View Full Version : I've got a Guiiiiitttaaawwww!!!!! - Desmo's Learning Diary
No, not the Guitar Hero type ;)
Every time I come back form a meet and have seen Belmit and Garp playing, I always wish I could. I mentioned this to my mum after the Chester meet and what does she turn up with on my birthday today? ... a guitar :D
I'm fairly musical really but have never tried to learn an instrument at all. I'd like to teach myself rather than go to lessons as I don't really have the spare time or cash to do that. I think it's something I can do and I've got no excuses now.
I've found a few sites on the net with guides and Leo has pointed me to another good one so I think this is the route I'll take. But I'm happy to listen, pick up tips and take advice from you guys in the know :)
Just so you know what I've got, it's a Crafter D6-N.
So, off I go on my journey....wish me luck :)
:D
I'm looking forward to some videos of you playing and Piggymon singing her heart out next to you. :p
Piggymon
16-09-2007, 20:17
You so do not want to hear me try and sing ;) ;D
Crafter acoustics are fantastic, your mum has taste :)
Nothing wrong with teaching yourself, just read a few articles on general technique and keep them in mind (learn to use your pinky!)
No real need to learn all the notes etc, just learn to read tabs and learn some chords
www.ultimate-guitar.com is a good start, lots of chords and lessons to work your way through
Crafter is a reasonable brand. I quite like their budget stuff, seems to be pretty good build quality in comparison to other entry level stuff.
Get ready because your fingers are gonna hurt like hell for a while. Both Belmit and I have nicely padded fingers on our left hands from holding down the steel strings. Like most folks I never really realised just how much effort is involved until I started playing geeetar :)
As for teaching myself I started off with worship stuff so I can't really offer much advice from that perspective. I had a worship book that had songs with chords and chord charts above the music. Found a song that had the basic 4 chords in, G, D, C, Em7 and then worked my way up from there :)
I got rather addicted to the guitar when I first started playing. I used to play for at least 2 - 3 hours a day for probably my first year, then slowly thats gone down.
That's fantastic. I started to teach myself to play - unfortunately I've let it slide as I didn't have the time and sort of reached a plateau. It's great fun and I know you'll probably be able to get on well with it! Enjoy it! :D
Chuckles
16-09-2007, 22:01
Learn the basic chords keep practicing until you can quickly and easily move between them. Once you can do that, learn barre chords and you're pretty much there for being able to sing along to most songs.
There are several stages in learning guitar that are like riding a bike. It suddenly just clicks.
Just don't be surprised if it takes you a while to be able to play barré chords (where you lay one finger down across all the strings) :)
Justsomebloke
16-09-2007, 22:53
Look up Three chord tricks & Buy a Capo ;)
Look up Three chord tricks & Buy a Capo ;)
I can do those
Right, I take a deck and I deal out three piles, each of three cards....
wait
chords.
Damn.
/exits
Not much more to add, except that you may find strumming difficult to begin with, almost to the point where you think you might be mentally challenged in some way because you can't get it. It'll click all of a sudden, unless you just happen to pick it up straight off.
Above all, enjoy!
Kell_ee001
16-09-2007, 23:54
It'll click all of a sudden
Everyone I've known that plays has said the same thing! You go to sleep 1 night after not being able to do it for aggggggggeess, and when you wake in the morning you suddenly can! ;D Very odd.
Everyone I've known that plays has said the same thing! You go to sleep 1 night after not being able to do it for aggggggggeess, and when you wake in the morning you suddenly can! ;D Very odd.
That goes for a remarkable number of things, like barré chords. It took me ages to be able to play them at all, then seemingly overnight everything changed. Still not the greatest at them even now but then I've got a load of bad habits and cheats to get around them.
Strumming is oddly something I've been able to do from the start, but I suspect that's in part due to violin playing and thus being used to smooth movements of that arm in time to music.
Thanks for all the input guys :)
Not sure how much time I'll be able to put into this but all I can do is give it a shot and see how I get on :D
For me, I found chords, strumming and all that stuff fairly easy to pick up, but what helped me no end was this one word that was taught to me from the very beginning - anticipation.
That single word helped me to get to the stage where I was playing to people all over the world.
Aside from that, a more practical guide for me would be to do exercises that build up individual finger strength and an ability to better control your fingers individually. This can be beautifully tied into a warmup routing too (important) and will help you make those trickier chords in future.
