The Newbie who is getting it

After 4 months of practicing pretty regular and almost giving up....I posted not to long ago that I was finally 'getting' it. I've been reading a lot of posts, they all give you hope, right? Well it works for me because NOW I am actually learning my FIRST blues song with Lisa on the acoustic guitar.
I never thought I would get to this point. I am really proud of myself, I love to play and practice. Now don't get me wrong...I am still playing very slow but I am PLAYING! And having lots of fun!
I had NEVER picked up a guitar in my life before I signed up with Guitar Tricks.
The only bad thing is that I absolutely cannot carry a tune, so I hope there are songs to learn without lyrics, LOL.

Awesome! All of that practicing is really paying off. Keep up the great work, and be sure to send me front row tickets when you book your first gig. ;)

Congratulations and keep it up. I'm an "old" newbie. Been messing with guitars on and off for years. Learned a few songs, learned a few licks, spent a lot of money on gear but never learned the fundamentals to becoming a true guitar player. In fact when I first joined GuitarTricks I just skipped the lessons and went straight to the "Songs" section and looking for few new songs to learn.

I finally decided I was either going to learn to play the right way or I was going to sell the guitars. I've been working my way through the "core learning system" slowly undoing a lot of old bad habits and picking up, for the first time, a real understanding of the guitar and music.

So I'm right there with you. Best of luck!

FWIW, Lisa is one of my favorite instructors as well!

Thanks guys.
But I still have a very, very long way to go. I am trying to play the chords along with Lisa (the four step pattern). Its a lot of fun, but it takes sooo long to get my fingers going and trying to keep up with her. There are some notes that are so hard, especially F.
But I appreciate all the feed back.
Doris

Originally Posted by: dorisprosserI am really proud of myself, I love to play and practice. Now don't get me wrong...I am still playing very slow but I am PLAYING! And having lots of fun!

This is what happens when you have a focused effort and a clear idea of where you are going... great post!

Doris, have you looked at Lisa's fingerpicking lessons yet? If not, keep in mind that for fingerpicking, you just need to have the chords down. Some of her lessons are really simple chord progressions/easy chords. You might already know them. She does a beautiful job of walking you through fingerpicking, and I found it was really amazing how quickly you start sounding like a pro just by using fairly simple fingerpicking instead of strumming. Check them out... they're really fun.

Another over-looked item is if you are playing acoustic guitar, get a capo. Capo's are great. No fancy technique required, you just slap it on and play "normal". Raising the pitch of a song can give it a whole new lift from open tuning. It also fun to experiment using a capo and just one or two fingers to create chords that would be very difficult to play otherwise. I like the Planet Waves capo... very simple to use and works great.

Keep at it!

Slipin Lizard: +1

Talk about great posts! Very positive, very encouraging.

Thank you for the great feedback.
But what is a capo?
I will definitely check out the fingerpicking lesson.

hi doris,

I also really enjoy reading the success of others and in return, I'll leave you a little something.

A capo is basically a clip that allows you to change the pitch/tone of the fretboard...in otherwords, changing the position of the nut to anywhere you like for a little added flavour!

Great for playing alongside other guitarists.