[randomaire]

Yeah I apologize for that whole rant about it, that actually was the song I was trying to learn lol, when I posted that. Here comes the Sun... like you I'm a huge Beatles/George Harrison fan and to be able to at least somewhat make a guitar cry and weep like George is something that I would love to be able to do, but like all of you have said its just gonna take time and some frustrating mad strum outs when I can't get it right. I'm my biggest critic, but I recorded just some stuff of me last nite, playing around... by no means good mind you, plus its just a regular mic record so its not good at all sound wise. The reason I did it was to see just how I did sound, because when I listen to myself playing its like ugh you suck mentality. But when you watch yourself in playback and listen, its really not all that bad. Any yes that song is still here, and also here, there, and everywhere is on here. Huge tease songs for me right now.
Oh and fretsource, I must have missed that lesson somewhere, I didn't even notice that one I guess, that looks like what I was needing. Thank ya very much.

[Kirk Lorange]

Hi randomaire ... I've been driving all night, back from a weird little blues festival I played at.

I should make it much clearer, I guess, that my fingerstyle lessons are not for beginners, they're for the beyonds. I did do a few beginners lessons, and I should do more. Don't feel like you're supposed to be able to learn all those lessons easily.

Bedtime ...

[randomaire]

I got faith though in myself, I practice hard and play harder so I know that in time I'll get it, don't knock your own song lessons, those are actually good, but like you said definatly not for begineers. Love the song variety though.

[Lcjones]

Originally Posted by randomaire

I got faith though in myself, I practice hard and play harder so I know that in time I'll get it

and that, my friend, is the ticket.

**
Les

[Maximum_Satisfaction]

Hi randomaire, a few months when I had just started playing the guitar, I didn't know where to start exactly. I had a book and some videos from the net that teach the basics. I was doing chord progressions, and some scales, but to be honest I just didn't feel very satisfied and I just didn't know what to do exactly to continue to progress. Anyways I bumped on to this site by accident, I started listening to Kirk's mp3s and I thought the finger picking style was so awesome and produces such a beautiful melodic sound. I decided that this is a good way to progress is to perfect the finger picking style, it will take a long time but atleast now I have a set goal and the good thing is that Kirk's lessons are so easy to follow and so much fun to practice. Once I am quite good at finger picking I can move on to strumming, since Kirk's lessons also help you move from one chord to another. Anyways, I wish you the best and I hope you choose the right path to continue to progress.

Take Care

[guttertrashsingalong]

random bro somtimes i just need to set my axe down and read.5 hours man thats along time.hopefully ya are def breaking those hours out.cant have ya hitting the plateau yet my man.take your time.n other words my man dont plateau out by trying to get to much info n at once.but asking questions is best so ya on right track

[randomaire]

I think you hit it the nail on the head gutter.... since I wrote this, I have noticed that I was trying to do 8 or 9 things at once, and I was going against my own advice, and it got frustrating. I didn't know really where to go next, but the whole time.. I had plenty of directions to go. I just needed to choose one and stick with it. I think I got to where I was trying to achieve it all at once, then I looked at how long I was taking and said, wow I've only been on this site for a week (at the time of post) and that I needed to slow down and take steps and not books.

Just in this last week I've seen a pretty decent improvement in my playing, not a huge amount mind you, but I notice it.

(The fingerstyle is still tough though, but I can strum and chord lol)

[Teddy Madison]

If you want fingerstyle, Kirks lessons are the way to go. They are short enough that you can feel like you accomplish something and in a week my finger style has improved 100%.

Thanks again Kirk!

Wayne

[guttertrashsingalong]

right on bro,didnt mean ya have to read to learn to play,i meant what i do is grab a book not guitar related and just relax till my head is clear enough to get back on track.i make lists sometimes to of what i need to focus on as far as getting better,that really helped keep my mind from skipping from one thing to the next.i have add so that really helped me focus.not saying you do but i didnt move off that list until i had what i needed to be able to move along.i still to this day make lists of what i hope to better myself at.this week im dedicating 45 min of barre chords workouts,and another 45 to finger strengthing workouts.if i dont ill end up just running thru riffs wasting time or ill be doing 20 things at once.but thats me.anyways i justed needed to relax and take my time.

