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Guitar chord forum - chordie → Acoustic → Beginner to acoustic guitar
Hi , i am new to playing.. have been reseraching on online lesson to practice on my own as i don hv much time to go and take lessons outside. so is there any people here that can help me in learning? i would like to play alot of songs on the guitar and my goal is to write my own songs to sing. but is there anyways to play without develping callous on my fingers as i am a girl...
my dream is to own a gibson doves in flight or humming bird guitar in sunbust!!
;p
Hey Lexibabe,
You have come to the right site for help, everyone here gives their help freely and its so good. They have helped me so much. Ask any question and you will get a reply, no question is too easy or hard or silly. With regard to the callouses, well nylon strings may help, but I think you will need to develope those callouses and before you know it, it won't hurt. Also the type of guitar you have. Just keep practising and practising. But there are a lot more qualified people than me out here that can give you advice. Good Luck and remember, HAVE FUN AND ENJOY. And keep that dream of yours alive...
thanks...
i am now wondering if i should go to a school to take lessons or jus learn by myself?
what is a better option?
lexibabe
don't worry about callouses they are not very visible - they are just a bit tougher
get yourself a good book to practice from - something with chords - if you want to be a singer songwriter
if there is a class nearby consider joining it - its a good way to meet people with a shared interest
it takes time to learn so don't be in a rush and enjoy it
Hi lexibabe, how old are you. It is not a silly question, but it's in direct relation of your question.
I think even if you decide to follow course, you can learn to play chords.
Did you decide what "style" you want to play? Like playing, picking strings: finger picking. Or you want to play a song you know, an easy song and sing while playing. As Johncross told you so well, don't worry about your fingertips, it will pass. Personnaly I think it can be a pretty good idea to follow course, or at least to buy a very good DVD for absolute beginners, where they explain, how to tune the guitar, and the chords you need to use. A lot of us didn't follow course, speaking of 20 years ago, you had almost to go to a music school and learn to read written music, and even worse, they want you to play like them: mostly classical.
There are 2 major ways to learn: following lessons and with all the new technology, buying a simple book with the most important chords. I had a complete serie, with easy songs to play.
Whatever you choose: if you don't know the melody, it will be more difficult. But here some tips.
- look on chordie for artists you know, or songs you know.
- there are more than enough DVD's and books on the market. Start practising TUNING your guitar, followed by trying to play a chord, once you can play that chord flawless, take another chord.
- If you have CD's with music, it is a challenge to try to play along.
- DVD, DVD and DVD and look and listen good. DON'T PUT YOUR LIMITS TOO HIGH.
- If you have friends who play already, don't be shy to ask advise.
- DON'T WORRY, if you really want to play, you will play. BUT again, better play 20 minutes than 2 hours.
I hope this helps too.
use steel strings for a better sound, pick a chord ,position your fingers on the chord position on the fret and just strum across the strings .then chose another chord ,do the same then try to change back and fro ,when you've mastered them add another chord,its not a race so do it at your own pace.
good luck and most of all have fun doing it.
hi lexibabe,
im playing guitar for 6 months now so im still verry verry new at it, and i didnt take any lessons mmore than reading en watching videos on the net,
i can now play a lot ( for me its a lot) of chords, a few songs that sound decent and a couple of diferent rythyms, it takes time and pacience to do it on you´re own but you can do it.
i really started to advance when i found chordie and trayd to play some songs i know, there are a lot that have only a few chords and are a lot a fun.
so if you cant take lessons, dont worry, you can do it
trippy
Hi Lexibabe!
I know, as a girl ( okay I'm far too old to still be a girl! ) you're worried about the calluses but they really are not visible and they do help you to play. If your fingers aren't sore you'll progress much faster. Try soaking the tips of your fingers in lemon juice, it'll speed up the toughening process.
Try to learn the basic theory involved. I know that it's not a necessity but having an idea what the basic notes on your neck is and being able to recognise different time signitures and what they mean will help you a lot. Also if you know what makes a chord then finding the right chord will be easier. Especially as you want to write your own songs!
But more important than any theory and lessons is: HAVE FUN!
Sometimes the best way to learn is to find a song you like and learn the chords in that song. After a few songs, you'll be amazed at how many chords you know.
If you go to the song books you'll find many books for beginners. Just don't give up!
I suggest you try to practice a mix of strumming songs and picking songs. Try to work on songs that you can listen to so you can tell if it sounds right. Once you have a handle of a few different strumming patterns and chord transitions, make sure you remember to practice singing while you are playing guitar. The hand-voice (or whatever it's called) coordination comes easy to some people and harder to people like me.
Hey,
Like trippy, I only started learning at the beginning of the year, and I went to about.com and learnt a few chords on there to start me off. But, I just wanted to learn as a hobby/party trick so I didn't bother taking a course. If you want to take it seriously, I guess you'd be wanting to take a course.
Good luck!
Jikklop
(By the way, callouses are a good thing. It means you're fingers won't hurt so much anymore.)
the callouses is something you really need if you want to play, i remember at first how my fingertops glowd red and where really painfull, but now even with steel strings its fine, and nobody noticed my callouses, you cant see them, almost cant feel them (only your self ofcourse 
) so dont worry and keep going
trippy
I am playing basic acoustic cords and really full of fun at the start when the fingers cannot match to the strings. After months of playing now my fingers start to match.
However I want to carry on in acoustic training as to improving myself in acoustic guitar playing.
Dido
yeah well said trippy! when u start playing guitar ur fingers arnt used to it so it is really painful. after a while tho,u need to get past it cuz its soooo worth it! the tips of my fingers are hard now and i cant feel a thing,so worth the pain! good luck with that!!!!
you need the hardness and playing with a pick is good for beginners but its better overall if you learn to strum by hand first
Guitar chord forum - chordie → Acoustic → Beginner to acoustic guitar
