Few weeks in now so thought it’d be worth noting down how things are going. Maybe in a years time I can look back at this and laugh (or cringe).
Kicked off module 5 of the Beginner course yesterday, so progress is going pretty steady - averaged one module a week with decent results. My one minute changes aren’t too embarassing (yet).
I guess everyone’s approach to picking up new chords or whatever is unique, but I’ve found myself settling into the module practice session each time, and then one or two days in I’ll take a look ahead to the next one and just pick up the next chord I’ll be learning (so I snuck a look at the chart for G this evening, thank god it’s a nice and easy one after getting my head round Dm and C!).
I know it’s a right of passage, but I’m looking forward to the calluses on my fretting fingers easing off a wee bit! It’s certainly less painful than during the first two weeks, but the trade-off is that I can’t feel anything on those fingertips now. It’s making typing for work a bit more challenging.
Also noticed my guitar’s tone has been gradually changing over the last few days. Not necessarily for the worse or anything, but it’s sounding a bit…I dunno, janglier or something than it did previously? Picked up some spare strings just in case these ones are on their way out, I’ve been practicing for 1-2 hours every day so maybe I’ve gone a bit too hard on them straight out of the box
Overall I feel like things are going well though, really been enjoying the new songs this week (Pearl Jam - Black in particular, incredible tune). Think I’ll make a point of tagging 4 or 5 songs in the app and committing to learning them properly, give me something to work towards.
Great stuff, glad to hear you are making progress. Found your comments about the calluses and typing interesting, been a touch typist for decades and significant guitar calluses for a bit over a decade now and never noticed any effect on my typing.
Hi Steve,
Very nice that you are starting an LL, and for that smile over time it was also for me, because “we” often quickly forget what it was like in the beginning … but I assure you that this
does not take years to look back with a big smile if you quickly start posting your first songs or developments here
Greetings and a lot of fun here ,Rogier
Hi Steve, good ideato start a log right in the beginning. Later on, it’s not so easy to find the right point for a start. I’m more than a year in and I keep a journal for my practice to have an overview, but I didn’t start a log yet, because it takes a lot of time to write in English. But: it’s on my list…
Wish you a very steady progress and a lot of fun with your guitar!
Hello Steve, and congratulations to having reached module 5 .
Don’t be surprised, if from now on, it’ll take longer before you feel ready to move on. The things you’ll learn become a bit trickier and will need a bit more time to build up the required muscle memory. At least, this was the case for me .
Thanks for mentioning this. I’ve already thought, I was the only one experiencing this.
This numb feeling in my fingertips accompanied me for several months. And it’s still coming back from time to time… But overall, it’s getting better. So, no troubles with typing anymore .
Yes, definitely, learn some songs you like properly. That’s what the whole learning guitar thing is about, isn’t it. Take your time and enjoy it.
I wish you lots of fun along your guitar journey .
Your story resonated with me so much. I’m new, four weeks in and only a few days back, I posted here about the calluses being so hard that I wasn’t feeling the strings. I was essentially asking if this was a normal phase. Got great feedback……gently file them back a bit. Suddenly I could sense the strings under my fingers again.
And then only yesterday, I noticed my guitar was sounding a bit ‘twangy’ and I too thought, perhaps I’ve been over strumming or popped strings, best I get some new ones just in case. I also play a couple of hours most days. Well, there you go. I guess we’re all sharing similar stories with our journey although yours is further ahead than mine.
Hi Steve, good you started your learning log. Just going back a few post back you’ll be able to check where you were and the progress made since then. It’s also a good place to receive advice and encouragement. You can check if you are pressing too hard the strings with the fretting hand. Just try using slightly less pressure and If the strings still sounds clear it isn’t going to sound better if you press harder.
Thanks so much everyone! This week’s been a mixed bag, I woke up on Tuesday and my index finger of my fretting hand was incredibly sore, think I’ve probably been pushing too hard. Took the day off to let it rest and it seems to be fine now, but a good object lesson in how hard I shouldn’t be fretting my strings.
Posted it in the Beginners Safe Space thread, but for posterity thought I’d pop my first recording of me playing (and singing too) up here. Learned the G chord in module 6 and since Mad World was one of the songs suggested (and one I know the lyrics to already), it seemed like a safe bet.
Some of my chord changes were a bit sloppy (and I’m still fumbling my D major every so often), so it’s given me plenty to think about. Also singing while playing is incredibly hard, don’t know how folk make it look so effortless!
Hi Steve, you are playing and singing it very well. You can practice the whole song and also practice only the sections where you are finding issues with your playing and singing. If you haven’t seen it already there is a lesson from Justin on playing and singing. There is an interesting community discussion with this lesson as it can be with any other.
Had a busy week, was travelling for a few days so didn’t manage to get a practice in every day. Maybe not the end of the world though, I get the feeling giving my fingers time to rest every so often probably wouldn’t be a terrible idea!
Made up for it today, had my mum over for lunch and she insisted on me playing for her for almost an hour. She’s a very talented pianist, so I’m anticipating some duets in the near future if she gets her way. She did give me some ideas for songs to work on, so I’ve expanded my songbook to six songs to chip away at.
Lesson-wise, I’ve gone through module 7 of Grade 1, but since it’s really just consolidation now I’m planing to spend at least another week on the module 6 practice routine to really get everything cemented. After that, I’ll piece together a routine of everything that needs more work (reckon it’ll be a lot of tightening up changes to/from C, feel like that might be a weak spot currently).
Finally, I popped into a guitar store to try out some kit while I had spare time yesterday. I’m sure from their perspective it went very well, my wallet might disagree though. Upshot is that I’ve got some nice gear arriving this week, can’t wait.
Been a busy couple of weeks but I’ve still managed to get at least an hour of practice in every day. Hopefully it’s paying off, I measured myself up against Nitsuj’s final Grade 1 video and decided I should be safe to move on to Grade 2 tonight.
Upshot of that is my pinky is in agony, those stuck 3/4 chords are no joke! It’ll be good to get them down though, I’ve been tooling around with a song that uses them (Travis - Writing to Reach You) for a while now.
I’ve been very disciplined and haven’t been playing 100% on the new guitar either, trying to alternate as much as possible between electric and acoustic (if nothing else, keeping up the acoustic will ensure my fingertips never go soft). Thoroughly enjoying the world of tones that’s opened up to me with the electric though, it’s exciting just to play around after practice and experiment with new sounds.
Made a start on Module 10 last night after spending a couple of weeks each on 8 and 9 respectively. The stuck 3&4 chords gave me some pause to begin with, but after a few days they started feeling pretty straightforward. I still find them a bit “droney” on occasion, but being able to annoy the hell out of people with Wonderwall gives me a bit more incentive to perfect them.
The full-fat F chord is definitely coming along - I was dreading it and for the first few days couldn’t get anything decent sounding, but a few weeks later and (give enough of a run up) I can get a pretty consistantly half-way good result. Getting into changing to/from it from this week onward should hopefully help get it solidified.
Been dipping in and out of songs on the fly, but I’ve decided to try and really nail Dani California (RHCP) over the next wee while. It’s a good one for getting F down ( as well as working on Dm, which hasn’t been coming up much), and I’ve picked up a good workaround for Bm that should hold me over until it comes up properly in the lessons!
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