I think it may be worth spending a few dollars on quality video instruction first though I eventually do want to find a 'real' teacher to help correct or improve my technique.

Sroh, what's your method for memorizing those 'easy' melodies? I try to break it up into note patterns, but my brain has always been slow when it comes to music. It's hard for me to keep the beat with the metronome because I always feel the urge to go faster or slower. Going slow can be just as hard as going faster. At least learning the guitar is forcing me to also be patient if nothing else!

[The Bard Rocks]

I have no idea what my first song was. The ones mentioned above were mostly not written when I began.... As a young teenager, I got an instruction book and started reading and following instructions, which led to strumming of course. In my listening, I have always been strongly attracted to the fingerpicking sound. My next book introduced bass runs and that got me started on individual notes incorporated into the rhythm. From the beginning, I had picked out single note melodies because I'd wanted to hear how it sounded, how the melody went. Later on, I was able to incorporate the melody into the song without breaking rhythm.

I began guitar knowing how to read music and figured I could teach myself how to do this by using books for some basics. And that obviously worked. But I might have gone much further and faster had I taken lessons. If I had someone to play with regularly back then (one I could strum up to speed), I also would have progressed much faster. I have since discovered that to play with others presents some challenges, good challenges, things that lead me to branch out or to push some boundaries. Starting on a better guitar would have helped also by making playing more pleasant.

[sroh]

Originally Posted by Songbird_777

Sroh, what's your method for memorizing those 'easy' melodies? I try to break it up into note patterns, but my brain has always been slow when it comes to music. It's hard for me to keep the beat with the metronome because I always feel the urge to go faster or slower. Going slow can be just as hard as going faster. At least learning the guitar is forcing me to also be patient if nothing else!

Slow and steady and lots of repetition. I start from the beginning, play while looking at the tabs, play several bars continuously until it's feeling natural, and then move on to the next several bars. I don't use a metronome. I try to play slow enough to be really accurate and then speed up once I am comfortable with the chord changes. I suppose one reason I favor these melodies is they play slower so are easier for me. Over time, I just get to memorize the music.

Looking back, of the tunes I learned from Guitarnick, Danny Boy was the easiest and I would suggest you start with that one. Just one tough stretch. Hallelujah was a bit tougher and Pachelbel's Canon was the toughest. Dust in the Wind and Landslide (both from shutupandplay) took a lot longer because I didn't have tabs to learn from. But Dust in the Wind is in my opinion is a 'must learn'. I read somewhere (probably here on AGF) tha Kerry Livgren of Kansas wrote the guitar music for this song as a finger picking exercise piece. I'm sure you could find a tab for that piece if you wanted.

[mlbman]

Strummer primarily here, and first song was Tom Dooley, followed by Folsum Prison Blues. I still play Folsum Prison Blues a lot and it tends to be a crowd favorite when playing for others. I am up to about 50 songs now that I can strum to proficiently. Still working on the singing though....

[Songbird_777]

Originally Posted by The Bard Rocks

I have no idea what my first song was. The ones mentioned above were mostly not written when I began.... As a young teenager, I got an instruction book and started reading and following instructions, which led to strumming of course. In my listening, I have always been strongly attracted to the fingerpicking sound. My next book introduced bass runs and that got me started on individual notes incorporated into the rhythm. From the beginning, I had picked out single note melodies because I'd wanted to hear how it sounded, how the melody went. Later on, I was able to incorporate the melody into the song without breaking rhythm.

I began guitar knowing how to read music and figured I could teach myself how to do this by using books for some basics. And that obviously worked. But I might have gone much further and faster had I taken lessons. If I had someone to play with regularly back then (one I could strum up to speed), I also would have progressed much faster. I have since discovered that to play with others presents some challenges, good challenges, things that lead me to branch out or to push some boundaries. Starting on a better guitar would have helped also by making playing more pleasant.

So, is it better to first begin with an affordable teacher or those self-instruction books? How would a beginner know anyway whether a teacher is teaching them bad habits or techniques that don't fit with the natural style of the student? It can be just as frustrating to have to unlearn something I didn't learn correctly early on. Lessons are expensive, and it seems like I'd have to go through a number of guitar teachers before finding someone whose teaching style matches my personal learning curve.

[tnez13]

For me, strumming came more naturally. My primary use of the guitar is backing up my singing so strumming works well. Over the past couple years, I've been working to expand into flat picking and some finger picking. My playing now is around 80% strum, 18% flat pick and 2% finger pick.

First song I strummed and sang from memory was "The Gambler" by Kenny Rogers. First song I flat picked from memory was "Whiskey Before Breakfast." Can't say I have any finger pick songs under me though.

I'd always recommend a live teacher for beginning an instrument. Look around and you should be able to find one that matches your desire for finger picking. Then, you can expand as you wish.

[dkstott]

Way back in 1966, I started with picks.... Slowly over time, I found that fingerstyle is my passion. If needed, I can use a pick, but it's a rare occasion.

Zen guitar--- you can only chase one rabbit at a time.