Take your guitar and hover your four fingers over the 1st 4 frets of the E string. Play each note individually and keep each finger on the fret whilst you play the next note (so after 4 notes you have 4 fingers all pressed down on the fretboard). Then move to the next string with your index finger etc etc, always keeping 4 fingers on the fretboard.
This is very, very hard at first (especially if you really strive to keep each note clean) and even harder if you try this with a metronome running in the background and restart the exercise if you fluff a note! After a while you will have a vice-like left hand grip and will be able to place your fingers with precision whenever you want to!
I found this exercise sped up my fret-accuracy development faster than scales or chords ever could.
Hope this helps! (and look forward to the sore fingers!)
Funny you mention sore fingers ;D Been having a little chord practice tonight and my fingers are nicely grooved :D
I'm taking on board all of the tips. I'm going to try and fit in 15 minutes practice every morning for a bit and see how I get on.
Funny you mention sore fingers ;D Been having a little chord practice tonight and my fingers are nicely grooved :D
I'm taking on board all of the tips. I'm going to try and fit in 15 minutes practice every morning for a bit and see how I get on.
Thats a reasonable start. Daily practice will help significantly in toughening up your fingers :)
Mine ached for ages when I first started, but you soon get used to it :)
DRZ: Anticipation.. that's a good word, and sadly one I left rather late to consciously work into my technique. I now do a fair amount of it with chords, which mainly came about from learning to transpose chords on the fly when playing with a Capo (if there is more than one guitarist in the worship team I'll often capo up the neck so I'm playing in a different voicing to the other guitarist, even if the music doesn't have capo chords on it) but I really need to start getting in more transition chord stuff without having to consciously think about it.
Its good that you are working on it, however late you have felt you have left it. TBH it seems like you already do, your playing is really good but it might not be "obvious" if you play chords most of the time. I cant see inside your mind but the fact you can sing and play at the same time means you MUST be thinking ahead :)
I play mainly "single note" stuff rather than chords, which in some ways is harder, requiring constant planning ahead but I guess for chords you have to plan to move your fingers into the right shape in the right order mid-strum, which can be pretty tricky!
Have you thought about playing Spanish type stuff to build on your anticipation / fingering co-ordination? (I guess you might do already?) I have an exercise piece here thats really nifty for doing that, will video it now (if I can still play it!!!!) and throw it up for you.
I found solos easier when I used to play regularly (2-3hrs a day). But maybe that's the distortion on the electric or fluidity of the progression of the solo that makes it sound like it's easier? Then again I used to play more blues sort of stuff so maybe sounded "ok" because it's supposed to sound a little "moody"...
My issues with chords was just the strum pattern - getting the chords right and in time wasn't too tough, it was getting the right chord at the right time with the right rythmn and strength as well as style that I found tricky... The strum pattern makes the song/tune - unlike a solo which is fairly easily identifiable.
Blackstar
17-09-2007, 22:31
When i played double bass, my fingers killed me for the first month. The skin soon hardens up, put salavon on them rather than hand creme. Makes them sting less without undoing all your skin hardening work. The strength in your fingers will build hugely over time, a double bass sting is stupidly thick and strong but even my little fingers could hold them down and the stretch of your hand will also get better.
I totally regret stopping playing, keep up the practice!
FAR from perfect (1st time I have picked up the guitar to play it in months and months and I haven't been regularly playing for a few years now) but at least I can still remember what to do!
http://www.statichiss.co.uk/practice1.3GP
http://www.statichiss.co.uk/practice2.3GP
MarcLister
17-09-2007, 23:28
Congrats Desmo. I'm interested in getting an electric guitar and seeing how I go with that. I've not really had any musical interest in instruments before but a year or so ago I was listening to Led Zep and Queen and something in my head clicked and I just heard all these guitar riffs in a new light (or new ear?) and thought it'd be brilliant if I could play similar kind of stuff. Not Led Zep or Queen obviously as I'd need decades to get up to that kind of level but having a go with an electric guitar really interests me.
Got no money to spare atm though and its my final year at Uni so I can't really dedicate the time that learning the electric guitar would demand. Perhaps something for when I graduate perhaps?
Not much more to add, except that you may find strumming difficult to begin with, almost to the point where you think you might be mentally challenged in some way because you can't get it. It'll click all of a sudden, unless you just happen to pick it up straight off.
