Stuck as beginner

So going more over the body of the guitar, as if hugging it a bit? I will check the link you post it. Thank you! I will also try to take a better video that shows my body position better.

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That is a great way of describing it ā€¦ yes :slight_smile:

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told you that a video would help ^^

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Here we go. Towards the end Iā€™m already losing the pick. That also makes me lose concentration so even if I try to ignore it the whole thing starts going wrong. I donā€™t know how to upload the video in a different way.

[mod edit - Laura, to embed your video so it can play within the topic just paste the url with no brackets etc. I have done it for you here. Richard ]

Hi Laura ,

If you click in the video with your (right mouse button) you do ā€œcopyā€ ā€¦ then go into the field here and do ā€œpasteā€ if everything is correct, the entire video will be visible hereā€¦

And for the pick ā€¦

I hope this helps you :smiley:

Greetings,Rogier

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Thank you, Richard.

@Xtralovable
Much better position with the elbow over the guitar.
I have taken a screenshot of your pick


Compare with Justin at the moment he is demoing for very early stage beginners in the lesson @roger_holland linked.

It is not quite the same angle of photo but you can see that you have much more of the pick sticking out.
And Justin says at about 4 mins 20 that as you progress from early stage beginner, you will move to having even less of the pick stickong out the side of your thumb.
I encourage you to bring that pick much more within your grip and have only a small amount of the tip sticking out.
When too much pick is out it will get snagged in the strings and not glide smoothly across the top surface.
:slight_smile:

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Thanks! Iā€™ll watch the suggested videos and go back a bit to those basics that my brain was convinced I knew but I had forgotten somehow. :slightly_smiling_face:

I used to have the slowly slipping pick problem bad. Very discouraging and seemed unsolvable.

I tried out picks with ridges, holes, contours, texture, rubbery coatings and smooth. I also have cold dry hands.

Ironically I found the smooth picks to have the most grab with the skin. To further increase the grab between pick and skin, I blow warm breath on my finger, making the skin more compliant and moist.

This was a few years ago. Today, the pick still slips and rotates, but I have learned to readjust while still strumming.

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Kudos for posting videos - it makes troubleshooting playing problems so much easier! These days, I donā€™t usually bother commenting unless thereā€™s video, or at least a still picture.

Some things that jumped out at me:

  1. That guitar looks big for you. I suspect you would have an easier time with a smaller one, but understand that it is the one you have.

  2. You have a strap, but it is loose.

  3. It looks like you are raising your right leg somehow. This is lifting up the big guitar body, which forces up your right arm to a more awkward position., as Richard pointed out.

My suggestions:

  1. Lower your right leg. Foot should be flat on the floor and relaxed.

  2. Tilt the neck of the guitar up a few inches closer to the ceiling.

  3. Tighten up the strap just enough so the neck will stay in position, without having to support it with your fretting hand. (If the strap slips, you might need a wider strap).

I think if you experiment a bit along these lines, you will find a more comfortable playing position. Note that this may take some back and forth finding the most comfortable position for both strumming and fretting arms, but itā€™s worth the effort.

Adroit management of tradeoffs is the essence of guitar playing :slight_smile:

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Thank you for your advice.
Iā€™ll experiment with those things. I have tried some before but I can never quite manage to find a comfortable position.
If I was able to get a different guitar at some point, what would you recommend? Iā€™ve had an electric guitar in my hands once and I remember thinking how comfortable that was. But Iā€™m not sure Iā€™d like to invest in one, plus it needs amp and all that and I have limited space. Still, Iā€™ll make notes of suggestions for the future.

As it happens, my girlfriend bought a Yamaha FS 800 guitar last year, and she loves it. We tried a bunch of guitars at the music store, including some that were three times the price. The Yamaha played and sounded as good as any of them, and better than many.

A steal at $300 Canadian, before tax.

But your best bet is to go to a music store that has a good selection of acoustic guitars, and play a lot of them. Some will feel much more comfortable than others.

In my opinion, comfort, and easy playability are the most important things in a beginner guitar. More important than tone, more important than looks, more important than cost. IIā€™s difficult enough learning to play on a good instrument. No need to make it even more difficult.

Also, it is quite likely that you will find an instrument at the store that just ā€œspeaksā€ to youā€¦it just feels noticeably better than the others. If that happens, it is worth spending a bit more than you were originally planning to. Youā€™ll probably have the instrument for many years, and you will soon forget about the $100 or $200 extra you spent on it.

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