Hey!

Welcome Joe, Bombard away!

Hey Joe, where you goin' with that guitar in your hand?! 8) :wink: :D

Welcome & ask away! :D

Dan

welcome to the party joe :D

Welcome to GuitarNoise, Joe! We look forward to seeing you around the forums! :D

Welcome to GN, Joe.

8)

heh...Thanks for the welcomes, guys!

I guess this is the part where I introduce myself... :lol:
Well, lets start by saying that I'm a 22 year old male, posting out of Canada...eh!
I've always enjoyed watching/listening to people play the guitar, but it wasn't until recently that I thought I'd actually give it a shot, myself. I went out and bought one of those "beginner packages", the Ibanez V50 Jam Pack, to be exact.
I started reading up on the net, to get some of the basics down. I came across a handful of forums, and this seemed to be my best bet, as I've come across some helpful stuff and, GN seems to have a much more welcoming crowd.

In starting out, I just really wanted to learn a song or two, so I skipped the whole learning chords, part. First mistake, I know. So now I'm trying to focus more on learning my chords and the whole chord progression thing.

What are some of the things I should be doing/looking into, to get this whole thing started on the right foot?

Hi Joe and welcome to GN. The Beginners Q&A Forum is a great place to look.

In starting out, I just really wanted to learn a song or two, so I skipped the whole learning chords, part. First mistake, I know. So now I'm trying to focus more on learning my chords and the whole chord progression thing.
Absolutely not a mistake! You've obviouly not written learning chords off completely, you've given yourself some practice that will help you get your head around your theory and you did it because it was fun. Nothing wrong with that at all :)

Welcome, Joe!

For me, chords were a great place to start - I never had ambitions to be a super-fast shredder anyway, I just wanted to play songs....and there are plenty of easy songs, especially in the beginner's section, which only have two, three or four chords. Might be a good place to start....

:D :D :D

Vic

Thanks again for the tips, guys! It's much appreciated.

Misanthrope: Yeah, I guess you're right. The only problem was, I wasn't really constructing chords. Well...I was, but I wasn't. It was more so a one-finger-at -a-time thing. But i do get what you were saying.

Vic Lewis: The chords are coming along nicely. As far a shredding goes - I don't really have an interest for it....yet. I just want to be able to pick up the guitar and strum something pleasing to the ear. I'm aware that it wont happen over night, so my dedication to practice has already been set in stone. On the plus side, I've been giving Wonderwall by Oasis a shot and it seems to be paying off. My tempo seems pretty good, as are my chord changes. One thing I find myself having trouble with, though, is my strumming. Not so much the strumming pattern, but more so just strumming in general. I can't seem to find the "proper" strength to hold the pick. My most comfortable way results in the pick seeming like it wants out after just a few strums. The slightest bit firmer, it sounds as though I'm choking the strings. I should also mention that I have muscle, nerve and tendon damage on my strumming hand due to a work-related injury.
Any advice on this would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance, guys!

Welcome to GN!

Welcome to GN, Joe!!