Hi
I've been trying to learn the guitar for some months now, but recently hurt my index finger at the joint so haven't been able to play like I use to for some weeks now. But this injury got me thinking that I'm probably doing something wrong when practicing. I have mainly been trying to follow the program at justinguitar.com and the lessons here at guitarnoise, but also looking up tabs for other songs as well. Just a few days ago I started looking at the principles for correct guitar practice by Jamie Andreas. I've been reading a part of the book and looking at the videos, it seems really great, but I have had some trouble understanding it, and I also can't find anything about strumming in the program, has this part been left out ? Got some problems with my concentration and it really takes A LOT of effort for me to complete a book or videos such as this, so I would just like to check before I try, if this is the best way to go about learning the guitar ? What do you think is the best way to learn playing the guitar in a correct (and preferably fast) manner ? The guitar principles program seems very detailed and good but I get the feeling I'm understanding it wrong or doing the exercises wrong all the time, I can't seem to figure out the structure it is put in which makes it hard to remember all the exercises. So what do you think, should I try to stick with this program, or is there anything that is equally good for learning correct practice that I should try, maybe that is more easily explained or got less text but the same content ? It is mainly the practice instructions I am looking for, not so much the chords themselves. Also I'm wondering if this book is just for fingerstyle players, or classical guitarists since I could not find any information about strumming ? This turned out to be a long post, hope it isn't hard to understand. Thank you
Peace
Probably if you think you are not practicing correctly, you are not practicing correctly. I mean, sometimes we don't know "why" but we know something is wrong.
If you are new to guitars, a teacher will help you. A teacher can fix wrong postures or the strength that you need to apply to the strings. Usually it is described in the books and videos but it is better if somebody helps.
No experience with Jamie Andreas (I read some articles at GN) and Justin Sandercoe (I watched some of his videos). The GN lessons are good. Perhaps the Jamie Andreas' program is a little bit advanced for you. I don't know. I have bought some very good books and after some weeks I decided to wait a couple of years. I don't know if your are reading the Sight Reading thread. There are some books recommendations there.
And just a comment. You said:
What do you think is the best way to learn playing the guitar in a correct (and preferably fast) manner?Remember while you are learning, you are already playing. Enjoy each exercise or practice, you are playing your guitar! It must be fun! I always try to do the best I can if it is a complex etude or it is the major scale.
Because of the injury you think you're doing something wrong in practicing... did you hurt your finger playing guitar?
If you did, you're definitely doing something wrong. And if that's what happened, you need to find a teacher.
Seriously - videos and books can be great, but they can't give you any feedback. And it sounds to me like you've got an attention disorder that you struggle with - which is going to make it even harder for you to self-diagnose and correct whatever you're doing wrong. It's probably something simple - so spend the money on a lesson or two instead of a book.
As far as finding the best practice method, there isn't one. Everyone has different abilities, deficits, and aspirations. Any method that give you a "do x for 20 minutes, then do y for 10" will work for a FEW people, but there are more effective ways for the rest of them. You need to figure out what your goals are, and then accurately identify what you should be doing, and what you need to be doing better, in order to reach them. Then you experiment to find a practice sequence that gives the best results in the most efficient way.
And you'll keep repeating that - your abilities and flaws will change over time. What works for you now won't be the 'best' way to practice next year.
Guitar teacher offering lessons in Plainfield IL
Yes, it was hurt when playing the guitar. I have not yet checked out the sight reading thread, but will do. I'm also going to try to get ahold of a guitar teacher that I can see, probably next week. But have not had the economy to afford ongoing lessons earlier, and everywhere I look people are saying that you need to practice the correct way, otherwise you might as well not do it at all. But yes, a real teacher sounds like a great idea. Maybe some book/video/program would be great to have alongside real lessons in order to progress as quickly as possible ? Thanks for the replies and help
Jamie Andreas offers learning material which I'm sure is quite good but the thing I think is most important is that she has documented important facts about learning.
The principle of focused attention and correct practice is wonderful. Not just for guitar but for anything you want to do.
I'm able to play stuff that a few years ago I would have said would be totally impossible. Not so. Just perfect practice, repetition, and not expecting to get it for awhile. I have one bass line I play for a piece that took me 6 weeks just to get the bass line. But knowing how to learn it and having confidence that I will, made it happen.
Unimogbert
(indeterminate, er, intermediate fingerstyle acoustic)
