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A little help


wsweeney
Registered User
Joined: 04/26/14
Posts: 5
wsweeney
Registered User
Joined: 04/26/14
Posts: 5
04/28/2014 8:31 pm
Ok so I do have a few questions I am hoping someone out there may help me with. They may seem like no brainers to some but.... I am a beginner, just started this journey a few days ago. I played the piano for about a year but I wanted to do this for a long time.

1. I have the time to practice, around 2+ hrs a day. Will this be beneficial to learning or just hurt?

2. How should I handle time? I guess what I mean is how much time should I devote to warm ups and then moving on to practice lessons?

3. Is it a good or bad idea to do warm up, practice, then try and learn a song or just work on the fundamentals for now?

Thanks to everyone for their time and I think Guitar Tricks is pretty amazing at this point.
# 1
maggior
Registered User
Joined: 01/27/13
Posts: 1,723
maggior
Registered User
Joined: 01/27/13
Posts: 1,723
04/28/2014 9:23 pm
Hi!

Welcome aboard!! Glad you are enjoying your guitar journey and the website here. Knowing piano and having some music fundamentals under your belt will give you a good head start.

1) When you are starting out with guitar, there are mechanical things you need to work on which will require building up some physical strength in your hands, fingers, and some calluses on your finger tips. It's important to practice regularly in the beginning, but not so much that you are hurting yourself. Think of the marathon runner - when he starts training, he's not going out running 10 miles a day right off the bat.

2) Definitely devote time to warm ups. 5, maybe 10 minutes should be good to warm up. Warming up doesn't mean jumping right into practicing your scales at max speed. Stretch out your fingers and your wrists. Play some scales slowly. Strum some chords.

3) In the very beginning, there are a lot of fundamentals to work out. Unlike piano, there is more of a ramp up with guitar. Frist off, you have to learn how to tune it. You have to learn how to fret notes, how to pluck or strike the strings, etc. As soon as you can, I think it is important to start learning songs because that is what will motivate you and hold your interest. Don't beat yourself up though if it takes weeks to get to that point.

The important thing is to try to be patient with your self and take your time. If you stick with it with some daily discipline, you'll do very well and will be playing songs and strumming chords before you know it.

Hope that helps.
# 2
compart1
Registered User
Joined: 06/27/09
Posts: 1,410
compart1
Registered User
Joined: 06/27/09
Posts: 1,410
04/29/2014 12:12 pm
Maggior gave you the right scoop..
I glad he eluded to marathon runners. Guitar is athletics for your hands, and like all athletes you need to warm up. I would include a few quick warm-ups for the rest of your body, and a few deep breaths.
Look through the 1 pick song and see if there is one that you know. you'll have some idea of what it should sound like.
Good Luck..
# 3

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