Music Beginner guitarist seeking advice

Remove this Banner Ad

Howard Moon

Howard Moon

Insufficient intent
Veteran 10k Posts Shiny Penny
Dec 14, 2008
19,922
32,541
Edge
AFL Club
Essendon
Call it a midlife crisis, call it what you will, i've had an acoustic guitar sitting in the corner of my lounge room for a decade that became more ornament than instrument. I'm a music nut, and have always harbored ambitions to be able to play, I tried on and off but things always got in the way (kids)

This time I made a pact, its time, im not giving up.

Ive gone hard for a few months in a row, every day, practicing notes - my fingers are callused, i'm ready. (have a steel string, pain was part of the process I guess, noting is meant to be easy)

so here I am, asking for advice.

I have been working on the open e blues scale and am ok at working up and down the strings, but I have to look while doing it, can sometimes muck around on the g string and maybe attempt a lick but its clunky...

Ive got a good a minor, e major, c, d, g.

I can move from a minor to c to d pretty good - but struggle big time going from anything to a g and back again.

the only two songs I have been attempting are working class hero and hurt.
t
can anyone suggest any maybe 3 chord songs with the afore mentions chords with pretty easy strumming patterns that I might try?

or maybe thins i can do to get better in changing between notes?

is it like golf? everyone has their own little tips and advice that can be like a penny drop moment at any time

everyone tells me its muscle memory but I just cant mange to put my fingers on the strings and have it ring a tune without actually looking with my eyes

anyhow, hoping for advice from the forum
 
Not a guitarist by any stretch but years ago a mate started teaching me Come As You Are by Nirvana. I'd never picked up a guitar and it wasn't too hard to play something that sort of resembled the tune pretty quickly.

Alas beer took over that arvo and we gave up, then I never gave it another crack.

No idea what chords they are, it's just a memory of something that appeared relatively easy to play.
 
Pweter said:
Not a guitarist by any stretch but years ago a mate started teaching me Come As You Are by Nirvana. I'd never picked up a guitar and it wasn't too hard to play something that sort of resembled the tune pretty quickly.

Alas beer took over that arvo and we gave up, then I never gave it another crack.

No idea what chords they are, it's just a memory of something that appeared relatively easy to play.
Click to expand...

seems pretty manageable!

top two fret boards, 3 strings

ill report back ;)
 

Log in to remove this ad.

Which version of the G chord? 3 finger (open b string) or 4 finger (3rd fret on b string)? I'm sure there are technical names for them but I'm the wrong guy for that. I find the 4 finger variation is much easier to transition between chords - e.g. for D your 3rd finger doesn't move.

Lou Reed - Dirty Boulevard (G-D-A-D) is a good one to practice that transition
 
Maddogm said:
Which version of the G chord? 3 finger (open b string) or 4 finger (3rd fret on b string)? I'm sure there are technical names for them but I'm the wrong guy for that. I find the 4 finger variation is much easier to transition between chords - e.g. for D your 3rd finger doesn't move.

Lou Reed - Dirty Boulevard (G-D-A-D) is a good one to practice that transition
Click to expand...


1556062433797.png

this g, whats the other variation look like?
 
I've always been a 4 finger g guy for some reason. I just think it sounds better.

You fret the b string to the left of the 3.
 
Ac/dc have a plethora of songs made up of good practice riffs. Jailbreak is a good one that's e d a.. I think off the top of my head. You should get an electric if you can Howard. Will make your life a bit easier trying to play.
 
Beerfish said:
Ac/dc have a plethora of songs made up of good practice riffs. Jailbreak is a good one that's e d a.. I think off the top of my head. You should get an electric if you can Howard. Will make your life a bit easier trying to play.
Click to expand...

I cant wait to go home and practice now!!

should I be attempting bar chords or is that way later down the line?
 
Howard Moon said:
so the pinkie is on the 3, then the finger on the b string can anchor for the d chord?
Click to expand...
Ring finger on the 3 pinkie on the 4. It's the only way you can do it really and yeah the ring finger is the d note which is what they call the root of the d chord although there is still a d note in the g, it's just not the root. The g is the root which you're playing with both your index and your pinky because the top and bottom string are the same.

