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(@redsky)
New Member
Joined: 19 years ago
Posts: 2
Topic starter  

Hi, everyone. I'm new to this forum and to the guitar and I have a couple of questions. This might be kind of long so bear with me.

I have your basic acoustic guitar that i am trying to learn how to play. I had tried to learn a couple years ago, but found that i am not naturally gifted at playing the guitar. but now i am trying again but i am 17 and my parents won't pay for lessons because they think i'll give up like i did the last time. I have been playing about 4 days now and I'm trying to learn all of the major chords. My first question is: What else should i work on besides chords? Keep in mind i like to sing and therefore know the basics about reading music and notes and i understand basic tabs.

This is kind of a technical question. When I am playing the chord G major my ring finger on the e string sort of locks inwardly. Instead of my finger bending at the higher knuckle it stays strait and sort of locks into place. (am i making any sense?) My question is, is it okay to play this way, or will it maybe cause problems later on? i want to know now so i can fix it if its bad.

Also, I'm having trouble with really simple chords like C and D. I know i've only been playing a few days, but my fingers just don't seem to be able to work right to make the chords sound clearly. Even after i correct the problem, when i take my fingers off and put them back on again there is something wrong with their positioning. i can't ever get them to all put pressure on their strings at the same time. Am i going to be able to play a chord correctly the first time ever? Or am i just being too impatient? It just feels like my hours of practice should have yielded some results.

Thanks in advance for the help,
Lindsey


   
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(@olive)
Estimable Member
Joined: 22 years ago
Posts: 126
 

A few articles that you might find useful:

https://www.guitarnoise.com/article.php?id=78

https://www.guitarnoise.com/article.php?id=217

The best way to learn chords is to play some songs. Easy Songs For Beginners is a great place to start.

https://www.guitarnoise.com/topics/easy-guitar-songs/

"My ex-boyfriend can't tell me I've sold out, because he's in a cult, and he's not allowed to talk to me." --Dar Williams


   
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(@shift)
Estimable Member
Joined: 20 years ago
Posts: 94
 

About the G chord, as long as the A string rings out clearly, it is fine to have a straight finger on the low E string. I need to bend my finger to that.

Changing position is always the most difficult thing for beginners. I don't know what else to say aside from practicing it.


   
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(@pappajohn)
Honorable Member
Joined: 20 years ago
Posts: 533
 

i am not naturally gifted at playing the guitar
Not many of us are. Learning to play the guitar is a process, it requires a good bit of effort for most us. But for all the effort, I think most here would agree that it's definitely worth it.

Enjoy.

-- John

"Hip woman walking on a moving floor, tripping on the escalator.
There's a man in the line and she's blowin' his mind, thinking that he's already made her."

'Coming into Los Angeles' - Arlo Guthrie


   
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(@elecktrablue)
Famed Member
Joined: 20 years ago
Posts: 4338
 

What else should i work on besides chords?

I would recommend learning your scales (all of them!) to get a working knowledge of your fretboard. They're also good things to practice for finger dexterity. And, once you get some chords under your belt, I would recommend that you work on your chord progressions and maybe begin to learn basic arpeggios, which, IMHO, would also be a great way to introduce fingerpicking into your repertoire.
Also, I'm having trouble with really simple chords like C and D.

Your hands are just not used to making those particular shapes yet. You are asking your hands and fingers to move in ways that they've never moved before. In essence, you've got to train them to do what you want. And the only way to do that is by sheer repetition. Practice, practice, practice and then practice a little more. One day you'll be struggling with it and then all of a sudden the next day it will just happen. Your hands/fingers will have formed a 'memory' about the chord that has been plaguing you and you will be able to do it from that day forward practically effortlessly. (It's a wonderful feeling, btw, to conquer something that, in the beginning, seemed unconquerable!)

Anyway, you've found your best resource for learning right here at GuitarNoise. Check out all of the lessons and, once you've got a handle on some chords, start on the Easy Songs For Beginners and just work your way through.

