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Guitar chord forum - chordie → Acoustic → Help I am drowning in the minefield!
I have been taking lessons to play my acoustic guitar for a year and have now taken the big step of cancelling and going it alone. Now I am so confused with all the different stuff out there I dont know where to start to learn something new. I am still very slow in changing chords so not looking for a classical symphony to play. Just something simple. Any clues where to start to help my confidence and motivation levels.
Find a song....
A song that makes you feel alive.
Then learn to play it by listening to it and playing the notes you hear.
Master it!
Make it yours!
Add your own flavor to it!
Then play it for others.
By the time you stop to think and realize where you are...you will realize that you are officially a music maker!
(PS: This is how I started out last october. I just kept at it and now I'm playing for my church band.)
=]
Dm
Hi
My advice to you for whats its worth is to sort out some songs that you like check out the chords on Chordie and see if you can handle the changes (most probably open Chords not barred)
Then practice them. Listen to them being played also helps.
There are some well known "esay" songs to learn but not knowing the type of music you like I think you have to make the choices.
Hope this helps a bit.
Regards
Ark
What kind of lessons were you taking? Was is classical or learning how to strum out a song while learning about rhythm, chords and basic music theory? I'm guessing you must've bashed out a few songs during lessons. But probably not songs you would choose to play, right?
I've said before that there is no feeling to match that of when you pick up your guitar and play one of your favourite songs (or as near as in my case). To recognise one of your best loved songs coming from you own fingers is just the best feeling.
Think of a song you like and know well. You know, one of those songs you can hear every note of in your head. Look it up on Chordie, learn the chords and set a target of playing it. Even if you get distracted with other songs, keep coming back to it until you nail it. Best feeling in the world!
The way I figure is that lessons themselves without practice don't much. I LOVE hockey, so what I did when I first started is, pick out a couple chord changes, and the entire game, I'd just switch between 3 chords--just a little don't worry about some crazy strum...keep your eyes on the game, not the neck...ok, peek every now and then....and get the muscle memory down. I used to dream of making it all the way throuh a song without messing up....and I remember when I finally did it--The River by Springsteen! Keep working, you'll get it!!
I tried and failed so many times trying to follow along in a book that I can't even tell you. I've definitely caught the fever this time and am sticking with it. What I did different is that I got a book that teaches what to do not how to do it. "You Can Teach Yourself Fingerpicking Guitar". It's meant for kids, but that's OK. So I went through a few lessons and learned until the lessons got really hard for me. Then I took what I had learned stylistically from the book and started playing songs until what I had learned from the book was fully incorporated into my playing. It's been several months and I haven't opened the book to move to the next lesson (but it's about time). But I'm playing songs and enjoying it! My songs don't sound like the covers, but I'm playing them and that makes all the difference in the world to me.
Keep it up and have fun.
- Zurf
I tried and failed so many times trying to follow along in a book that I can't even tell you. I've definitely caught the fever this time and am sticking with it. What I did different is that I got a book that teaches what to do not how to do it. "You Can Teach Yourself Fingerpicking Guitar". It's meant for kids, but that's OK. So I went through a few lessons and learned until the lessons got really hard for me. Then I took what I had learned stylistically from the book and started playing songs until what I had learned from the book was fully incorporated into my playing. It's been several months and I haven't opened the book to move to the next lesson (but it's about time).
- Zurf
That's the best way to work through a book, IMO. It should take a long time to do it. I've been working through "Scales over Chords" for well over a year, and I'm barely half way done with it.
Don't try to blast through the whole thing, and don't move on to the next thing until you can do the current thing naturally.
And do have fun. If it's not fun, you're doing it wrong. 
I thank you all for those thoughts. Its good to know its not just me....I was learning alot of chord changes in my lessons and also started on tunes that I didnt know the phrasing for, like Georgia by Ray Charles. So many different versions of that tune that I couldnt get my head round it. It was so infuriating and thus my motivation was dwindling quite a bit because of it. Thats why I decided to go it alone. I have taken your advice and picked out a couple of my favourite songs that I play on cd in the car, I play them over and over to get the phrasing in my head and am going to have a bash at them. Let you know how I get on.
What songs would that be, moonstruck?
I have found some Coldplay, In my Place and Green Eyes. Not many chord changes if I can get my head round the phrasing. Twinkle Twinkle Little Star would be a start, ha ha..... Also ordered the "You can teach yourself fingerpicking guitar" to give that a go. Believe me I will try anything.
Guitar chord forum - chordie → Acoustic → Help I am drowning in the minefield!
