[Sticky] --> Share things you've learned about guitar

AH, so maybe thats why my fingernail hurt the other day when I pressed on it, I now keep my clippers near by. After a month my sessions are chromatic scale, the scale where you go WWHWWWH, (don't know what thats called) and the finger exercise on the high e string 5th fret putting each finger on a higher note and then pulling off, (prescales) then chords, then I work on 'house of the rising sun' which I am only strumming now with slow chord changes. I may need a lesson there are some things that are not sinking in from the internet such as certain scales, and that F chord's a bitch :oops:

female canine? who wrote that :shock:

WWHWWWH

err, you what? :?

sorry, thats whole step half step, up and down the neck. Something the guy in the music store showed me when I bought my guitar WWHWWWH then reverse back up

and that F chord's a female canine :oops:

Make sure your guitar is set up with a sufficiently low action. With my previous guitar there was no fretting the first frets on the treble strings. My new one, it's much easier. (Although if you're playing an electric, this would probably not be a problem)

Low action? Actually that F is starting to come round ( the one where you barre the e and b strings) can't do any barre's. Its still not complete. I have an acoustic, a cheap one but good for learning on

Low action? Actually that F is starting to come round ( the one where you barre the e and b strings) can't do any barre's. Its still not complete. I have an acoustic, a cheap one but good for learning on

Unless you got that acoustic used and someone already lowered the action, this is something you'll definantly want to do. Go to Nils' page to find out more about action and setups. Lowering the action makes it so much easier and enjoyable to play. Trust me, the first time you play that F after you setup your guitar you'll be glad you went through all the trouble of lowering the action.

Unless you got that acoustic used and someone already lowered the action, this is something you'll definantly want to do. Go to Nils' page to find out more about action and setups. Lowering the action makes it so much easier and enjoyable to play. Trust me, the first time you play that F after you setup your guitar you'll be glad you went through all the trouble of lowering the action.

I started with a cheap almost no-brand guitar a while ago. I am still so much a beginner who only knows a few chords. I will tell you this tough. I was able to do the F chord on my first try when I bought a better guitar that was set up reasonably well. (It's a seagull s6+ spruce in case anybody is wondering) This is something I was never able to do on my first guitar. It might be a good idea to go to a store with a large stock. Although not 100%, you are likely to find a guitar that's set up properly, and you can see the difference for yourself.

Oktay

I think I've realized that , its practice and practice more which leads tosucess in playing a guitar. I started out with an acoustic and it was painful back then. A couple of times, I even wanted to tell myself this isn't for me but slowly and gradually it fell into the right places and I knew chords, then scales and so on. A few weeks back, I couldn't play solos for the first time but now with some practice I've had much smooth running fingers and it certainly helps when you have scales running down your fingers almost all the time. Its never boring , and when you start playing it you dont wanna stop (including my 550 days) :) ...... For starters, I would advise to have a good start and not feel bad about not playing better . Everyone, even jimi hendrix to joe satriani went through that same stage. :arrow: :arrow: Have a great practice and enjoying playing! :P

Maybe I'll look into a new and better guitar, but i'm also thinking the tuff one I have may make for better practice. I would also like to add that I think it was wes on another thread was saying its important to relax when playing and changing chords.....I've been under a bit of stress lately so I went to the local tavern and belted a few back, and I'll be damned if when I got home I started to change chords more smoothly. Now I don't advocate this for others ( especially the younger folks) but it was a good way to test the theory

I'm 46, been playing 2 months, at least 2 hours every day. When I started I couldn't play a G or a C....I had to physicaly place my fingers on the proper frets with my other hand. In the last few days all the chord changes have suddenly become a lot smoother and more accurate. What a rush! Hard work does pay off.

I remember complaining about the C chord to my guitar instructor!
That was a tough one!

Good job,Washburned: things will get progressively better. Remember to use your pinky as much as possible. i,e don't neglect to use it in favour of another digit!

I still physically place my fingers on tricky chord shapes. You got to. You weren't born forming a G chord! They don't make guitars that small :wink: .

One thing that I did learn about guitar is that it's not the guitar's fault...its weird to see and hear my guitar instructor doing fantastic music with my guitar. Its' true: pros can get good results from inexpensive gear; and novices most often have problems getting the full benefit of expensive guitars....

Washburned, check out the Easy Songs For Beginners on this site. David Hodge has such an excellent, down-to-earth way of making these songs understandable and achievable....

later,
Ghost
(i also play a washburn...)

What I've learned to do is to practice dry (w/o amp) while watching TV w/my wife. This way I can practice my new material (scales etc)up and down the fretboard w/o disturbing her and still spend time together.

I've learned that i'm kind of lazy. That i rather play short riffs and parts of songs that i already know, than get my hands dirty and learn new stuff and especially whole songs. And if i want to learn something new i try for 5 minutes and if i havent got i down by then, i give up and say to myself that i suck.

My solution was to make a practice plan where i practice just one song a week. Now there was no escape and the first day i thought that i made big progress and now i can play my first whole song pretty descent (i'm on the first week).

Wow, great thread and great site! I've only been playing for a couple of weeks but I do have these two tips:

- Relax. Once I realized that I had a death grip on the neck and loosened up, chord changes are coming like a breeze. Periodically check your posture and loosen up that fretting hand. It makes a tremendous difference.

- To speed up the development of calluses, take a credit card and press your fingers into the edge of it. Do this when you're watching TV, sitting in the car, etc.

Here's one of the best things I've learnt, I think, in 2 1/2 years of playing:

Make the song your own!! Don't kill yourself trying to play it just like the artist who recorded it. For one thing, if you've just started you are going to be stressed to the max. Another thing, it's not real artistic. You can still be original and play songs that someone else has written.
You will find, that as you learn and play more and more songs, you keep doing some of the 'small' things the same from song to song. Maybe not all of them, but tricks and techniques carry over from song to song. This is what develops your 'style' and makes us guitarists unique from person to person.

I feel like a Philosopher!!