Hi Prashan, welcome to the Community here and congratulations on completing your first week on an awesome journey, it sounds like you’ve done well with your first couple of chords and changes.
To your question, I’d suggest focussing first on more the chord perfect exercises than getting the change numbers up when using the pick. At this stage definitely don’t be massively concerned with hitting some wrong strings, it’ll definitely come with time so stick with it using the pick. I see no harm in moving on, you’ll still be doing plenty more practice with A and D through grade 1, they’re not done yet!
Most of all keep having fun, you’re doing a terrific thing, all the best. Keep us posted on how you’re doing and don’t hesitate to ask for any advice here, you’ll get all the support you’ll want, if you want!
Hey! First of all congratulations on starting! You won’t regret it.
If you look at my post history you will find me complaining about the same thing: hating the sound of the pick compared to thumb strumming. I found that for me that’s because the softer thumb sound masks some imperfections. Honestly, the only thing that fixed that for me was persistence and time. At some point the chords you know will become easier and easier and you’ll be able to focus more on how you strum! Also with time the rhythm will feel more natural and things will just click at some point. Just keep it up and remember that in the future you will wonder how could you struggle with things that will be second nature by then.
Your pick work will come with time and practice. As you move on to practicing and playing simple songs your pick work will improve rather quickly. Stick with it, don’t get discouraged everything will fall into place as you follow the course. I’m midway through the intermediate level and consistently surprise myself that I’m actually playing guitar.
Hi Prashan, welcome to the community forum. I had problems when I first started to use a pick also. I found it easier when I changed to a thinner pick. The nylon picks seem to work the best for beginners. Justin suggests a thin nylon pick (0.38 mm Jim Dunlop nylon) for beginners because it doesn’t get stuck on the strings as easily.
Hey guys! I have a doubt when strumming. When I go down, I should only strumming the correct string. For example on D Chord I only need to strum the 4 thinest strings. Is this also the case when playing a song and strumming Up? Should I only strum 4 strings? This is insane for a real beginner
The short answer is, YES, you should target strings 1-4 for the D and strings 1-5 for the A, whether strumming UP or DOWN.
Here’s the longer answer: The open 5th string (A-string) is actually a note in the D chord, so if you accidentally strum it, it’s not such a big deal. When strumming UP, it is common to only strum the 2-3 thinnest strings. You should try to at least hit the thinnest 3 strings when you Up-strum.
Hi Marcos, @Fast-Eddie has given you a good answer for what to what to do. I would add though, that as a complete beginner, there is no need to get discouraged or worried excessively about hitting the wrong strings. The most important thing at first is to have a constant rhythm. Justin suggests strumming while muting the strings with your fretting hand so that you can focus on the strumming and not the chord. When you strum while forming the chord, trying to strum correctly on the down strum and strum a few strings on the upstrum with the goal of keeping the rhythm constant. The constant rhythm is a lot more important than strumming all the notes perfectly.
lol - yep i can relate to comments regarding the lack of advice on how to strum the right strings. I came to this lesson hoping for guidance as I was failing the ‘one minute chord changes exercise’ mostly due to fumbling around trying to strum strings 1-4 for the D and strings 1-5 for the A. In the end I found advice on another site that suggested lightly anchoring your pick hand pinky on the pic guard as a point of reference. After a little practice using this technique I was able to improve my chord changing metrics enough to easily pass the test. Commenting here in the hopes it helps someone else. Regardless, I am a big fan of Justin and the coursework.
Hey everybody,
Could I just mute the bottom two strings when I play the D chord and the top string when I play the A Chord with my thumb? Then can I strum all of the strings including the muted ones?
If you mean wrapping you finger over the top of the neck to mute the low E string, yes I do that often. If you are also able to mute the A string you have a way bigger hand than me, but no reason why you shouldn’t if you’re able to. With the D chord you can get away with hitting the A string and it will still sound ok.
There is a difference between doing a practice exercise and playing. As a practice exercise you want to concentrate on trying to hit the correct strings. If you are playing a live gig you can be a little more free with the strumming.
I mute E and A with my thumb if playing a D chord, however it’s an insurance policy, I still very much aim to strum the correct strings. It’s a good skill to learn as there will be other grips later on where a thumb mute just isn’t an option.