And, one more thing. If you've got friends who play, or whose parents play or whose brother/sister/cousin/aunt plays, get together with them. Guitar is a universal language that can cross many barriers such as age, sex, political preferences, etc.... and it's always great to play with someone else. You get the benefit of what they know and you get the pleasure of learning more about your chosen instrument, and you get to play with other people! :D

..· ´¨¨)) -:¦:-
¸.·´ .·´¨¨))
((¸¸.·´ .·´
-:¦:- ((¸¸.·´ -:¦:- Elecktrablue -:¦:-

"Don't wanna ride no shootin' star. Just wanna play on the rhythm guitar." Emmylou Harris, "Rhythm Guitar" from "The Ballad of Sally Rose"


   
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(@grafphoto)
Eminent Member
Joined: 19 years ago
Posts: 12
 

I am also a beginner, and C gave me a lot of problems also when I first learned it. If my 2nd and 3rd fingers had the right pressure, my 1st didn't or visa versa. I sure made a lot of bad sounding noises! :) However, after a few weeks, it started feeling a bit more comfortable and I was evening out the pressure.

Then my teacher threw "F" at me - that still gives me trouble to no end - but I am hoping it will get better like "C" did.

~mark


   
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(@rob-l)
Trusted Member
Joined: 20 years ago
Posts: 62
 

Redsky,

Welcome and good luck. Sounds like you may be aliitle impatient. Practice slowly at first paying alot of attention to the movement of your fingers. Alot of repetition is required, try to make it more interesting by playing a song or a cool riff.

Rob

Well I got this guitar and I'm tryin' to learn how to make it talk.


   
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 Taso
(@taso)
Famed Member
Joined: 21 years ago
Posts: 2811
 

C isn't simple ;) None of them are, until you can do em' haha.

The same thing happened to me. When I was 9, I picked up the guitar, and wondered why I didn't sound cool...I never really tried anything... At 15, I picked it up again, and realized you had to work at it to become good. Everyone does.

As for the chords, generally, our fingers aren't ment to bend the way us guitarists make them, lol. So keep at the chords, and it'll all fall into place with persistance and dedication.

Welcome to Guitarnoise, great, helpful people on here, enjoy. Congrats on the new "adventure" ( I put the qoutes because it sounds very corny doesnt it?)

http://taso.dmusic.com/music/


   
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(@redsky)
New Member
Joined: 19 years ago
Posts: 2
Topic starter  

Thanks so much for all of your responses. They were really hepful. I feel a whole lot better about my fingers not reaching right. I think i am getting a little better. Just very very slowly. Thanks again!
~Lindsey


   
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(@pilot)
Estimable Member
Joined: 20 years ago
Posts: 180
 

I've been playing "seriously" since March (have picked away at a guitar in the past but never really learned anything) and I *still* have trouble getting my fingers around to that C chord. I'm getting a lot better at it recently since I've made an effort to learn thing that incorporate it though.

Heed all of the previously posted advice, and just stick with it. It'll come to you! I can't believe the things I can play now that I wouldn't have even dreamed of a few months ago. :)


   
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(@metaellihead)
Honorable Member
Joined: 20 years ago
Posts: 653
 

C and D are some chords that gave me proglems, too. Particularly going from E or A to C, or G or C to D and back. Just keep working at it, you'll get it eventually.

-Metaellihead


   
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(@ignar-hillstrom)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 21 years ago
Posts: 5349
 

Welcome to GN!

As said above, don't worry about the C-chord too much. It's quite a stretch, from 1st fret 2nd string to 3th fret 5th string, and definitely not the easiest open-chord. Just keep practicing the chords, and practice changing between them. If, in a few weeks, you can comfortably play four or five chords, you'll be doing ok. You've been going for a mere four days, so it is quite normal to have these problems.


   
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