I teach guitar, and I like to tell my students that there are only two rules for playing: 1. There is no wrong way to play, only better ways 2. There _is_ a wrong way to play, and that’s with tension If you are relaxed and using as little effort as possible - you are doing it right. A few tips to avoid tension: - Don’t squeeze the neck with your pincer grip. Instead, brace the guitar body with your strumming arm and use the weight of your fretting arm or even pull back from the shoulder to bring the fingers into the fretboard. You should be able to do barre chords without your thumb even touching the back of the neck. (When I am doing barre chords, I kinda lock my thumb against the back of the and tilt my hand into the fretboard as well - but this is key - it introduces no tension in the fingers and does not use the pincer grip that tires out the hand in five seconds.) - The harder you hold onto a pick, the harder it is to hold onto. A greater contact area and a lighter touch keeps the pick from slipping. Cover as much of the pick with the pad of your thumb as possible and hold it loosely. You’ll find that your fingers can act like shocks and struts absorbing a lot of the energy which means there is less energy to knock the pick out of your hand, break a string, or even break a pick. (I prefer to hold a pick like this: Make a question mark shape with the hand; place the pad of the thumb on the side of the first digit of the index finger; slide the pick between the index and thumb covering as much of the pick as possible with the pad of the thumb.) - When doing more intricate picking, try to feel the other strings with your hand as close to the pick as possible. I use the first and second knuckles and the fleshy part of my thumb, the pinky-side of my palm, and the other fingers to keep me grounded depending on the technique required. I like to think of these as registration points that tell me where I am so I can find the next string to pick. Try not to keep the whole hand floating above the strings without touching anything - you lose a lot of precision and turn much of the picking into guesswork that way. - Use your pinky on your fretting hand - don’t curl it up of the edge of the fretboard - that introduces tension and sidelines a useful finger, even if only marginally useful. Keep all the fingers above the fretboard within about an inch of the strings and completely relaxed when not in use. This takes practice, but it’s so worth it. A couple things you are doing right: - Investing in your playing - do not apologize for buying good gear, use it as a motivator to get better. That said, the amp is good for small venues but not necessarily for apartment use; you might want to pick up a small practice amp for about $100. It’s a shame Sam Ash is no more, that salesperson steered you to one of the greatest and most versatile guitars possible. - Making your strumming arm your metronome by strumming with a down-up pumping motion. This is especially important if you ever want to sing and play - 99% of the songs are 4/4 or 3/4 and are counted 1&2&3&(4&), and you want to strum down on the numbers and up on the ands, which is exactly what you are doing! One last tip for music theory: The only reason to learn theory is to help you understand and remember what you hear from others ands play what you hear in your head. So the first thing to start with is as simple as singing/humming the notes before your play them. You can try thinking in terms of note names, but I find thinking in terms of major scale degrees in relation to a key and an individual chord to be the most helpful. You can also use the tonic-solfa system (aka movable-do) like in that song from the sound of music. Keep on playing; you are doing great!
I have that exact same acc guitar, in the same color...it's already very easy to play, but I use it to mess around in the bedroom and I have electric 9 gauge strings so it's JUST like my electric guitar...so easy to bend! keep at it, you have great gear:)
You got it, don’t stress yourself out to much one theory. Learn cadences, tendency tones and 7th chords and you will know more theory than 90% of guitarist. That’s only if you want to write if not just learn the music you love. Most music is only 3 to 4 chords any way. Best of luck in your journey.
Great video. Very inspirational. Keep it up.
I teach guitar, and I like to tell my students that there are only two rules for playing:
1. There is no wrong way to play, only better ways
2. There _is_ a wrong way to play, and that’s with tension
If you are relaxed and using as little effort as possible - you are doing it right.
A few tips to avoid tension:
- Don’t squeeze the neck with your pincer grip. Instead, brace the guitar body with your strumming arm and use the weight of your fretting arm or even pull back from the shoulder to bring the fingers into the fretboard. You should be able to do barre chords without your thumb even touching the back of the neck. (When I am doing barre chords, I kinda lock my thumb against the back of the and tilt my hand into the fretboard as well - but this is key - it introduces no tension in the fingers and does not use the pincer grip that tires out the hand in five seconds.)
- The harder you hold onto a pick, the harder it is to hold onto. A greater contact area and a lighter touch keeps the pick from slipping. Cover as much of the pick with the pad of your thumb as possible and hold it loosely. You’ll find that your fingers can act like shocks and struts absorbing a lot of the energy which means there is less energy to knock the pick out of your hand, break a string, or even break a pick. (I prefer to hold a pick like this: Make a question mark shape with the hand; place the pad of the thumb on the side of the first digit of the index finger; slide the pick between the index and thumb covering as much of the pick as possible with the pad of the thumb.)
- When doing more intricate picking, try to feel the other strings with your hand as close to the pick as possible. I use the first and second knuckles and the fleshy part of my thumb, the pinky-side of my palm, and the other fingers to keep me grounded depending on the technique required. I like to think of these as registration points that tell me where I am so I can find the next string to pick. Try not to keep the whole hand floating above the strings without touching anything - you lose a lot of precision and turn much of the picking into guesswork that way.
- Use your pinky on your fretting hand - don’t curl it up of the edge of the fretboard - that introduces tension and sidelines a useful finger, even if only marginally useful. Keep all the fingers above the fretboard within about an inch of the strings and completely relaxed when not in use. This takes practice, but it’s so worth it.
A couple things you are doing right:
- Investing in your playing - do not apologize for buying good gear, use it as a motivator to get better. That said, the amp is good for small venues but not necessarily for apartment use; you might want to pick up a small practice amp for about $100. It’s a shame Sam Ash is no more, that salesperson steered you to one of the greatest and most versatile guitars possible.
- Making your strumming arm your metronome by strumming with a down-up pumping motion. This is especially important if you ever want to sing and play - 99% of the songs are 4/4 or 3/4 and are counted 1&2&3&(4&), and you want to strum down on the numbers and up on the ands, which is exactly what you are doing!
One last tip for music theory: The only reason to learn theory is to help you understand and remember what you hear from others ands play what you hear in your head. So the first thing to start with is as simple as singing/humming the notes before your play them. You can try thinking in terms of note names, but I find thinking in terms of major scale degrees in relation to a key and an individual chord to be the most helpful. You can also use the tonic-solfa system (aka movable-do) like in that song from the sound of music.
Keep on playing; you are doing great!
Wow, so many great tips! Thank you!
I have that exact same acc guitar, in the same color...it's already very easy to play, but I use it to mess around in the bedroom and I have electric 9 gauge strings so it's JUST like my electric guitar...so easy to bend! keep at it, you have great gear:)
You got it, don’t stress yourself out to much one theory. Learn cadences, tendency tones and 7th chords and you will know more theory than 90% of guitarist. That’s only if you want to write if not just learn the music you love. Most music is only 3 to 4 chords any way. Best of luck in your journey.
Changing the battery on the acoustic might fix the tuner
I tried and it didn't fix it, but i'll probably try it again!