Hey all,[br]I'm new to guitar (bar a small dabble many years ago while in my teens), and everything about it feels awkward. I'm guessing it's just because it's new and it will get better over time, but 2 weeks in and it's hard despite practiing just about every day. Tell me it'll get better, guys.
thanks,
G
NZ
You will get better. 
[br]Time.
Perseverence.
I felt awkward even just holding a guitar when I first walked into a guitar shop again for the first time in over 40 years 16 months ago. Now they're like an extension of my arm.
Originally Posted by: graemehakinHey all,[br]I'm new to guitar (bar a small dabble many years ago while in my teens), and everything about it feels awkward. I'm guessing it's just because it's new and it will get better over time, but 2 weeks in and it's hard despite practiing just about every day. Tell me it'll get better, guys.
thanks,
G
NZ
I do think people sometimes expect more of themselves at the outset of guitar. Few people feel comfortable when they first started playing. Think of it less like learning guitar and how it should feel. It's like you have no point of reference of how long that will take.
Think about it in these terms. Let's say you're currently not in great shape but you decide you have the goal of running a marathon (full 26.2). The first day out, how far do you think you would go? I'm sure you'd say to yourself that you can't even get to a 5k walk much less a full run 26k. But you have to start with the understanding that the long term goal take may steps and short term goals and growth to get there. It may take a year or two years to get to the 26k but with good planning of growing from shorter walks to a end goal of running the full deal, you could get there (I'm not a runner, so what do I know.....).
Same thing with guitar, it's something that you build upon. Some days you'll feel awesome and other days you'll want to toss it down the stairs because your fingers just won't cooperate (anf for the record, most days you'll love the instrumwent). Make small goals and achieve them. The long term part of playing is that you're always learning and to the world, you could be an amaziong player but as a student of the instrument, you'll always know there is something you want to play but can't yet do.
Right now it just seems more pronounced because there isn't much you can play yet. Two weeks is nothing in time. I took to guitar pretty naturally when I picked it up but even at two weeks, I couldn't play jack squat.
Don't worry about how good you are right, just enjoy the process of getting there and watching the little acheivements. I've been playing for 35 years and lately I've been learning a lot of songs outside of my wheelhouse, Like I said, always something to learn....
You have nothing to worry about as long as you don't get discouraged and keep practicing. Part of the fun is when something clicks! You'll get better and better!
You have nothing to worry about as long as you don't get discouraged and keep practicing. Part of the fun is when something clicks! You'll get better and better! I've been playing since I was able to hold a guitar. There are still songs and concepts that take me back to the point of being an absolute beginner. It's a process, not a race.I have to remind myself of that. Part of the fun of playing is those "Ah-Ha!" moments. I can guarantee you have many of those to look forward to! You're doing great right now, wherever you are in your journey. Just keep on going!
Oh, you're all so nice. I think I was worried I'd hit a wall. The simple chords with Lisa were a piece of cake, but the Am/Em is seriously cooking my noodle. I can play it slow, but try and keep up with the song and the wheels fall off. My strumming's to bits and my fingers are knotted. I'll get it, but after starting so well, it's a bit of a reality check lol.
Originally Posted by: graemehakinOh, you're all so nice. I think I was worried I'd hit a wall. The simple chords with Lisa were a piece of cake, but the Am/Em is seriously cooking my noodle. I can play it slow, but try and keep up with the song and the wheels fall off. My strumming's to bits and my fingers are knotted. I'll get it, but after starting so well, it's a bit of a reality check lol.
At two weeks, if you can say that some of the chords Lisa's playing are a piece of cake, you're doing just fine and nothing to worry about. You're just finding out what every guitar player knows; we've all got our 'finger-demons'. Those things that just vex us. I still have em too. That said, I totally think you're gonna do just fine.
Good luck!!
Has anyone got any tips to stop my thumb from wandering down the neck to the nut? I've tried putting a strip of tape around the back of the first fret area, but it's not really helping. Short of nailing my thumb in place.........
I'm 50. I just started playing again after a 20 year hiatus. This is my third attempt to learn to play, and now with the internet and GuitarTricks, I am actually taking structured lessons, so I am really hopeful that I'm going to stick with it this time. The past two times, no formal lessons, just learned from friends and beginner books and I got frustrated when I got up to the F-Chord (Barre Chords) and gave up - don't give up !!
Things are so different now with all of the information that is at my fingertips and with the structured course on GuitarTricks. For example, I just took my old guitar in to the shop and had it "set up" - I had no idea that was a thing. He lowered the action (it was ridiculously high, but I had NO IDEA that it could be easily changed, I thought I had to buy a really expensive guitar to get one that had light low and easy action) and straightened the neck, put custom light strings on it. That was $50 total and took a couple of hours - OMG, I wish I had known this before. It's a completely different instrument and so much easier and more enjoyable to play! I also bought an assortment of different picks and found that it's much easier for me to play with a super light pick (.35 instead of .70).
Stick with it, it will start to feel natural. But don't be shy about trying different size guitars, lighter strings, lighter picks. If you have an old borrowed or inherited guitar, spend $40 or $50 and take it to the guitar-shop and have them do a "set up", it may be that your action is too high and the neck is warped, which will make playing a LOT less enjoyable. If you aren't sure and don't want to spend that money unless you need to, go to the guitar store and play some of the more expensive acoustics that they have. If they feel significantly more comfortable and easier to play, easier to push the strings, the guitar shop CAN get your guitar to be more comfortable. I wish I would have known that for the past 40 years!
Originally Posted by: graemehakinHey all,[br]I'm new to guitar (bar a small dabble many years ago while in my teens), and everything about it feels awkward. I'm guessing it's just because it's new and it will get better over time, but 2 weeks in and it's hard despite practiing just about every day. Tell me it'll get better, guys.
thanks,
G
NZ
It will get better!
When I first put my fingers in the shape of a C-chord, I told myself there's no way in hell that I will ever do that correctly. Now, just 6 or 7 weeks into the game, my fingers move relatively fluidly between the 5 major open chords (C-A-G-E-D), and the three minor chords I've learned so far. At this point, Lisa showed us the B-chord and the F-chord, and I just a few days ago told myself that there's no way in hell that I will ever be able to do that correctly.
I'm sure I'll laugh about this statement in a few weeks, and so will you. Muscle memory in something really amazing, as I learned from tennis. Once you trained your wrist, hand, and fingers to get into a certain shape, over and over and over again, they'll do that automatically.
The one and only challenge for us is to stick it out. We may never become guitar superstars, but I'm sure a few years from now we can sit around the campfire and entertain a whole group of people without looking silly.
