I want to learn guitar

Kinda getting used to guitar a little now, the G chord i can do kinda, the e cord the d cord tho switching wont be learned for awhile i think as still takes time to set it up so i dont touch other strings.

Btw im finding it a real pain to use my left hand on the guitar with the neck it is a right struggle to use and very straining on my wrist and fingers. It is probably the big gap where palm supose to be i guess and maybe im holding the whole guitar wrong as well as due to my weight i have a large belly lol so its hard to have it flat so its angled up to my face more so i can see stuff and holding it flat is a bit of a chore.

I have this guitar book and its got amazing grace as a try song. It is teaching G, Em, C and D chords for the song. All but the C chord i can kinda do but damn that C chord is a nightmare my 2nd finger (near pinkie) has a hard time touching the 2nd string when 3rd and 4th fingers try to stretch for strings 4 and 5. Duno how im gona get to get this one nailed. Tried lookin at justin but I dont think he can fully understand how hard it is due to his fingers are thin and long well compared to mine lol.

My roland 30 amp ordered like 17th Dec or somit is finally on its way. Due to problems with collection since i bought it and snow the seller finally said to hell with parcelforce collections so just took it to a PO and sent it that way the other day so hopefully it will come on Thurs.
 
Glad you are cracking on. Just give it time and it will get more comfortable / easier / feel natural. Took me a month of 2 to 3 hours per day to get comfortable when I first started. Then 3 more months for it to feel more natural. By the summer 96 (I started Xmas 95) 6 months in it was like I had been playing ages and all the pains had gone. Some days I was practicing 8 or more hours where I should have been doing gcse revision lol.
 
SkeeterUK said:
Kinda getting used to guitar a little now, the G chord i can do kinda, the e cord the d cord tho switching wont be learned for awhile i think as still takes time to set it up so i dont touch other strings.

Btw im finding it a real pain to use my left hand on the guitar with the neck it is a right struggle to use and very straining on my wrist and fingers. It is probably the big gap where palm supose to be i guess and maybe im holding the whole guitar wrong as well as due to my weight i have a large belly lol so its hard to have it flat so its angled up to my face more so i can see stuff and holding it flat is a bit of a chore.

I have this guitar book and its got amazing grace as a try song. It is teaching G, Em, C and D chords for the song. All but the C chord i can kinda do but damn that C chord is a nightmare my 2nd finger (near pinkie) has a hard time touching the 2nd string when 3rd and 4th fingers try to stretch for strings 4 and 5. Duno how im gona get to get this one nailed. Tried lookin at justin but I dont think he can fully understand how hard it is due to his fingers are thin and long well compared to mine lol.

My roland 30 amp ordered like 17th Dec or somit is finally on its way. Due to problems with collection since i bought it and snow the seller finally said to hell with parcelforce collections so just took it to a PO and sent it that way the other day so hopefully it will come on Thurs.
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In terms of help holding the guitar, are you using a guitar strap even while sitting down? My tutor taught me to use one from the beginning and have it set a little high (it's difficult to describe without showing you). That helped me a lot. Otherwise it's probably just getting use to it!
 
As stated before i nicked the strap off the guitar hero 3 kramer lol and im using that atm id probs get a new proper one in a few days i think as its a bit thin.

Yeah i try using it whilst sitting as well as standing. It sits roughly in my mid section of chest area. Maybe a little down from that i duno.

I reckon its just how it hangs on me that the neck kinda is low and really hard to get fingers curved up its straining too much especially when it feels when the neck moves which causes further straining and bending of the wrist.
 
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Take it from the master, this is how you want to hold the guitar, with the neck angled up:

ml5unk.jpg


It will come, just give it time. I started learning 30 years ago on a crap no-make acoustic with a string off.
 
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Who the hell is that lol. And damn what a horrid guitar.

Im not sure if thats a joke post or serious tbh.

I tend to have it not raised like in pic but i have experimented with it raised and is a bit easier but then i loosened the strap and it was a little easier that way too.

