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I'd agree with all the above especially leaving the guitar out where you can just pick it up, play a few riffs and put it down.  I don't set aside any practice time, I just go when I feel like.. which is most of the time.  Even if the kids are watching TV, I'll pick it up and gently strum using just my thumb for hours!

One of the first posts mentioned passion and I think thats the thing you need.  Without a real passion you wont get through those early dark days of bleeding fingers and dodgy strumming.

You know, I'm about to start practicing A shape barres on the A string and I've been trying to get my head round how do I get my ring finger to bend enough to clear the high E?  I guess there's no need to worry anymore and just mute it!

Cheers both, I've experimented with the switch and I tend to go for the switch away from the strings, either on the rear and middle or the rear only, it gives a sharp, agressive sound which I like.

Tandm3, I never use the tone knobs either, sayng that I rarely use the volume, I leave that on full and use the amp, I find if I lower the volume on the guitar it loses sound quality too?

Hello bennienix20,

There's no quick fix I'm affriad, or at least if there is I don't know it!

The best advice you'll got on here is "practice, practice, pracice!" which is what Seersha is saying.

Set your self little goals at a time i.e. learn a 3 chord song first, then when that is sorted learn another 3 chord song by introducing a new 4th chord.  If you keep practising you'll get there.  It  reallly doesn't take long to get 6 open chords etched in your memory.

Pracitce a little everyday and you'll be at it in no time!

cheers

Edit - Justin Sandercoe's site http://www.justinguitar.com/  is the best I've ever seen.

Atomic - Blondie

I've just posted a few more videos

Cast No Shadow - Oasis
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Lq0f5P8 … annel_page

Sound of Silence - Paul Simon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VW_i6L2JTk0

Complete with my new haircut!

Cheers for the plug Alvee, I have a few more tunes to go on shortly.

Hello Ranthalas, 

I think your question depends on various things like how good do you define as “play† and how much time you spend practicing.  For me I practice everyday having only missed 2 days in nearly 5 months of playing.  I’ve seen me sit on the rug at the weekend and literally play for 5-6 hours straight but I usually can’t rest until I’ve done at least 90 minutes a day.

The biggest advice I can give (not that I’m that qualified to give advice), is to pick songs you really like, know really well and that you have listened to for years, even if its not an “acoustic† song.  Look for the chords on Chordie and then go to Youtube.com and search for your song with “acoustic† after it, I’ll bet there’ll be an acoustic version there you can listen to and use as a guide.

Looking back, the biggest hurdle I had at the very beginning was learning songs I didn’t really know because I was told they were easy.  The problem then is your not only struggling with the chords but the rhythm isn’t coming naturally and your also struggling with the words and melody!  With a song you know intimately the rhythm is far more likely to come naturally, the melody and words are already embedded in your head and it’s only the chords you need to worry about.

The good thing with “non-acoustic† songs is that there is not a right or wrong way to play them, you can interpret and express them as you wish.

Good luck.

Thanks all for your kind comments, much appreciated. I have a very long way to go but I have to say I'm pleased with my progress but without chordie I suslect I'd have ebayed my guitar weeks ago!  Thanks!

Russell, funny you should mention the capo, I've been experimenting the last few weeks with one and I've realised a lot of the songs I play sound better with a capo on the first fret.  Any higher and I don't like the "tinny" sound the B and E strings give off.

Micky, you must have a good memory to remember my quote from a few weeks ago.  The truth being I really only sussed out what key I should be singing in about 2 weeks ago, the tranformation was massive.

I had a similar message off my sister a few years back off messenger, something like "Look at this picture of you!".  If I did!  Constant porn pop ups, a close friend who works with computers couldn't get rid of it so I had to re insall XP and I lost a lot of stuff.

Keep your chin up, I had the same feelings until I realised that as I progressed I was learning harder songs so I never really felt that I had really a nailed a song.  Since I realised this I have regulalry gone back to the first few songs I ever learned (knocking on Heavens Door, Let it Be etc) and had a bash at those, then you realise how muh you have progressed.
Crevs.

COWard of the County!