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What's wrong (with me)? Losing interest?

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(@vic-lewis-vl)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 20 years ago
Posts: 10264
 

I've been struggling, so reading your post has made me feel a little bit better.

I had to give up my lessons at the beginning of the year (I prefer to think of it as just a sabbatical until work improves), and I don't have any friends that play, so I've never jammed with anyone (and I have to be honest, I'm crap, so I'd be really, really hesitant to play with anyone if they DID offer).

So... my thought was to start recording myself and posting up on MySpace so I have some way of gauging my progress, and maybe getting some feedback from interstate/OS friends.

Does this sound too over the top? :oops:

Nope, not a bit over the top. IMO, one of the best ways to learn is to record yourself....if you truly are crap, we'll tell you - but this is a friendly site, and we'll tell you WHY you're crap and how to go about rectifying it. We'll point out what you're doing wrong - we'll tell you how you could do it better. We'll point out what you're doing right - and we'll offer encouragement and advice. What we WON'T do is tell you to sell your guitar - we don't do that here.

Welcome to GN, bkangel....as Obi-Wan kenobi once said to Luke Skywalker, "You've just taken the first step into a larger universe..."

It's a scary step, but you've done it....now take the next step!

All the best,

:D :D :D

Vic

"Sometimes the beauty of music can help us all find strength to deal with all the curves life can throw us." (D. Hodge.)


   
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(@bkangel)
Estimable Member
Joined: 16 years ago
Posts: 118
 

Thanks for that Vic. I've just posted over in the Beginners Video thread my intentions to get playing (and videoing).

Sell my guitars? Not going to happen. I'm stubborn, and they make me happy, even if it's just their beauty and potential some times.

What I lack in talent and natural ability, I will have to make up with stubborness.


   
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(@vic-lewis-vl)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 20 years ago
Posts: 10264
 

Thanks for that Vic. I've just posted over in the Beginners Video thread my intentions to get playing (and videoing).

Sell my guitars? Not going to happen. I'm stubborn, and they make me happy, even if it's just their beauty and potential some times.

Well good for you, girl! looking forward to hearing what you come up with - stubborn is GOOD!

:D :D :D

Vic

"Sometimes the beauty of music can help us all find strength to deal with all the curves life can throw us." (D. Hodge.)


   
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(@rparker)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 20 years ago
Posts: 5480
 

Hi Lisa. I've read your posts in the Beginners Video thread as well. Thought I'd add to the clutter here instead of over there. At any rate, you said that you need to learn a song. Have you selected your first song yet? Also, do you know most of the common open chords, like G, E, Em, D, C, A, etc? I might be jumping ahead a bit, but our premier expert and author of much of the GN site's material has a series called "Easy Songs For Beginners".

One in particular was a cheesy little number from the early 70's called Horse With No Name. https://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/horse-with-no-name/ This was such a wonderful lesson for me when I first started out. It uses the easiest chord out there, the Em, and an odd chord I've never again used called Dadd6add9. It was an easy chord to switch to from the Em though. It was so much better than having to go from say, a D to G at that point in time. The article starts you off with the very basic strumming and a very easy chord switch.

Well, I can say easy now, but it wasn't back then. That's an important thing to remember. You're not going to buzz through it in an hour's time and be able to play Horse With No Name with all the bells and whistles. It will take some time. More importantly, it will introduce you to some of the very basics of guitar playing.

One of the strengths of this article as well as many others he does is that you get the basics right up front, and then he adds little nuances or slightly more advanced techniques afterwards. The beauty of it is that it's all at your pace and schedule.

Hope this helps.

Roy
"I wonder if a composer ever intentionally composed a piece that was physically impossible to play and stuck it away to be found years later after his death, knowing it would forever drive perfectionist musicians crazy." - George Carlin


   
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(@bkangel)
Estimable Member
Joined: 16 years ago
Posts: 118
 

That's good, thanks!

I have some basic chords down, and a basic strum pattern. And I've learnt a little classical, which I seem to be more comfortable with. Strum patterns, though, do my head in :lol:

I will go back to the basics though and get them right. I tend to be too scatty, trying to do too many things at once, and mastering nothing (thus I have a nylon string, a streel string, a strat, and a bass, and I play non even remotely proficiently :oops: ).

What I lack in talent and natural ability, I will have to make up with stubborness.


   
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(@corbind)
Noble Member
Joined: 22 years ago
Posts: 1735
 

Vic speaks the truth. And what is scary, he's been playing for years and still remembers how hard it was to learn in the beginning. Go Vic.

"Nothing...can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts."


   
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(@minotaur)
Noble Member
Joined: 16 years ago
Posts: 1089
Topic starter  

... and an odd chord I've never again used called Dadd6add9. It was an easy chord to switch to from the Em though.

Yes, isn't that chord a pip? :lol: You just switch your fingers from the Em: index to the E, ring to the D (I use middle and ring fingers for Em).

It is difficult to answer when one does not understand the question.


   
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(@nicktorres)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 16 years ago
Posts: 5381
 

When I teach that song, I describe it as Chopsticks for guitar.


   
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(@vic-lewis-vl)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 20 years ago
Posts: 10264
 

Vic speaks the truth. And what is scary, he's been playing for years and still remembers how hard it was to learn in the beginning. Go Vic.

Thanks for the vote of confidence, Dennis - trouble is, I still find it hard to pick some new things up now...

And I STILL hate (and always have done!) that open B7 - x21202 - but I don't have a problem with Bm... x24432. I can change from G - 320003 - to Ab - 466544 - to Eb - x68886 - to G then G7 with no trouble, even though I use a 2-3-4 fingering for G and a 1-2-3 fingering for G7....and then finish with a C6....x35555....

B7? Yeuch......where's my capo?

:D :D :D

Vic

"Sometimes the beauty of music can help us all find strength to deal with all the curves life can throw us." (D. Hodge.)


   
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(@rparker)
Illustrious Member
Joined: 20 years ago
Posts: 5480
 

And I STILL hate (and always have done!) that open B7 - x21202 - but I don't have a problem with Bm... x24432. I can change from G - 320003 - to Ab - 466544 - to Eb - x68886 - to G then G7 with no trouble, even though I use a 2-3-4 fingering for G and a 1-2-3 fingering for G7....and then finish with a C6....x35555....

B7? Yeuch......where's my capo?

My B7s get interesting. I make that D7 shape up there and try to hammer down on the high E with the pinky before my pick gets there. Sometimes the pick, she lose. Sometimes the pick, she win. :) It's almost like I need the leverage from the top to swing the pinky down with enough force to get all the way down there and then apply pressure to fret the string. Darned short fingers.

Roy
"I wonder if a composer ever intentionally composed a piece that was physically impossible to play and stuck it away to be found years later after his death, knowing it would forever drive perfectionist musicians crazy." - George Carlin


   
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