Tips for an old guy trying to learn guitar

[GrogNerd]

Funny, I feel like I'm cheating when I finger the Em differently depending upon what I'm moving to or from. Should I continue to "cheat"? or decide on one way and be consistent?

it's all about what's easiest, especially when moving between forms. learn both ways, decide which to play depending on what you're moving from, or to.

I also play the 4-fingered G most of the time. I think it does sound better

other songs which use it are Mother (Pink Floyd) & Paradise City (GnR)

 

[kenoglass]

I had a guitar then realized it was too hard...got a ukulele and I can jam out. Four strings for four fingers, I say!!! http://www.ukuleleunderground.com is great!

 

[Ridire]

I had a guitar then realized it was too hard...got a ukulele and I can jam out. Four strings for four fingers, I say!!! http://www.ukuleleunderground.com is great!

Haha...I saw ukuleles at the guitar store and my boy asked about them. I told him he could get one if he learned the guitar first.

What I think would be awesome to play is the banjo. That looks crazy hard, though, despite only having 4 strings.

 

[GrogNerd]

Haha...I saw ukuleles at the guitar store and my boy asked about them. I told him he could get one if he learned the guitar first.

What I think would be awesome to play is the banjo. That looks crazy hard, though, despite only having 4 strings.

standard banjo has 5 strings. top one has its tuning peg at the 5th fret

it's easier to play chords on a banjo (at least to strum), because it is usually tuned to open G

what makes a banjo hard to play is the picking, but once you learn the patterns, it's just repetition

full disclosure: I can't play a banjo

 

[kenoglass]

Haha...I saw ukuleles at the guitar store and my boy asked about them. I told him he could get one if he learned the guitar first.

What I think would be awesome to play is the banjo. That looks crazy hard, though, despite only having 4 strings.

It should be opposite after he learns ukulele then Guitar...they do have banjo ukuleles too they are real loud!

I met up with a large group here in my area and we meet once a month at a pizza place in town and jam out. Its good fun!

 

[Ridire]

It should be opposite after he learns ukulele then Guitar...they do have banjo ukuleles too they are real loud!

I met up with a large group here in my area and we meet once a month at a pizza place in town and jam out. Its good fun!

I went to a concert about a year ago and Lee Dewyze opened. I had never even heard of him before (I've never watched American Idol). He was pretty good. But what I loved about his show was that he did a cover of Avicii's Wake Me Up. It was just Lee, with an acoustic guitar, and one other guy playing the banjo. The banjo was amazing.

 

[GrogNerd]

old band of mine did a gig where we had a guy come up and play Little Wing on banjo

 

[estricklin]

Funny, I feel like I'm cheating when I finger the Em differently depending upon what I'm moving to or from. Should I continue to "cheat"? or decide on one way and be consistent?

Using the most efficient fingering is like cheating WITH your wife! Learning to do things like that will come in big time handy later trust me.

Haha...I saw ukuleles at the guitar store and my boy asked about them. I told him he could get one if he learned the guitar first.

What I think would be awesome to play is the banjo. That looks crazy hard, though, despite only having 4 strings.

Yeah it kinda is crazy hard, even if you've played guitar already. The left hand is pretty easy for me, but wearing finger picks didn't come natural to me at all because I played with my bare fingers for so long on the guitar. I've also gotten used to using 3 fingers and my thumb on the guitar, with the banjo that's impossible, using 2 fingers turns out to be MORE difficult for me, imagine that.

I learned to play the Uke very quickly, as in just a few days to become fairly decent.

 

[Chadwick]

As someone who has grown up in the land where the banjos can be heard rather loudly, I can inform everyone that there are two schools of thought on how to properly play a banjo.

There is the "Claw Hammer" style, and then there is the "Finger picking" style. Claw hammer doesn't use picks or finger picks (normally). Finger style can be done without or with finger picks, based only on personal preference. (See what I did? Normally people would say with-or-without, I did it backwards....like much of S.E. Kentucky, I'm a little bit twisted around )

Ok, everyone go watch the web series "Hicky, the hillbilly vampire". After you get through the horror of that, I'll tell you more about the secrets I know about banjos, hillbillies, and living in the forgotten part of the state of Kentucky.

 

[JohnnyO]

Ironically, evh's eruption was on as I read some of this.

Thanks for posting, ridire. I'm in a similar boat, though you're hitting this with more focus than me. I have a '74 les paul that I picked up about 12 years ago. I had taken lessons in high school, and dabbled for a few years. Never took it seriously.

Fast forward fifteen years. After a divorce, I ran with a friend's band for a while. That's when I picked up the les paul.

Fast forward to now. Have a wife and a three year old. I dug out the guitar and an old lesson book. Starting from scratch again, and having fun with it.

