re: People who play guitar

My fingers are hurting. My hand is hurting and my wrist is hurting.

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Take some Tylenol, it really helps. Next time, take the Tylenol before you pick up the guitar.

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Im working with it. Learning D and A chords now. Ring finger does not want to work with the others but its easier today than it was yesterday. I do about 10 mins at a time, 5 or 6 times per day right now A is easier than D for me.

Im not comfortable with my wrist bent so much. Its getting more comfy but just feels weird.

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For example, pick the key of G (which will cover so, so much music). Learn a G, the switch from G to C, the switch to C to D, then back to G. Do 4 beats/down strums on each chord, then switch. Then do 2. Then do 1. Then do 4 on one, 2 on the next, etc etc. Spend a month just on that. You'll be surprised how much your dexterity and strength improves. And you can find about a million songs you know with that simple chord progression. keep it up!

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I agree with this, but would add also to learn the E minor, along with the G major. E minor is the natural minor of G major and is a really easy chord change back and forth. As you get used to doing it and trying different strumming patterns, you will start hearing yourself playing bits of Bob Seeger songs and a bunch of other classics. It will get you motivated. Then learn the C major and D major. Once you have learned those 4 easy chords, you are ready to play hundreds of great songs. Just don't stop there.

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don't do too much at one time, and don't just learn random open chords.

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Oh Im not. I dont know enough to do that.

I am following the beginner course with justinguitar.com. Those are the first two he teaches you. Im working on those two like his course teaches and trying to get comfortable with them..''

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For example, pick the key of G (which will cover so, so much music). Learn a G, the switch from G to C, the switch to C to D, then back to G. Do 4 beats/down strums on each chord, then switch. Then do 2. Then do 1. Then do 4 on one, 2 on the next, etc etc.

Spend a month just on that. You'll be surprised how much your dexterity and strength improves. And you can find about a million songs you know with that simple chord progression.

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That seems very similar to what is next in that course. Switching from D to A and back and forth. Im just not comfortable with my finger positions yet to be able to switch back and forth.

Thanks for the advice. I really appreciate it..

A guy named Cougar once said your first hurdle is to forget about all that macho shite. So there's that.

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I am following the beginner course with justinguitar.com.

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Yep, good move.

It looks like he's got a sound logical plan laid out. At this point there's lots of ways to go and many ways to get there. Just remember before long you're going to be hearing all manner of distracting things from Nashville Numbering System, to enharmonic changes, to voicings, music-theory, scales, modes, alt-tunings, arpeggios, and soon on.

Don't fret it.

You might even want to read up or listen about another topic or maybe see how you relate to another guy; however (IMO) whatever you do stay with one game plan for a while. At this stage it's going to insure you don't miss out on something important. The old way - it took me three tries to find a live person I wanted to stay with (and even then not long enough).

Although you might ... no... never mind.

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E minor is the natural minor of G major

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It's the relative minor

That's getting into theory and is why understanding some theory makes it easier.

Chord structure is the same in any key. If you learn the fretboard, and know the structure of the chords, you wil be far ahead of the game.

Nearly everybody knows Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do. You learn it when you're a kid. Those are the 7 notes in the tonic scale. Yes, there are 8, but the 8th note is the same as the 1st note, but one octave higher. In any key, a major chord is the 1st, the 3rd, and the 5th tone in that key. The minor chord will be the 1st, the flat of the 3rd tone, and the 5th tone, so the minor are the same notes as the major, except for one note. That flat means that instead of the 3rd tone, like in the major chord, it's one fret down from the 3rd tone. The major 6th chord is the same notes as the major chord plus the 6th tone. Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do, or you can use numbers, but in the same tones. 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8 and 8 is the same as 1 but one octave higher, as noted.

With this chart you can make any chord you want to make. Well, in the most common western scale. There are countless number of scales, but this is the one most western music is composed of. Country, rock, blues, whatever.



Oh yeah, and on a guitar, a tone is 2 frets. Always 2 frets. 1 fret is a semi-tone. So that Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do scale on a guitar is tone-tone-semi tone-tone-tone-tone-semi tone

Don't you think, that he should just learn a few major chords and their minors and scales first? before diving into chord building and theory? Because if a beginner looks at all that at first, with no understanding of what it all means, it can seem overwhelming.

Most players who stay interested, and continue trying to learn, are going to pick up on most of it naturally anyway, even if they don't know all of the terminology. They still recognize what sounds right, because the part of the brain that discerns musical tone, gets stronger with exercise.

Hell, a person should learn Freebird or whatever, then decide if they want to know more. Some people (most really), just want to be campfire type pickers, and there's nothing wrong with that.

You are right though, I should have typed "relative minor".

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Im learning my first chord

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He'll know about the do-re-mi, as soon as he starts learning that first major scale.