Looks like a good active community worth introducing myself to, so here goes.
My name is Shaun, I picked up a PRS electric guitar just before Christmas and starting learning. I wasted a lot of time flitting between courses, I tried some of Justin, some of Marty, Fender Play, Paul David and god knows how many others. I basically made little to no progress for my first 1-2 months.
Then two things clicked for me. 1 I got Justins app which was really helpful and I started getting the open chord changes down and being able to single beat strum some super basic level 1 songs.
But then I discovered Nitsuj. This was a light bulb moment for me. Seeing Justin struggle. Hearing the awful buzzing sounds and the slow as treacle chord changes while he’s smiling and laughing through it, shaking his hands out and generally failing. This made me realize that this is what this is all about. Playing it BADLY but just trying and trying and trying.
The last 3 months have really had me off to the races. I’ve got my F Bar Chord to 50 one minute changes or more from all the open chords which was the August goal I set for myself. I’ve for the first and second position pentatonic scales down to the point where I can go through them to the metronome and change directions. I’m playing alot of my favorite songs with the more complex strum patterns from the Grade 2 and 3 selection and generally loving practicing.
Nice to meet everyone and thanks to Justin for this amazing resource and being brave enough to do Nitsuj, it really was a game changer for me.
TBH its really easy to watch experienced players and not consider they were as bad as all of us once. No one is born a guitar player even if you do have some aptitude for it they all put in thousands of hours of practice and learning.
So Nitsuj is a great example of that and remember Justin knows every detail of what he should be doing!
Welcome to the forum, glad you are finding your sweet spot. The one minute chord changes lesson was the game changer for me, I quickly went from that to playing songs which really motivated me. The scales were a bit de-motivator for me. Everyone finds their own sweet spot. Look forward to hearing more from you.
Welcome Shaun, you’ve highlighted the key reason for me about why Justin’s course clicks, he’s completely relatable, especially with the Nitsuj series.
Stay involved and don’t hesitate to ask any questions as you go along, you’ll find as much support and advice as you need.
Glad you found your sweet spot. I felt quite similar about the Nitsuj-lessons. It is truely encouraging for Beginners to see someone so pro struggle like we all did in the beginning.
Wish you loads of fun on the guitar journey! Enjoy the ride.
Hello from yet an other relatively new community member. F-chord, scales, complex strumming patterns, playing your favorite songs - for just 7 months that’s impressive I have to say. Respect!
Wishing you lots of fun!
Justin’s an amazing online instructor that’s really down to earth and knows how to make complicated techniques relatable and easy to understand. I just strummed my first F barre chord today after a week of daily practice just trying the little adjustments he recommends.
Stick with it and you’ll continue to see amazing progress and skill growth. Most important of all, don’t forget to enjoy the journey and the music along the way
Hi Shaun, welcome to the community. Happy that NITSUJ finally turned the lightbulb on for you and that you are now making great progress. I went through at least one NITSUJ video for each module in Grades 1 and 2 to make sure I was following the practice routine elements correctly. I also point beginners to NITSUJ when they are discouraged by their early progress. It really puts the learning experience in perspective and provides a reality check.
