49 yrs old. Started playing a month ago. Got a guitar (Yamaha FG 800) and ended up exchanging it for a Seagull S6 as it just fit me better. I never touched a guitar before a month ago. My 19 yr old has played electric bass and piano and had a guitar for a decade, but never played it until this past year. He has grown and excelled so quickly, it got me wanting to try (note to self… do no judge my own growth curve against his).
He was trying to push me into Marty Music to learn, but from what I was reading, this was the place to be. So… I am ashamed to say, I had been using the course the wrong way . I wasn’t actually doing the practice sessions… I was running through all the courses, but I guess I hadn’t understood about using the website to run the practice sessions and log my time. So, a month in, I now have only been doing the practice sessions for the past couple of days and logging my statistics. Since I have actually been doing the sessions, I think I am already noticing improvement on chord changes (my biggest problem so far).
But… I think I am following properly and now we can see what kind of progress I will make actually using the proper course format.
Welcome! I like the web site practice routine too. It’s nice that you can not only draw from the pre-defined items but add your own, as well as click a button when you’re on a Justin song page to add it to your practice routine. The whole Dashboard thing is getting better and better. I so love that Justin is so popular that he has a whole team of elves helping him keeping it going, and making regular improvements!
Welcome to the community. I started playing at the age of 53 and the one minute chord change lesson made a huge difference for me. Looking forward to hearing more from you.
Welcome to the Community. Good to hear you are setting into a structured routine of studying lessons and then practicing what is taught. Wise words said re not comparing yourself to your 19 year old, or anybody else for that matter.
So I just had a weird epiphany of sorts… when I was playing along with Down on the Corner, the last couple of days I have been struggling to keep up. I have been watching my hands and the screen… and it has been a challenge. So today, I stopped looking at my fretting hand and just trusted the shape and the placement. It wasn’t perfect, but huge improvement from trying to watch. I guess this is that spot where muscle memory is starting… and my muscle memory is better than my trying to watch and place my fingers. A week or so ago, the muscle memory wasn’t there and the only way would have been to watch my fingers.
Welcome to the community and glad you are taking the steps towards mastering guitar. Follow through all of Justin’s lessons if you can. Each one has its own reward. I’m glad you chose Justin over Marty S. He is a talented guy but Justin’s method and structure are exceptional. I’ve been here getting closer to two years and my progress has been phenomenal. Kudos to Justin and team for the lessons and support. I joined this forum a couple weeks ago and f there is so much support here as well.
Good to see you have found the right way to approach Justin’s lesson. If you’ve started at Grade 1 Lesson 1 and started walking forward from there, you won’t go wrong. BTW nothing wrong with Marty when it comes to song lessons and he is one that Justin recommends as a good online tutor but as said stick to the path and all will be well.
Hi Heboil. Welcome! Following the courses step by step is what will lay a good foundation to keep building on. Yes, there is a time when remembering the fingering of the chords looks like is never going to happen and suddenly it does happen and you are ready for the next achievement. Good you are using the practice area of the website. It has helped me a lot with the consistency of my practice.
Five days in with the practice sessions… on grade 1, module 3. Am able to “keep up” with the 10-minute song practice… but still need work. D chord sounds pretty thin much of the time. Chord changes are high 30s or low 40s, but when playing songs… they still chug behind. My son is telling me to play in rhythm, even if I play the wrong chord. Harder to do than just saying I will do it.
Also… my B string on my first fret feels like an x-acto blade on my index finger. The high E is ok… just that B is a doozy.
Hi heboil, welcome to the community.
JustinGuitar offers a structure and an all round comprehensive learning course that is not bettered imho. Everything on the JG website is meticulously planned to benefit his students, not his view count. You have definitely landed in the right place. And this community is a wonderful complement to it, you will find encouragement, support and friendship here for sure.
Cheers
Richard
. I wasn’t actually doing the practice sessions… I was running through all the courses, but I guess I hadn’t understood about using the website to run the practice sessions and log my time. So, a month in, I now have only been doing the practice sessions for the past couple of days and logging my statistics. Since I have actually been doing the sessions, I think I am already noticing improvement on chord changes (my biggest problem so far).
