Seriously considering giving up on chords


matt88townsend
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matt88townsend
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07/09/2020 9:33 pm

I have a busy schedule and sacrifice a lot to get my chord practice to 3 hours a day the pay off is next to nothing my progress sucks after 2 to 3 months of practice i cant even play a basic song atleast with tabs songs form easier because its one finger at a time and little to no grouping my goal was to learn riptide i have gotten am to gm up to 70 bpm and i have been stuck i just want to hear so music taking shape im discouraged i dont know what to do any more honestly


# 1
William MG
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William MG
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07/09/2020 10:13 pm

There is something wrong here.

I have no idea how with a busy schedule how you get 3 hours a day in for chord practice. I can't do it and my day starts at 4am and stops with the close of business for the day. Even if I could do it I wouldn't. 3 hours? A day! Seriously?

Where is manX when we need him?


This year the diet is definitely gonna stick!

# 2
Herman10
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Herman10
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07/10/2020 12:09 am

You shouldn't be practicing chords 3 hours a day, you get over tired in your fingers and it gets really boaring and that is what brings you in this rut.

it 's better to practice half an hour to one hour a day but with a practice routine like first do stretches ( important ), then exercise chords and chord changes for about 10 to 15 minutes but with easier chords that naturally belong together ( not Am to Gm, don't get stuck on the chords for that song that you want to learn especially but start with chords from easy songs, there are a lot of people that want to learn to play the guitar because they want to play Sultans of swing from Dire straits as fast as possible but it doesn't work that way, it's a long slow process taking baby steps to get there.)

Then practice some scales with a metronome for about the same time and then spend about 15 to 20 minutes on a very easy song untill that works fine before moving on.

Once in a while toake a sneek peek up ahead to keep the hunger for more burning.

Follow this and you will see a difference after some time.

Herman


# 3
matt88townsend
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matt88townsend
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07/10/2020 1:32 am

@William i work third shift 8pm to 430am i get home around 6am i set my alarm for 10am or 11am practice im learning a new language i take vocal lessons while also studying for my certification (i work in surgery instrumentation part) then i go back to sleep wake up at 645pm and get ready for work.


# 4
Herman10
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Herman10
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07/10/2020 1:55 am

Been listening to that song Riptide on YT and the chords are Am/ G/ C/ C ( no Gm and capo up 1st fret ) but the strumming pattern is with 16th notes and C and G are far from the easiest chords, I would scale this song with 2 guitars here in GT so not a beginners song, mayby you want to much to quickly and without structure in your learning or no method you are not going to get far quickly, no matter with what you want to learn.

Herman


# 5
craigbrown1805
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craigbrown1805
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07/10/2020 2:31 am
Originally Posted by: hsnoeckx

You shouldn't be practicing chords 3 hours a day, you get over tired in your fingers and it gets really boaring and that is what brings you in this rut.

it 's better to practice half an hour to one hour a day but with a practice routine like first do stretches ( important ), then exercise chords and chord changes for about 10 to 15 minutes but with easier chords that naturally belong together ( not Am to Gm, don't get stuck on the chords for that song that you want to learn especially but start with chords from easy songs, there are a lot of people that want to learn to play the guitar because they want to play Sultans of swing from Dire straits as fast as possible but it doesn't work that way, it's a long slow process taking baby steps to get there.)

Completely agree with this. If I practiced chords three hours a day, my fingers would be red raw and hands clawed with RSI. It's meant to be fun and engrossing not a form of self-flagelattion.


# 6
Herman10
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Herman10
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07/10/2020 10:21 am

A good song sugestion for you; Amazing grace with the same chords as Caren plays it but you only strum the chord on the first beat of the mesure and play it real slow ( sounds way better any way if you sing or hum it along, more sereen ), with this song you have plenty of time to change the chords, even if you put them finger by finger.

Much luck and don't give up.


# 7
matt88townsend
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matt88townsend
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07/10/2020 11:34 am

Thank you all for your replies i will shorten my time and practice easier chord switches.