 

[jafo28]

Another guy here who, because of this thread picked up the guitar again. I was using justinguitar a few years ago, then got laid off from work and kind of set it aside. Thanks Ridire for posting this, it gave me the kick in the butt to give it another go. I picked up Rocksmith 2014 for PS3, and love this game. I know it's not gonna teach me everything, but it makes practice so much more fun.

 

[Homercidal]

Bah. I have to remember to learn the guitar parts to "Can't You See?" by Marshall Tucker Band. My daughter learned the flute part in 1 day. I need to step up so we can do a duet.

 

[GrogNerd]

Bah. I have to remember to learn the guitar parts to "Can't You See?" by Marshall Tucker Band. My daughter learned the flute part in 1 day. I need to step up so we can do a duet.

Has that 4-finger G & the Cadd9

EASY song for the rhythm guitar

 

[Homercidal]

Has that 4-finger G & the Cadd9

EASY song for the rhythm guitar

Yeah, it looks and sounds pretty easy. I just have to grab the guitar and sit down and practice it.

I wish my buddy was here to play along. I think it would make the sound much better to have both guitars going.

 

[GrogNerd]

Yeah, it looks and sounds pretty easy. I just have to grab the guitar and sit down and practice it.

I wish my buddy was here to play along. I think it would make the sound much better to have both guitars going.

Previous band I was in did that song. Great way to stretch a set. Problem was I was the only guitar and can't play lead. So, to change things up, I would throw in a reggae rhythm.

It will be known throughout history as the flashpoint of the Great Manassas Redneck Riots of 2002

 

[Homercidal]

Previous band I was in did that song. Great way to stretch a set. Problem was I was the only guitar and can't play lead. So, to change things up, I would throw in a reggae rhythm.

It will be known throughout history as the flashpoint of the Great Manassas Redneck Riots of 2002

OMG that would make a GREAT reggae tune!

 

[Ridire]

Ok, as I'm getting more comfortable with the idea that I can learn the chords, a new "insurmountable" hurdle now enters my mind. As of this point, I am only trying down strums in a measured 4 beats per bar pattern. Not sure I've got enough rhythm to do anything else. With the simple songs I'm playing, they are unrecognizable without some other strumming pattern.

Am I way too early into this to be worried about such things?

 

[GrogNerd]

Am I way too early into this to be worried about such things?

Not too early, but for now I'd say concentrate on left hand technique before getting too worried about your right hand

I'm presuming you're right-handed

 

[Ridire]

Not too early, but for now I'd say concentrate on left hand technique before getting too worried about your right hand

I'm presuming you're right-handed

You presume correctly. If nothing else, my crazy "I'm learning this damn thing" venture has prompted so many of my friends, who used to play, to pick it up again that I feel I've done some good. But I'm still going to learn this damn thing if it kills me (I'm a little nuts when I decide to do something) .

 

[Oginme]

I've always had a questionable sense of rhythm. What helped me a lot was listening to songs and counting out the beats. Then I would start tapping them out with my fingers or feet when I was able to (caused some issues when using my feet while driving...). The more I did it, the better I got at recognizing the basic beat and rhythm of a song and being able to vary my strumming pattern to suit.

 

[estricklin]

You presume correctly. If nothing else, my crazy "I'm learning this damn thing" venture has prompted so many of my friends, who used to play, to pick it up again that I feel I've done some good. But I'm still going to learn this damn thing if it kills me (I'm a little nuts when I decide to do something) .

Learning some good right hand techniques are just as much a part of this as learning chords or anything else. I've always had an easy time with strumming and rhythm, but I've heard a lot of beginners complain that they can't strum up very easy? Just hold a particular chord shape and go at it with your right hand, don't do anything particular but just experiment. You'll be surprised at how varying your strum pattern and how long you hold each chord in a progression, can make one song, start sounding like a totally different one. Using a metronome can help with your "internal clock" so to speak, but I don't believe it will help you learn to strum any better. Listening to the actual song your trying to learn while practicing it, (yeah I know that sounds so obvious) is the BIGGEST help. I know I find myself often trying to practice a song for 15 or 20 minutes without even playing the actual song! Hell, I've learned entire songs just by listening to them in my head and trying to figure them out, so I'll be the first to admit guilt, but I don't believe it's the best way to go about things.

 

[Ridire]

Haha...funny story related to this. I'm sitting here watching Nashville something or other, which is apparently the extras from the show Nashville (I'm guessing here, as I'm neither a fan of the show or of modern country music). My wife, after 30 minutes, says "I've got the remote...have you been watching this?" My response was that I've been mesmerized by their fret hand movements and I've been trying to name the chord as they play...

 

[1977Brewer]

Haha...funny story related to this. I'm sitting here watching Nashville something or other, which is apparently the extras from the show Nashville (I'm guessing here, as I'm neither a fan of the show or of modern country music). My wife, after 30 minutes, says "I've got the remote...have you been watching this?" My response was that I've been mesmerized by their fret hand movements and I've been trying to name the chord as they play...

