Well...i've come to the 7months of playing point...ill make this quick..
1month - Could play open string easy songs and learned 2 major chords. I could also play for more than 2min.
2month - Could play harder open string songs , learned the notes and their relevance to the guitar strings (i.e) e f f# G...and where they are on the fret. I learned a couple more major chords.
3months - I could play my first open string song. A classical piece that was done at school.. Major chords are now all learned...transition is a bit smoother.
4months - Major chords are now smoothly transitioned...I'm having a bit of trouble on upstring and rythm. I know how to play open string songs with practice. I am quite fast on it.
5months - I can play some simple strumming songs and i'm building up rythm a bit.
6months - I learned "time of youre life" open string song and I start to learn glycerine and I learned a spanish strumming song.
7months - I'm learning Oceans Avenue and Glycerine...pattern and rythm are a bit more difficult ..but I do really try. I listen to the song over and over again. I'm getting used to the barre chords and I wont stop trying to get them right.
My question - Am I where I should be? I practice about 1 - 2 hours a day . Off and on and then I memorize the fretboard now. I feel that singing is going to be the next major thing I will have to get down. It just throws me off when I have my strumming pattern.
I can...
Change between em , am , c , g , e , a , f, bm, dm , d few others (i forget right now) a couple bar chords from the songs I'm learning. I can change between these chords fast and smoothly.
Know notes and where they are in the fret.
Play open picking technique.
Simple strumming patterns.
Where were you at 7 months and where do you see me in the next few months? What can I do to improve myself?
I really like guitar and I have seen improvement due to the effort I put in...but It seems like I don't know too many songs. I got tons of chords down though. It might be rythm ..i just dont know.
Thanks,
Jet :)
Looks like I was the first to post. I have no idea where I was after 7 months, although I'm sure I felt I wasn't where I should have been.
Been playing about two years and still feel the same way although lately my practice has been limited due to work.
It's been said by alot of the more experienced players before and it's definitely true, if you stick with this(no matter how long it takes) you'll get good.
Your doing fine, I'm sure your farther than some might be in 7 months and not as far as others but in the end it doesn't matter, you need to keep practicing until you get to where YOU want to be no matter whether or not it's 6 months or 6 years.
Have fun.
Chris
"It's all about stickin it to the man!"
It's a long way to the top if you want to rock n roll!
Progress really depends on the individual. Like cnev said, there are people who are more talented than most and made it farther than you in 7 months. But there are also people who have been playing for a year and are still not at your level. It think that your progress is looking good and that you are on the right track. I would recommend that you start studying some theory though.
Later
~Ryan
Gun control is using both hands!!!
At 7 months I had a couple dozen open chords under my belt. I could play about 50 songs and performed all of them in public. I don't consider myself a great talent. I owe it all to belonging to a group that practices and performs regularly. I joined this group when they first started out and they had a goal to learn 3 or 4 new songs a week. Meeting this goal put a lot of pressure on me, but it also gave me a reason to practice often. I had been playing for a month when I joined the group and could play 4 chords G, C, F and D. I've said this before on this forum and I'll say it again. Playing with others is a very good way to improve on you skills.
Tim Madsen
Nobody cares how much you know,
until they know how much you care.
"What you keep to yourself you lose, what you give away you keep forever." -Axel Munthe
Playing with others is a very good way to improve on you skills.
You know...I'm actually thinking about joining a church group that plays and meets often. They are about an hour away though. Hmm..sounds good but...It's just far.
Jet.
.
You know...I'm actually thinking about joining a church group that plays and meets often. They are about an hour away though. Hmm..sounds good but...It's just far.
Jet.
A church group is what I'm in and if I had to drive an hour it would be well worth it. The good thing about church folks is that they are very appreciative of anyone that will to play for them. Even if they're not really good. It's a great place to learn.
Tim Madsen
Nobody cares how much you know,
until they know how much you care.
"What you keep to yourself you lose, what you give away you keep forever." -Axel Munthe
Will they make practice in church?
How is the lesson plan or thing start...
Do you just follow certain instructions etc...we play this song this way--
It sounds really tempting to go out their. I actually have an uncle that is in the group playing.
If only gas wasnt so expensive :)
Jet.
If only gas wasnt so expensive :)Jet.
Trust us, It's worth it!!!
Any time you get a shot to jam with someone GO for it. When I took lesson's it was a 45 minutes trip back and forth. WELL worth it! My friend plays and is AWESOME! A trip to his house is also 45 minutes. WELL worth it!
I don't get out that much so any time I can, I try to take FULL advantage of it.
I'm going this weekend (FINALLY) to meet up with my friend (mentioned above) and work on some songs together. I can't wait, he has showed me alot and everytime we get together we have so much fun that the memories will last a life time.
Food for thought.
I haven't been playing for seven months, only about 4-1/2. So far I:
Can switch freely among most of the common open cord forms (A,C,D,E,G,Am,Dm,Em,A7,C7,D7,E7,G7, and several other miscellaneous sus, Maj7 and Min7 chords).
Am pretty decent at keeping a rhythm and using basic strumming patterns.
