Some advice for the beginner player.

[TBman]

Slow down. Your guitar hero, who ever they may be, has been playing guitar forever. You aren't going to play or sound like them. You will learn to play better, but you will still sound Iike you.

You're not going to pick out one of their songs or lessons and nail it in 3 or 4 days.

You will still get string buzz once in a while and miss a note here or there.

It doesn't matter, just relax, have fun. Record yourself now, note the date, then record the same thing a year from now. Then you'll hear the difference. That old saying "you can't see the forest because of the trees" really applies to guitar playing pretty well.

[cattzap]

Don't tell yourself you cant. Tell yourself you will and do what you do from the heart. Don't overthink it. Your only limit is yourself

[SprintBob]

My tips as a 4+ year beginner intermediate:

1. Set goals, have structure to your learning.
2. Dedicate time to it every day you can.
3. Slow is the only way to learn to play fast. Strive to play it accurately first, musically second (i.e. it sounds good to a listener), fast last.
4. Keep a log or journal of your progress.
5. Buy different picks (thin, thick, teardrop, triangle), it's a very cheap way to get a big range of tone from a single guitar.
6. Same with strings - try different strings on the same guitar, learn what you like.
7. Learn to love your metronome or drum backing tracks.
8. Consider a teacher.
9. Playing with others is a lot of fun (and productive).
10. Check out forum member Eric Skye's 30 Day Guitar Challenge (he has a YT channel). Some of the best and most practical advice for making your guitar journey fun and productive.

That's what comes to mind off the top of my head, there's a lot more.

[1neeto]

Metronome is your friend. Missing a note or a chord here or there will never sound as bad as having bad rhythm. Missed a note, who cares, keep playing.

[s0cks]

Originally Posted by 1neeto

Metronome is your friend. Missing a note or a chord here or there will never sound as bad as having bad rhythm. Missed a note, who cares, keep playing.

This is good advice. Try and keep the song moving when you mess up. It's better to hit a duff note, or miss it entirely and stay in time than it is to repeat the duff note, or pause, or slow down, and mess up the rhythm. Most listeners won't even notice u messed up if you keep the rhythm going.

[1neeto]

Originally Posted by s0cks

This is good advice. Try and keep the song moving when you mess up. It's better to hit a duff note, or miss it entirely and stay in time than it is to repeat the duff note, or pause, or slow down, and mess up the rhythm. Most listeners won't even notice u messed up if you keep the rhythm going.

Yep when I was teaching my friend about chord progressions I messed up a few chords on purpose and then I asked if he noticed and he said he didn't. That was the lesson there, to not get all messed up about fumbling a chord, just keep playing and most won't even notice.

[TBman]

Originally Posted by 1neeto

Yep when I was teaching my friend about chord progressions I messed up a few chords on purpose and then I asked if he noticed and he said he didn't. That was the lesson there, to not get all messed up about fumbling a chord, just keep playing and most won't even notice.

Yep, I'll blow a note and got all worried and mad at myself about it and then realize there's like 100-150 notes in the song and that's a pretty good "notes done right" percentage

[1neeto]

But I must be clear to try and practice to play cleanly, otherwise you'll be just another sloppy guitar player. If there's a certain chord or scale that gives you trouble, practice it until you get it right. Muscle memory doesn't discriminate, if you rehearse mistakes, then you'll have a hard time unlearning sloppy playing.

[Ze.]

Originally Posted by TBman

Slow down. Your guitar hero, who ever they may be, has been playing guitar forever. You aren't going to play or sound like them. You will learn to play better, but you will still sound Iike you.

You're not going to pick out one of their songs or lessons and nail it in 3 or 4 days.

You will still get string buzz once in a while and miss a note here or there.

It doesn't matter, just relax, have fun. Record yourself now, note the date, then record the same thing a year from now. Then you'll hear the difference. That old saying "you can't see the forest because of the trees" really applies to guitar playing pretty well.

Been wondering about this ...when do i unpack my recording gear again .Do i record my self now while i'm still getting the strings under my fingers and have to deal with all the tech that recording and editing can bring which eats up time or do i leave that side of things to better qualified people than me when i get polished better at fingerpicking ...

i dont know .something tells me to leave that distraction alone for now but i'm also fascinated by the recording and editing side of things .It took over from my practising last time i played and almost became a full time job .Maybe just sit in front of the laptop webcam will be enough recording for me right now but to get into recording does make you a better musician and brings more understanding

[colchar]

Originally Posted by cattzap

Don't overthink it.

This is the truth right here. It is something I wish I had been told or realized, and is something I still struggle with at times despite knowing that I shouldn't overthink things.

[TBman]

Originally Posted by Ze.

Been wondering about this ...when do i unpack my recording gear again .Do i record my self now while i'm still getting the strings under my fingers and have to deal with all the tech that recording and editing can bring which eats up time or do i leave that side of things to better qualified people than me when i get polished better at fingerpicking ...

i dont know .something tells me to leave that distraction alone for now but i'm also fascinated by the recording and editing side of things .It took over from my practising last time i played and almost became a full time job .Maybe just sit in front of the laptop webcam will be enough recording for me right now but to get into recording does make you a better musician and brings more understanding

How about cell phone video? That's how I've done a couple of them.

[Ze.]

Originally Posted by TBman

How about cell phone video? That's how I've done a couple of them.

i'm sure my daughters phone would be up to it not a bad idea .
Just had a look in my gear and i found my little H2 zoom ...never had a chance to use it but it seems quite simple to use

[TBman]

Originally Posted by Ze.

i'm sure my daughters phone would be up to it not a bad idea .
Just had a look in my gear and i found my little H2 zoom ...never had a chance to use it but it seems quite simple to use

I'm thinking about getting one of those Zoom recorders. I think the mics and usb setup I have is too hard to get decent recordings with,

[s0cks]

Originally Posted by 1neeto

But I must be clear to try and practice to play cleanly, otherwise you'll be just another sloppy guitar player. If there's a certain chord or scale that gives you trouble, practice it until you get it right. Muscle memory doesn't discriminate, if you rehearse mistakes, then you'll have a hard time unlearning sloppy playing.

I always practice something until it's effortless. You will always make mistakes if your uncomfortable with a certain part of the song, or a certain technique. Because being uncomfortable = not confident = more tension = mistakes. So you have to be disciplined and honest with yourself. If you're not 100% comfortable with a particular part of a song, practice it very slowly until it's easy and effortless.

Another note. Humans actually have a musical buffer (this has been researched). We can think ahead about what we are to play next. From memory, the best sight readers can go 12 bars ahead, but for us humble players who maybe don't sight read, just thinking about the next bar or two should be enough to keep you moving.

[Ze.]

Originally Posted by TBman

I'm thinking about getting one of those Zoom recorders. I think the mics and usb setup I have is too hard to get decent recordings with,

I also have a Roland BR 800 recording station but it means getting out mics and mic stands and i just upgraded it and never done the learning curve so I'd have that to do ....all i want to do for now is play so the zoom i think will be enough and it gets good sound