I am currently still at module 1 of Justinguitar. I have been practising between switching D and A chord and find some difficulty in doing so. Also, I find it hard not to strum the top 2 strings of D chort and the top string of A chord.
Furthermore, I find it a hard choice whether to look at my right hand or left hand when I play. If I look at my right hand, I will place the chord wrongly. If I look at my left hand, I will strum the top strings of the D chord and the top string of the A chord.
I am having fun so far, though, and enjoy pracrtising. I am getting better but still not there yet. Sometime, I am unable to sound all the 6 strings of the chord when I play. Some of the strings become muted, and it is hard to make them not muted.
Especially when my string are so tight and pressing hard on them can be so painful. Still, I practise sometimes to make the strings not muted but it is really hard. I am also having a hard time getting my finger to the edge of the fretboard as, is recommended by Justin.
But I am not giving up! I hope to master my A and D so that I can proceed to the next module of Justinâs course. I wonder if there is any worship songs that just have A and D chord so that I can practise with them instead of the recommended songs on Justinâs site.
Learning guitar is more fun than I remembered, and I hope one day to master the guitar. Meanwhile, my parents and younger brother are constantly betting with each other on when I will give up on the guitar. I hope to prove them wrong. They keep telling me, my guitar skill sucks, and I feel like telling them, at least it is better than them knowing nothing but I choose to keep quiet instead.
Hopefully, ten years down the road, I will prove them wrong.
That is incentive enough Chong to keep going and prove them wrong !! Best of luck with your practice, all you are saying is normal on the first steps of your journey.
Youâll prove them wrong a lot quicker than that if you stick at it. Once youâve learned A,D and E and a basic strum pattern youâll be able to play hundreds of songs. 6 months tops.
What youâre describing is what we all went through at first: sore fingers, struggling with trying to look at both hands, being clumsy on chord changes. Time and practice takes care of all of those things.
You describing the challenge of switching between A and D as well as the finger pain playing causes was exactly my situation when I learned 10 years ago. It does get easier and the reward of learning to play your first song is awesome. Hang in there and youâll be amazed soon.
This sort of thing really pisses me off closest ones should support you all the way, not making fun of you and filling you with pesimism and negativity. Stick around here and we will make up for all the support you need to get through this
And you being a person of faith and assuming your family is too and it is catholic faith I am sure being mean and making fun of someone is considered as sin. (Mods feel free to remove last paragraph if this violates any Community rules).
I wish you good luck and you can make it I am sure of it!
My family are buddhists and not the same faith as me. I am a converted christian. They donât just make fun of my guitar, they make fun of my faith, too!
Itâs a great positive that you are able to see where the problem areas are. That means youâre halfway to overcoming them. Guitar is a difficult instrument to come to grips with, especially in the first 6 months. Keep going, and as for the family, hand them the guitar and ask em to play a D chord
Re hitting unwanted strings. Try making the D chord, then just hold it, and concentrate solely, both physically and mentally, on your strumming hand only. Forget about your fretting hand. Do it in short 30 seconds bursts, have a few free strums or whatever, then try it for another 30 seconds. Laser focus I believe will see the quickest progress here. Its a bit like a plane landing at an airport.
Re the painful fingers. Iâm afraid thats a rite of passage we all have to travel. Itâll resolve itself soon enough.
Stick close to Justinâs instruction and this community, and before long youâll be the envy of your family ( and be able to cash in on their âbetsâ ).
All the best.
Youâve found the perfect place for your guitar journey. Justins course ist great, and this community is simply wonderful. Youâll receive lots of support and motivation if needed.
I wish you a fantastic time with your 6-string-friend (and yes, the finger pain will dissapear over time ).
Welcome to the Community, Chong, your family of fellow students will offer you only encouragement and support.
You mentioned the dilemma of where to look. Initially speaking I would suggest that you first look at the left hand. Once you have the fingers in position, then press down gently. Turn your eyes to your right hand hand to strum the chord and then pick the individual notes. If a note does not ring clearly then check the left hand.
Try to work on applying just enough pressure for the note to sound clearly. You will find this reduces as you get the fingers closer to the fret wire.
Good to hear you enjoy it. And as others have said, you will get through this stage in due course. Never worry about the number of days or weeks it may take, know that persistent patient practice will get you there, over and over again as you learn more and more.
And keep at it and within weeks and months those doubters will be hiding away or eating their words.
Hi Jasmine. Technical advice has been covered by other members of the community. About the comments you are receiving about your current skills it may be that your family has not been in contact before with someone learning a musical instrument and are not aware of the time needed practicing the same thing over and over until it gets better and later good and later wonderful. Keep doing it for you. Maybe later they can ask you to play a song for them but if not everything is good. About the songs, yes, some songs have questionable lyrics but life has a little of everything and songs reflect that. Maybe you can use the songs with the cleanest lyrics from the ones Justin suggests as exercise and start looking through the Internet for tabs or lyrics with chords for worship songs. Maybe you can try âeasy worship songs for guitarâ to search for it. You can try the search in another language if you speak it. You may not find just A and D songs but you may find some three chord and four chord songs you can play later.
closest ones should support you all the way, not making fun of you and filling you with pesimism and negativity. Stick around here and we will make up for all the support you need to get through this 
).
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