A Beginner's Thread For the Ladies

I just wanted to start a thread for the ladies! I know it was super tough for me to post in the Introductions forum, because I wasn’t sure if I’d be welcomed. Thankfully, I was greeted by Billy and Lisa. It felt amazing! I hope maybe this thread I could help other ladies who are maybe quietly lurking in the forums to finally post something and we can help each other build some confidence!

[br]I’m in my 40s, I tried to learn as a teenager, but I was easily discouraged and couldn’t seem to find a supportive community so I gave up.

[br]I tried again in college, but I really didn’t learn how to learn things yet.

[br]A couple years ago I was back in school, and as student, we were given a challenge that if we would learn to solve a rubik’s cube (every student got a cube) by graduation we would get a free beer. Having been short on cash and much desiring a beer I put aside my normal blocking self-doubt and just tried. I didn’t learn in time for graduation, but I was about half way there. I pressed on for a few more weeks and then I could do it!

[br]For a good long while I was maxed out on learning for my new career, but finally myself ready to take on some new learning. My new work involves starting at a computer monitor 8++++ hours and I really wanted to learn something that would not (always) involve staring at a glowing box. One of my closest friends and I talked last December about what we wanted to achieve in 2019. Both of us regretted never learning playing guitar. We promised we’d try to play together come this December (though we live across the country from each other we always try to meet at least once a year between December 26 - 29). Before I knew it it was August, leaving me just 4 short months to get myself together and not let my friend down completely.

[br]It took me a really long time to get to a place where it’s ok if I am not immediately great at something and to keep on trying. To be in a mindset where if I don’t get something it doesn’t mean anything about my overall ability, it just means I need to spend more time on something.

[br]Currently, I’m working through Lisa’s fantastic lessons. It’s slow going but I’m having fun and sticking with consistent practice. The bummer is my hand seems to be overdue for a rest day or two, so I am wondering what does everyone do on rest days if they still feel motivated to play?

1st, I ain't no lady. Not even close!

But I am in your corner.

Wishing the best for you!

Thanks William!

Hi triggerasynapse!!!

You did it! You started the Women's Thread! Yay! Let's hope it catches the eye of some other guitar-sisters out there.

Interesting question about 'rest-days'. Behind the scenes, your body and brain continue to process the new information and skills you've been working on, even after you have put the instrument down. It's happening during your downtime, it's happening when you are asleep. New neural pathways are gluing up even when you don't have the instrument in your hands. Isn't that a nice bonus?

Another hands-off thing you can do is to use the power of imagery. In other words, close your eyes, and imagine the exact look and feel of your hands doing the things you've been practicing. Imagine exactly what strings your fingers are touching, and how. Imagine your hand getting ready to navigate a chord-change. What strategies will you use to navigate that chord-change? Go through it in your mind in as much detail as you can possibly conjure up.

Another hands-off thing you can do is to watch lessons. Really WATCH them, not just for entertainment, but for insights and information. Things you may not have yet done PHYSICALLY on the guitar, yet you can learn a lot just by watching and listenting to all those little details I explain while I am teaching.

One more idea: find good clear videos of guitar-players whose playing you love. Watch them - again, not just for entertainment. As you watch, notice the artist's left hand. Notice the artist's right hand. Notice how they hold the instrument. Notice their body positions. Notice if anything looks familiar at all - like, are they playing a chord you recognize?

Why do this? One way the human mind learns is by observation and imitation. Think of what little kids do all the time, pretending to be a super-hero or pretending to be a doctor: they behave in ways they have observed others behave. They have learned by witnessing, and now they are trying their wings at making similar moves to their role model.

Anyway - that all oughtta keep you busy on your days off!

-Lisa

hi lisa im new to guitar tricks and i have a question that has been confusing me

[br]"Do all major chords work the same way? Yes.

There is one caveat, however, to the idea that it doesn’t matter at this point in which order the notes of the triad appear. And that is, we always want the lowest note of the chord, otherwise known as the 'bass note', to be Note #1. "

[br]but what is confusing me is that i play some piano and on the piano a C 1st inversion chord is still a C chord and the bass note is E

so insted of C E G it becomes EGC

does this not work on guitar ??? do chords on the guitar always have to start on note #1 and there are no inversions

thanks !! and sorry englishn isnt my first language

Hey & welcome to GT!

Originally Posted by: rakbeatz2030

There is one caveat, however, to the idea that it doesn’t matter at this point in which order the notes of the triad appear. And that is, we always want the lowest note of the chord, otherwise known as the 'bass note', to be Note #1.[/quote][p]Root position chords are usually taught first in learning any musical instrument. That makes it a little easier to understand how chords are formed.

[quote=rakbeatz2030]

but what is confusing me is that i play some piano and on the piano a C 1st inversion chord is still a C chord and the bass note is E

[br]so insted of C E G it becomes EGC

does this not work on guitar ??? do chords on the guitar always have to start on note #1 and there are no inversions

Introduction to Triads & Chord Inversions

https://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=824

Chord Inversions: An Introduction

https://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=148

Hope that helps! Please ask more if necessary & best of success!

Thanks LisaMcC! I watched your videos going over the different ways to learn and somehow I didn't think about really applying it on rest days. Thanks for putting that together! It's a great reference!

Hey rakbeatz2030! So happy you posted!

I never even heard of inversions! I am nowhere near ready for it, but I now have something else to look forward to learning one day.

Hi triggerasynapse!

I am female and although I have been a member of Guitar Tricks for a whlie now, I still consider myself more of a beginner since I've stopped and started my journey a few times.

I'm in my 50's and have been trying to learn to play guitar since I was 15 when my grandparents bought me my first one. The problem was that it was a right handed and I am left handed, I tried to learn using my right hand to strum and my left to make the chords and that didn't work for me at all. So I ended up flipping the strings and using my right hand to make the chords and my left hand to strum and that worked a whole lot better!

I learned a few chords and a few frets from a family friend and from an old Mel Bay book that I checked out of the library but never took any lessons or classes so I didn't make much progress.

I checked out a few lessons on Youtube that Lisa McCormick had posted and followed her over to GT and it is the best thing I could have done! I started Guitar Fundamental and have learned a whole lot since then. I was still playing an inverted right hand guitar since that is all I've ever had but I finally decided that if I am going to get serious about learning then I should do it right, so I bought a Fender left handed acoustic/electric and it really made a difference. . . not sure why but it sounded a whole lot better.

Just recently I was at the music store getting the Fender restrung and noticed they had a used left handed Art&Luthier acoustic.I decided to try it out and loved how it felt and how it sounded so I added it to my collection(of two) and now I feel even more like a real guitar player since I have more than one instrument!LOL

Who knows, maybe one day I will add an electric one.

Good luck to you on your journey and see you around the forum!

tweety