Also its really not as easy as ppl see with pics when u are a bit overweight.
 
That's Steve Howe, the guitarist out of Yes. Probably one of the best guitarists in the world.

I'm a bit overweight myself these days, but I just do as I always have done. Maybe pull the strap slightly tighter to bring it up a bit more.
 
Play with whatever becomes comfortable to you. The guy in the pic above is holding correctly for a standing position.

I play acoustic more and often sit down to play for my own enjoyment. Therefore I don't hold my guitar at an angle as above as it would be silly, but when I stand up I do.

Sorry to thread hi-jack but might as well ask while I'm here. I'm looking at learning a new song. My latest few have been Classical Gas and Stairway to Heaven, looking for a reasonably difficult but not stupidly technical song to learn.

I found Classical Gas reasonably difficult and it took about 2 weeks to learn the theory and I'm still perfecting it as a whole. Any suggestions? :D
 
John Lennon's Imagine would be cool to learn. I think Scott Bakula in Quantum Leap did it better tho. ;)

Just got my amp today. Had a quick mess about, effects dont seem to come through unless its loud which is a shame cos i got neighbours above and to side of me as im in a communal block of 4 flats. :( Loud as well. Reverb i couldnt tell if working but delay did. Distortion doesnt work too well if the knob on ur guitar is low but medium to high on the amp.

Duno how ppl bend strings cos i tried and it just dies out instantly. Tho i duno how to do it i was just pushing a few strings up after a strum so probs done it all wrong.
 
You can only really bend one string at a time. Just press it down, pick the string and push up. If you push it too far it will fret out and just a bit further will snap the string, so best do it lightly to begin with.
 
SkeeterUK said:
Distortion doesnt work too well if the knob on ur guitar is low but medium to high on the amp.
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Thats how it works :p

The idea is when you use the keep the guitar volume at about 2-2.5 in the verses, 5ish in the chorus and 10 for the solos. Depending on the track and preferences of course.

I know a few people who never take the guitar volume above five or six for the clarity it offers!!
 
Well im new with an amp and im not sure the volume it should be on the guitar and what it should be on the amp, same with that tone control on the guitar.

Btw is it normal for the amp not to work in the 3rd position switch on the 5 way selector on the guitar? As when i have it in 3rd (middle) place the amp doesnt seem to pick anything up. Just in 1-2 and 4 and 5 positions.
 
Ooh a got the riff of smoking water by deep purple almost its just strumming them 2 strings at same time as either im hitting other strings or the 4th string isnt plucked proper. Then theirs the holding down two frets for them 4 and 5th strings with one finger. I tried with 2 but its weird it plays better, when it works, with one finger to hold the two frets down.

Got the amp sounding sweet as well. :)
 
Wish windows movie maker could crop video to avoid the clutter of my sitting room lol.

But anyhow heres a clip of me showing the riff (think its them) from deep purples smoke on the water. Always liked that bit and wanted to learn it so had a quick scout on the net found a simple version and learned what u see and hear in about a day with less than a hour i guess combined to get used to it and stuff. Maybe less time i duno.


Go easy on me im a noob with guitars still. :p

If anyone interested in my amp settings i can post a pic if they want. I think knobs on guitar was full vol and full other knob and either 1st or 5th switch on guitar im not sure.

Edit - Ah the tab i think is.

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0350365035300

4 and 5th strings.

Also how am i doing and how is my holding and stuff u reckon? Any tips to improve would be welcome.
 
Is your right hand comfortable like that? Are your fingers touching the guitar under the strings? How are you holding the pick exactly? If possible could you get an upclose picture of your right hand when playing.

Your left hand looks fine. Your forearm is nice and straight and your wrist isn't too curved. If you're comfortable like that then that is fine the way you're holding it. Maybe try lowering your thumb down on the back of the neck a bit? Might be easier for some things.
 
Just started learning, things going well using justinguitar lessons.
Also practicing smoke on the water. What thickness pick should I be using or does it not matter?
 
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