Above all, enjoy!
Oh really? Cos I tried geetarr as a kid and had that exact problem. My hands never worked. I would hold a cord and strum making my cord hands want to strum. They never did the job. So I went to play keyboard instead. Always wanted to do guitar cos its kewl! Got one lying round here too with amp. Congrats Desmo. I expect Mary had a little lamb and row row your boat sing a longs at the next meet! ;)
Father Ted style!
"Like a train in the... wait, I can get this... niiiiight!"
My brother had terrible trouble with strumming, always getting the pick caught between the strings and dropping it inside the guitar. Getting the motion right so the pick is angled up on the downstroke and down on the upstroke is key, even if you overcompensate to begin with. Some people keep their arm static which can cause problems as well - you need to twist the forearm as well and get it in motion with your hand going up and down.
All fnar rights are revoked for this post.
Admiral Huddy
18-09-2007, 09:07
I started playing after the camp last year.. I can play wonder wall and a bit of Ska stuff but that's it.. I must take lessons up again.
We can be a pair of noobs togther :)
I'm planning on a Bat Out of Hell acoustic version for my first public performance ;D ;D ;D
Spent 20-25 mins this morning learning D, A & E chords. I've got them in my head now but they still need perfecting as I sometimes touch other strings with my fingers. Once I've got these nailed I'll move on to switching between them....then without looking.
Admiral Huddy
18-09-2007, 09:38
This is the problem I have.. I keep touching strings I shouldn't..
I've been finding that's it not finger position affecting that....it's overall hand position. I've been moving my palm forward towards the front of the guitar so that my fingers can now point straight onto the fret. It's still not natural at the moment but I'm sure that will come in time.
Admiral Huddy
18-09-2007, 11:40
Everything comes in time :)
I've been finding that's it not finger position affecting that....it's overall hand position. I've been moving my palm forward towards the front of the guitar so that my fingers can now point straight onto the fret. It's still not natural at the moment but I'm sure that will come in time.
Yup, that hand position is key.
Mine is still ugly so I've been told by a guitar teacher, but its rather like a lot of guitarists including Jimi Hendrix, and my thumb shouldn't be where it is (hooked over the top of the fretboard, handy for D/F# though) but my fingers arch enough that I don't catch extra strings when playing, and when I do a little bit of solo stuff (which I'm v. bad at) my grip changes to accommodate it, sliding down so my thumb is more towards the middle of the back of the neck.
It may be because strumming came completely naturally to me, but I found it good to enforce a strict rhythm when I was learning, keeping up the pace even if I was late getting my fingers to the chords. I was kinda forcing myself to get faster so as to stop the songs sounding bad; whereas other learners I've seen seem to stop the song mid flow when they struggle into a chord and then carry on again seconds later once they've got the chord nailed.
MarcLister
18-09-2007, 11:45
How about a go at the Ricky Gervais classic Free Love Freeway? :cool:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_Love_Freeway#Free_Love_Freeway
How about a go at the Ricky Gervais classic Free Love Freeway? :cool:
Me and a mate of mine at uni used to do the entire skit, with me playing the guitar, including the 'Just sounds a bit gay' 'It's not gay.' ;D
Piggymon
18-09-2007, 17:57
We can be a pair of noobs togther :)
You should come over one night for a practise session....
....... I'll make sure I'm down the gym ;D
My fingers are still hurty ;D
My fingers are still hurty ;D
LOL.. no surprises there.
You're not too far from here (well.. an hour or so on the train?), if you find yourself getting stuck or needing some extra help at all feel free to yell. I'm not a good teacher (mainly because of my bad habits) but I'm always willing to help :)
Thanks for the offer Garp :) I'll keep it in mind if I get to a real sticking point.
This morning I went over the D, A & E chords again and can do them all without needing to look them up. I still need to look at the fret for positioning though so that's my next task. Learn them without looking.
Davey_Pitch
19-09-2007, 11:41
Reading this thread has really made me want to get back into my guitar playing. I surprised myself by still being able to remember D, A, E, C and G chords, and the finger positioning, but I seriously doubt I could play them properly without some practise first. I might have to start teaching myself again :)
Thanks for the offer Garp :) I'll keep it in mind if I get to a real sticking point.
This morning I went over the D, A & E chords again and can do them all without needing to look them up. I still need to look at the fret for positioning though so that's my next task. Learn them without looking.