Have worked with and developed some proficiency at things like adding bassline notes (as in the Margaritaville lesson herein).
Know some basic theory- understand major, minor, and pentatonic scales- I can figure out the notes in any of these but I don't know them by heart. I also know how most of the common chord forms are constructed and can figure ot what the notes are in any Major, minor, dominant 7th, major 7th, minor 7th, suspended, and even added bass notes and the like.
I know how to read guitar tablature.
I am on the threshold of having the more common barre chord forms down. I can play a few songs that use these chords (A,E,Am, and Em forms). However, I'm still not 100% in being able to easlily change between them. My hand still gets tired when I try to play something with only barre chords for more than 30 seconds or so.
My weakness compared to yours is I don't know nearly as many songs as you do- I can count only about 10 or so that I know by heart. And I have never played with anyone else.
However, I, too, was considering joining my church group. Our church has a "guitar choir"; it's a few acoustic guitars, an electric bass, and some vocalists- my wife actually sings with them. They play one of the services every Sunday. I haven't approached them yet because I wasn't sure if I knew enough. However, based on what you and other posters are saying, perhaps I will go speak to the leader and tell him how much I know and see what he says. Perhaps I can ask him to give me some of thier music and I can try it out at home. My wife is saying I ought to do it; I was going to wait until the end of the year (particularly since during the fall I usually attend an earlier service so I don't miss kickoff, but maybe I can sacrifice a few minutes of the first quarter after all).
Regards,
Mike
"Growing Older But Not UP!"
JET,
I wouldn't get hung up worrying about where you are. I know there's always the feeling your not far enough along but only you can answer that guestion. Everyone learns at a different place and everyone has different goals.
Personally I've been playing for two years and I know I don't have anywhere near 50 songs down completely, but so what. I don't spend much time in trying to learn a bunch of strumming songs. For one I have an electric and most seem to sound much better on an acoustic plus I have no desire to play that stuff. So hence I don't know many of those types of songs. I get strumming songs from my teacher which I learn to help me work on rhythm and even though I play them all the way through I don't even consider them songs I can play because I really don't want to play them other than for practice.
What I want to do is to be a decent lead guitarist, where I can be able improv in every situation in any song etc., regardless of tempo.
I'm no where near that yet but I'm getting closer I know it but I will never be happy until I get there. So if someone where to tell me I should be able to play x number of songs by now or if they tell me that's all you can play I really don't care it's not about anyone else but me.
Like I mentioned before if you stick with it you will get it.
"It's all about stickin it to the man!"
It's a long way to the top if you want to rock n roll!
Well, all sports are competitive and most people think of guitar that way, too. I do at times. “Boy I wish I could play like (fill in blank.†“Man that guy is good.†“I can't play with them. They're too good.â€
I think your progress is going well. Even if all you learned in your few months with the guitar was to switch really well from G-C-D and maybe A-D-E you'd have a foundation for millions of songs you could play.
I have to suggest to you to keep your practice up but digest the guitar slowly. Why? Say you do the “I wanna kick butt and get 50 songs down by next month.†I'm afraid that goal is a bit lofty and you'll end up playing 50 songs poorly and they'll be laden with bad habits. Concentrated on things and do them thoroughly and right.
I can say this having the experience under my belt. Honestly, I asked roughly the same question as you in my 4th month I think. As noted, you will get good over the years just based on accumulating many hours of solid practice. Keep it up and keep us updated.
"Nothing...can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts."
So if someone where to tell me I should be able to play x number of songs by now or if they tell me that's all you can play I really don't care it's not about anyone else but me.
This is sort of how I feel. But hey...cnev - you're right! I'm building on knowing to play guitar - which will lead into songs later. I should just keep practicing at my pace.
Most importantly...I enjoy playing guitar. It's so fun to play that I often think of nothing else but playing a certain song or chord combo when I'm at school. I know i'll keep at it and not stop. No matter what the pressure (ill explain lateer) :)
Peace,
Jet
Jet,
I've been playing for over a year now. Never played an instrument in my life, didn't know how to read music, and didn't start playing till I was 42.
I may be close to where your at, but probably not all the way there. Don't worry about it, as long as your having fun and stay committed you'll get to where you want to be.
Perk
I'd say the technique part is pretty good. You should start to pick up some theory though. I don't really know how to explain it, but almost every guitarist i have met has said that learning theory helped their playing immensly. Also, start learnin those scales!! haha. I know it seems elementary, but really, scales are an essential part to the playing of every instrument. gotta learn em. They help your finger dexterity, coordination, timeing speed, accuracy...hey wait...scales really aren't so bad at all! :D
keep rockin the free world
*kyle sings in his best neil young voice*
The meaning of life? I've never heard a simpler question! Music.
you guys in the USA, honest you don't know you are born as far as petrol prices go!
How much do you pay a gallon over there? To drive on long straight roads......
Come on, the price of gas is no barrier to gaining valuable insight into your favorite instrument!
Over here, gas is something you pass when you have eaten too much curry, that well known British food....
only joking by the way, and no offence meant in any way!!!!!!!!!
All the best
Matt