I get lost at church upon occasion.

 

[Chadwick]

Haha...funny story related to this. I'm sitting here watching Nashville something or other, which is apparently the extras from the show Nashville (I'm guessing here, as I'm neither a fan of the show or of modern country music). My wife, after 30 minutes, says "I've got the remote...have you been watching this?" My response was that I've been mesmerized by their fret hand movements and I've been trying to name the chord as they play...

After years of playing, you can do this without looking. You can hear a chord combination and just instantly know what it is. No looking involved. To a beginner it seems like magic. But take my word for it, it's not. Like anything, once you do it enough it becomes second nature.

That is the secret to the magic of music. It's only magic to those that aren't musicians. With enough practice and listening, you too will have this magic ability.

EDIT: Not that this ability is magic at all......it isn't. It's simply knowing your craft. Those that are super good at it even claim crazy things like having "perfect pitch". I don't believe in that. But I do believe in relative pitch. And I believe in peoples memory. Both of which, together, could create the illusion of perfect pitch.

I did actually meet an autistic person that did seem to have perfect pitch once. He was the only one that I ever met that passed my test of perfect pitch. My test of perfect pitch was to play 11 different notes on a piano and have the listener tell me which note I didn't play.

The only person to ever claim to have perfect pitch and pass this test was autistic. And out of many autistic savants, only one ever was right 100% of the time. No normal person ever passed.

 

[estricklin]

After years of playing, you can do this without looking. You can hear a chord combination and just instantly know what it is. No looking involved. To a beginner it seems like magic. But take my word for it, it's not. Like anything, once you do it enough it becomes second nature.

That is the secret to the magic of music. It's only magic to those that aren't musicians. With enough practice and listening, you too will have this magic ability.

EDIT: Not that this ability is magic at all......it isn't. It's simply knowing your craft. Those that are super good at it even claim crazy things like having "perfect pitch". I don't believe in that. But I do believe in relative pitch. And I believe in peoples memory. Both of which, together, could create the illusion of perfect pitch.

I did actually meet an autistic person that did seem to have perfect pitch once. He was the only one that I ever met that passed my test of perfect pitch. My test of perfect pitch was to play 11 different notes on a piano and have the listener tell me which note I didn't play.

The only person to ever claim to have perfect pitch and pass this test was autistic. And out of many autistic savants, only one ever was right 100% of the time. No normal person ever passed.

Couldn't have said it better. I remember I was playing with this band once, and I had to learn a song that I couldn't find any tabs for, I had never seen it played nor could I find a video. I was scared to death of showing up for practice and not being able to play it. I started playing the song and fumbling with chords, took me about 10 minutes to figure it out, and it wasn't a particularly easy/common chord progression either. It was a confidence thing for me, always had the ability but didn't know it. Used to wonder how other players could do it, seemed impossible.

Can't turn it off when watching concerts, always looking and listening to the guitar players, thinking about things like equipment and watching the techniques.

 

[GrogNerd]

After years of playing, you can do this without looking. You can hear a chord combination and just instantly know what it is. No looking involved. To a beginner it seems like magic. But take my word for it, it's not. Like anything, once you do it enough it becomes second nature.

That is the secret to the magic of music. It's only magic to those that aren't musicians. With enough practice and listening, you too will have this magic ability.

EDIT: Not that this ability is magic at all......it isn't. It's simply knowing your craft. Those that are super good at it even claim crazy things like having "perfect pitch". I don't believe in that. But I do believe in relative pitch. And I believe in peoples memory. Both of which, together, could create the illusion of perfect pitch.

I did actually meet an autistic person that did seem to have perfect pitch once. He was the only one that I ever met that passed my test of perfect pitch. My test of perfect pitch was to play 11 different notes on a piano and have the listener tell me which note I didn't play.

The only person to ever claim to have perfect pitch and pass this test was autistic. And out of many autistic savants, only one ever was right 100% of the time. No normal person ever passed.

in high school chorus class, the teacher brought in a blind piano tuner who tuned the piano in the classroom by ear.

and 3 of the guys I worked with in the guitar department at MARS could tune guitars, ukes and banjos without using a tuner. all the strings, each by themselves, not tuning one to pitch and using that for a reference for the next string (like using the 5th fret to tune the next string)

i suppose that could be just knowing those notes so well, but it was damn impressive.

 

[Ridire]

On vacation and my hard earned calluses are disappearing.

 

[estricklin]

On vacation and my hard earned calluses are disappearing.

They won't go away that easy don't worry. Sometimes a couple days rest is good for the hand if you've been practicing really hard too. I take my guitar on vacation with me, took it on flights, a cruise, you name it, it goes with me.

