Starting Guitar

Discussion in 'Performing Arts' started by Irminsul, Aug 1, 2017.

  1. Irminsul

    Irminsul Valkyrie

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    A year!

    There's a Keith Urban tutorial that says I can play songs in a month. A song a day. :D

    I'll keep looking and trying. It'll be a low process too which is why I need to do it alone. I've got a lot of things in my life that occupy all of my time and I fear trying guitar is just too much on my plate. But i can only try.
     
  2. deleted

    deleted Visitor

    you're making it sound more difficult than it actually is..
     
  3. Irminsul

    Irminsul Valkyrie

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    Well I do find it difficult. No doubt about it, but the only difficulties I really have are the free time and switching chords. I can already read tabs and simple music sheets so I understand all of that and I've got all the equipment. Once I get my hand movements and my finger positions correct then I can proceed.

    I probably need to find like an easy 2 chord tune that is easy for me to change the chords rather than maybe I'm trying a few things that are difficult to piece together.

    Also another thing I've noticed is I wanna do a Em so I google it and there's like heaps of different tabs that are all different yet they all say Em. :unsure:

    So before I was trying to go Em D Em D but I couldn't get into the D. Every time I missed I could hear yes that's getting close but my middle finger wants to hit a string and fret it shouldn't be.

    Another thing I don't understand is, when they give you a chord, do I strum that once? Do I strum it back up from the bottom? Or do I just strum it from 6th string on down?

    And then someone I read that kind of music sheet with the lyrics and it feels like, they are only playing a string at a time but the online sheet is telling me it's a chord? Can a chord be played one string at a time until all strings are played and that's a chord too? Because that to me sounds more like a tab?

    And then as I was practicing these two chords I'm listening to the song I'm trying to reproduce and I don't believe they're playing all the strings in the chord that I'm being asked to play.

    So for the Em, to my ears, he's really only playing the thickest 3 strings tops, but the chord is for all 6 to be played together. But I know from years of listening to this song, that the bottom 3 twangy pingy strings aren't used. I can actually get the sound right without playing them, but if I'm ignoring strings am I really playing a chord, or is that just another version of the Em?

    I might go buy a beginners chords book from the music store. :)
     
  4. deleted

    deleted Visitor

    [​IMG]

    Can pretty much follow this pattern down the board ..
     
    Lynnbrown and Irminsul like this.
  5. Tyrsonswood

    Tyrsonswood Senior Moment Lifetime Supporter

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    A lot of songs may call for an EMajor (or other chord) but the guitar player is only playing part of the chord... That's very common.
     
    2 people like this.
  6. Banned Drama Queen

    Banned Drama Queen Idiot

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    The resources nowadays are great... hope all this stuff helps out in your pursuit... don't give up
     
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  7. Irminsul

    Irminsul Valkyrie

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    I thought so. Like I said I was playing the chord and the first thre strings were the right sound, even though I hadn't tuned it I could tell that was the sound especially the thick 6th string.

    So I went down to the all hours newsagency and I found a beginner book that comes with a cd and a DVD and a chord and tab chart. So I'll start with this. It's not a kids book but at the same time it does look that way with big print etc. lol.

    Most likely not today as even the few mins yesterday afternoon made my index finger numb feeling and I'm worried that if practice today it'll get worse and then it will feel very uncomfortable pushing my fingers into the pool table when I play today.

    Is there a good way to toughen up your fingers before learning? I could strum away and let them get tough and I have a friend who suggested just running my fingers up and down the frets unplugged until my fingers are on fire. Then keep doing it several times a day until they toughen up, then he says once they get better you can really start to practice a lot better.
     
  8. StellarCoon

    StellarCoon Dr. Professor

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    i practiced for like 3 hours a day my first week. had vacation so lots of free time. I just followed songs on tab mostly . they were tough by the following week or on the third.

    they hurt like heck day 4 and 5, after that not much. i wasn't trying to toughen up, i was just addicted to guitar and wanted to play the intro to Seven Nation Army right for once in my life.

    i didn't care if i bled tbh. lol. I've have my skin peel from weightlifting in the past so i was used to abusing myself for a purpose. got hard as fuck callouses that never hurt. so thankful.
     
