Learning to play that first chord: Remembering the challanges

[psychojohn]

Originally Posted by SFCRetired

I started with the key of C. My fingers hurt, my hand hurt, and my pride was hurt.

But I was going to learn how to play Leaving on a Jet plane if it killed me. I learned that song and many since. But I can't forget those first experiences because I still have them as I continue to learn.

Boy, you picked a tough one for the first one. I bet the others came easier, or maybe not.

John

[Chin music]

For my 17th birthday I got an Eterna (Yamaha starter line) 6 string dreadnaught. It took me nine months of playing daily before I could cleanly finger a full open C chord, all three fingers hitting the fretboard in unison, no buzzing.

I'm 46 now, having played off and on since then. I still am prone to a buzzing B string on a full barre F chord. I've learned this is a bit of a first world problem and live with it.

[island texan]

Interesting to read this today. I started out 55 years ago with C, F, & G7 before figuring out rock and roll was usually E, A, and B7. And today I am struggling to grab Gmaj7 cleanly. The beat goes on....

[jseth]

I first got a guitar that had strings on it when my Grandfather gave me a Roy Rogers Emenee guitar at age 7... although it was plastic, it did have nylon strings on it and was "sort of" playable, but I never learned a chord on it.

When I was 8, my Father gave ONE Sears Silvertone acoustic guitar to my older brother, sister and me... I jumped right in and learned how to play the melody of "Tom Dooley" using only the lower register strings; "Tom Dooley" was a huge hit by the Kingston Trio in the late 50's, and I was quite proud of myself for figuring that out...

Later that year or possibly the next year, some friends of our family were visiting; they had two girls and a boy for children, and the youngest girl, Janet Heck, showed me my first "song" on the guitar using chords... it was the theme song from "Mondo Canae", a song titled "More"... C major, Amin, F major and G7...

I don't recall learning those chords as anything terribly difficult, but I also did not expect to just 'whip them out easily" either... I think there's an aspect of being a young person where we all realize that we don't know everything, and that learning is just part of the process involved with life...

I learned the "easy" way to play that F chord with three fingers, but at the same time, Janet showed me a "real" F chord with a barre... took a while before that was the chord shape of choice, when needed...

Perhaps urging a new student of the guitar to adapt that "Beginner's Mind" would be beneficial to speeding up their progress... you know, where everything you learn is a bit like, "Oh! THAT'S interesting... hmmm...".

As adults who've knocked around the planet for a good number of years, we tend to get "good at" some things, and eschew others completely... tough to take on an endeavor where, all of a sudden, "Hey! I am REALLY not good at this..." and it can feel uncomfortable and frustrating... but one just has to go back to that Beginner's Mind and find the fascination with the thing and you're right back in the game!

[island texan]

A well written story jseth. These are the tales that engage those of us with like minds. At my house such stories are often met with a kick from under the table.

[jseth]

Originally Posted by island texan

A well written story jseth. These are the tales that engage those of us with like minds. At my house such stories are often met with a kick from under the table.

To be perfectly honest, that story WOULD get me a kick (and not under the table!) with quite a few people... I'll be heading south soon to hang with my older brother for the Holidays, and he'd be one to give me that kick, mostly verbally, thank goodness.

A lot of people seem to lapse into that "fast food" mentality when it comes to conversation... certainly, the same mentality shows up in a lot of the "big" movies from Hollywood today and in much of what is considered "hit" music, as well.

If a point is worth making, it's worth the "walk", in my opinion...

[Guitars+gems]

Originally Posted by jseth

I first got a guitar that had strings on it when my Grandfather gave me a Roy Rogers Emenee guitar at age 7... although it was plastic, it did have nylon strings on it and was "sort of" playable, but I never learned a chord on it.

When I was 8, my Father gave ONE Sears Silvertone acoustic guitar to my older brother, sister and me... I jumped right in and learned how to play the melody of "Tom Dooley" using only the lower register strings; "Tom Dooley" was a huge hit by the Kingston Trio in the late 50's, and I was quite proud of myself for figuring that out...

Later that year or possibly the next year, some friends of our family were visiting; they had two girls and a boy for children, and the youngest girl, Janet Heck, showed me my first "song" on the guitar using chords... it was the theme song from "Mondo Canae", a song titled "More"... C major, Amin, F major and G7...

I don't recall learning those chords as anything terribly difficult, but I also did not expect to just 'whip them out easily" either... I think there's an aspect of being a young person where we all realize that we don't know everything, and that learning is just part of the process involved with life...

I learned the "easy" way to play that F chord with three fingers, but at the same time, Janet showed me a "real" F chord with a barre... took a while before that was the chord shape of choice, when needed...

Perhaps urging a new student of the guitar to adapt that "Beginner's Mind" would be beneficial to speeding up their progress... you know, where everything you learn is a bit like, "Oh! THAT'S interesting... hmmm...".

As adults who've knocked around the planet for a good number of years, we tend to get "good at" some things, and eschew others completely... tough to take on an endeavor where, all of a sudden, "Hey! I am REALLY not good at this..." and it can feel uncomfortable and frustrating... but one just has to go back to that Beginner's Mind and find the fascination with the thing and you're right back in the game!

Hahaha! That's cracking me up, one guitar for 3 kids! Plus, I remember trick or treating, around age 8, with my sister and brother. A little old lady in a babushka asked us to sing a song and my little brother gave her Tom Dooley! And BTW, I am REALLY not good at guitar...but I like it anyway!

[Scallywag]

When I was teaching full-time I would occasionally flip my guitar over, as If I were playing as a lefty (I'm right-handed.) Instant noob. It's a simple way to remind yourself of how challenging this instrument can be to play, especially in the beginning.

[healyf52]

I started guitar at age 13 and within a couple of weeks was playing 'House of the Rising Sun' and singing along. Everybody I knew thought I was some kind of prodigy or something which was completely untrue. What they didn't know was that I probably played that guitar for about 2-3 hours a day until I could play the chord changes relatively cleanly. Good Lord, I was in some serious discomfort with terrible 'stingers' in my fingertips from so much playing, but I was completely obsessed with the instrument. The combination of youth and relentless determination won the day.

The older we get the speed at which we can learn anything starts to slow down so take it slow and enjoy the ride!

[SFCRetired]

Originally Posted by psychojohn

Boy, you picked a tough one for the first one. I bet the others came easier, or maybe not.

John

The only other open chords that gave me trouble was the B7 and A. I cannot to this day get 3 fingers to make an A. My ex FIL taught me how to do it with 2 fingers and I was off and running.