So I've ended up in a situation, upon my relocation, where I'm in close contact with people that spend a decent amount of time on musical interests. My roommate is doing pretty well at picking up the mandolin, and he's got a guitar here, too; I've spent a little bit of time on it (first time I've spent on guitar since about 17-18), and I'm thinking that I'm going to start throwing a lot more effort into it again.
When I was trying to pick it up before, I never really spent a good amount of hours practicing. I had a couple of friends that were really, really
good players, but, well, the main guy that I was close to at the time (foolishly) was a sociopath. He wouldn't help me out, he just kind of sabatoged me from afar. At one point, a young kid that knew how to play guitar (a friend of his) was pointing out to him something that I was doing wrong at the time, and he thought I couldn't see. He basically hushed him up and kept letting me go about it the wrong way. That was when I gave up.
Now that I've got decent people around me, and the instruments handy, I'd like to try again. I guess what I'm wondering at this point, though, is how long it will take my fingers to lose their 'retardation'. I mean, I can type 110+ wpm with no errors. I've got finger dexterity. What really knocked me down the last time, other than active sabotage, was the fact that I still hadn't hit a point where I could hit more than one string in a stroke with the pick. I could pluck better, but, if you know guitar, I'm pretty sure you know what I mean.
Does anybody know, like roughly, about how many hours of practice it takes before a person starts picking up enough to be able to start hitting multiple strings without having to stop and target the 2nd one individually, disrupting the stroke? I think that, if I would've hit that one milestone, I probably would've kept with it. As it was, without any guiding influence, I just gave up thinking that my fingers were retarded at the time, though. I'm going
to go with it either way, at this point, but I'd kind of like to know what sort of timeframe I might be dealing with here.
The other option that I've got right now is a violin. I've actually
wanted to learn to play one of those for a very long time. The only reason that I'm not going directly into practice with that is because nobody around here knows how to play it, so I can't really just dive right in... At least I'm not going to try yet, with nothing but YouTube videos to try to learn
from. :)
Anyway, I'm very appreciative for any information that anyone might be able to give, or commentary on any of the above. :) I've wanted to play for a very long time. Like, anything. I originally started in 2nd or 3rd grade on a Clarinet. I love woodwinds, and after I got over the disappointment of not being able to get every kid's dream (because of how cool it is-- see also, Bill Clinton), a saxophone, I fell in love with the clarinet. I really took off with it, too. I'd like to try that again sometime, too, but nobody that I know has any woodwinds. I think I've got a hell of an aptitude with it. I
wasn't playing with it for more than a week when I found myself able to piece together 'Ode to Joy' because my parents were listening to it.
Best wishes!

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Re: Picking up the ropes
By: Khelair to All on Sat Sep 20 2014 07:06 pm

Alright Khelair, I'm not going to quote your original message but I'll give you my pointers, which are coming from someone who is a decent musician, but I definitely haven't mastered the art of the guitar. I'm not a
perfectionist and I don't sweat it when there's something I can't do if I don't have a reason for it. Anyhow, my general strategy is to focus on things that fit together, ala a song.

So you're probably starting out and let's say you know a few chords, and the easiest would be are the following :

Major Chords:E,A,G,C,D
Minor Chords: Em,Am,Dm that's it for minors for the easy ones

Then they can get a little harder: you'll likely want to learn these as well Major Chords:F,B (bar chords)
Minor Chords:Bm

Anyhow you don't need to jump to bar chords right away, but notice how an F chord is an E chord slid up one fret with your index keeping the bar or how a Bm is an Am slid up two frets in a similar manner.

I might be getting off topic though. With regards to your question,
some people have told me it helps to think about where you are going before
you get there. That may sound simple, but you have to have somewhere you are going and often that comes by finding places to go back and forth and find variations from. Anyhow, find variations in the chords above that sound good.

G,C,D sound good together in the same way A,D,E do or D,G,A do or E,A,B - those are major I, IV, V progressions ... oh Can't forget C, F, G in there either.

The relative minor of G major is E, of C it is A, of F it is D - and more. The point is those chords are similar minor chords in key that you might throw into your progressions. B minor is the relative minor of D major. Anyhow, you don't have to understand that to get your fingers in order, but it's good to be able to throw in minor chords as well.

Those I,IV,V progressions can also be done using minor chords etc. They are pretty much at the core of a lot of our modern rock based off the blues etc. For instance you can turn those progresssions into 12 bar blues and all sorts of other songs.

If you can sing or aren't scared to that helps a lot too. If you are kinda jamming out to a song it makes you move along sometimes a bit.

Still, can take a bit of time, but don't get discouraged. I've seen people really take off many times in my life and I've seen other people give up before they get started.

ll morph G futureland.grudgemirror.com LaRRy LaGoMoRpH\-/
O
=M=
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Re: Picking up the ropes
By: Khelair to All on Sat Sep 20 2014 19:06:22

the instruments handy, I'd like to try again. I guess what I'm
wondering at this point, though, is how long it will take my fingers to lose their 'retardation'. I mean, I can type 110+ wpm with no errors. I've got finger dexterity. What really knocked me down the last time, other than active sabotage, was the fact that I still hadn't hit a point where I could hit more than one string in a stroke with the pick. I
could pluck better, but, if you know guitar, I'm pretty sure you know
what I mean. Does anybody know, like roughly, about how many hours of practice it takes before a person starts picking up enough to be able to start hitting multiple strings without having to stop and target the 2nd one individually, disrupting the stroke?

I suppose it depends on how much you practice. I enjoy playing guitar but only play casually, by myself or with family, just for fun. I've been playing guitar for about 20 years (I started learning when I was 14), on a casual basis, and I still sometimes have issues hitting individual strings accurately. But it seems to me that the more relaxed you are, the easier it seems to be. Mood and frame of mind seem to have a definite impact on your ability to play accurately and easily. But still, sometimes I find that my fingers just don't go where I want them to when I want them to.

Most often, I play strummed chords and individual strings with a pick. I'd like to be able to play fingerpick style (like Mark Knopfler, etc.), but I often feel intimidated when I think about that. It seems difficult to know just where to strum & fret each string on the fly as you're playing, and also to practice up that muscle memory so that it's easier to just do it.

Nightfox
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Re: Picking up the ropes
By: Khelair to All on Sat Sep 20 2014 18:06:22

Does anybody know, like roughly, about how many hours of practice it takes before a person starts picking up enough to be able to start hitting multiple strings without having to stop and target the 2nd one individually, disrupting the stroke? I think that, if I would've hit that one milestone, I probably would've kept with it. As it was, without any guiding influence, I just gave up thinking that my fingers were retarded

So how do I get to Carnigie Hall? Practice, Practice, Practice. When your finger tips stop bleeding it means your getting there. In the meantime try to learn this chord progression......C Am F G Shoodo n shobedoo.

;-) HusTler


... It doesn't make a difference what temperature a room is, it's always room temperature.
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