By all means try bar chords. Try everything! Everything is easier on an electric though. You don't have ro plug it into anything. Just play it and play it and play it some more andmwhen you're sick of playing it keep playing. :D
 
Simple bar chords are pretty easy in theory. Half bar chords (using just tbe lower 3 or so strings) are your 'power chords' but they sound pretty crap unless they're being played through an amp with distortion. The easiest bar chords to start with are the e and a shape. The bar is your index finger which becomes a movable nut up and down the neck if you like. The secret is building the strength in that index finger so you can get each note in your bar sounding clearly.
 

(Log in to remove this ad.)

Also, it doesn't matter if you have to look at where you're putting your fingers. It's more important you're putting them in tbe right place. The muscle memory will come with time and naturally. I wouldn't bother focussing on it as a measure of anything though. I still look too and I've been playing since I was 17.
 
Beerfish said:
Also, it doesn't matter if you have to look at where you're putting your fingers. It's more important you're putting them in tbe right place. The muscle memory will come with time and naturally. I wouldn't bother focussing on it as a measure of anything though. I still look too and I've been playing since I was 17.
Click to expand...

im always cutting corners trying to play quickly - well I hope its not cheating

but somebody told me once you get your normal d major, you can keep that shape

just move down the fret board one step and its an e, another half step its an f, then a g, then an a, b, c, so on, with the same shape on the same strings..

is this a thing?
 
Howard Moon said:
im always cutting corners trying to play quickly - well I hope its not cheating

but somebody told me once you get your normal d major, you can keep that shape

just move down the fret board one step and its an e, another half step its an f, then a g, then an a, b, c, so on, with the same shape on the same strings..

is this a thing?
Click to expand...
Yep. You can do that with most chords. The d shape is easy to do that with because it's easy to muffle the other strings but you can do it with an e and an a the same way. Playing the d shape as a proper bar chord is pretty difficult though so what you would do is use an easier shape on a different fret because it's the same theory, if that makes sense? Like you can play an a shaped bar chord on the 5th fret and there's your d. And if you look at your regular b chord, it's naturally a bar chord.
 
I wouldn't bother trying to learn scales at this point though. I would just focus on your major chords. Being able to play a through to g open and change between them. Then start learning your minor chords which in most cases is just a slight variation on your major shapes and will open up a heap other songs for you to practice with. For example, e minor is just your e major with your index finger off the strings. Only 2 fretted notes required. Piss easy! And a minor is exactly the same shape as e major just moved across the fretboard a string each towards the high strings.
 
Beerfish said:
I wouldn't bother trying to learn scales at this point though. I would just focus on your major chords. Being able to play a through to g open and change between them. Then start learning your minor chords which in most cases is just a slight variation on your major shapes and will open up a heap other songs for you to practice with. For example, e minor is just your e major with your index finger off the strings. Only 2 fretted notes required. Piss easy! And a minor is exactly the same shape as e major just moved across the fretboard a string each towards the high strings.
Click to expand...

I seem more drawn to the minor chords - being melancholic and all, the majors are too happy for me!

in the end I guess you have to like what you are playing to move along with things
 
A chord progression to learn: Ice Cream chords
G - D - Em - C

You can shift them anywhere but that's an open chord version
Once you have that down you'll be able to play a lot of songs
 
Howard Moon said:
I seem more drawn to the minor chords - being melancholic and all, the majors are too happy for me!

in the end I guess you have to like what you are playing to move along with things
Click to expand...
A good one if you like metallica is fade to black. A minor to c major to g major to e minor back to a minor. Nice and easy. All open chords and you can get it sounding pretty nice on an acoustic.
 
Howard Moon said:
hanging to get home! - I think I have a migraine boss...
Click to expand...
What are the condition of your strings? There's nothing worse than trying to play with shitty old strings so if you are then do yourself a favour and get some new ones. It will sound so much better be nicer to play and will make you want to play more. I recommend elixir strings as they have a coating on them that gives them a loooooong life. Any half decent music shop should have them.
 
Beerfish said:
What are the condition of your strings? There's nothing worse than trying to play with shitty old strings so if you are then do yourself a favour and get some new ones. It will sound so much better be nicer to play and will make you want to play more. I recommend elixir strings as they have a coating on them that gives them a loooooong life. Any half decent music shop should have them.
Click to expand...

my guitar playing friend did say they were a bit gritty, leading to my fingers getting sorer - string change is next on the agenda

I couldn't believe it actually, I was round his place and found a nylon string, I was playing note perfect!

get back to the steel string, getting the fuzz when im a little off, he said don't get sucked in to the nylon, its not the way forward.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Remove this Banner Ad

Back
Top