thespian86

Okay, since you already played a musical instrument, and a difficult one at that, I won't give you the "playing a musical instrument is a serious investment" but don't assume that because a lot of people play the guitar, that it'll be a simple instrument to play; that is because a lot of people who play the guitar actually can't.

So here we go:

First of all, realize that picking up the guitar will be difficult; Hendrix won't be your boy for a long time. As soon as you come to terms with that, which I figure you can, here are a few tips I give to my beginner students.

There are branches of beginner guitar that students should focus on to become well rounded players (in my opinion): 1) Playing Technique, 2) Music Theory, 3) Rhythm.

1) This is the simplest to "pick up" but the hardest to master. My three basic "playing hands" techniques that I teach my kids are:

i) Elevator Button Fingers (Play with the tips of your fingers, not the pads; playing with pads lessons the strength and movement of the finger; it'll be painful but worth it)/Playing with arched fingers (this allows better movement and along with the first part will stop you from devoloping one of the worst "self taught" habits; blocking and muting strings. By keeping those fingers arched and playing with the tips, you'll avoid blocking other stings)

ii) Playing Close to the fret. I'm assuming you know what the fret is but if you don't, they are the small metal bars separating the spaces where you play. By developing the habit of playing close to the frets when you begin, you'll be hounded less by buzzing (which happens when you don't apply enough finger strength and/or your positioning is flawed). It just saves you a lot of trouble and once you become a little more comfortable with playing around the fret board then you can change it up.

iii) (this is for your right hand; or your "strumming/picking" hand) Pick control. Beginners usually do two things when they begin which you should pay attention to mastering right away. First of all, play with control in respect to the movement of your strumming; or, rather, don't move too far from the strings. Moving excessively far from the strings will cause you to slow or overcompensate when it comes to timing. Over the top speed and strength when strumming doesn't need to equal a louder sound; just play with precision and it'll sound like you want it. The second is most beginners either dig or skim their pick. Digging is kind of like digging with a spade in a garden; you dip your pick far into the strings and receive a lot of resistance. Skimming is the opposite; you aren't hitting the strings enough, often missing strings completely, or playing without any power or sound.

All three things are tips on how to optimize your effort into playing with a lazer focus. It makes development that much easier.

Tips: For 1) Try (I can't think of the word right now; drumming your fingers one by one, over and over??) with them arched and only hitting the tips. When you lift up to hit again, make sure not to extend your fingers out. Another great tip for finger strength is to take your index with thumb and press with all of your strength for about ten seconds and repeat with all of your fingers; do this about 15 times a day and you'll be a god in no time.

Also when it comes to actually "playing the guitar" try mock scales to become more comfortable with the fret board. Mock scales are simply playing every playing position (1st fret, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th with the corresponding fingers index (1), middle (2), ring (3), and pinky (4)) all the way down the guitar from 6th string to first (Low E to High e) in a 1-4 order. When you get to the bottom, move over a fret (so you are now playing 2-3-4-5) and playing up the guitar only backwards, playing 4-1. Do this as a warm up and you'll find you're playing will get better quickly.

2) Basic music theory is simple to learn; refer to the book section of my comment.

3) My favorite! Rhythm! Rhythm is a very difficult thing to learn, but I would suggest the following two things:

i) When you're playing tap your foot to a basic 4/4 rhythm, and also count aloud while doing it. This means using every part of your body in playing and will help you develop faster (saying it, playing it, tapping it)

ii) When you get to point where you can comfortably learn songs within a specific genre try keeping the same chord progression but change the rhythm and playing style to a different genre. For instance: playing a folk song with a bluesy thumb, playing blues like a pop song, etc. It'll help you explore different genres and playing styles too!

For this I'd recommend two books:

1) Hal Lenord's Guitar Book 1: It's so simplistic and kind of silly for an adult but it explains things VERY WELL and also gives you simple drills that you can develop over time as warm ups.

2) Guitar Playing For Dummies. GREAT adult playing book. Very accurate and indepth playing drills and songs. Forces you to build on everything you learn better then any other book I've ever seen, and forces you to play every style. Also has tips on everything guitar related. It's kind of a big purchase for a book (30-40 bucks) but I think it's worth every penny.

If you just want a clunker and aren't looking for a solid beginner guitar pick one up from a pawn shop but it'll be harder to play. Instruments are like wands in Harry Potter; they kind of choose you. If you're serious about trying though, and don't mid spending 400-500 bucks, look into Seagulls. Great playing guitar, relatively cheap, and durable.

Oh yeah; LEARN ON ACOUSTIC! Do not learn on electric, even though it sounds neato. It is forgiving and sloppy. Force yourself to be better then you think you can be and you will be.

I hope all of this helps; I'm sure it will. Either way, and I don't know you but I tell this to everyone, don't give up because it will hurt, and it will get hard fast, and you've just got to push through it. I love the story of Jonie Mitchell; she almost gave up playing guitar because she couldn't play the F maj chord. Imagine what would of happened if she had man.

Good luck.

-Taylor

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