That'll take a little while to do. Its a good idea to force yourself not to look if you possibly can :) I found my chord changes sped up a lot once I stopped looking at the fretboard as I ceased conciously thinking "this finger that fret, and this finger that fret" etc, and just placed the hand down :)
Admiral Huddy
21-09-2007, 15:38
You should come over one night for a practise session....
....... I'll make sure I'm down the gym ;D
No I'll come down th Gym with you and pump!!! :p
Piggymon
21-09-2007, 20:46
Pump it baybeh !! ;)
Coooool mister desmo! How are you learning? I should really get back into learning my purchase of 3 years ago... :)
How am I learning? I've got myself a guitar and this website --> http://www.justinguitar.com/
That's it. Just giving myself 15-20 minutes practice every morning before work and I'm slowly getting there. I know DAE chords and can pretty much get my fingers there without looking now. Still can't do it at speed but that will come in time. Once I can happily flick between all three at a reasonable pace, I'll move onto the next stage on the site.
Piggymon
22-09-2007, 13:54
I haven't been played any love songs yet :(
I've been inspired by Garp and Belmit too and have dragged the old keyboard out. Not got enough time to practice at the mo but it's going to be my next 'thing to do', as I can't do poi or staff atm cos my back is too bad :(
I can maybe...possibly...have a go at playing the triangle :D :o
*has no musical talent what-so-ever* ;D
I haven't been played any love songs yet :(
Desmo: Get G and Em added to your repertoire, then you can do "Love is all around" ;)
Love Is All Around (Reg Presley) Dick James Music
D Em G A D Em G A
I feel it in my fingers, I feel it in my toes
D Em G A D Em G A
Well, love is all around me, and so the feeling grows
D Em G A D Em G A
It's written on the wind, it's everywhere I go
D Em G A D Em G A
So if you really love me, come on and let it show
Chorus
G Em
You know I love you, I always will
G D
My mind's made up by the way that I feel
G Em
There's no beginning, there'll be no end
G A
Cos on my love you can depend
I see your face before me as I lay on my bed
I kinda get to thinking of all the things you said
You gave your promise to me and I gave mine to you
I need someone beside me in everything I do
You know I love you, I always will
My mind's made up by the way that I feel
There's no beginning, there'll be no end
Cos on my love you can depend
It's written on the wind, it's everywhere I go
So if you really love me, come on and let it show
Come on let it show
Come on let it show
Come on let it show
Come on let it show
Come on let it show
Come on let it show
Come on let it show
Come on let it show
Admiral Huddy
23-09-2007, 08:08
I find I get tired really quickly.. I had 10 30 minutes lesson.. That's all you need.. I had a pluck last night.. Practiced some power chords but I'm crap basically :(
Every time I see this thread title pop up I only see 'I've got a...' on the front page and my brain sings '...brand new combine harvester, I'll give you the key.'
Admiral Huddy
23-09-2007, 08:32
sado :p
Well, after another practice this morning I'm happily switching between the three chords with only a couple of minor mistakes in getting fingers touching another string. I can swap chords at a 2-3 second pace although I'm still looking at the fret board. Once I find I'm getting it naturally then I'll start to look away.
Will start adding some new chords this week :)
Admiral Huddy
25-09-2007, 10:59
have you had a good strum yet :p
Every time I see this thread title pop up I only see 'I've got a...' on the front page and my brain sings '...brand new combine harvester, I'll give you the key.'
*pretends he doesn't have the chords for this and can't play it*:o :o
Kell_ee001
26-09-2007, 00:40
Every time I see this thread title pop up I only see 'I've got a...' on the front page and my brain sings '...brand new combine harvester, I'll give you the key.'
;D
*pretends he doesn't have the chords for this and can't play it*:o :o
Ohh-arrrrr ooh-arrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
Desmo: Get G and Em added to your repertoire, then you can do "Love is all around" ;)
I had a look at the next set of chords and gave them a whirl last night. Tried that song this morning and it kind of actually sounded like a song :D
Davey_Pitch
27-09-2007, 15:18
I had a look at the next set of chords and gave them a whirl last night. Tried that song this morning and it kind of actually sounded like a song :D
It's a fantastic feeling when you do something and it sounds just right. I still remember the feeling I had the first time I improvised a small solo and it actually sounded quite good. Looking back I wonder why the hell I stopped playing! :)
Treefrog
27-09-2007, 15:30
Ohh-arrrrr ooh-arrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
"I've got 20 acres, and you've got 43
C'mon now let's get together in perfect harmony"
;D
Be you a zoider drinker then?
