Playing Guitar Is Hard

[MagicGuy 0]

I've been wanting to learn how to play the guitar for a while now. I was talking about it with some friends at the DZ a couple weekends ago and to my surprise, a good friend had a guitar that she hadn't used in years and she asked me if I wanted it. So, she brought it with her this weekend and I've been attempting to learn some stuff for the past couple days.

Wow! Playing this thing is harder than it looks.. which is an understatement. It didn't help that the thing was out of tune and some of the strings have little rust marks on it. But I found a video on YouTube explaining a technique called relative tuning and to my surprise, I actually got it to work and it seems (I really don't know for sure) to be in tune, or at least a lot better than it had been.

I've been watching a lot of tutorial type videos on YouTube, mostly explaining songs in 'tab' form. Boy, I was wrong thinking I could watch a video and be able to play the song quickly. It is NOT easy. I find myself muting strings when I'm not even trying to, mostly because the fingers on the neck are accidentally laying on top of other strings. It's a bit frustrating, and my left hand is killing me from holding down the strings, but it's pretty cool just to see even the littlest bit of progression.

I'm pretty much too stubborn to take lessons, so I'm just going to keep trying to teach myself. Probably not the best way, but hey, I'm only doing it for fun. Plus teaching myself doesn't cost anything, except for maybe a bad habit or two. But it's much more gratifying in the end.

Rock on!

[GARYC24 3]

What kind of guitar is it?
Have some new strings put on it, first of all.

[Darius11 12]

Hey dude.

Its not easy at all.
One of the hardest instruments to learn.

Get a tuner it will take a while for you to hear E with your ears, and i can even tune it for you if you want to bring it by, but that will only last a short time till you must retune again. I think i actully have an electric tuner if you want one. just needs battarries.

I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not." - Kurt Cobain

[MagicGuy 0]

It's a Fender Squier.. some kind of acoustic. Nothing fancy, but it's in great shape, and better yet, didn't cost me a dime.

It definitely needs new strings. I've just been playing around with it for now until I can get over to the store to get some more.

Darius, a tuner would be sweet. I really think I got it pretty close to where it needs to be, but someone who knows what they are talking about would be nice!

I can't believe how bad my fingertips hurt. Those strings are damn hard to press (and hold) down.

[Tuna-Salad 0]

Get a chord chart and learn them. Tabs are all fine and good but they don't really teach you how to play because in the end what good is it if you can only play a few select songs by tabs and power chords? You probably will pick up bad techniques too. Reading music isn't that hard.... Yeah what the other guy said, get new strings and have the neck adjusted as it could be warped due to atmospheric changes etc. The store you get the strings from will likely restring and tune your guitar (for a small fee of course). Friendly advice that will do you a lot of good in the long run

Millions of my potential children died on your daughters' face last night.

[mnealtx 0]

When you go to the music store, have them check the action on the guitar - they may be able to adjust it so that you don't have to press so hard to fret the strings.

It'll take a while to get a feel for how hard you have to press. You'll also build up calluses on your fingertips after a week or two.

Good luck and have fun!

Mike
I love you, Shannon and Jim.
POPS 9708 , SCR 14706

[Darius11 12]

i think you have my cell. Just call me when you have time and stop by your welcome to it bro.

I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not." - Kurt Cobain

[lawrocket 3]

What mike said. It would be worth your while to drop a few bucks on a setup. If the guitar is old it could come in helpful.

Then get some new strings. Necessary. Very necessary. Old strings = pain.

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[gulaz 1]

It's not that hard... I can beat the first couple of songs on expert

Oh, wait... you mean real guitar.

[MagicGuy 0]

Yeah, I can do that too! If only the real thing were that easy..

The guitar is only a couple years old. It's the strings that could use an upgrade. I'll get that done soon.

