Question, I’m having trouble with the D chord “Muting the 1st string”. Is it ok to substitute with Dsus4? Or is there a specific reason to use the one in the lesson?
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Hi @Lobo918, I would strongly advise you to keep with the fingering taught by Justin. Although D and Dsus4 are almost the same, they are not completely the same. In the future, you might want to be able to choose one or the other, depending on sound and/or ease of chord changes, depending on which chords come before and after the D.
As for muting the first string: I honestly think this is THE big problem with D for everyone learning guitar. So the good news is: we’ve all been there, and we’ve all managed to overcome this problem. So please, don’t give up!
The trick is to put the tip of your third finger as perpendicular to the fretboard as possible. Of course, your finger will be slanted, pointing roughly towards the bridge, but the tip/first knuckle shouldn’t lay flat over de first string. To achieve this, slide your hand forward under the neck and keep your palm close to (not against) the bottom of the neck. This will give you some more space to curl your fingers and get the right angle.
Another common problem is the second finger on the first string sliding slightly forward when reaching to get your third finger in the right spot, which will cause the second finger to sit on top of the fret rather than just behind it and will give a muted sound. Pay attention to this and experiment a bit to find the right positioning, then consciously practice the correct placement.
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Thank you for the advice LadyOfTheCastle
I played some years and years ago but didn’t consider myself a guitar player. I knew a few chords and could strum along.
More recent I was in a bad car accident and now have severe nerve damage “Ulnar nerve” in my left hand. My Dr said that it could get better if I found ways to move it around. I decided to give guitar a real shot since I also have lots of free time now. I bought a guitar and have tried and tried but it’s just not going to happen.
However, I’m not one to give up so I decided to try to learn left-handed. I bought a Taylor Academy 10 because I wanted a beginner level guitar with the perks of easy playability, this is part of my problem now though I think it has a smaller neck like I wanted but it’s a little tight up there on the 2nd fret. I can easily play the D sus4 but I kind of want to do this the right way from the start. Even what little I already know kind of doesn’t matter. being right-handed and switching to left gives a whole other meaning to beginner. lol but that’s how I found Justin Guitar.
Sorry for the rant, I just wanted to thank you for the advice.
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No need to apologise. Playing with the ‘wrong’ hand of course adds another difficulty to the already difficult thing learning to play guitar is. But don’t despair: there are a number of left handed players on here who play right handed, and they managed. Also, taking a look at the Nitsuj videos, of Justin learning to play left handed, might help you for some perspective. You’ll find them at the end of the list of grade 1 videos.
But above all: keep it fun and make sure to keep doing things that motivate you. If you’re ok with the rest of the module and it’s just the D holding you back, it’s ok to move on, just take the D exercises with you.
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Do riffs count as songs
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Hi Aditya @brokendream_79, welcome to the community! Unfortunately, riffs do not count as entire songs. You’ll learn more about song structure as you progress through Justin’s lessons. Riffs great fun to learn though! Consider heading over to the Introduce Yourself topic and telling us a bit about yourself!
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I surprised myself yesterday by being able to keep up with the beats of the first Mavericks song while making all the A to D to A changes, using just the one down strum pattern; any time I try to accommodate another strum in between, it all breaks down, but that is part of the learning road, I guess. I know that some changes were sloppy in aiming successfully to never miss a beat, but again, that is how things will get better. A question: if I wished to augment the website teachings with lessons for songs via a book as opposed to the app, what book would suit well?
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Hi Kumar,
Justin offers two beginner song books. I have one of them, and it is quite good! The list of songs included in each is on the web page for each book. The books are organized by the “stages” from the legacy beginner’s course, but I haven’t found that to be a problem. There are notes for each song, as well a a suggested strumming pattern. Might be worth a look!
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Hi Judi, thanks for that, but which of the two should I look at and perhaps to buy? I mean, which is the one you have that you refer to?
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I have Beginner Song Book 1, the other is Beginner Song Book 2 (which I will buy if only for Ziggy Stardust!).
Edited to add: I found the books on Amazon…I live in the U.S. so purchasing from Justin’s website isn’t practical for me.
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Kumar, I would also recommend looking at the Justin Guitar Easy Guitar Songbook available on Amazon [Justin Guitar Easy Guitar Songbook](Amazon.com: JustinGuitar Easy Guitar Songbook 101 Songs with Up to 8 Open Chords | Beginner Guitar Sheet Music and Chord Diagrams | Learn to Play Popular Songs with Easy Chords | Hal Leonard Guitar Method: 9781540060204: Sandercoe, Justin: Books Amazon.com: JustinGuitar Easy Guitar Songbook 101 Songs with Up to 8 Open Chords | Beginner Guitar Sheet Music and Chord Diagrams | Learn to Play Popular Songs with Easy Chords | Hal Leonard Guitar Method: 9781540060204: Sandercoe, Justin: Books)
It has mostly just Grade 1 songs and the other two books have grades 1, 2 and 3.
I learned from book 1, but the Easy Guitar Songs book has the advantage of being organized by the 7 modules of Grade 1.
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Thanks Steve, I will look up this one. I am making steady progress, but I realise that I need to start with songs too now to make things meaningful and therefore progress faster, and that not just via the feel good side of songs. Analogy of swimming in water minus a float, compared to practicing strokes suspended in the air!
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Hello everybody, sorry to bother you. I was wondering… I stayed on the routine described in this module for a little more than a week now. When I do the chord perfect practice, I play the chords correctly without having to recorrect the position of my fingers almost every time. I reached 60 One Minute Changes, but they sound really bad. I played the songs in the video that Justin has given us in his routine with the Practice Assistant, but there my chords don’t sound really good…
I might have been a little vague, I know, but… in your opinion, should I stay on the module until all the chords in the various exercises sound good, or I should move on to the second module?
Thank you for your answers!
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My advice. Move on, but;
Record yourself, observe, and write down exactly WHY your chords sound bad.
eg. Fingers muting other strings, fingers not perpendicular enough, hand/ thumb pisition is not right, posture problems etc.
Its the focus on it, and writing it down that lets your mind know “this is important stuff”; and it’ll help to get it right over time.
Cheers, Shane
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Great advice 
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I’m just getting back to playing guitar in my 60’s. I never was any good before and now have arthritis in my hands just to complicate things a little more. These lessons are great fun though even if I do sometimes need a day or two for my hands to stop aching. The most important thing is that there is a great structure to this and I’m having fun. That’ll do me.
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I was able to get 30 chord changes my first practice session but I’d rather do a few more sessions before moving on
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I’m right here with you (68)
Hope burns eternal. ;–)
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I’m in my 50s and also picking up my guitar again after a long break. I’m finding these lessons really helpful and enjoyable. Good luck with your guitar journey!
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