# 8
matt88townsend
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matt88townsend
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07/10/2020 11:36 am
Originally Posted by: hsnoeckx

You shouldn't be practicing chords 3 hours a day, you get over tired in your fingers and it gets really boaring and that is what brings you in this rut.

it 's better to practice half an hour to one hour a day but with a practice routine like first do stretches ( important ), then exercise chords and chord changes for about 10 to 15 minutes but with easier chords that naturally belong together ( not Am to Gm, don't get stuck on the chords for that song that you want to learn especially but start with chords from easy songs, there are a lot of people that want to learn to play the guitar because they want to play Sultans of swing from Dire straits as fast as possible but it doesn't work that way, it's a long slow process taking baby steps to get there.)

Then practice some scales with a metronome for about the same time and then spend about 15 to 20 minutes on a very easy song untill that works fine before moving on.

Once in a while toake a sneek peek up ahead to keep the hunger for more burning.

Follow this and you will see a difference after some time.

Herman

What exactly are chords that belong together?


# 9
Herman10
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Herman10
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07/10/2020 12:53 pm

Chords that belong to the same key, if in the key of C for example then the chords are C, Dm, Em, F, G, Am and B dim but don't worry about the last one.


# 10
matt88townsend
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matt88townsend
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07/10/2020 6:17 pm
Originally Posted by: hsnoeckx

Chords that belong to the same key, if in the key of C for example then the chords are C, Dm, Em, F, G, Am and B dim but don't worry about the last one.

Thank a lot i will apply this to my routine


# 11
moosehockey18
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moosehockey18
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07/11/2020 12:40 pm
Originally Posted by: matt88townsend

I have a busy schedule and sacrifice a lot to get my chord practice to 3 hours a day the pay off is next to nothing my progress sucks after 2 to 3 months of practice i cant even play a basic song atleast with tabs songs form easier because its one finger at a time and little to no grouping my goal was to learn riptide i have gotten am to gm up to 70 bpm and i have been stuck i just want to hear so music taking shape im discouraged i dont know what to do any more honestly

Hello Matt,

This wasn`t mentioned anywhere but , perhaps the guitar`s action can be lowered and replace the strings with a lighter guage for easier fretting ? Just a thought if you haven`t done that already. I did that some time ago and it made a HUGE difference.

Jeff


# 12
snojones
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snojones
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07/11/2020 5:35 pm

Hell if you give up on chords, how will you ever plug an electric guitar into an amp?! You have to have a guitar chord. No way around it. I like curley ones.


Captcha is a total pain in the........

# 13
DavesGuitarJourney
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DavesGuitarJourney
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07/11/2020 9:45 pm
Originally Posted by: snojones

Hell if you give up on chords, how will you ever play electric guitar?!

He could become a master of single-string-solos??

Just kidding, Matt -- I think we're all on your side here and we're all saying don't give up on chords!

We've all hit these walls in our learning adventure and a lot of us have talked about it here in the forum. A common theme is that we find ourselves getting frustrated and wondering if maybe this is just not going to happen. When we talk about it we usually find that we are being much too hard on ourselves. The struggle we are going through almost always turns out to be something that a lot of our peers have gone through as well.

Usually the way we get past these blockers is by backing off. Relax, work on something else. Find something that gives you some positive vibes again. Make friends with the guitar again. Then gradually ease back into whatever it is that is giving you fits.

The idea of practicing the same thing for 3 hours a day sounds like torture to me. Your brain and hands can only absorb and integrate a finite amount of new skills. Three hours a day is like trying to soak up an entire swimming pool with a 6 inch sponge.

Last thoughts: there is no deadline; this is not a contest; you are learning this to please yourself and no one else (or at least most of us say that); there is no grade; relax and don't put artificial pressure on yourself to feel like you should have a certain level of proficiency by now. What's the hurry? You're not going to master this in 6 months!

Good luck, and hang in there.


It takes as long as it takes unless you quit - then it takes forever and you will never get there.

# 14
murffee1
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murffee1
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07/15/2020 2:50 am

I feel your pain Matt. I have only been practicing for a month. This is my first guitar and I am 71 years old. I am able to play some chords fairly well but it takes me too long to change chords so I have trouble playing even simple songs. I practice for about one hour a day which is plenty for my hands.


# 15

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