Hi all I’ve been practicing for around 9 months now and still struggling with the basics. For example changing chords. G to C especially. Still lay my fingers name 123. and strumming still doesn’t seem to flow nicely 6:8 is just not happening Plus I’m still on the first module1 HELP
1 Like
@Sponge72
Lee, your frustration is coming through loud and clear and everyone has frustration with learning and playing at various times.
Do you mean module 1 or grade 1?
RE: fingers 1, 2, 3 and sequential rather than simultaneous landing. I have written advice to help with this in various places. Check this out. The C Chord - #106 by Richard_close2u
Are you able to successfully maintain 4/4 strumming? If yes, then concentrate on that for the time being and learn songs, learn songs, learn songs.
6/8 is a wonderful time signature though much less common that 4/4 so come back to it once you have some fundamentals working and confidently applied to song playing.
Are you able to share some videos of you playing so we can see, hear and analyse?
2 Likes
Hi thanks for your reply. Sorry I mean grade 1.
Yes I’m fine with 4:4 strumming. Old faithful.
I’ve only ever played Infront of my dog 
1 Like
Learning chords and getting fingers to work independently can take some time but 9 months is quite long IMO. You need to do regular daily practice 30 minutes if you can, you don’t say what you have been doing?
I would ask several questions about your approach.
- Have you separated learning a chord shape from trying to play it with other chords and in songs?
By this I mean have you sat there and repeatedly slowly just grabbed say the C chord and then shaken your hand out and then grabbed it again, and done so until it is virtually automatic. You should do this with each chord and then try grabbing one and then another, e.g. grab C and then change to G. Once this is good reverse it - G to C.
- For strumming have you followed Justin’s lesson on this and done it regularly, playing just on beats 1, 2, 3 & 4?
I would recommend you start playing just on the beat a down strum to a metronome initially at 60bpm for 5 minutes a day, just dampen the strings, forget about playing a chord, you can do that later. Do it for 1 minute take a 20 second break and another minute. Once you can hit the beat accurately, increase tempo to 80, then 100, then 120.
I found this very hard to get and still have issues when learning a new strumming pattern. I would highly recommend that you consider Justin’s Strumming SOS course. https://www.justinguitar.com/classes/strumming-sos After many months of struggling with rhythms, strumming and keeping time I got the course and religiously have followed the lessons and practice routines, it has made a huge difference.
3 Likes
Hello there.
9 months in you say? You’re just starting.
One of the big mistakes beginners make is that they tend to see learning the guitar as something that’s based on a timeshedule.
Like: by month 1, i should be able to do this, by month 2, i should be doing this…
Well, guess what, your brain doesn’t work that way. The progress a player makes, differs for everyone. No player is the same.
Learning how to play the guitar comes with so many different variables, that don’t want to confine to a shedule.
The brain needs to make new pathways, needs to digest new information.
This will take its time.
Worrying about where you are at a certain point in time and comparing that with skills you do or don’t have, doesn’t help.
What does help is this: knowing that this is a marathon, not a sprint. Knowing that having fun playing is THE most important thing you can do/have.
Justin made a wonderfull course for players of all levels, but it didn’t specify time. (not at least that i know).
What i do know is, the more you play/learn, the easier it will become. But again, having fun doing so is, again, THE most important factor here.
So bottom line, have fun, stop worrying. Progress will come, don’t you worry. It just differs for everybody.
3 Likes
oh, this takes some players quite a while.
Everyone of us has their strengths and more weak fields.
On one hand patience is required. Like praticing things you find hard.
But also try alternate ways if you feel like it. Sometimes giving it a rest for a bit rather than trying very very hard.
Personally I think, getting a Uke and learning a few songs on this is easier and at the same time gives you some help with the guitar.
But a similar thing (making the task easier) is what Justin recommends as eg. strumming with muted strings, just for the rhythm. Even along a song you like (“HIde your love away” for 6/8s eg.) any waltz song (but ok - which is better not too fast, the above is quick, I think)
If for me, anything feels hard but I rate it important, I try to dissect it and train on just bits of the thing, and slower also, and slowly add it together over time.
