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Post subject: struggling newbie--HELP
Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2009 12:04 pm
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This is long winded and I apologize but these are questions I really need to know and all you seem so informative and helpful.

I am new to playing the guitar as well. Been playing about 5-6 weeks. It is sooo much harder than my friends make it look!!

I seem to be struggling with getting the right strings, both for finger placement and for picking. I am learning to play string by string, note by note, plus I watch you-tube and am trying to play songs with a few chords to lighten the boredom, ie Johnny Cash's version of Hurt and House of the Rising Sun.

One question is; how can I better get a feel for where the strings are for finger placement and for picking? Is there a placement of my hands that will kind of keep them stationary?

I have small hands and shorter length arms and have been playing on a full size acoustic. I just ordered the pink fender DGA-1 which says it is more suited for smaller hands.

I was wondering would this help? To practice on a smaller guitar and then work up to my full size?

After spending about $300.00 on, Learn to play guitar books and DVD’s, I decided to take some lessons and had my first lesson Saturday.

The guitar teacher said it was better to learn to play with a pick right from the beginning rather with my fingers plucking the strings. I do much better without the pick, one less thing to concentrate on, but is it better to use the pick right from the beginning like he said? Any thoughts on that?

Also, I am reading the notes rather than the TAB markings. I have no problems until I get into the E, A, D strings with the note reading. I can read violin music with no problems but am having trouble shifting the notes over to the guitar. Is the TAB method better to initially learn with, and then learn the notes method?

I am trying to practice every day for about an hour or more but find myself getting discouraged and stopping after about 20 minutes of struggling. I played violin for 15 years and have recently started playing that again so I know it is practice, practice, practice, except I am losing heart with the guitar. HELP!

I would greatly appreciate any helpful hints anyone can give me, because I do so really want to be able to just sit and play. I have read some of your posts and how some of you just sit around watching tv and playing, and I thought..Wow, I want to be able to do that! I feel this is a great way to release stress and build creativity. Plus music just moves my soul like nothing else can.

Thanks to all of you for being out there and helping us newbies!

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Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2009 1:14 pm
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haha, this'll sound cliché, but practice is the mother of all skills...
So for the finger placement, I'd say, just experiment and practice a lot, find out what feels good and what's bugging you, and what you find hard to do, and try to do it some more.

About the picking/plucking and the notes/tabs, you should really try both and deside for yourself (again) what you like! Don't let your teacher push you into a picker, if you're more comfortable plucking!
The fact that you rather play notes, and that you seem to enjoy plucking more, makes me think you might be more of an acoustic player.

There are also lots of electric guitar players that play with their fingers. Like Mark Knopfler, from the Dire Straits (youtube it, you'll recognise some stuff), and he's a great, great guitarplayer!

Learning to read tabs is real easy, and it's really cool if you can read the much harder sheet music too! That way, you'll automatically get the basics about the notes on your guitar. That can come in helpful when you start learning about scales, making your own songs and improvising.

Hope this helps you out. If you don't get anything I wrote, I'll try to explain it again in other words.

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Post subject: Re: struggling newbie--HELP
Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2009 1:50 pm
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[quote="sinderella60"]

Keep on truck'in and follow along with us. :wink:


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Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2009 1:56 pm
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5-6 weeks isn't very long. Just stick with it and soon something will click and things should begin to make more sense and you'll have an easier time figuring it out. The violin and guitar seem very similar, but are actually very different instruments.

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Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2009 2:03 pm
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You are just taking your baby steps. It just takes some practice, your fingers need to strengthen , and flexibility increase.

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Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2009 2:32 pm
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When I first started, I had a guitar teacher that beat "proper technique" into me -- using the correct finger to play notes in a scale or chord, thumb in the middle of the neck, etc. It was more difficult at first, for sure, but paid HUGE dividends not too long later on. Having good technique buiilds up strength to play very difficult stuff that bad-technique players will really struggle on. There were countless times where my buddies would say, "How can you do that so easily??" It made me a believer. As a beginner, learn proper technique. It will make you much better.

Okay, stepping off the soap box now...

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Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2009 2:35 pm
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Hi Sinderella and welcome to the forums,
Having learned the violin already, you will know the importance of scales, working on the pentatonic scales and playing open chords will help with finger placement and familiarize you with notation.
Having short fingers should not be a big problem. Lowering the thumb behind the neck, raises the fingers at the front for reaching the low strings.
Your teacher will be able to help you out with all these things you've mentioned and as you know from learning violin, patience and practice is the only way to move forward.
So all the best my friend, don't rush things, enjoy the ride it's worth it.
And don't forget, the guy's in the forum are always here, to help move it along.
So get to work.
Cheers :D

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Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2009 2:47 pm
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Sinders you shall go to the ball.

