Hi from Michael - learning the website has me avoiding learning guitar

You’ve already received lots of input on how to utilize the website and lessons so I won’t repeat anything on the topic.
WRT learning how music works, Justin also has a Practical Music Theory course that you can try out (look in the pull-down menu for the courses). You might notice that this is a paid course but don’t let the put you off, the first few modules are freely accessible to everyone. After covering a whole bunch of foundational elements, you will be learning about how chords are constructed, why you will often encounter the same three chords together in lots and lots of songs, and a lot more.
The techniques lessons together with the theory lessons will give you the tools to “be able to make music” and “learn how music works”. The big things is not to get discouraged; set a pace that is comfortable for you, manage your short-term expectations, and settle in for a potentially life long journey, if you don’t do this it can end-up feeling like trying to take a sip out of a firehose.

Glen

3 Likes

Hi Michael,

Welcome to this community. You have a whole bunch of answers already, according from the official guides here, and there is some incredibly good advice that has gone your way. One of the most difficult things to do is to go back to the fundamentals. What is it that you want to achieve playing guitar. Is it about using it as a solo instrument, or is it to be able to play and accompany a singer, possibly yourself, or is it to play in a band. Is it to be able to do a singer songwriter kind of approach, and be able to work out your own songs. The second is, how do you actually learn the best way for you.

A lot of people here really only want to be able to accompany themselves or others on the guitar, and work their way through understanding chords and strumming, and may be a few embellishments. Most people would then focus on the kind of songs that they like, and try and play those. Very few would go in a linear fashion through all the songs, and would learn them all. There are just too many of them! The songbooks, and the app which has replaced them works fine for that.

Then there are the structured courses, that are intended to get your practical knowledge of actually playing up to speed, and are very focused on developing skills, if you have the discipline and perseverence, that is a great way to develop all of the skills you need, and over time you would pick up a lot of the ‘why’ music works, by getting the exercises right. And then there is the theory, for a helicopter view telling you how things connect up, but not necessarily what makes ‘good’ music, which of course is a matter of taste and artistry, which takes time to develop, just as the old masters in painting all started first by making charcaol sketches of original paintings, and then learned to mix their own colours and then made copies in oil of original paintings as part of learning their mastery of their chosen medium.

Most of all, I guess as it relates to your question, is the importance of listening, in original recordings of songs that you like, and trying to identify out different components, either the different parts (Verse, choris, bridge etc) and the different instruments, if its a band playing, how the instruments support the singer or the solo instrumentalist etc. That you do, and then you go and find what you need on the website or in this community, by asking questions, by watching the videos posted by people that share their own work here, and relate it to what you would like to achieve.

Good luck in all your musical endeavors

Hi Michael, I’ve used the website since I started in January and also use the app for playing along with songs. I’ve found the website really useful. I tend to work through one lesson of 8/9 videos then set up items in the practice session which I then add to practice sessions. The items are usually suggestions from the videos and also stuff from old sessions that I still need to work on. Each routine is about an hour in duration. I create a weeks worth of routines and then work through them during the week so I always know what I need to do in each session. It has worked for me so far. Good luck.

1 Like

@MR_HOBS Michael, as others have said above you can find practice advice and routines at the end of the modules in Grade 1, 2, etc. website course. If you look at the Nitsuj lessons in the last module at the end of Grade 1, you’ll see actual practice sessions for each of the modules. It’s called Nitsuj since Justin learns on a left handed guitar (he is right handed) to make himself restart learning to play as a beginner. He also has videos for Grade 2 modules at the end of Grade 2. The practice routine in Grade 1 is 20 minutes and increases to 30 minutes in Grade 2 and 1 hour in Grade 3 (but you can split between 2 days). The main emphasis is playing songs and the song tab has songs your can filter by grade. The song lesson videos are great additional practice and I spend a couple of days each week just on song lesson videos and track everything on paper. I know that eventually you will find what you need so keep looking at the lessons, keep asking questions and having fun playing songs.

1 Like

Hello Michael.
Welcome to JustinGuitar and the Community. I’m arriving late to the hello and welcome party. You’re now several months further along - are you anywhere nearer to making Justin’s fantastic lessons and resources work for you? You’ve had great help from many folk so far - any updates?
There are many good folk here who will happily offer help and encouragement to those coming up behind them on Justin’s Beginner Courses. They embody and carry the pay-it-forward ethos we have nurtured for many years in our community. There are many old hands too who have years and (hopefully) a bit of wisdom they can bring as they give their support to those hitting the road blocks - which we all do.
Just ask if you need anything else.
Cheers :slight_smile:
| Richard_close2u | JustinGuitar Official Guide, Approved Teacher & Community Moderator.

1 Like