Anyone learning to play the guitar?

[Praise Warrior]

A couple years ago my friend and I wanted to start a contemporary worship ministry, and only my friend could play the guitar, so I inherited an old one and learned to play myself the summer before we were leading worship that Fall.

I had a lot of the music anyway (had been collecting it for five years before that just for grins and to help family in music ministry out). I learned on chord charts and diagrams. I printed out a big sheet of diagrams, drew all the major chords on them (A-G) and then picked some songs with those chords and looked off the diagram sheet until I didn't need it anymore. Then I just wrote diagrams on the song chord sheets until I didn't need to do that anymore, mostly.

Start out small and concentrate first on doing things well. First concentrate on making the chords sound good, and then practice the chord changes until you can play them faster than what you'll have to do in the song. For rhythms, find a recording, figure out how to strum it, and air guitar it first. Then when you pick up your guitar, your muscle memory will pick up and you'll get the rhythm easier.

If you're aiming for worship guitar, practice singing along while you're playing (it is harder to do than you'd think starting out), and get a strap and music stand and learn how to play standing up. Finding someone else to play with is really important. You don't have to be a great guitarist to lead worship if someone else is playing with you but you should learn how to sound good and not compete or clash with them. If rhythms trip you up let them fill the rhythm in, and just make sure you hit the chords at the right spots.

Also, learn tricks to make it easier on yourself. For instance if you see the chord A/C# you can often get by with playing just the A. Substituting some chords for others sometimes works. Sometimes different chords have different versions (I stuck with open ones before going to the barre chords--for me the open F was easier than the barre chord, especially since you don't have to move a whole lot from the C). I also learned how to use a capo and transpose songs from difficult chords into easier ones.

[End Times Dweller]

There's all kinds of great advice here so not much to add. The advice that really stuck out was to have Patience. :thumb
I lead the youth band at our church and we play 3 or 4 songs to open up the youth service on Wed nights. I taught myself or started teaching myself when I was about 15 or so. I play and sing so I do open chords and not barre. I have an electric but mostly play acoustic, especially in the band. It's great to play with a band because I've never had the luxury to just stop playing mid-song before but I find that I do that sometimes when really getting into the singing since there's at least one other person on guitar and there's a bass and a keyboard (and drums). Again, patience. Get to the point where you can finger the chords without looking at your fingers and can change between chords without looking, etc. Stuff that only comes with practice. I remember when I was a teenager and I FINALLY got the F chord to sound right! Keep it up! :hat

[lisa]

Do the Luna guitars sound like the regular ones? I've been practicing today and I'm really frustrated at how I cannot get my fingers to reach the strings, particularly my ring finger reaching for the 5th string. It has a mind of it's own and won't bend like its supposed to. I can barely strum a C major, and an F major, forget it. I can do an A major pretty good though. :lol2

I start my lessons tomorrow night. $70 bucks for a month of lessons, which is once a week for a half hour. I was thinking that was pretty spendy, but maybe if I can at least do a month, then maybe just work on it on my own. I do have a computer program for learning the guitar (eMedia brand) so that would help a little bit too.

I guess patience is going to be my biggest issue. :candle

Patience is a huge thing in learning an instrument as an adult. Your fingers need time to stretch and get used to being in that position. It takes time, especially starting out because you need to make sure you are practicing correct fingering so that you don't develop bad habits early on. Breathe slowly and make sure you are relaxed when you practice. Breathing is key. If you hold your breath, you start to tense up.. not good.

The Luna bass arrived today and I've been messing around with it tonight (in an effort to distract myself from the election :doh ) . Yes, it sounds like a regular bass guitar. The neck is a comfortable span for me; it's more comfortable than the Ibanez I've been playing. And honestly, I think I like the sound better than the Ibanez. But alot of your sound can be altered by the kinds of strings you use, too. I'm impressed overall with the Luna bass, though I need more time on it.

Congrats on scheduling lessons! Where I go, I'm paying $25 per half hour once a week, so I think you're getting a good deal.

[Kliska]

Do the Luna guitars sound like the regular ones? I've been practicing today and I'm really frustrated at how I cannot get my fingers to reach the strings, particularly my ring finger reaching for the 5th string. It has a mind of it's own and won't bend like its supposed to. I can barely strum a C major, and an F major, forget it. I can do an A major pretty good though. :lol2

When I first started, there were several chords I couldn't get my fingers to perform, but keep at it...even playing non-related notes will help you eventually be able to hit those chords, at least that's what I've found in my case.


I start my lessons tomorrow night. $70 bucks for a month of lessons, which is once a week for a half hour. I was thinking that was pretty spendy, but maybe if I can at least do a month, then maybe just work on it on my own. I do have a computer program for learning the guitar (eMedia brand) so that would help a little bit too.

Congrats on the lessons; 70 bucks isn't bad at all...I pay around 60, and I live in a very rural area.


I guess patience is going to be my biggest issue. :candle

It has been with me too; but, over a month, I've rapidly learned that I've just got to take my time (pun intended). :madgrin

[Wally]

I used to have a full (spanish?) accoustic (Yamaha G23 I think) that I could not finger an F chord or any barred chord for that matter.

I traded it in on a folk guitar and the bars were now possible. Since then, I have filed frets, shaved the bridge and gone to different strings and that has helped some. But I have tried other makes and the action(playability) is radical from guitar to guitar.

If you have problems, you might want to take your guitar to a quality shop and have them do a setup. It should be from $50 to $200 depending on make. The goal is to reduce the amount of pressure you have to put on the strings on the neck. It is worth it, if you cannot buy a better guitar.

[BigBunny]

remember capos are for cheats ;)

[Wally]

I gave a friend an adjustible hose clamp, told him it was a capo for his sax.
:hehee :doh :lol2

[Kliska]

I gave a friend an adjustible hose clamp, told him it was a capo for his sax.


:lol2 :thumb

[Rebecki]

The Luna bass arrived today and I've been messing around with it tonight (in an effort to distract myself from the election :doh )

That's exactly what I did lastnight. I got to the point where I couldn't watch any longer, I couldn't concentrate on prayer or reading, so I picked up the guitar and practiced some more.

I think I have the C down pretty well by memory, and that's been only over 3 days. I've had a headache all day, so I haven't picked it up yet today. I hope it's gone by the time I go to my lesson tonight. I'm taking my amp and he's going to show me how to set it up and what all the bells and whistles are for.

Here's my little setup in our office.
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a82/Rebecki/Gsetup.jpg

Here's a better look at my guitar.
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a82/Rebecki/Guitar.jpg

[lisa]

Nice!! :thumb