Sorry for the long writing, I hope there was something in it that made sense to you.
In any case, you found a great guitar teacher in Justin and a nice community over here!
WIshing you good success!
PS.
There’s also a “safe beginner’s space” here. where you could link your video and ask for further advice, if you don’t want to share a video with the whole community.
Thanks for your reply. I need to get back to enjoying my guitar instead of putting pressure on myself
1 Like
A little pressure doesn’t hurt, but it must not become overwhelming.
It’s good to have goals, but the road towards those goals are different for everybody.
Like you said, getting back to enjoying your guitar is a very good idea.
A wise man once said: it does not matter how slow you go, as long as you do not stop.
1 Like
the sequential finger movements are a very difficult thing for me. sounds to me like you’re not far off from where I was roughly 9mo into things. I was happy with my progress at that point, though, because that was better than any of my previous attempts over the prior 20+ years.
I still have to really train myself on efficient chord changes. Some of them take a lot of HARD work to “program” myself in a certain way. It’s slow. G to C to be a hard one depending on which form of the G chord you’re using. There are some that I’m just not going to get easily. So if I see that change in a song, then I will gravitate towards one G chord shape in particular. One song I play uses a dirty little trick of only playing the lowest strings of the G chord (using part of the shape that mutes the 5th string) during a D-G-C 3-beat progression which makes things work so much more easily at speed.
Keep at it. I agree to keep a little pressure on but try to keep that pressure at a level that doesn’t overwhelm you. I had my own outburst of frustration recently and putting it out there (and then getting supportive responses here) helped.
1 Like
Hi Lee,
It sounds to me as though you are frustrated as per the response given by @Richard_close2u . If that’s the case then I think Richard’s response is likely the practical advice you need.
However if you are stressed rather than frustrated then an understanding of how to avoid the stress whilst still progressing may help. I like this model both as a coach (which I do as part of my job) and as a learner (like most of us on this forum): The Learning Zone Model - Commons Library Library
I hope you find something that works for you.
2 Likes
When I first started playing, I wanted to get to where I could strum (in my case finger pick) the chords to my first song. Getting to that point gave me a lot of encouragement to keep going. How did I get there?
- 15 minutes EVERY day
- Picked a simple song with the A E & D chords
- Followed Justin’s example of playing A E & D with an anchor finger so it was a LOT easier to change between chords
- Used the 1 minute chord change lesson to improve my speed on chord changes
- Played the simple song many times. Kept to a simple rhythm.
2 Likes
I agree with lots of other replies. These are quite normal difficulties. I still have difficulty changing between some of the chords I learnt early on in grade 1 and I’ver been at it a few years now. Just persist and it will improve. Believe what people say above. It will improve. It just needs time and regular practice.
Regarding strumming, I cannot emphasise how helpful the exercises were in Justin’s SOS strumming course. I got it for free with the app. But if I had to pay for it, I would. It really helped me and I found the exercises to be a bit like meditation and actually quite relaxing. I concentrated on just that for a couple of months - lots of counting and use of the metronome - slowly at first and then faster and with more and more complicated strumming patterns.
6:8 took me a very long time to get into, and a few years in, I find it difficult to play a song in 4:4 and then switch to 6:8 for another song without having to concentrate very deeply. Also modifying 6:8 strumming patterns from the simple one Justin demonstrates in Grade 1 (or 2?) to something a bit more interesting was really challenging for me and doesn’t come naturally, even now.
So I think your difficulties are quite normal. Persist with your practice and try to think a few weeks later whether you have made some progress. It’s measurable if you video yourself from time to time - not that I practice what I preach 
.
If you really feel you are not improving, you could consult one of the Justin approved teachers and have some lessons which might help you identify if you are doing something wrong.
Also remember, enjoy yourself!!! That’s an important part about practicing. For me, practicing every evening is the best part of my day and I look forward to it all day - despite all the errors I make and the fact that there are good days and not so good days.
1 Like