Need Some New Direction PLEASE!!!

[daza152]

Hi I havn't been playing very long and I'm on my 3rd attempt at learning to play. This time around I am better than I ever were. I am now at the stage were I can play all the open position chords with ease(apart from the f chord). I can play Wish You Were Here alright, even sing and play along to the actual song same with Knockin' On Heavens Door, Bob's version...and was pretty much playing anything with open chords and a strumming pattern to follow. I now face the problem of what do I do now?? Should I carry on doing what I'm doing now until I have it very good or start learning the dreaded barre chords? I also like the blues and thought that would be where I'd like to head eventually. My fear is without some direction it might all become just to over-whelming and give up, which I definately don't want to do as I feel I have learnt the first step of playing, I guess the smart thing to do is not to do too much too soon right? go back and play the songs I know and learn to play barre chords as this is a necessary part of playing the guitar. I have taught myself through books and you tube, and now at a crossroads can you please make some suggestions. Thanks.

Daza.

[mr.meeogy]

I hit your stage about last week. I've been working on barre chords, it's pretty fun although it hurts my thumb.

Also working on singing WELL while playing... although that still needs ALOT of work

Good luck!

[daza152]

Originally Posted by mr.meeogy

I hit your stage about last week. I've been working on barre chords, it's pretty fun although it hurts my thumb.

Also working on singing WELL while playing... although that still needs ALOT of work

Good luck!

Hey thanks for your reply, nice to know there is someone else out there around the same level as me...Yeah aren't barre chords a real pain in the....finger LOL. as for the singing apparantly thats not as easy as people think it is especially if your trying to think what chord comes next eh? thats why I only do it on two songs that I learnt to play inside out, before starting to sing along and it does help you, thats for sure. So I keep at the barre chords if you keep up the singing...deal?

Daza.

[jseth]

... don't give up! Although I've been playing for a REALLY LONG time now - over 50 years, lol! - I still remember how it felt to get through different stages of learning the guitar; it was as though I had reached a plateau and just couldn't quite get to the next level...

Just keep doing what you're doing, keep pushing yourself a little bit at a time; like, play and sing "Knockin'..." WITHOUT the song playing in the background...

Learn from everyone you can - so much of my playing has benefitted from watching and learning from other players... and that won't ever stop. Realize that playing the guitar really is a journey; you can't really get it wrong, because you will never get it done. Enjoy the ride! Always have fun with your instrument, and be easy with yourself... the first time is always the most difficult and challenging, and believe me - there will be as many challenges as you want to take on!

Barre chords are a challenge, it's true - learning them will certainly let you know if your guitar is set-up properly... they are VERY difficult on a poorly set-up guitar! Once you get the hang of them, they are invaluable - and then you'll be on to the next thing...

play on................................................ .......>

John Seth Sherman

"This guitar was given me by old man Thomas Gray;
It's not too much to look at - but I pick it, everyday.
It's been across the country, 4 or 5 times, I guess.
Between me and old man Tom, it never got much rest..."
Guy Clark, "Step Inside This House"

[daza152]

Originally Posted by jseth

... don't give up! Although I've been playing for a REALLY LONG time now - over 50 years, lol! - I still remember how it felt to get through different stages of learning the guitar; it was as though I had reached a plateau and just couldn't quite get to the next level...

Just keep doing what you're doing, keep pushing yourself a little bit at a time; like, play and sing "Knockin'..." WITHOUT the song playing in the background...

Learn from everyone you can - so much of my playing has benefitted from watching and learning from other players... and that won't ever stop. Realize that playing the guitar really is a journey; you can't really get it wrong, because you will never get it done. Enjoy the ride! Always have fun with your instrument, and be easy with yourself... the first time is always the most difficult and challenging, and believe me - there will be as many challenges as you want to take on!

Barre chords are a challenge, it's true - learning them will certainly let you know if your guitar is set-up properly... they are VERY difficult on a poorly set-up guitar! Once you get the hang of them, they are invaluable - and then you'll be on to the next thing...

play on................................................ .......>

John Seth Sherman

"This guitar was given me by old man Thomas Gray;
It's not too much to look at - but I pick it, everyday.
It's been across the country, 4 or 5 times, I guess.
Between me and old man Tom, it never got much rest..."
Guy Clark, "Step Inside This House"

Hey awesome thanks for that sound advice, BTW I'm 41 years old and I am not about to give up. My daughter is about to start learning the guitar so we can play together, you just gave me a brilliant idea maybe I should take my guitar to the shop and see if they think it is properly set up? because if its not then that'll help but if it is I'll persivere, nearly getting it too.

Daza.

[mr.meeogy]

Originally Posted by daza152

Hey thanks for your reply, nice to know there is someone else out there around the same level as me...Yeah aren't barre chords a real pain in the....finger LOL. as for the singing apparantly thats not as easy as people think it is especially if your trying to think what chord comes next eh? thats why I only do it on two songs that I learnt to play inside out, before starting to sing along and it does help you, thats for sure. So I keep at the barre chords if you keep up the singing...deal?