[GARYC24 3]

If you could find out what kind of bridge saddle (the little white thing, end of strings near the sound hole). If it is plastic, replace it with a Bone bridge saddle. That way the shop will assure the action is correct (they have to sand them to fit). I had this done along with a stripped screw on 1 of the machine heads (total $43 work). The saddle cost about $5. That about all I can think of.
Gary

[cloudseeker2001 0]

Quote

If you could find out what kind of bridge saddle (the little white thing, end of strings near the sound hole). If it is plastic, replace it with a Bone bridge saddle. That way the shop will assure the action is correct (they have to sand them to fit). I had this done along with a stripped screw on 1 of the machine heads (total $43 work). The saddle cost about $5. That about all I can think of.
Gary

A good set up would be great for him, but it will be some time before he can hear the difference between a bone and plastic saddle or nut. I changed out a bone nut to a plastic in my p-bass because I did not like the tone it gave me.

"Some call it heavenly in it's brilliance,
others mean and rueful of the western dream"

[Anvilbrother 0]

Its not hard once your fingers get caluses then its downhill from there. I learned chords in this order. D, Dim, C, E, Em, G, F, Cadd9, A, Am, F#, Bm, E7, C7. I went to ultimateguitar.com and just found artists I liked and then found the chord tabs for songs. If you know the basic 4 or 5 chords you can play most songs on that site. It really helps to play along with a song and use that site to know what chords to use. Even if you cant hit every one, skip if you get behind. After playing for a few days you will master songs. The key is to not get overwhelmed. You will learn that most artists songs use the same chords just in a different order. Get a capo also b/c songs use them alot, and they are cheap. If you need to tune just type in google "online tuner" and you will get a ton of sites you can tune to. Also get new strings it will make your music sound more like the real thing and boost your confidence. Bad strings even if you are playing the right chords will sound off and make you feel that you are not doing it right

Postes r made from an iPad or iPhone. Spelling and gramhair mistakes guaranteed move along,

[MagicGuy 0]

Quote

Bad strings even if you are playing the right chords will sound off and make you feel that you are not doing it right

Yeah, I think I'm getting a little bit of that bad sound now.

That or I just suck.

Thanks for the tips, guys.

[kschilk 0]

Lotsa' good advice, so far....especially on the set-up. Most any experienced guitarist can trim it out for you and seriously, look at the string gauge you're using...might pay to go a tad lighter. Tuning to a half-step or even a full-step lower, will make it easier to play. On that note (no pun intended), I most strongly recommend you acquire one of these...http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Gripmaster-Exercise-Tool?sku=429070 , they're great for both achieving and maintaining finger strength, dexterity and coordination. Avoid the tennis ball thing, it tends to condition you to the bad habit of ham-fisting the neck.

I also recommend a couple small sheets of sandpaper, something like 280 or 320 grit. Whenever you're on the computer, watching tv or even driving....set the sandpaper on a firm surface and just drum your fingers on it. I've found this to be a good way to build and maintain callouses, on your fingertips.

Lastly, keep it light...don't force anything, just yet. Frustration is your greatest enemy, at this point. Guitar is not hard....it's challenging. The hardest thing about it, is maintaining your interest and drive. It doesn't have to be a Spartan thing, keep it fun.

"T'was ever thus."

[MagicGuy 0]

Oh, sweet. I remember seeing my Uncle using one of those hand things years ago. He's a pretty experienced guitar player and owns a bunch of different pieces.

That is definitely something that I need. I have been having a hard time even reaching a little bit extreme on the guitar neck. My small hands don't help, but hopefully this thing will.

I've been interested for a while and now that I actually have the guitar, I have no reason not to practice. I've been putting in a good 2 hours total each day for the past two days that I've had it. Like I said, progress is slow but even the littlest bit is promising.

Oh, I played the trumpet for four years so hopefully I will have the same drive for this as I did with the that.

[jtval 0]

Quote

Hey dude.

Its not easy at all.
One of the hardest instruments to learn.

Tell that to all the Guitar "heros" out there.

I had more than a few people tell me they can play (name a song).
I guess they think its like the real thing.

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