Anyway, hope your someplace with good weather, hot women and cold beer!

 

[Ridire]

They won't go away that easy don't worry. Sometimes a couple days rest is good for the hand if you've been practicing really hard too. I take my guitar on vacation with me, took it on flights, a cruise, you name it, it goes with me.

Anyway, hope your someplace with good weather, hot women and cold beer!

Check, check and check. Southern Florida, totally abusing my liver with Cigar City beers.

 

[JohnnyO]

Check, check and check. Southern Florida, totally abusing my liver with Cigar City beers.

Ha! I have a conference in Orlando in a week and a half. We have the same plan, it seems.

 

[Ridire]

They won't go away that easy don't worry. Sometimes a couple days rest is good for the hand if you've been practicing really hard too. I take my guitar on vacation with me, took it on flights, a cruise, you name it, it goes with me.

Anyway, hope your someplace with good weather, hot women and cold beer!

Was 10 days off. My first day trying to get back at it, I felt like I had never touched a guitar before. But the next day (today) something weird happened...I wasn't playing clean, but I felt more natural changing chords. I think it hit me that this is less science than art. I think the time off was actually good.

I realize now that my rhythm is a bigger problem than my fret hand...

 

[GrogNerd]

Not too early, but for now I'd say concentrate on left hand technique before getting too worried about your right hand

I'm presuming you're right-handed

I realize now that my rhythm is a bigger problem than my fret hand...

I now regret my earlier advice

my problem has always been my fret hand. that, plus I can't bend for sh*t & my knowledge of the fretboard is severely lacking.

but I'm a pretty good rhythm player! knows all my chords

 

[Ridire]

I now regret my earlier advice

my problem has always been my fret hand. that, plus I can't bend for sh*t & my knowledge of the fretboard is severely lacking.

but I'm a pretty good rhythm player! knows all my chords

Well, here is really my question - I think I asked it wrong: should I be learning strumming patterns at this stage? I guess the rhythm isn't necessarily the issue, the issue is that I totally lose my place when I am doing anything other than pure down strokes. If I know I have a full 4 count bar of D, into half a bar of A, into a full bar of E...I lose track of where I am unless I am counting it out 1,2,3,4...without any sort of alternating strum pattern.

 

[Homercidal]

Yes.

 

[GrogNerd]

my thinking was the left hand is more important at the beginning. you need to know the chord shapes and be able to go from one chord to another without having to stop and think about it. until you know where your fingers should go, simple down strokes are good.

after you get confidence in your left hand, you just need to add hitting the strings when you come up for another stroke. from there it's just stroking faster

I mean "strumming"

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

Just happened across the thread, thought I'd join in and keep up with all the good info being passed along.

I started playing guitar about 15 months ago having never played a stringed instrument (piano doesn't really count). Struggled with it a little bit for many of the reasons noted on here: the big problem for me was finger soreness. I know there is always talk about calluses and whatnot, but honestly, my guitar hurt to play. Playing a D chord was like playing butter knives.

So I tried a few things and what worked best was I changed the lower three strings (GBE) to Extra Lights, and the top three to Lights. Then I had it professionally set up. Talk about a different instrument. It's a $100 guitar, but plays better than many of the $1,000 on the rack at the store. I have a nice Seymore Duncan pickup I place in it too, and it sounds incredible through an amp.

Regarding Strumming: It can definitely make a difference. A song I used to practice when I was changing up strumming patters was Supertramp, "Give a Little Bit" where you'll strum up-down, rather than down-up. Sounds fantastic on an acoustic guitar, and it's a good exercise. If you can get down some of the neck work, you'll look like a pro (like sliding the D chord down to the 7th and 9th fret - try it!).

Anyways, just wanted to jump in. I started playing guitar, and got my dad back into it, after he took a long hiatus from having played and now he is reallly into it again. It's a fun hobby we share now.

 

[kenoglass]

So I signed up for the Kala newsletter in January. They were giving away their new thin body steel string guitars....look what I won!!!



It also has a pickup with tuner and all, pretty nice stuff!!

 

[Roadliner]

Man I've alwas wanted to learn to play guitar. Thanks to a broken finger in my younger days that healed wrong, I can't spread my middle and ring fingertips apart when they bend around the neck.. really messes up the whole fret thing lol.

 

[HarborTownBrewing]

Got the electric guitar out and conditioned the fret board tonight and put new strings on it. I couldn't believe how much gunk came off the fret board. Looks great now though and feels fantastic. It was overdue for a restring.

 

[Homercidal]

Man I've alwas wanted to learn to play guitar. Thanks to a broken finger in my younger days that healed wrong, I can't spread my middle and ring fingertips apart when they bend around the neck.. really messes up the whole fret thing lol.

Play with the other hand. You're starting from scratch anyway.