Posting your first Audio-Video Of You Playing (AVOYP) is a big obstacle for some.
So, we have this topic just for members taking their first steps. If you have never posted before and would prefer not to create your own topic, with the spotlight on you individually, then you are more than welcome to join in here.
A few house rules:
1]
We would like this topic to be for Beginners only, working through Justin’s Beginners Course Grades 1-3.
Ideally your recording will feature you playing one from the hundreds of songs at those grades on the Songs lesson page and / or in the Lessons & Songs App.
2]
We would ask that you limit your uploads in the Beginner’s Safe Space to a maximum of three per person. This could be three recordings of the same song, showing your progress. It could be three different recordings, perhaps from the same grade, perhaps spread out across several grades of learning.
3]
When you reach this maximum, or before if you feel confident enough, we ask that you then begin to use the wider Progress + Performance Audio-Video of You Playing Area.
Additionally, you can make use of the Learning Log section to create your own space for collating your AVOYP recordings, keep a learning diary / journal, post photos of your gear etc in
Jump aboard and join in.
Be positive - about your own progress and towards others.
For my 2025 New Year’s resolution I told myself if I ever regained the use of my arm and hand I’d try to hold myself more accountable to learning music. Music has been almost entirely on hold for 2 years thanks to a mis-diagnosis followed by two surgeries that have gone wrong. Surgery number three–to correct the fallout from number two–was yesterday and already I can move my arm better and grip a guitar pick.
So be positive that this is the beginning of the end of the ordeal.
So strike while the iron is hot!
Or, in reality: so record something while the wife is out of the house and post it before I totally chicken out … there’s still time to avoid hitting the “upload” button, after all.
I practiced the vocals for a week after finding the acoustic version of this song on YouTube. The vocals are not good, I’m not a singer, and just yesterday had a tube down my throat during surgery, so things still feel weird. You have been warned.
I haven’t really practiced the guitar since holding a pick has been a problem, and since I can’t play and sing at the same time anyway. But if I don’t jump in now I might never do it, so simple down-strums will have to suffice. You have been warned again.
I have never tried to sing within earshot of someone else before. (At least I hope my neighbors can’t hear anything!) Not even my wife has heard me try to strangle a cat. It’s probably better for marital bliss that way. Don’t be mean, it’s been a rough few years.
It’s Pop Evil’s power ballad Torn to Pieces (the acoustic version, which has a different melody than the album version and is played a semitone higher than the album version).
Hi Paul,
Welcome here and I wish you a lot of fun …nice that you are on the road back after a setback, that is always a good moment to pick up or start a new thing or something again …you are clearly not new to music and given your story you can be super super super satisfied with your first video …good to build up that strumming arm slowly to a swinging arm later … calm and slowly
@paul_x Paul … your medical story is terrible to read. Best wishes to you as you seem to be emerging and heading to a good place again. Fabulous wonderful good vibes to you for recording and sharing. What a joy you must have in your heart! Singing and playing and being a musician. Sheer delight. Although you wouldn’t know it from the song choice and lyrical content haha
As the saying goes - all power to your elbow. And that applies literally here doesn’t it. Keep on keeping on and may you be blessed with many more such days.
I can’t believe I did it! I figured if I was ever going to crack the playing-and-singing-at-the-same-time nut it would have to be with the Old Faithful strumming pattern. This song fits that pattern very well so I’ve been working it. The pattern doesn’t come out quite right at the start of each phrase, but I can’t seem to force it: the rhythm of the lyrics always takes over my hand! Still sounds good, and Justin says that makes it good!
This wasn’t a planned recording, just an iPhone Voice Recorder clip from a practice session that turned out okay, so it’s audio only. YouTube doesn’t like audio-only, so I had to create a SoundCloud account. I hope posting this to SoundCloud works out better than me singing the last note of my "performance”. I turned my head to look at the guitar. Note to self: don’t disturb your neck when trying to hold a note … unless you can actually sing, I suppose.
This is my very first guitar video that I’m publishing. My brother will be 64 in a few days, so I’m preparing a short piece as a birthday greeting. This is a backing track for my daughter on alto sax, later we’ll play a duet, I don’t want my brother to hear my singing
Cheers
Withold
Hello all - here’s my first recorded full song. I’m still in Grade 2 of Justin Guitar but I really love the song California Dreamin’ and found it in the songbook on this site for Grade 3. I decided to challenge myself and learn it, because I was determined to learn how to tackle barre chords as quickly as possible. I remember reading a Youtube comment on Justin’s video on the intro to Barre Chords with the F chord that said that the F barre chord is what got them to quit playing guitar 10 years ago and I wanted to make sure that didn’t happen to me. I’ve been playing for a couple of months now but didn’t find out until after recording this video that you’re supposed to retune after putting on the capo… dang! so, some of the strings are a bit sharper than I’d like them to be. But it was a good enough recording with few enough mistakes and fast enough barre chord switches so there ya have it. I’m also working on the full Californication with the solo, House of the Rising sun (with the arpeggios) and as a “Dreamer” song I’m working on Fade to Black by Metallica but I can’t play them fast and clean enough to be worth recording. I’m close with House of the Rising Sun, and I’m getting close with Californication. As the first solo I’ve really tried, it’s going to be a little while before I feel like it sounds good enough with my technique.
While I’m at it, I had a question if anyone had experience with this. With House of the Rising sun for example, I tend to focus my vision on my picking hand to make sure I’m hitting the right strings. I’m pretty good about knowing where to place my hand for chords but when it comes to hitting exactly the right strings for stuff like arpeggios, or for example the picking pattern for Fade to Black and Good Riddance, I almost have to look at my right hand to hit the right strings. I was just curious if anyone else finds themselves doing this. Thanks!
