My beginner advice

I'm not here to tell anyone how to navigate through this site or when to move on to the next lesson but what has worked for me taking Lisa's lessons is don't jump ahead too fast before you got something down pretty good. I was doing the songs with the chord changes, Roll like water, I get it now, Skeeter loves Amy and Darling Destination.

I wasn't quite getting the changes on time with the first two songs after awhile so I got bored with them and I added the other two. So now here I was playing four songs and none of them very well. Just over and over again with them sounding pretty bad. Of course there were some good times, but mostly bad. So I decided to just keep playing the first two songs and nothing else until I got those changes down just about perfect. Now I feel much better about my playing that I have those in my back pocket now and can, in my opinion rightfully move on to the others. This works so much better for me than trying to get the changes down to a bunch of songs at once and not really getting anywhere. Your opinion may differ but this is what I found has worked best for me. Taking it in little pieces instead of big chunks just so you feel better about moving through the course. It's a journey.

Couldn't agree more with you Joesef. Glad to hear that you've learned how to pace yourself and getting more out of the lessons before moving on.

I could not agree more Joesef. I think your bang on about taking small chunks at a time and gettting them down before moving on. In the past when i tried to learn guitar i tried to learn too much too soon and ended up giving up. Practice is key "practice does not make perefect" Practice makes Permenant".

I also agree. Even though at times it's frustrating to try to be as perfect as the instructor, it certainly doesn't mean to give up. Get the basics down. What I do is practice the current lesson and get it where I find I can almost keep up and know what I'm supposed to do. Then I check out the next lesson and do the same. This way I don't take a big chunk out of the process but also have two things to become expert on at the same time. It keeps it interesting to me. My 2 cents

It's tempting to work on your strengths and ignore weaknesses which is why so many guitarists can play a few riffs amazingly well, and other things....not as well. :) Excellent advice!

JM

I agree with you Josef, it's very hard not to fall into the trap of moving song from song. Everytime I hear a song I want to play it. But conversely, at least for an amature like me, playing the same thing over and over again is boring. So my compromise is I have about 4 "core" songs I practice week in-out, and 1 day/week I devote to something new, 1 day/week I stick to guitar tricks training.

Thanks Josef! I am just beginning and I am falling in the same trap of wanting to move on to quickly. Its back to mastering the lessons one at a time then moving on.

I am trying to learn to play guitar I am very interested and I am looking for my first guitar but I am not sure which guitar is more comfortable or easy for a beginner acoustic or electric guitar You could help me with this dilemma could you recommend me as professionals that guitar is more convenient for me thank you very much for your help

Hey Benjamin. I am not a professional. I am a beginner. For me I have found that an electric guitar is easier to play than an acoustic. The strings are easier to press and bend. Also with my electric, I can just pick it up anytime and practice with it unplugged without worrying about making too much noise. So I practice more with an electric. Nothing wrong with acoustic, just the electric is easier to start with.

I second what Mr. Paul wrote. I had an acoustic for years, just never bothered to learn how to play! I decided to get an electric and start learning with Guitar Tricks. In addition to Mr. Paul's points, I also like that I can adjust the amp settings to get different sounds when learning, which helps hold my interest when practicing, if that makes sense...

Originally Posted by: miamiheat88

I second what Mr. Paul wrote. I had an acoustic for years, just never bothered to learn how to play! I decided to get an electric and start learning with Guitar Tricks. In addition to Mr. Paul's points, I also like that I can adjust the amp settings to get different sounds when learning, which helps hold my interest when practicing, if that makes sense...

Good point! It does not get monotonous practicing that same chord over and over when you can completely change the sounds on the amp!

Originally Posted by: Mr. Paul

Originally Posted by: miamiheat88

I second what Mr. Paul wrote. I had an acoustic for years, just never bothered to learn how to play! I decided to get an electric and start learning with Guitar Tricks. In addition to Mr. Paul's points, I also like that I can adjust the amp settings to get different sounds when learning, which helps hold my interest when practicing, if that makes sense...

Good point! It does not get monotonous practicing that same chord over and over when you can completely change the sounds on the amp!

Exactly! ;-)

Thanks for the info. I also tried to go to fast and will be going back to the beginning. Just geting a cord change process. Also have a problem with timing and using a metronome. What speed is best to srart with?

I am playing Roll Like Water and having a difficult time reading the TAB and getting where a repeat is required. chord changes and timing is good, just getting lost with repeats and when a repeat is presented how far back should i go

i figured out my problem. was a browser age issue. rolling through at a nice pace. thanks

Restarting after years away (and never really "nailed it")

My new mantra,

Slow is smooth,

smooth is fast.

Originally Posted by: joesef

I'm not here to tell anyone how to navigate through this site or when to move on to the next lesson but what has worked for me taking Lisa's lessons is don't jump ahead too fast before you got something down pretty good. I was doing the songs with the chord changes, Roll like water, I get it now, Skeeter loves Amy and Darling Destination.

I wasn't quite getting the changes on time with the first two songs after awhile so I got bored with them and I added the other two. So now here I was playing four songs and none of them very well. Just over and over again with them sounding pretty bad. Of course there were some good times, but mostly bad. So I decided to just keep playing the first two songs and nothing else until I got those changes down just about perfect. Now I feel much better about my playing that I have those in my back pocket now and can, in my opinion rightfully move on to the others. This works so much better for me than trying to get the changes down to a bunch of songs at once and not really getting anywhere. Your opinion may differ but this is what I found has worked best for me. Taking it in little pieces instead of big chunks just so you feel better about moving through the course. It's a journey.

Hi there,

This is my first message on the forum. I decided to finally seek some help because I have found myself feeling very frustrated these days.

I have been working on the songs Roll like Water and I get it now for 3 months now and it does not sound really great. Don't get me wrong, it has gotten much better than the first times, but I can't seem to be getting to the point where it's as smooth as in the video. Even though the songs are fun to play for a beginner such as myself, I tend to get bored doing them all the time. I tried moving along in the lessons but as Josef said in his first message, I can feel it's not a good idea because I simply am not ready yet.

During the first chapters of Fundamentals 1, I felt that I was moving along regularly, because the difficulty was increasing slowly. But now I get the impression that the lessons have gotten real difficult real fast, so I feel stuck, like I am not really progressing.

So, I know you guys are going to tell me to keep practicing (which I haven't done religiously this last month, I'll admit), and I will, but how do I keep away from all this frustration and boredom (sometimes, not always ;-) ?

Thanks !

Hi Josef

You've got it nailed with the practicing. Well done. An inspration to us all..

Joe

I'm a beginner, so I won't even attempt to pretend like I have any valuable advice for anyone, but I've found that I get a lot out of doing lessons from other sites along with here. It prevents boredom from setting in and also presents the information in a slightly different way. I particularly enjoy the Yousician app where there are games and challenges to test you, as well as the very cool ability to slow down a song to a snail's pace for practice. I feel very fortunate to have so many resources available literally at my fingertips through the internet. I'm able to get a lot of reinforcement without being tempted to advance too quickly because of waning interest or monotony. Plus, the instructors all have their unique take on things and provide tips that another one doesn't. It's working for me anyways! Good luck!