Daza.

Lol sure, but pretty sure you'll get content with your barre chords far before i'm content with my singing.... I still only sing alone for the welfare of others..

[Ryler]

I integrated the learning of barre chords along with the learning of everything else so as not to overwhelm my left hand. A little at a time type thing. I had the concept of barre chords (the shapes of major, minor, 7ths, etc.) based on what string the root note is played on in my head well before my hand could smoothly execute them. The book Fretboard Logic was great for that, btw.

I identified what type of music I enjoyed listening to and decided that fingerpicking was going to be my goal and have stuck with it ever since. Having that focus allows me to sift through the varied lessons offered on line and to take a more targeted approach to learning guitar.

Have you given any thought to finding an instructor?

[golfer]

You may already know this, but a well set up guitar can be helpful with barre chords, especially if you can set the strings closer to the frett board as in a finger style set up.

[moconno1]

Keep playing what you know, and when you're ready you'll start on barre chords. I like to pick just a couple of chords (sometimes even 1) and mess around with different tempos and changes. It's not how much you know in terms of chords/scales, it's how well you know it

[BULLSPRIG]

Use your thumb and index finger as a pick. Toss down your pick if you use one. Take a break from fingerstyle. Spend about 15-30 minutes noodling around, strumming with just your thumb and index finger together. You're actually striking the strings with the top of your fingernails. Mess around with open chords, easy and simple chords. E minor with just 2 fingers on the neck, for example. A minor and lift your pinky off. G major and lift your pinky off the 1st string. Strum and strum. Experiment around the neck with just 1 or 2 fingers on the fret board. The goal is simple and easy. Try to strum a chord with the top of your nails on the strumming hand. Like a walrus flipper. Down stroke. Then upstroke with your thumb. Mess around with this. Its a form of flamenco strumming. Change, change, experiment around.

have fun

[ewalling]

Playing barre chords is not the be-all and end-all. One can still play chords up the neck without them. Okay, maybe eventually you'll feel better with them, but I don't see them as a necessity straight away, particularly when you can use your thumb to play the bass strings.

To keep your motivation levels up, I say try and learn something that you would enjoy listening to ... now. If you like blues, get hold of a tutor book with tab and CD/DVD with some blues songs you like and go for it. I think the danger for many learners is struggling with things that may not be an immediate priority. I remember learning, within my first year, the barre version of the standard C chord. It's a monstrous chord position that I absolutely never use. In fact, hardly any of what I do now - fingerstyle blues and ragtime - involves full barre chords.

[tbeltrans]

My recommendation is to get away from the books and stuff and learn music that you WANT to play by ear off recordings. There are several products out that will slow down the recording without changing pitch. This is something I do nearly every day - it gets easier with practice just like anything else. For the vast majority of people (99.9%) tone deafness is a myth and the relative pitch you need for this task is something you learn by doing. You learn a lot of things by going slow and steady, day by day with this. I find that the easier the device for slowing down tunes is to use, the more likely that I will actually use it. Most of the time, I have a few minutes here and there to work with, so firing up a computer and loading software is to time-consuming. I have recently discovered that the Boss Micro BR (the little plan-size recorder fro Roland) does a REALLY nice job with this. It can slow an MP3 down to 25% of original speed and it still is easy to hear.

Anyway, that is my suggestion.

Edit: I do think that books and DVDs are a good thing, so I am not advocating throwing those away. But maybe take a break and learn to play some music that really motivates you to put in the time. Learning by ear off a recording that you really enjoy listening to anyway will certainly do that.

Tony

[walternewton]

I second the suggestion that if you're interested in learning/playing blues, then go ahead and look for some good instructional material in the blues style you're interested in and jump in.

I can understand not wanting to spread yourself too thin, but I think you'll be able to work on your basic open position and barre chords in parallel to whatever blues study you're interested in without trouble. (In fact, if you already know E, A, and B7 you can start practicing a basic 12 bar blues progression in E right now...)

[daza152]

Originally Posted by walternewton

I second the suggestion that if you're interested in learning/playing blues, then go ahead and look for some good instructional material in the blues style you're interested in and jump in.

I can understand not wanting to spread yourself too thin, but I think you'll be able to work on your basic open position and barre chords in parallel to whatever blues study you're interested in without trouble. (In fact, if you already know E, A, and B7 you can start practicing a basic 12 bar blues progression in E right now...)

Hi I know those chords and just learnt the B7 the other night very bluesy and so is the A7 and E7 just don't know how to use them in any progression thanks for your advice and everyone else its appreciated.

Daza.

[RevGeo]

Hey Daza, try this:
Make an E7 chord. Do 16 strums (just straight down stroke strums)
Make an A7 chord. Do 8 strums.
Make the E7 chord. Do 8 strums.
Make a B7 chord. Do 8 strums.
Make the E7 chord. Do 8 strums.

Repeat over and over. That is the standard 12-bar blues progression.
Have fun,

Rev George