As you will know from learning violin perseverance is the only answer. You will find it especialy difficult because your thinking ,'I'd rip this if it was a violin piece'. Also your used to a thinner smaller neck. Its probably not that your hands are small. I'm a stumpy sausage fingers and i can stretch 6 or 7 frets. Its taken years of practice though.

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Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2009 5:26 pm
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Being able to musical notation gives you a head start, although I can appreciate that you don't feel like it does just now! Tablature is handy, but it's really a supplement to what's written on the staff... it tells you where to put your fingers, basically, and it helps players like me to muddle through as my sight-reading is poor to say the least.

Once you get used to the guitar's tuning -- in fourths rather than fifths like a violin -- you'll find it easier to work out where the notes should be. There are more ways of playing the same note on a guitar, so eventually you need to be able to know which one is closest to where you want to be playing.

Are you starting out on a steel-string acoustic? If so, good work getting far enough to ask others for help... just fretting the notes is very difficult in the beginning, regardless of perceived hand size or finger strength. It's not like anything else you've ever had to do. When fretting a note, you need to get your finger tip to be just behind the fret... too far back and it will buzz, at least until your finger strength is greater. As you've probably noticed, it's hard to get a good sound out of a chord at first as it's not possible to have all your fingers just behind the fret, and to make it worse the fingers you've worked so hard to place are probably muting the open strings that you need to be hearing!

Once your fingers are arched over properly with just the very tip fretting the note, you'll hear a real difference. It takes a while to get there, but when it snaps into place it'll be one of those "eureka!" moments. Then you can begin to work on messing your technique up... heh. Many experienced players look like they're casually laying their fingers down wherever they feel like it and cool sounds pour forth... but you can bet they spent years slogging away at repetitive tasks to get that way.

I always like Tommy Emmanuel's advice on practice... when learning a new piece or technique find somewhere you can be alone, as you will be playing that thing hundreds of times. Nobody wants to hear that, probably not even you. Heh.


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Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2009 8:22 pm
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Hi, Sinders and welcome! I started about 9 months ago and I still flub my finger placements sometimes, so don't worry, just keep going over and over it and your hands will eventually remember what to do.

I was a childhood cello player and also struggled at first with having 50% more strings to keep track of. I'd say don't be afraid to look at your fingers for now, keep at it, and make sure you ask your teacher (and us) lots of questions.

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Post subject:
Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2009 9:01 pm
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Thanks everybody. I really appreciate all the support and tips.

I am playing an acoustic steel string and my fingers have finally calloused past painful. I went and had extra light gauge strings put on and the action lowered and most everybody who picks up my guitar does tell me it is extremely easy and very nice to play. Actually I had to wrestle it back from my guitar teacher…lol. I also have a finger strengthening device I carry with me and use frequently. My guitar teacher said I have really good finger strength already, but I figure every little bit helps.

I had to chuckle when I read Ellen’s reply that the guitar has 50% more strings to keep track of than the violin, that is so true and something I hadn’t considered.

I must say I am a person that never takes no for an answer and perseveres always. I have told my guitar teacher my goal is to be at 6 months where most are at 1 year. He thinks I have a good chance saying I am already at the place where most people drop out. I just have to keep my self from getting discouraged.

I started playing the violin in 2nd grade so I really don’t have any memory of the struggles I had to learn. I do remember practicing for hours every day even in the summer with summer lessons. I played in the All State Orchestra several years. So practice I guess really is the key. I can put a young and dumb comment in here that I had a full scholarship to Crane School of Music in NY and didn’t take it. Oh, hind sight really is 20/20 isn’t it?

I guess it is practice and patience with my self. Practice I can do, the patience part will take some patience and practice…thanks again and I’ll keep reading all the other posts, they really are helpful. I’ll keep ya all posted. (that’s my NY now TX southern drawl!)

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Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2009 9:06 pm
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The different tuning might be a bit awkward too, as you move between instruments.

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Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2009 9:56 pm
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You just have to get to playing and practicing.........it will all come together after time.

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Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2009 11:52 pm
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I hear what you're saying, my friend. Learning is not easy, but it can be very rewarding. I was lucky enough to grow up with a father who doubled as a weekend garage rocker. His method of teaching me was to give me an old classical with an action about a mile high and a chord chart. He said when you can play all the chords and make good switches between them, I'll get you a proper instrument. I don't recall how long it took, but I eventually mastered the open chords -- including the dreaded B and F -- and I got my guitar for my birthday a little while later.

It can be exceedingly frustrating, but you're a step up on many people, both because you have sight-reading skills and because you're relatively familiar with how stringed instruments work. It will take time, but keep hackin' away and you'll be amazed. I recall that the first "hard" song I set out to learn was Rush's Fly by Night. Looking at the chords and then the tablature, I thought "I can never do this." Then, one day, I played it. It just clicked. That is one of the defining moments of my early days...it will happen! Good luck!


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Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2009 12:59 am
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also it could be worth trying a cheap electric, they are in general a lot easier to play than acoustics, at least as a starter


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