My first few weeks!

So, in summary, I've learned a lot and am loving every minute. I'd love to know whether a chord thats called C in first position stays C wherever its played up and down the fretboard? If anyone has some nice presets for my ME-50 effects box, and if any other newbie advice or encouragement. I've got C G and D down enough from practising SCoM that I'm going to take a stab at I Used to Love Her from the Easy Song library here. Seems I only need to learn the A chord (and I know the A and Am are pretty easy compared to C and G). I'm dying to be able to play a full song!

You will start hearing or reading terms like a C shape or an Am shape which is used for barre chords. The chord does not remain the same as you move up and down the neck. If you played a C shape chord at the third fret with out using the index finger as a bar you get a D chord. D9 I think without looking it up.

Or if you are doing chords with just the higher and not the bass strings its more pronounced you can have the F chord xx3211 and move up the fret board in half step increments so a G chord will be the same shape xx5433 for example.

hey man, three chords and a girlfriend is all you need.

welcome to the forum and the world of guitar. I was like you in that I learned to play guitar by learning songs. it works great.
there are many resources now that were not around when I began. computers were barely invented in the 50's.

I like your attitude. keep it up.

hey man, three chords and a girlfriend is all you need.
+1

I explained it several times here. When I started with chords I made a list with all my favorite songs. Then I got chords for those songs (here or in sites like http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/ ). I sorted the songs by the used chords. First the easy ones with three or four chords. Each new song in the list included a new chord as well, thus, I learnt and practiced a new chord with each new song.

...I'm going to take a stab at I Used to Love Her...

Nicely put, since the following line to that lyric is "but I had to kill her" hehe...I couldn't pass this one up.
Anyways, good job in keeping up the practicing. Many people have asked, "what is the best way to practice" and it seems to me that you've got a great take on how you want to practice and that's half the battle. Keep doing the things you like, advance at your own rate.

Well I managed to play I Used to Love Her, and I'm not that slow with the chord changing either which I'm surprised at. Going from D to A to G to A isn't as much of a pain as I thought it'd be. So I guess I've learned some stuff I wasn't even practising - always a good sign! My problem is doing the strumming pattern, singing/humming the tune and changing chords after every two words lol. Co-ordinating all that is still a long way off, but I can hear the tune! Awesome stuff :)

I've also been learning the first part of Paint it Black, an arrangement with a bass line after every note. It sounds cool with nothing but co-ordination in the way of it sounding ace.

Anyone recommend any other cool sounding riffs to practise on, I'm currently working on co-ordinating semi-complex picking with a half decent tune. I'm still putting my pick too deep into the strings at times and hitting the pick-guard. So annoying when your fretting perfect but the picking is letting you down.

well if you liked Paint it Black...a cool song and fun to play using open chords BTW. ....then you might like Last Time by the Stones to. here you use two strings with a bit of a change to finish the sweet and simple lick.

I finally found out what my guitar is. Its a Richwood Strat copy, and the beauties here:

I can't put it down, its gorgeous :D

ooh, I can hear those bridge pickups from way over here.
generally I don't like the looks of strat copies, but that upper bout and the colors really really look great.

I finally found out what my guitar is. Its a Richwood Strat copy, and the beauties here:

I can't put it down, its gorgeous :D

That is a real beauty.

Well I managed to get 'I Used to Love Her' played and sung, although both with large pauses while I referenced the tab lol.
But I decided to go upmarket and tried Europes excellent little known ballad - Tomorrow. So from DAG chords, I managed to add to that the Em, Am, C and B chords. The songs supposed to be a piano piece, but its too good for geetar players to miss out on:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ta3Q5_4nhU

I'm just starting to feel the groove now, knowing a few chord names and not having to look up the fingerings. :D

This topic is really encouraging me. I like seeing people start to play and advance at a fast rate, not to perfectness at all, but to progress, and actually be happy at their progress.

Anyway, here is my encouragment for you.

As some people will know from my previous posts, i have only recently started teaching myself 'real' chords (Last 5 monts or so) after starting off in a punk band with just power chords and riffs.

My drive for learning this style is to be able to play in the worship band in church.

But i started much the same way. I decided that to teach myself 'real' shords an acoustic would be better, so i went out and bought myself a second hand encore electrostick. I started off with the basic chords of A E D2 F#m7 (looks complicated written down, but its a simple open chord) because they were the chords for one of m favourite worship songs from church. And to my favour the strumming was simple down only on the beats and half beats. Palm muted in the verse (Which i had down from my punk background) and open fully in the chorus. And it took me a week or two to get that song nailed.

I then went to my worship leader in church and asked him to help me with strumming and he gave me the music for another great worship song with a 4/4 strumming pattern diagram at the top, this song also introduced me to the chords G Em C7 and Dsus and normal D. I got this song about 3 months ago and still havnt got the strumming down perfectly. Sometimes bringing the first upstroke too early, or adding in strokes that sound outta place. But its getting there slowly and im happy with my progress.

I guess my message from that is, if you failed to pick it out, is make sure you have something to drive you forward, wether its a desire to play in a band, or just to be able to play well for your own fulfilment. Also, do not be stubborn to ask someone you know has experience for help, because as i have found from my worship leader, they are more than happy to pass on their knowledge to help lesser players become greater.

Keep driving on and pracatcing and prosperity in your playing is a certianty!

David