[siyun]

I don't have money for lessons right now and am wondering if I'm headed in the right direction. I begin practice with the "caterpillar" and some "finger gym exercises." I then do some basic chord progressions to further warm up my fingers. After I'm warmed up I work from two books: "Rhythm Guitar" and "Fingerstyle Guitar." I work on about one exercise (or 2 depending on difficulty) from each book each week. The RG book covers 21 basic chords to begin (major, minor, 7th) and the FG book introduces fingerstyle guitar (which is really what I'm after). I'm not focusing on music theory right now and I use a metronome.
I have been playing for about 3.5 months and I practice an hour a day. Just curious b/c my progress seems to be really slow. My hand gets tired so quickly. I just got F to sound clearly when my hands are fresh, but forget about transitions on F or any other more difficult chords (B, F7, Fm, Gm, etc.). I don't know any songs yet or strumming patterns (other than 1 or 2 very basic).
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[carol m]

It sounds like you are doing the right things eg warmups and finger excercises - something I should do but I can't get myself to do it. It's good to have an organised plan - also something I need to make myself do more - and you are doing a range of practicing too.

Your hand strength will improve as you play for longer, and getting a clean F chord is quite an achievement! Using a metronome is a really good thing to do right from the start because keeping the beat is so essential to how your music sounds to others.

If you find tbat your books are getting boring - I know you don't say this, but just in case - the lessons, information, and support you will get from this site if you hang around here will do wonders for your interest and motivation in all sorts of ways.

Welcome to the forum, and any questions you might have, post away and you will get lots of responses. I don't believe there is anything that our members don't know about music and they're always willing to share.

[karcey]

G'day Siyun, Welcome to the forum.
Everyone has a different approach, I frequently change my mind about the best approach for me because I don't progress as fast as I'd like. I've tried a few teachers and a mile of books. Problem is the books don't know what I really want to play, so they generalize. I pick the bits that apply to me, I'll get to the other stuff later.
I think the best tonic I've ever experienced was learning to play a song. Maybe some would mock, but to hum a melody over even just two chords is a real achievement. My finger style was boosted by nursery rhymes. Who cares if they're simple ... at least they're as musical as some of the modern popular songs.
There's much about theory, chords and scales in the books. My belief is that you should learn it only as you need it. Then you don't forget it. If you learn one hundred chords up front, I'll guarantee you won't use more than a third of them, and when you need one you'll have forgotten it anyway. Learn the scales and chords to fit the song you're learning now, then you won't forget them.
Follow Carol's advice and visit here frequently. Browse through the old posts and read the ones that interest you. Ask about the things you're working on, and don't be shy... we know you're not a guitar player yet, but we hope we can help you become one.
Keep in touch.

[Jimbo70]

I've been at it for just about a year now and it sounds like you are right were I was at 4 months.
My teacher gave me the F chord in my second week of lessons and it took me 4 months to get it right. I think you'll find scales/finger exercises and working on chord progressions and changes will take you a very long way.
You need to find a couple of easy songs you can start to work on. The first time you play a song and can actually recognize it is a great feeling and will keep you going for a month.
You might want to try recording yourself once a week so you can hear you progress. You'll probably be pleasantly surprised when you listen to those recording later on.

Keep at it and you'll find it gets easier and things will start to snowball as you move along.

[RockaBilly]

I think you're doing good but have you had your guitar setup?

It sounds to me you have too high an action at the nut. I don't know what guitar you have but I would have it checked out.

[siyun]

Thank you for your responses. I'll keep what you said in mind. I too do not care for finger exercises and the only reason I do them is: a) I'm 42 and my fingers need a little warm up and b) I noticed that on the days I do them I have better practices b/c my fingers are looser. So, I'll continue as long as they appear to be helping me. As for setting up my guitar, I did have it checked out and repaired...and now it's much better.

As for songs, yes I'd love to play some, but I can never figure out which songs are supposed to be easy and what the strumming patterns should be. Any suggestions as to sites where I can find songs, etc. I would really like to learn finger style since I don't have a terrific sense of rhythm (naturally) and I can't sing worth a lick. I need songs that will stand on their own. I like country, folk, anything that sounds very acoustic.

Oh, not sure if I mentioned (probably in my introduction), but I took guitar lessons for a year ten years ago. My teacher had me work pretty much on songs only and it was so discouraging. It was a new song every week (thus new chords every week...not reinforcing the old and adding new) I couldn't keep up and was very frustrated b/c I had to learn the chords, the transitions, the strum pattern, timing, etc. It was just too much at once, so now I'm breaking things apart a little more and will then try to put what i've taught myself together. I'm at a point now where I'd like to work on some tunes as part of my practice routine.

Thanks again for all of your help.

[RockaBilly]

Learning from songs is good but only if you know how to pick 'em apart. What I like is learning about the chord progressions and the mood they evoke. You will probably find a lot in common such as the old I-IV-V.

You want to learn the guitar so take those chords and do your own picking. Your ears will tell you how you're doing. See what kind of mood you're evoking.

By the way, I don't like that teacher.

[BeyondbeginnerKimmel]

I recommend you learn easy songs like Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and intro to Dont Fear The Reaper by Blue Oyster Cult. Playing relaxing songs and practicing is good.

[mantablueraider]

house of the rising sun is a beginner level tune, the first song i learned and i still play it now and then.YouTube - House of the rising sun YouTube - Guitar Lesson - House Of The Rising Sun

[johnnydoxx]

One member suggested practicing the F chord by doing it further up the neck. It won't be an F but the frets are closer together up there. Then work down the neck to get it at the first fret. I also find it easier to do it as a bar chord rather than an open 4-string chord. But that might not be what your teacher wants. And I suppose I should practice it both ways.

[BeyondbeginnerKimmel]

I've recently discovered a technique from a website that I was using to increase the dexterity of my fourth finger. Starting on the 12th fret to the 15th the 1st finger plays on the 12th on the 1st string then onto the 15th fret on the 4th finger 1st string and up to the 6th string on those two frets. If you want to increase your dexterity the 12th and 17th frets played from the 6th string down to the 1st string then from the 12th to the 19th fret are played. It can be tough but the payoff is worth it. Also practicing and relaxing playing songs you like is key. Take care

[BeyondbeginnerKimmel]

Also when playing I tried to make the notes sound as clear as possible while staying relaxed.

[siyun]

Thanks for all your responses and suggestions. i will try what you have suggested. Be in touch with more questions soon. Until then, happy playing...

[ToneBender]

Sounds familiar.

I surfed the web like a maniac last year and found an excellent DVD/workbook program by Steve Krenz which covers all aspects of a solid foundation for playing the gee-tar & highly recommend it. Doesn't really matter what type of music you're into, the basics are the same. I've got no stake in this, but I went from your situation to crystal clean chords and real music makin' in less than 3 months & spend about an hour a day plucking away.

A great practice workbook for fingerstyle picking is Mauro Giuliani's 120 lessons for guitar. Boring, but efficient & you'll notice results pretty quickly.

Best of luck.

[siyun]

Good information. Thanks, I'll check into it.