Thinking of Taking up Guitar - Any tips ?

[Cycleops]

Maybe you should save them, just do a bit of light practicing. In time they will become calloused. Try to get some strength into your fingers, the pinkie particularly.

 

[Grant Fondo]

Ok followed a few u tube vids - trying to nail a couple of chords .....not easy.

Fingers sore as many as predicted - should I practice on through the pain - or save my fingers for Monday's lesson (1 hour long)

Yeah, don't overdo it ... short spells regularly. Doesn't take too long before fingers are totally immune to string ache.

 

[kingrollo]

Here it is - think I needed a better one - can't get a tune from this blighter ! 😀

 

[Salad Dodger]

To help strengthen your fretting hand, put something like a bath sponge or a squash ball into that hand and repeatedly squeeze and relax it.....

Fingers will be sore. Maybe do just 5 mins practice per day for now, then be guided by your tutor at your next lesson.

 

[DRM]

I think it’s far better to pick it up and do 10 minutes here and there through the day, whichever chord you’re trying to learn strum it and listen for buzzing, pick each string individually and work out which finger is catching on which string, keep adjusting your fingers till there’s no buzzing or dead string, and each one rings out clearly, then as you progress it’s simply muscle memory in your fingers, the other thing is don’t press too hard on the strings, I was guilty of this, all you end up doing is pulling them out of tune, it had me baffled at first as to what on earth was going on, just keep going, you’re going to get there

 

[Cycleops]

the other thing is don’t press too hard on the strings, I was guilty of this, all you end up doing is pulling them out of tune, it had me baffled at first as to what on earth was going on, just keep going, you’re going to get there

Couldn't this be the tuners slipping? A good idea not to press too hard anyway.

 

[ColinJ]

Couldn't this be the tuners slipping?

Or accidentally pulling the strings slightly sideways...?

 

[DRM]

Couldn't this be the tuners slipping?

No it was a brand new Xmas gift to myself, it actually holds tune very well, just my cack handed technique, it’s actually a very nice guitar despite not costing a great deal indeed

 

[DRM]

Or accidentally pulling the strings slightly sideways...?

That seems to be part and parcel of trying to strangle the living daylights out of it you press too hard, and also slightly bend the string as well, it just sounds off, slightly out of tune, yet the open strings are set up Bob on

 

[kingrollo]

Ah right so you strum on the upstroke as well !!! Who knew !!!

 

[Drago]

My tip? Practice relentlessly, an hour a day, every day. I do an hour on the bass and 30 mins on the mando religiously, usually in the morning once I've done the chores. There are no shortcuts, and nothing else matters if you aren't making the commitment and putting in the time.

The only day I dont practice is the morning of a gig, when I'll be playing for 2 to 3 hours that evening anyway, and the day after a gig to give my sore fi gers a rest.

 

[kingrollo]

Bump.

been twanging away for almost 6 months (oh er missus) - and having 30 minute lessons once a week. got a few chords sorted - changes are still very slow though.

One thing im struggling to grasp is beat or rhythm - my instructor refers to it as 1 2 3 & 4 - and the and 4 bits has be done quite quickly - can't suss it - can't find much online about this technique either - anyone got links to such a tutorial ?

 

[Threevok]

Bump.

been twanging away for almost 6 months (oh er missus) - and having 30 minute lessons once a week. got a few chords sorted - changes are still very slow though.

One thing im struggling to grasp is beat or rhythm - my instructor refers to it as 1 2 3 & 4 - and the and 4 bits has be done quite quickly - can't suss it - can't find much online about this technique either - anyone got links to such a tutorial ?

Try tapping your foot

 

[icowden]

Bump.

been twanging away for almost 6 months (oh er missus) - and having 30 minute lessons once a week. got a few chords sorted - changes are still very slow though.

One thing im struggling to grasp is beat or rhythm - my instructor refers to it as 1 2 3 & 4 - and the and 4 bits has be done quite quickly - can't suss it - can't find much online about this technique either - anyone got links to such a tutorial ?

Quite a lot of music is written as 4 beats in a bar (the 1,2,3,4). To differentiate between whole beats and half beats it's common to use "and". If we take the proclaimers:

1...2........3.........4.......1.........2 .....3 .......4.....1....2........3.......4........1...........2.....3.......4....&...1.....2.....3.....4
I would walk five | hun - dred miles and | I would walk five |hund - red more just to |be the man to |

Most of it is just (1,2,3,4 - crotchet beats), but in the fourth bar "just to" is two half beats (quavers), so this could be called as "four and".

A 1,2,3% 4 would be Tum Tum Te Te Tum.

Just to complicate matters you can also specify "swung" quavers.

This makes the same phrase Tum Tum Tuuum te Tum.

Finally, you can try to spot the beats in songs to get a better understanding:
The first and third beats are the strong beats, the second and fourth the weak. So:
I would walk five hun dred miles and i would walk five hun dred more just to be the man to
Usually in songwriting you try to make sure the importand words are on the strong bea

Hope that helps...

 

[Specialeyes]

Mafrty Schwarz is an excellent online tutor. Start here...

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCV9IgeSYuU


Per @icowden 's post above, I saw a video of the crowd at a Nigel Farage TV show gormlessly clapping along on 2-4 the other day and it was comically bad, and another video of Harry Connick Jr slipping a 5th beat into a bar to get the audience's clapping back onto 1-3.