Smooth learning

[ericsmoothy]

OK…so I can see the benefits of having a log…so here goes.

In the beginning was Showaddywaddy (i know right?!)
My mother (rip) used to remind me of the day I got suspended for jumping up on the table in primary school and air guitaring to Hey rock and Roll…(nostalgia anyone?!)
That is my first memory of wanting to play.
Fast forward 47 years and after much abuse and mistreatment, my body has failed me and left me prematurely retired with nothing but time and arthritis on my hands.
So along came the six string dreams again and a month ago, she who must be obeyed, suggested I stop whinging and just do it!
So i asked a long time friend of mine, who plays in a band, what he thought of the idea and did he have any pointers?
So first, I needed to decide, electric or acoustic?
with my fingers, electric seemed the best option as its easier to depress strings…apparently!
Next up which guitar?
Well my budget isn’t that great but as it was an early xmas present ( so I’ve been told!) I could stretch to around £150.
My mate comes back with a Yamaha Pacifica in black with a no top e string!!

So before id even learnt a thing, I learnt how to restring, retune, refit bridge saddles and bridge springs and not only how to adjust intonation, but exactly what the word meant!!
So guitar restrung with super slinkys, tuned up thanks to A Snark ST2 clip on tuner

now for the amp.
I was informed,(by her indoors) that “I don’t care if you are using headphones, you cant have a 500w Marshall”
So back to my buddy who found me this dinky toy looking dayglow coloured box. Its called a Blackstar Fly3.

Great thing is, with a few leads, I can plug my phone into the amp and run the metronome app and songs thru it to my headphones and still hear my mistakes!!!
So leads, headphones and a variety of picks purchased I’m ready!!!
And as if by magic ( or sods law) my hands flare up again and become unusable for 5 days.
That was a month ago…
I have been setting aside at least an hour(or 2) daily to warm up fingers, practise CAGED and have a bit of fun trying to play something barely recognisable.
I can struggle my way through Hendrix Star spangled banner…!!!(one finger wonder!!)
I’m not learning to play specific songs just any songs!!!
So here we are at Justin’s pad…
Day 1 off we go

[ericsmoothy]

Update:
Module 0 completed
Module 1:
One minute chord change…
My score, 10 ish, kept losing count! This multi tasking things new to me!! I have trouble chewing gum and walking!!
I’ll keep practising it.

[dobleA]

Hi, Eric. At the beginning everything is new but with regular practice you will memorize the chord positions at the point that just thinking in the chord the fingers will position in the right way to fret it (muscle memory). Regular shorter sessions works usually better than longer sporadic sessions specially at the beginning (because fretting hand fingertip pain). You will find what schedule works better with your physical abilities. Get the most of your playing. Do your practice routine and after that you can have a little more of fun playing whatever you want.

[Gittargirl]

Hi, Eric - Glad to hear you are taking up guitar and are lucky enough to have a competent musician friend willing to help you out. Like you, I took up guitar quite late in life after raising 2 families. I played in high school but probably only knew about 10 chords total. Had a performance train wreck on stage and quit until my 50s. And I discovered Justin’s Beginner course which was a godsend. Learned so much. Guitar playing is excellent for keeping arthritic hands moving. Just be patient with yourself. I have rheumatoid arthritis and hurt everywhere EXCEPT my hands. Here is the best advice I can give you: When a song has a difficult chord combination for you, just play those 2 chords back and forth over and over again - don’t even have to actually strum the strings. Relax your hands! When you get better at that, add the chord just before those 2 and the chord just after those 2. This allows you to smoothly enter and exit the difficult area. I can’t even tell you how much this exercise has improved my playing! Stick with it, Eric, and best of luck! Maddie in Australia

[nzmetal]

Welcome Eric! All the best with your journey, so much enjoyment (and frustration at times ) to be had! Looks like you’re well set up to get stuck in!
And hi to @Gittargirl! That’s some excellent advice!

[Silvia80]

Wish you a lot of fun guitar time Eric. Your guitar looks awesome

@ericsmoothy

of the day I got suspended for jumping up on the table in primary school and air guitaring to Hey rock and Roll…(nostalgia anyone?!)

Your teacher must have been a ******* really it makes you wanna sing “we don’t need no education …”

[NicoleKKB]

Hello Eric, so nice to have you here .
At the beginning, everything is totally new and your hands don’t know, what you expect them to do. But this will get better. And starting a new hobby is so exciting .
I wish you a wonderful guitar journey, have lots of fun and be patient with your hands .

