frustrated

Just because it says "Songs for Beginner's" doesn't mean you will pick up on it right away.

Correct me if I'm wrong but, there is a section for basic chords. If I were you (and I was when I first started, just like everyone else here) I would start with the Basic chords section. Get that down and then proceed to the easy songs for beginner's section.

You also need a Chromatic tuner (guitar tuner), that way you know your guitar is in tune. After awhile you will develop an ear that will tell you when your guitar is out of tune. Tune your guitar everytime before you play.

Every beginner is different. The guitar is an overwelming instrument, there is a lot to learn. Start with the basic eight chords. Memorize them, then you will be ready for the "Easy songs for beginner's".

When you get to the "Easy songs for beginner's" section, go in there with a positive mind frame. Tell yourself that you CAN DO IT!!!

Trust me "it's all in your head". If you put yourself down (like you just called yourself a dummy) YOU WILL GET NOWHERE!!!

Think positive, act positive and BE POSITIVE!!!

Have fun and stay focused!

I wouldn't worry too much. A couple of weeks is nothing. The speed at which you learn will pick up but it is very slow at first. I remember after a couple of months playing still not being happy with my strumming. So I practicing strumming just holding a G chord until my left hand developed some rythym. Try a metronome too. They are cheap and very helpful.

I can't sing at all either. The worst thing I find about not being able to sing is that If is song is too easy, with no vocals is just sounds boring. So I worked hard to learn more difficult songs. Now after 2 years of playing I am starting to work on singing again.

Give it some time and dont get too discouraged it gets easier.

PS My first song was House of the rising sun and it took me at least 2 months to be able to play i, and four before I could play it well.

Keep bangin away.

dude ive been playing for 4 years and i still find stuff that drives me crazy and takes me awhile to get nailed down.... once you start getting p*ssed at your guitar, its time to put it down and walk away from it for a while, chill out and come back to it later.... it sounds to me like your main problem is you lack of finger control and dexterity<(didnt spell that right) which will come with time... i will try to dig up some good exercise and send them your way,

chris

Just because it says "Songs for Beginner's" doesn't mean you will pick up on it right away.

Correct me if I'm wrong but, there is a section for basic chords. If I were you (and I was when I first started, just like everyone else here) I would start with the Basic chords section. Get that down and then proceed to the easy songs for beginner's section.

yeah, that's where i started, i have no trouble playing the chords, they sound nice....it's the strumming patterns that dont ever seem to sound right....
You also need a Chromatic tuner (guitar tuner), that way you know your guitar is in tune. After awhile you will develop an ear that will tell you when your guitar is out of tune. Tune your guitar everytime before you play.

i bought a chromatic tuner when i got my guitar. i tune my guitar constantly, it's like an obsession.

PS My first song was House of the rising sun and it took me at least 2 months to be able to play i, and four before I could play it well.

Keep bangin away.
Funny. I started tinkering with house of the rising sun, and i found it muxh more rewardning. i didnt try it fingerstlye because on my electric the strings are just too close together, but flatpicking the appreggios wasn't difficult at all. The appreggios are much more rewardning because they actually sound like music. the horse with no name doesn't sound like anything at all without vocals, and as a result strumming those chords with nothing else seems to have no payoff.

Ill recommend a song for you. Its easy to strumm with all full chords.

Mr Jones.....Counting crows.

Strumming pattern is..... U D D D U D U

On the last up you should be strumming the next chord. Practice it very slow and build up speed later. On the ups your only strumming the first couple of strings so dont be too concerned if you are not quick enough to form the full chord. You can find all the chords on taborama or some such site for the full song. The only other chord is a C. This is the basic song

Am F Dm G

Am F G

On the second G you stum U U D D U D D U D U U D

That song has a cool sound, uses common chords and shouldn't be too difficult. I dont have an electric but I imagine it would sound just as good on one.

Let me know what you think.

Don't feel too bad. You haven't even scratched the surface and I wouldn't expect you to being only 2 weeks in.

When I got my first guitar I spent the first three days trying to figure out how to tune the thing to proper pitch. I felt really discouraged. I kept wondering what I'ed gotten myself into and almost quit. But I stuck to it and haven't regretted it.

I agree with Actor, House of the Rising Sun is the ticket for a beginner along with practice and patients. You could find the lesson here
https://www.guitarnoise.com/lessons/house-of-the-rising-sun/
Also I found some help with strumming here http://www.grouptherapy.guernsey.net/strumming.html

Jim

Try this site out and follow the lessons.
http://guitar.about.com/library/blguitarlessonarchive.htm
That site was a huge help of guiding me to learn the guitar.

Good luck!

ActorJ

I can tell you something right now. Guitar will always be frustrating at times. I've been playing 33 years now, and I still get a little frustrated. But not really, because I have come to know that guitar is a difficult instrument. But that's what I love about it. It is always a challange. I am proud to be a guitar player because you can't be a quitter. It takes character to play guitar (or any instrument).

You have to be patient. If you keep practicing I promise you will improve. Things that seem almost impossible now will seem easy and effortless someday. But there will always be some new technique to work on.

So practice as much as possible. You'll get it.

As for singing, try playing the vocal melody on your guitar and match your voice to the notes. If it is too high, sing it an octave lower. If the vocal melody is too low, sing it an octave higher. Singing requires good breathe control and a good ear. If you practice daily your singing will also improve. You may be a better singer than you think.

Never give up. Stay at it.

ActorJ,

Like it was said before, 2 weeks is really no time at all. You were right when you said you need to break it down to bite size pieces. In the beginning I was all worked up trying to play songs but there was just too much going on to get it right. So I focused on chord changes for a while until I could play and change cleanly. Just do this using any strumming pattern you find or make one up yourself. Notice how just changing the pattern gives the music a different feel. One of the hardest things to do at the start is to sing and play guitar at the same time. There are many threads and articles here at GN on this subject alone. Once you've got those chord changes down find a song that uses them and try to add the vocals but take it slow. Basically this is just a long winded way of saying to take things slowly and have a little patience.

Good luck,
Rob

thanks everyone. i have been plugging away. i have doscovered how ciritcal strumming patterns are to a song sounding right. i have nearly got the pattern for horse with no name down, all except for the muting of the string before each upstroke on the dadd9 chord. I am not sure how to do that smoothely, so it tends to come off pretty sloppy.

Try this site out and follow the lessons.
http://guitar.about.com/library/blguitarlessonarchive.htm
That site was a huge help of guiding me to learn the guitar.

That was the site I started with. I spent about three/four weeks there. During that time I came across GuitarNoise, but found even the easy songs and lessons difficult. But after a few months I graduated to this place and have been here ever since (I guess the old slogan for this place - The Online Guitar College - or something like that, was pretty accurate).

Keep plugging away and it will start to fall in place.

That's funny, I learned the basics of the guitar from about.com too. I guess a lot of us owe Dan Cross, or whatever his name is a lot of thanks.

I would suggest trying that site out too and spending about 2 weeks learning the major and minor chords and then moving on to the next lessons. And when you start to learn Barre chords just do yourself a favor and just push those aside for later otherwise it will screw you up if you're not ready for them.