beginners guitar player thread

reevesy

hi all...
had a search through this section and couldn't find one place where all beginners could ramble,ask questions....give and receive tips etc so I thought I'd create one.

at the ripe old age of 46 I decided to finally have a go...only been playing just over a month after getting an acoustic but I'm really enjoying it....I was a drummer in a punk band in my teenage years and always thought guitar playing was some sort of voodoo magic...even 3 chord punk thrashings.

people have tried to show me a few times over the years but I always thought it was out of my league and it never took but now I've the time ...sitting down on my own with a few chord diagrams and youtube videos I've managed to learn about 9 chords and a handful of easy songs ..the latest is nancy sinatras 'these boots are made for walking' which is quite easy and really bounces along.
...so I guess you'll never too old to start learning.

anyhow i'll start the ball rolling by asking how long on average does it take to master quick major and minor chord changes?
...I tend to split my practice into 2...1 half chord changes and the other just playing about.

I have noticed a bit of this muscle memory thing...late last night I just sat there going from G to D to  E minor to C and back again...closed my eyes for a sec and I was doing it with my eyes shut...thought wow...then lost it.

so I'm guessing just stick with it...I've heard a lot of people say that one day it will just happen but wondered how people have got on with it.

cheers all and hopefully theres a few beginners about

hyperfish

I'm 53. I played bass in my teens and have never taken it out of the case since.

I have always admired the skills of guitarists so last year I bought an electroacoustic but basically lost interest due to the lack of progress. Since Christmas I have regained the interest by using the JustinGuitar web tutorials and now I have gone all out and bought an electric guitar and amp.

I'm not bad at remembering the chord shapes, but a bit slow changing between them and playing them cleanly.

Still, every day there is an improvement.

reevesy

yeah onwards and upwards !
used Justin guitar quite a bit...that's where I picked up the boots are made for walking...he does a good version with the index finger coming on and off the E chord...picked the walking bass line intro somewhere else.
another site is
Free Online Beginner Guitar Lessons

is another good one that I linked in another post...which brings me onto one tip ...I learnt G major right at the start and played around with it for a while before I came across the 'rock' G or the noel Gallagher G...on andyguitars site...using the little finger which helps with some chord changes.

...trouble is I got used to playing a normal G so had to re train my fingers ...also my pinky is more tender than the other fingers so has got to catch up

Goooner

You guys may want to have a look here - The learning to play for real thread | AVForums

There's a bunch of us over 40s, that have either started from scratch or restarted after many years that hang our there and discuss all things guitar, from lessons, techniques, gear... Whatever.

I know it's in the Xbox games section, which is because a lot of us started with Rock Band Pro Guitar and moved on to learning for real from there.

No question too basic, we're all at various stages from complete beginner to intermediate

reevesy

thanks....
thought there must be a thread somewhere but couldn't find one.

though i'll be sticking with acoustic for now

did look at the xbox rock band/smith thing......mind now I've been playing for a little while I'm wondering how I would have got on looking at a tv screen whilst trying to look where I'm putting fingers.

had one of those really good play arounds today where everything landed right and sounded good....even the G to E and back again change on 2 beats was pretty smooth and quick compared to how they have been.


.....also was in a city the other the day and wandered into a guitar shop ....had some amazing looking ones ....could bring myself to have a play in a Waynes World stylee but got me thinking about potential upgrades !

hyperfish

Thanks for the link Goooner.

I'm sure there will be some interesting stuff somewhere in there for the beginner, but I've skimmed over the first and last five pages and I seems heavily focused on kit.

I'll watch the thread but it's a bit over the horizon from me at this stage.

hyperfish

This weekend I am concentrating on strumming patterns, scales and memorizing the notes on the neck.

I need to get some rhythm in there.

Goooner

we do tend to get a bit carried away with gear! Most of us have spent loads of money on gear way beyond our abilities

Don't be afraid to just jump in and ask questions or start a conversation, they're a very helpful friendly bunch and nobody will laugh, no matter how basic or silly you think the question may be. There are a few complete beginners in there that have only been playing a couple of months with the help of Rocksmith.

hyperfish

Ha. Tell my wife about it.

I'll probably jump in at some point.

reevesy

got a couple off now ...struggled a bit at first and used to 'make up' a rhythm ...DD/UU/D is a good one to start with as its applied to a lot of songs....something else I think you just get the hang of after a while

trying to learn the pattern for oasis live forever and hound dog at the mo