I have made several attempts in the last few years to learn how to play the guitar. I recently bought a year’s subscription to Guitar Tricks and am happy with it. I am more comfortable finger picking and tried a course with Lisa McCormack, Acoustic Fingerpicking Level 1A. And liked it but got frustrated with the chord changes. I decided to go back to basics and have been doing Guitar Fundamentals 1 with Anders Mouridsen but once again am struggling with chord changes. Anders has a very calm patient way of teaching and I like him a lot. Every time I have tried to learn I overthink things instead of letting my fingers learn muscle memory . I find myself watching my fingers to make sure they hit the right strings in the right frets. And then watch as I change chords instead of feeling confident I’ll do it right.
Our son is a Luthier and he gave us the first guitar he built. I want to learn to play it and not just own it. I need to build up my confidence and don’t know if I’ll ever succeed. I am open to any and all suggestions.
Thank you, Dave Gaiero
Hey Dave, I am having this issue myself. I'm also in the Fundamentals 1 section. I have just been practising 30 minutes a day three times daily and working through the lessons slowly. I spent three days on D and A chords before I finally figured it out. Some of the other chord changes have been slightly easier. I have been on Fundamentals 1 for 3 weeks now :D. I don't know what I was thinking when I signed up, I guess I just thought it would be faster than the rate I'm going but I'm still making ok progress.
I try to hold my guitar straight and land my fingertips straight on the strings instead of slanted. I have been tempted a few times to tilt the guitar, so I could see the strings, but I was told not to do that, by another instructor. Some chords I can change right on time with Anders and others I'm several seconds behind him. The only thing I know to tell you is to keep working at it. If you need to spend extra time on some of the lessons before they sink in don't be afraid to do that. Keep at it, eventually, you will nail it.
One thing I did that helped me a lot is I took some black electrical tape and cut small pieces out to paste them on the side of the neck to mark all the frets, so I could see where the frets were. That might help you if you want to give it a try.
Best of luck,
Christie
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