[ericsmoothy]

Update: Day 2
lots of warm up…its cooooold here today and knuckles are feeling it!!
Perhaps I should have practised BEFORE I went to decorate the tree outside!!
1 minute chord change = 34
wow, i did have lots of individual minutes yesterday as i really needed practise
Strum on beat 1…ok got that, with chord changes almost perfect…!
Module 1 to practise schedule
Ill continue to practise perfect chords and 1 minute chord change throughout the day

[ericsmoothy]

Day 4…there was a day three, but i found the benefits of practise routines on dashboard, very nice feature btw and so helpful.
1 minute chord changes yesterday +36, today =40
on to E chord!

[ericsmoothy]

Day 6
Practise yesterday despite bad hands!! went through my practise routine and did some fast changes but had to give up there.
Today feeling a bit better if not colder, did routines and chord changes.
I wanted to learn guitar, not to play any one song, but to play a lot of songs!! So ive been finding it difficult to pick a song that not only speaks to me, but to my abilities.
I found that in Chasing cars by Snow Patrol. 3 chords and fastish changes, I think ive found my practise song!! If it improves beyond embarrassment, i may video it.

[roger_holland]

Hi Eric,
Making a video and asking for improvement is never an embarrassing video,…well done and keep it up,
Greetings,Rogier

[OpsRes]

@ericsmoothy

If it improves beyond embarrassment, i may video it.

Hi Eric,
I can guarantee almost to a certainty that everyone who has posted an AVOYP here has felt the same way at some point. There have been many references over the years to “Red light fever” (when the record light is turned). Urban Dictionary: Red Light Fever Trust me, having suffered through it, it’s real.
So take a deep breath, do the video and know that pretty much everyone in your audience has experienced the same thing and will understand what you are going through.

Oh, and BTW, know that RLF can happen on your first, your twentieth, or your two-hundredth recording.

Glen

[ericsmoothy]

Update day…no idea!!
Still doing my practising using practise routines, very beneficial.
I’ve got A, D and E down to a point i don’t have to look at finger placement any more.
Chasing cars practise, well its coming along and if I have the video playing with volume up I almost sound in time if not in tune!!
Its going to take a fair bit more practise to get it to a stage that I feel confident enough for criticism!
And despite popular belief, Catholics DON’T have natural rhythm!

[ericsmoothy]

Update part 2…
Now, im soooo frustrated.
My short fat stumpy fingers let me down again.
Iv managed to play A E and D almost the way it should be but, as my fingers are so fat, i can only fit 2 fingers in fret 2 for A. so my index finger presses G and B strings and my middle finger presses D. switching from A to D or E is relatively easy by applying ring finger to A string or little finger to B, 3rd fret.
Now along comes minor chords. It is a physically impossibility to form the shape using suggested fingers for Am. As much as I really want to progress, im hampered by physical deformity.
So, options?

[BurnsRhythm]

Hi Eric, what is it about the A minor chord that you find impossible?

[ericsmoothy]

I have fat finger pads and whenever I try to put my ring finger down i always end up muting strings!

[BurnsRhythm]

Eric, it should be possible. Position your hand so that your fingers are perpendicular to the fretboard, not laying flat across the strings. It doesn’t matter if your 3rd finger is touching the 4th string because you are fretting that with 2nd finger. Don’t let 3rd finger touch 2nd string though because you fret that with 1st finger, 1st fret.

Your best source of advice is Justin’s Aminor lesson on the website and his Chord Perfect lesson.

Good luck

[ericsmoothy]

Post xmas update…
I passed frustration junction and took the next exit to enthusiasm!!
Ive managed a fe work arounds with my playing and now have caged down, i think!!
I need to keep on my perfect chords including Am, Dm. Em i got!!
Even over xmas I managed to keep up my 30 minute practise sessions and its slowly paying off.
The wife got me a finger strengthener from Amazon for xmas

which has actually helped with my weak pinkie.
As part of my warming up, Ive learnt pentatonic E scale, which has also helped with finger placement and speed.
Now onto module 4 practise.

[ericsmoothy]

Happy New Year all!!
For the past 2 days ive been a bit too busy to hold my guitar, as hands were preoccupied with a glass of something or other!
So today begins a new guitar year for me and a resolution to make a video at some point showing what progress (if any!) Ive made
Ive found this community to be a real source of encouragement and with Justins course, I hope to be able to play songs that are recognisable ( and not just noise!) before too long.

[Richard_close2u]

Hi Eric.
You’re all set.
Your friend has done you a good turn sourcing that gear - it will be all you need for a while.
Module 0 done.
Module 1 underway.
Good luck and do what you can, when you can, fingers and hands allowing.