Guitar tips for beginners

[Rosemary]

Hi Paul
Thanks for your tips and encouragement. There's been a bit of a development since my first post. Since yesterday I have a brand new acoustic guitar as the guitar that my husband and his Dad restored so beautifully has a slight problem with the bridge and needs further work.
It is missing some support inside so that the tension of the strings has caused the bridge and therefore the strings to lift. Although it is still playable it was slowing down my progress as I needed to use a lot of very precise and hard pressure to get the notes to sound cleanly and chords were impossible. The new one is a lot easier although naturally I still have a long way to go. I'm still keeping the restored instrument as it looks fantastic and is fixable but I'm practising on the new one now. At least I've built up some super strength in my fingers in the last days.
All the best
Rosemary

[SELEDA284]

Hi Rosemary, good to read about your progress, your enthusiasm & dedication to learning are an inspiration to me, especially, who, I unashamedly admit, have given up when the fingertips are very sore..... ...
Nice to know you've got a lovely new guitar, with a lower action, to practise on...... keep up the good work...
best wishes

[Rosemary]

Thanks Lesley. I'm taking it very slowly, just picking out tunes and learning a few chords from a book. Only one finger is a bit sore. The others are toughening up nicely.
best wishes
Rosemary

[Mike Honey]

hi Rosemary and congratulations on deciding to learn the most flexible musical instrument in the world! All the advice and tips you have been given so far are good tried and tested methods. As a professional guitar teacher who has taught nearly 2000 people to play the guitar i would like to add a few things;
1. Remember that learning any musical instrument is not like going up a hill where every step you take progresses you! Its more like climbing a long flight of stairs; you will stay sometimes quite a long time on a step before continuing your progress. The first stages are really nothing at all to do with music. It's about educating your fingers to go where you want them (not always easy to do). I always suggest starting with Am then move just 1 finger to C and back again. then, again from Am to E (same finger position, but each finger goes down a string (musically speaking). Remember also that when Hank or Eric or Bruce plays an Am chord, or any other, its the same chord that you are playing! That suggests that most of the skill is in the right hand. I get the kids i teach to use their imagination and play a rhythm to a story i give them; like an airplane taking off or a summers day on the river. Using minor chords for drama and emotion and majors for happy go lucky things. sorry this is long winded! I'll stop now but wish you every success. never had a failure yet!!

mike

[Rosemary]

Thanks very much for your help, Mike. I feel like I'm finally making a little bit of progress. At least I can play a few chords now but can't switch between them quickly yet. I'm hoping I'll be better than on piano which I also taught myself before moving on to MIDI files where I didn't have to play in real time.
All the best
Rosemary