Hi .quick intro..gear, fav bands, reason to join

Hello everyone,

Myself Nishad, Originally from India currently in Columbus, IN.

I am owning Yamaha AC1R acoustic.

I have been playing guitar for more than 8 years ON / OFF. However, I have picked up again with the determination to take it to the next level.

My Favorite artists are Beatles, Eagles, Eric Clapton, Ed Sheeran, John Mayor, BB King, Bryan Adams and much more.

I main reason to choose Guitar Tricks is the song library and step by step lessons.

I am excited to explore the website, however, I would like to get the guidance here.

My guitar playing progress is kind of stuck mainly due to lack of planning and visibility. I know few major open chords, few Bar chords, Basic 8th note, 6/8 strum patterns. I can shuffle chords and play songs.

However, I am restricted with my technique, fo e.g 16th note strums.Though I play few scales. I am not able to make music out of it. I would love to play level 3 and above songs on this website which have arpeggios, various strum patterns, and leads.

If you can suggest me some good practice routine and areas to focus on this website to hone above skills it would be great.

I practice an average hour a day but couldn't restrict myself playing old things again and again, making me more like a guitar rut than a player.

Regards,

Nishad

Hi Nishad,

I'm happy to hear you're starting on guitar again after so many years on and off. I was the same way, but guitar is something that I can't ever completely put down and seems like you're the same way.

Some of the best ways to practice, at least for me, was learning songs that I really enjoyed listening to. I would try that as a way to learn new skills and practice new things.

Originally Posted by: Guitar Tricks Admin Some of the best ways to practice, at least for me, was learning songs that I really enjoyed listening to. I would try that as a way to learn new skills and practice new things.

Never undervalue learning songs, ya know. I avoided learning them for so long (lazy...) and it cost me. Like with business or the trades (plumbing etc), you have internships or apprenticeships. It helps take the learned skill and puts it in to a practical application. That's now how I view learning songs. You see how some artist took this knowledge and applied it. You can get that 'Oh, now I get it' moment pretty often the more songs you learn. You get to take the knowledge and apply it and see how it works in the real world.

I've noticed that once you learn the basic chords (not barre chords) there are a ton of songs that you can learn to play. All that's needed is figuring out the best way to transition between chords and strumming patterns.

I know he's not on your list but Johnny Cash has a lot of songs that use easy chords and he tends to use one strum pattern for a lot of them (quarter-eighth-eighth-quarter-eighth-eighth).

Thank you all for the suggestions. I will surely work on it.

Just visited Nashville this long weekend and got to know the exciting music of Johny Cash.

Heading straightway to his songs :).