LeperousDust
29-09-2007, 11:43
Des if you want to be able to play "a song" learn wonderwall, it's fairly simple and the stumming action should be ok to get started with. It's probably one of the most learned "first songs" because everyone knows it, and its fairly easy :)
Lots of Oasis stuff is easy - Live Forever is quite a nice one to learn.
Yeah Oasis stuff is pretty basic as they tend to use the same chords for every song! ;D
shame the songs are crap.... :p
Yeah Oasis stuff is pretty basic as they tend to use the same chords for every song! ;D
shame the songs are crap.... :p
Right that's it, I'm staying out of this thread!
Nooo I never said Oasis was bad :p - they are great songs to learn because they are easier to learn than a lot of others and it feels good that you're making progress. :)
Right that's it, I'm staying out of this thread!
:angel:
I'm still plugging away :)
Starting to try and strum properly now but it's pretty hard to get a nice consistent "hit" on the strings. But the guys said above that it just seems to click one day so I'm not getting too worried about not not being able to do it properly straight away.
Admiral Huddy
22-11-2007, 15:08
Custom PC this month have a full feature of plugging your Guitar into your PC for learning as well as playback...
http://www.fretlight.com/software.html
Ooh, looks interesting. Will give it a look :)
Must admit, my practice has wained a little recently, my morning routine has gone a bit funny. But still plugging away.
Admiral Huddy
22-11-2007, 16:07
My fingers get so sore.. it prevents me doing internals!
Try DADGAD, it's a tastylicious tuning!
Change:
EADGBE
to
DADGAD
try the following chords:
DADGAD
554000
054700
020020
000202
000204
032020
004200
007500
I don't know the names of any of these chords i've only messed around and found them but you can find loads easy because you have 3Ds, 2As and G which even played open with no strings pressed sounds nice. And when you get there you can bend, hammer on and pull off pretty much anywhere and harmonics never sound bad.
DADGAD is great.. though about the only actual thing I tend to play in it is a specific worship song at church that begs for it.
I'll fiddle about with it randomly though for fun. I usually then drop it down to DADF#AD (open D) and start to pick songs, like say "Big Yellow Taxi" by Joni Mitchell, which is technically in Open E, but that doesn't matter. Its something a little like this:
BIG YELLOW TAXI- Joni Mitchell
TUNING: E B E G# B E
A Asus A Asus A B Bsus B Bsus B E Esus E Esus E
A E Esus E Esus E
They paved paradise and put up a parking lot
A B E
With a pink hotel, a boutique and a swingin' hot spot
CHORUS:
E
Don't it always seem to go
A (n.c.)
That you don't know what you've got till it's gone
A B E
They paved paradise and put up a parking lot
Esus E Esus E Esus E Esus E
(Choo bop bop bop bop, choo bop bop bop bop)
They took all the trees, put 'em in a tree museum
And they charged the people a dollar and a half just to see 'em
CHORUS
Hey farmer farmer, put away that D.D.T. now
Give me spots on my apples but leave me the birds and the bees
please
CHORUS
Late last night I heard the screen door slam
And a big yellow taxi took away my old man
CHORUS TWICE (with only one chooo bop... at each end)
They paved paradise, put up a parking lot (choo bop bop bop bop)
They paved paradise, put up a parking lot
E A B Esus Asus Bsus
E --0----5----7----0----5----7-----
B --0----5----7----0----5----7-----
G# --0----5----7----1----6----8-----
E --0----5----7----0----5----7-----
B --0----5----7----2----7----9-----
E --0----5----7----0----0----7-----
You can see the three main chords, E, A and B are straight barré chords and easy to make interesting with just an additional finger.
Well thanks to Garageband, I can now play an E chord.
I reckon that I only need to learn two more chords and I can pretty much do the entire Status Quo back catalogue!
Well thanks to Garageband, I can now play an E chord.
I reckon that I only need to learn two more chords and I can pretty much do the entire Status Quo back catalogue!
learn A and B7 (both easy) and you've got Caroline, off the top of my head.
Hammers around E for a bit then A for "anything you really want", then back to E, B7 for "your love" ,E for 2nd "Your Love"
easy as pie :)
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