Hi Withold @witkatz
Congratulations on your first video , that’s a big thing and this takes some of the pressure off now …I hope you have a great party and how great you are also going to play with your daughter
Greetings,Rogier
Hi Ryan @theryanbamford
how great a first video with a song you like very much…congratulations this is a big good step…I wish you a lot of fun.
And picking the right in picking paterns is a matter of very long practice ,and when I have a new pattern to practice, it can take many weeks (and practicing almost every day) before it comes naturally… now I’m just an advanced beginner at that stuff… For me it’s super important to keep practicing it as slowly and as best as possible, and not get too mad at myself when things go wrong… come on, you’re a beginner at this game … Heck we’re beginners at this game
Getting kind words takes even more pressure off, thank you so much Rogier!
some next vacation on the road to Egmond aan Zee I will wave in the direction of Nijkerk
Cheers Withold
That was a great opening post Ryan. Some nice picking there, steady strumming and clean chord changes including the barre chord changes. The more you practice the easier it will get. Thumbs up from me
Before my enforced and unwelcome 2 year break from guitar I was able to play James’ Fade to Black parts without looking at anything, but it took a ton of repetition. Before that I waffled between staring at the fretting hand vs. staring at the picking hand. Both seemed important given both were doing complicated and unfamiliar things.
Now, if anything, I’d say I glance down at the fretting hand for the intro to get the fingering correct as it’s a stretch for my deformed pinky. For the verses I sometimes glance down at the picking hand to get the longer string skips correct in the Am pattern.
When I say a ton of repetition … I mean like the entire 18 months I was learning guitar (I started FTB on day 1 of Justin’s lessons as something to do in parallel with lessons because it’s one of my favorite songs and the solos are just amazing as far as I’m concerned).
Bravo @paul_x you’re going and going again.
Keep on keeping on is the way.
You say it was a recoring from a bigger practice session. What a good habit you have then - recording sessions, not just setting out to record stand-alone ‘best takes’ but your whole practice. Listening back to yourself can only help you improve. They are not meant for sharing but for you - though as you found with this one, occasionally you may want to share a sample.
My one comment is to encourage you to play with a drum track or metronome or the actual song.
You deliberately play the intro and outro at different speeds. That is fine, artistic interpretation.
Once in to the song proper, your tempo wavers with fluctuations in speed. You really do want to train the best possible rhythm habits you can as you practice so always try to ground your timing in a solid base.
The first one takes the boldest step.
Congratulations and kudos for posting @witkatz and I hope everything turns out great for a birthday surprise for your brother.
You’re doing fine in many regards - a relaxed fluent strumming motion, good chord changes and maintaining rhythm. Not every note is ringing crisply - I wonder if it is the open strings due to the angle of your capo. I can’t quite make that out but if so is an easy fix.
@theryanbamford
Good stuff Ryan.
You are definitely getting the rhythm going and chord grips under your fingers. Don’t let the F chord beat you down!!
One thing I notice. When going to the barre chord, your shoulder and body tense up. I think this might be to do with the guitar’s position relative to your body. Your left arm is having to operate a little in front of your torso rather than out to the left of your body. This squashes everything together and cramps things up so you have less room to move. Try pushing your guitar further to your left so your arm and elbow come out in line with, or slightly away from, your chest.
RE: your picking single strings question.
What you describe is very, very common.
Is your hand floating when you try to pick or are you anchoring it? Anchoring with little finger on the guitar body or fleshy outer of your palm resting somewhere just behind the bridge saddles?
When your hand is floating it is much more difficult to judge the position of your hand in space and, therefore, to be confident you will hit the correct string.
Thanks for all the info! In the past few days I completely modified my picking technique. After Justin’s lesson on playing without looking at the fretboard, I happened to also buy a strap so I could practice standing up. Combining learning while standing and practicing without looking at the fretboard, I found it was basically impossible with my previous technique to play the arpeggios on house of the rising sun without looking.
I remember reading about using my pinky as an anchor but brushed that off because it seemed impossible or overwhelmingly uncomfortable at the time, something I found out was due to the fact that I was holding the pick very strangely. After doing some research I found that I actually held the pick the same way James Hetfield does. I modified my technique to hold it between my index and thumb, and to my surprise the pinky anchor started to make complete sense and now I seem to do that intrinsically. In fact I’m now developing a callus on the top of my pinky from doing it so much. I’m happy to say I can now play house of the rising sun’s arpeggios all the way through without looking, though I’m still making a few mistakes here and there while getting used to this.
I think the reason I gravitated towards holding the pick like that is for strumming, because it helped anchor the pick at the same angle and stopped it from twisting and rotating while I play. The twisted and rotating came back a bit when switching my technique up, but it’s getting better with time. Holding the pick between my index with the pinky anchor also helped a ton with alternate picking and made a big difference in how well I can practice and improvise on scales.
As for your tips on the Barre chord tensing up, I appreciate the info! I think playing with the Capo on the 4th fret angled me up a bit strangely for sure but it’s definitely something I’ll keep an eye on moving forward
…nice that you are on the road back after a setback, that is always a good moment to pick up or start a new thing or something again 
…you are clearly not new to music and given your story you can be super super super satisfied with your first video 
…good to build up that strumming arm slowly to a swinging arm later … calm and slowly 
, that’s a big thing and this takes some of the pressure off now 
…I hope you have a great party and how great you are also going to play with your daughter 
… Heck we’re beginners at this game
I will wave in the direction of Nijkerk 