[coldethyl]

Originally Posted by guttertrashsingalong

i make lists sometimes to of what i need to focus on as far as getting better,that really helped keep my mind from skipping from one thing to the next.i have add so that really helped me focus.not saying you do but i didnt move off that list until i had what i needed to be able to move along.i still to this day make lists of what i hope to better myself at.this week im dedicating 45 min of barre chords workouts,and another 45 to finger strengthing workouts.

That's a good idea gtsa!
Sometimes I find myself getting practise objectives cluttered up in my mind, and jumping from one to another.
Making a list as you do is a cool way to prioritise things and focus on the more immediate needs.

[Augustine]

Hey buddy August here,

Don't be discoured my friend. Hang on okay? Everyone has been where you are. I teach guitar and play, 24 years now and I sure as he%%$#@# didn't come out of the womb that way! I had to have a game plan. I not only had to know what to practice but how to practice. Once I knew these two very important things, I had to be patient with the process. I think that the hardest lesson that I have to teach my students, is patients with one's self and the process of learning. What is it that you want to learn first? If you don't know, may I or one of the other teachers/players in the group can help point you in the right direction. Sometimes it can all be so overwhelming, I know. There is so much information out there and at beginner and beyond, that it makes one just want to give up the instrument at times. However, I'm more afraid of giving up and wondering what could have been if I had just stuck with it, than taking my time to work it all out. Look, we need all the guitar players we can get, so we're not letting you off the hook THAT easily!

Also, I think that it is really important to have a goal each time you sit down to practice. Have a game plan of how you intend to go from beginner guitarist to advanced player. How long have you been playing? What's your practice routine like? How often do you practice? How do you practice? What do you practice? When a student asks, "How long will it take before I'm really good," I usually answer with a question: How long are you willing to practice?
Knowing this little bit of information, usually helps me to help point a student in the right direction, where perhaps there is no direction and that's normal, when you're just getting started. Just keep in mind, that not one of us, was not in your shoes at one time or another. Okay buddy, free free to look me up if you've the mind to. Peace and happy pickin!

[pick117]

I'm new but great advice. I really like pattern work and can use anything you have.

[Ballard]

Originally Posted by randomaire

I don't know whats wrong actually, I'm just painfully slow at picking the individual notes.

This might sound silly, but it helped me a lot when I started playing fingerstyle. Hopefully, it'll help you too.

Have you ever learned to type properly on a QWERTY keyboard? If you have, you probably remember that when you start, you usually keep all your fingers on their assigned keys and move only one at a time.

Well, apply this to your guitar. While every guitarist has their own way of finger picking, the most common is:

E-played by ring finger or pinky
B-played by middle or ring finger
G-played by fore or middle finger.
D-played by thumb
A-played by thumb
E-played by thumb

So try the keyboard trick now. Gently, place your thumb slightly over the low E string, your forefinger or middle finger slightly under the G string, your middle or ring finger slightly under the B string and your ring finger or pinky slightly under the high E string. Then, try playing your favorite fingerstyle song, one string at a time. When you pluck the string, put your finger back where it was and pluck the next one.

Practice this slowly untill you feel comfortable with the strings. Then, try the same thing, only keep your fingers hovering over their assigned strings instead of touching them.

Good luck! I hope this helps you.

[yabbadabba]

Man this thread made me smile.......why....well I am naff at chords but kinda ok @ finger picking.
I have only been playing for 3 weeks, I work away from home a lot and take the guitar with me as its something to do in hotel rooms so on average I have been doing 30-45 minutes a day. As soon as I start getting frustrated by a piece I will take a break, play something else or just simply slow the piece of music down to a speed I can play and keep the notes nice and clean.
As said I am struggling on chords and the beginners chord lessons are making me struggle yet capolane I have nearly got sussed...point being some bits click easy and some dont and it varys with everyone as to clicks and what doesnt.
Find a piece of music you like, slow it down to a speed you can play with nice clear notes then just practise and speed will build up (hope so cos my chords are as slow as ya like).........
and on that note I am off to practise me strumming :-)

[Aunt Doty]

Randomaire, I'm a strummer also and have only been playing about eight months. The I'm going to try. I can say this site has been helpful. I didn't even understand how to read tabulature before I came here. I think it'll be eons before I'd be brave enough to record anything because right now it just sounds like a lot of separate notes and does not resemble a song at all!!!!!!!!!!