Guitar lessons.

[cape cod basser]

So I have been trying for over ten years to play guitar. Have had some lessons but the ones that were good were way too expensive, $250 a month for 8 lessons.
Tried on line a bit but no way to ask questions so even more difficult.
I get to about the same point every time I start up again and it gets frustrating so I put them away and don't touch them again for six months and forget where I was at... Like starting all over again.

I keep the acoustic out beside my TV to make myself look at it and get me to pick it up but just play the same few things I know and put it back.
Hoping someday to find a teacher local that makes it fun and really start to learn again.

[tlefire]

What are you trying to do when you get frustrated?

[jamie150]

I've been taking lessons for a year now. You go through times where it's really frustrating but work through it. You get these aha moments and it makes sense. It's not an easy instrument to learn. Lessons can get expensive. 250/8 lessons isn't bad. Try craigslist or a music store to find an instructor that might work from home at a lesser cost. If you're not comfortable with them keep looking. Good luck and I hope you keep going. Feel free to message me if you have questions. I tried online...it was frustrating!!!

[cape cod basser]

What are you trying to do when you get frustrated?

Trying to remember how to do certain notes or cords. Getting fingers to get between cords and hit the right strings. Bad case of fat finger syndrome, always seem to deaden the string beside a finger. I guess I would say just no progress.

[cwilt]

Not joking...Make sure your nails are trimmed way down, if they are not they could mess up the angle you fingers press on the fret board. Also finger exercises may help. Try to learn going to and from chords. Like strum a G and go to a C, and then back. A to E might be easier. Then try to speed it up. Even if it's not a song. When your finger tips start to hurt, put it down and try again in a day or two.

[Woody b]

Repetition if your friend. Pick out something you're struggling with, not a song, just chords or a progression. Practice that for 15 minutes a day until you get it right. Longer than 15 minutes will get frustrating. Play a bunch, all you have time to, just practice whatever you're struggling with for 15 minutes. For years I "played" at least 4 hours a day. However I only "practiced" 15 minutes a day.


Again, 1 hurdle at a time.

A good instructor is worth his/her weight in gold, but they're hard to find. Most just teach songs. You don't want to learn songs, you want to learn music.

[tlefire]

As they said, start simple. Do the easy chords that don't require a lot of thinking. Chords like Em to E. Em to A7. Em to Am. E to Am. Make it as simple as you can. It's all muscle memory. Go slow, because practice makes perfect is not correct. Should be perfect practice makes perfect.

[bosco]

I feel it helps to set it aside for a few days. Even a week, because when i pick it back up i feel im a bit quicker and make my changes smoother. I agree with tlefire, because when im trying to learn a new song my brain gets in the way. But later when I take some of the new things I tried to learn for that song, but freelance on my own, my mind gives me more room. My fingers free up......
Remember this it takes longer to get those finger pads hardened than it takes for them to soften up again. So try not to set it down for to long

[Toni]

One thing that often gets overlooked is the actual guitar itself you are trying to learn on. I've been playing for 40 years, and I have often come across people asking me how to learn to play. I always, if possible, ask them to show me the guitar they are trying to learn on. Many times the strings height, intonation, type of strings, etc are such that I even find it difficult to play their guitar. Then I hand them one of mine and say here, try this.... and they immediately know the difference, how much easier mine is to play because it has a good setup on it, the string heights are where they need to be, the intonation is set correctly, the gauge of the strings makes it way more comfortable and easier to play.

You don't have to spend huge amounts of money on one, but if you can, go to a good local music store and ask the guitar players there for a good assessment of the instrument you have and if it needs to be set up. Guitar center its about $50 to have it done, but ask them as well if a setup on your particular instrument is worthwhile, or do you need to just buy something else that can be set up well. If they are honest and know you are willing to spend a little money on another instrument that is more playable, let them guide you to a decent instrument at a reasonable cost. I have a Takamine acoustic and a Mitchell that each cost around $180, and they play beautifully. I call those my campfire guitars, because they aren't so expensive that I would not want them around a campfire.

The guitar is a great instrument to play, learn the "cowboy" chords out of one those "play any song with three chords" books and tune your ears to pick out those things in other songs. Sore fingers come with it, but you build up callouses pretty fast if you stick with it for a week or two consistently and then you can practice all day long. Its an instrument that takes a fair amount of time to train your fingers to do what you want, but once you get there, its a lot of fun to play.

[Empty Livewells]

Not joking...Make sure your nails are trimmed way down, if they are not they could mess up the angle you fingers press on the fret board. Also finger exercises may help. Try to learn going to and from chords. Like strum a G and go to a C, and then back. A to E might be easier. Then try to speed it up. Even if it's not a song. When your finger tips start to hurt, put it down and try again in a day or two.

When your fingertips start to hurt, KEEP playing and get those calluses built up. Then your fingertips won’t hurt anymore. Agree on the finger nails, long nails can also wear grooves in your fretboard.

Agree with Toni above. Your guitar may need a good setup. Even a “cheapo” instrument will be easier to play and sound better with a good setup. The finest guitar in the world will be hard to play if poorly setup. Also, playing every day will help your guitar as it will “loosen up”, the more you play, the better your instrument sounds and plays.

[cape cod basser]

Still playing a few basic cords and a few scales. I had the guitar set up almost as soon as I got it this year. Still working at it almost every day.

[dchance]

I used justinguitar.com and really liked it. It is a structured curriculum and it is free.

[cape cod basser]

Still playing scales about every other day. Need to look up something else to work on. Fingers get tired quick so need to work them more I guess

[TomM]

There's tons of stuff online. I follow Ben Eller on Youtube and Patreon. He's advanced for a beginner but besides being a cool character, he has tons of exercises and lessons. Andy Paoli is another if you're into playing blues. As mentioned, JustinGuitar is another good one.

Good luck.

Tom

[Kodiak16]

Roy Clark Big note Song book with 1st lesson DVD

[kissfan]

Playing/learning scales is fine, but you'll get tired and possibly lose interest. To keep your interest, learn to play some songs.

Pop over to http://www.ultimate-guitar.com and learn from tabs. If you have questions on how to use them, send me a direct message.

Playing songs you know/love is a great way to keep your interest high and also learn at the same time.