Complete Beginner......ugh!

[jayswett]

After reading the above comments, the learning points, I think, are these:

1) Proficiency is such a subjective concept that the notion of profiency when learning a musical instrument is irrelevant.
2) The most important aspect of learning an instrument is the enjoyment that comes with playing the instrument and making real, tangible progress on a weekly, or perhaps even daily basis. This is what I find, as do others above, truly relevant.

Good luck.

[sws626]

Hi Judy,

I'd read your post earlier and intended to reply, but now I see you've already received so many excellent responses that I hardly have anything to add. But welcome to the site. I'm sure you'll find -- as so many of us have -- that this is an incredible resource on so many levels. Neil is an amazing teacher, Matt and the rest of the team are incredibly professional and diligent, and the forum community is such a wealth of inspiration and constructive advice.

You asked about proficiency and have gotten some good advice on that score too. I personally find that if I'm are working on songs I like and making tangible progress -- no matter how slowly -- the enjoyment will grow, you'll stick with it, and every day you will become better. I'd definitely enourage you to look have a look through the video uploads. You'll see some amazing progress from people who not so long ago were in the same place you are today. I can't think of a single one I've watched that hasn't been inspiring on some level.

-Stuart

[thereshopeyet]

Thanks

[Chasplaya]

Well G'Day Judy,

Its all been said already, great advice from some great folks. One thing though set yourself some goals keep them simple and attainable and something you can check against i.e. a few open chords and check against Neils vids on chords and finger placement, and don't be hard on yourself if it looks like its not working just extend your timeframe or if it is working real easy then extend yourself by adding more to your routine. Also as its meant to be fun pick a song you really enjoy from the programme and just plug away, try and pick one from the lower levels and practice it at some point in your routine.

Enjoy your journey here and if ever in need of assistance just holler and I guarantee you will get loads of good friendly advice

regards

Chas

[johnrfeeney]

hello

agree with so much said, proficient to the point where you can't stand your own playing and it drive's you nuts - i think if you play daily and work hard at it - about a year
hardly anyone probably gets to that year but if they do either they are going to be naturals (who excel as they continue to practice) or they will be what i said above about proficient.

if you love the guitar though and can keep things in perspective you'll keep going despite all proficiency
:laugh:

[jmichellen]

In Response to dennisg:

You bring up some very valid points! I have to add, that "Here comes the Sun" is actually what inspired me to play the guitar...a bit ironic, isn't it! I always thought it was a beautiful song as well. Although, I'm afraid that it's a bit too much for me to tackle down at this point, but eventually--I do look forward to it!

I'm on the 2nd lesson of the Target program, learning strumming! Is "Here comes the Sun" a song available to learn on this site?! I didn't notice it!

[jmichellen]

izzyhara wrote:

Hi and welcome. Izzy in Colorado. You have gotten good advice here. The key for me is repetition. I get impatient and want to learn the whole song. But what works for me is to break down the first few measures, and get the first measure down before moving on. Somehow that doesn't seem so daunting, especially on something complicated. Even though I so BADLY want to play a whole song. Well - it is motivating to play a whole song. And if you can find an easy one, go for it. I just learned Blackbird and I spent one whole practice session doing just one chord progression over and over, because it was awkward for me. How does it feel? Where are my fingers? Am I fretting in the right place? Can I do it without looking? Just all these little tricks to get that one spot imbedded in my brain. I also put a guitar stand in my living room. I pick the guitar up a bunch of times during the day. I work from home so I have that luxury. But then I do have dedicated practice time every day. With the advent of tablature, you don't really need to be able to read music. You have picked the best place to learn. The Beginner lessons are top notch. And you can go through the same lesson over and over and over. But like someone else said, don't make this drudgery. It is supposed to be joyous. Try not to put too much pressure on yourself, or it will become work. We are all here for you, and will help you in any way we can. You are lucky in a way that you are new. I have so many bad habits from being self-taught, so I really have to work to un-learn some things. If you start playing right from the very beginning, those theories and finger placements will make new songs so much easier to learn. Have a blast !! You have certainly made the best decision for learning to play. Neil is the best. Can't wait for your first video. :silly:

Izzy,

That is EXACTLY how I feel. I want to learn the song all at once! I've never been one to study, usually, I read something or learn it in class and it's retained... so this is a BIG challenge! I'm kind of liking it too, I've never been this challenged, not in any subject except this--music, which is extremely foreign to me... more foreign than foreign languages if you can believe that!

Although, I'm really excited that I got the melody down for Norwegian Wood after I overcame the obstacle of finger placement!

Thanks again for the advice, I think breaking songs up is definitely going to be the key for me. I'm excited to see my progress in the next few weeks and I will definitely post a video for you all, that should be interesting!

I do agree this site is AMAZING and Neil is great at explaining things.

[jmichellen]

wrench wrote:

Hi Judy,

You already received a lot of good input here, so I won't repeat any of it, but I will add that the problem you first noted (fingers don't spread much and all of them want to move together) can be improved quickly by simple and painless hand exercises.

I think the best way for you to see what you can expect to achieve at TG is to look at TG Student Review videos. Look at some of our first uploads then look at the most recent uploads from the same players and compare the quality of their playing. Some members were already fine players when they got here, but I can name a number of members who have shown much improvement in the six or seven months we have been uploading videos.

I'm confident that whatever work you put into TG will yield results many times over what you might expect. And then there's the forum community......There's lots of help there for the asking.

I actually look forward to that figure as soon as I can play a little bit quicker--not sure how long that will take! Great suggestion, I should go through those videos--I'll have to find where that is, but I am sure that shouldn't be a problem.

In regards to the exercises... I actually saw that after the fact and everyone has been absolutely right, after a bit a practicing it does get easier. I'm already seeing the effects of my practice; for one, my fingers aren't hurting as much!

[haoli25]

jmichellen wrote:

I'm on the 2nd lesson of the Target program, learning strumming! Is "Here comes the Sun" a song available to learn on this site?! I didn't notice it!

Judy, here is the lesson for "Here Comes The Sun".

http://www.totallyguitars.com/target-so ... comes#song

If you want to print out the TAB for this song, the chords are shown along the top of the TAB. You can do your own strumming/sing-a-long version without all of the fancy fingerpicking. You will be able to add that later as you progress.


Bill

[jmichellen]

Everyone thank you for your GREAT advice! You're all very supportive and I find this fantastic! I didn't expect this from the program and am really quite pleased!