  9. Jude96

    Jude96 Members

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    If you look up the chords to the following songs you might find some joy in hearing them come together... at least part of the songs...

    JINGLE BELLS

    STAND BY ME (this was the first song I learned as a kid)

    HAPPY BIRTHDAY

    SOUND OF SILENCE (The Distubed Version is easier)
     
  10. deleted

    deleted Visitor

    Michael Rode The Boat Ashore/ to get away from the Devil..
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgUcG0aw72U
     
  11. Jude96

    Jude96 Members

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    I just decided to look up the chords to this song because I like it (both versions)... it's actually very easy to play... Sound of Silence... and it's a fun one

    https://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/d/disturbed/the_sound_of_silence_tab.htm
     
  12. Chodpa

    Chodpa Senior Member

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    buy a cheap looper, then with your book on chord progressions play some riffs, then play some melodies on top
     
  13. deleted

    deleted Visitor

    this is nice.. sounds a lot like Pensa. Fabrizio Moro

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6xw6jlFlJg&t=600s
     
  14. Scratched

    Scratched Members

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    Playing the chord one string at a time instead of the chord is quite common in songs, it's called Arpeggio in case you see that word in a song book as what to do, now you know.

    Find a book on chords, there are different ways to play the same chord that will allow you to switch from one chord to the next while playing a song, making it much easier to play quicker, this is very useful.

    Try to position your thumb in the middle of the back of the neck when chording, it will help you be able to reach your finger placement easier without having to cramp your wrist so bad.

    Most of all, play something you enjoy, some instructional stuff for songs on Youtube. If you want a hard rock sound (distortion- that raspy sound), find an amp that has crunch or gain knob or switch on it.

    Have fun!!
     
  15. Rots in hell

    Rots in hell Senior Member

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    Great lesson ! I like this Guy

     
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  16. Ged

    Ged Tits and Thigh Man.

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    I'm still at talented beginner level, so I wouldn't really know how to advise. What helps me though is to really spend time tuning your guitar, every time you have a session. It will help even the simplest things sound good, and train your ear.

    From a wannabe guitar hero, fizzling out in a spasm of glory.
     
    Last edited: Jan 13, 2018
  17. Alternative_Thinker

    Alternative_Thinker Darth Mysterious

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    I wonder if Irminsul's still sticking to her plan of learning how to play now that several months have passed. :p
     
  18. Meliai

    Meliai Banned

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    Are you sticking with it or have you given up?

    I wouldnt say I know how to really play guitar but I can fuck around with it and have fun and sound decent and that's my only ambition with it anyways

    And the only thing you need to fuck around and have fun is to know a few chords and have some rhythm. Just have fun with it and dont stress too much, just learn 3 or 4 chords and practice some different strum patterns with those chords, sing some silly words as you practice. That's what I do. Once you get good at switching between those you can throw some more chords in and just build on it that way.
     
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  19. rjhangover

    rjhangover Senior Member

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    Play the E chord with your bird finger, ring finger and pinky....then go up the fret board and bar the other strings with your index finger....first fret is F, third is G, fifth is A, seventh is B, eighth is C, in between frets are flats (or) sharps....only a half step between E and F, and a half step between B and C, no fret between them....lift up bird finger to get a minor chord....lift up pinky to get a 7th.

    sliding up the fret board while playing the B chord (as your diagram shows) does the same thing

    play Am the same as the E chord and slide up the fret board like you did the B chord, and you have all the minors

    play the F chord with index finger on first two strings, ring finger on third string second fret, ring finger on fourth string third fret....then slide up the fret board to get G on third fret, A on fifth fret, B on seventh fret and so on.

    You can also do it with the D chord.
     

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