I’m Helen, I play bass for some time now (nothing too fancy, but I keep a rhythm) and I bought my acoustic back in 2002.
I was 17 back then and as most of you know the recourses we had at our disposal was almost non existent, or may I say it came with a name: Hal Leonard.
So noodling around for so much time and many breaks in between I decided that it’s worth learning a vocal instrument that it’s also portable and will make me a better bassist too.
I’m happy to be a part of the community, being following Justin for a long time and now I made the leap and here I am!
Welcome Helen. Yes we almost all know Hal Leonard!
I started my guitar journey in January of this year while my husband started learning the bass in December. This is a great community, and the lessons are great. Glad you joined us…
Hi Helen,
Welcome here and I wish you a lot of fun
And I hope you know how to make in one videos that we also can see the bass you play at the same time if you want to post a video (I have no idea how to do such thing )
Greetings,Rogier
Helen, welcome to the community. I still have the Hal Leonard books that I tried to use before Justin Guitar. Being able to play bass and keeping a beat will give you an advantage in learning the guitar. Have fun learning to play guitar while singing.
Hello Helen.
Welcome to JustinGuitar and the Community. The website has grown and many new lessons been added over the years. If you need any help with a lesson specific question or with any general guitar learning question then do not hesitate to ask. 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.
Cheers
| Richard_close2u | JustinGuitar Official Guide, Approved Teacher & Community Moderator.
Thank you so so much, the community is beyond great as I read and experience so far, I am on Mod 2 of Grade 1, I am having fun so far I hope the guitar will stop seem so difficult and perplexed to me after I move on!
My current block is the A to D anchor fingers, MAN how does Justin make it seem so easy and flowing!
Cheers xxx
Helen, welcome to the community. It is not easy at first to do the D to A anchor finger chord changes. Start very slow and don’t worry about strumming at first as Justin recommends. With practice it will get easier.
I looked at my changes carefully and noticed that you have to slide your first or index finger back away from the fret to make room for the other two fingers when you change from the D chord to the A chord. Look at the website Anchor Chord lesson video at 1:45 minutes (or the App lesson video at 0:45) and you will see Justin sliding his hand back a little to make room for the other fingers. Keep practicing and soon it will be easier.
I am trying not to strum but omg I can’t help it and it sounds DREADFULLY FUNNY.
I have the mod 2 practice loaded on assistant and for 2 mins I do as you recommend (no strum this time). It gets easier day by day but I don’t know if I can de-program myself while playing to do this particular fingering instead the 1-2-3 that I learned by myself 100 years ago!
It’s a challenge and I’m up for it!
x
I learned the 1-2-3 fingering for the A chord in 1975 and used for all of these years. I did learn to do Justin’s fingering with enough practice and it does speed up the change from D to A and from A to D. You’ll learn later on that several chords have multiple fingerings. I also use the 2-3-4 fingering for the A chord sometimes.
!
if you want to post a video 
)