Beginner and new to GT

I am 42 and finally decided to pursue my hopes of playing the guitar. I tried personal lessons for a very brief couple months when I was 21 but the school / work thing needed more time then the guitar deserved.

So about four weeks ago I started keeping an eye out on craigslist for my tools of the trade. I had heard once that electric was easier to learn then acoustic, and with that I came home with a 70's Harmony (not made in USA).

So two books and two weeks later I was still as not much better then when I was 21. So another craigslist find was a Yamaha FG700s. And it gave me more enthusiasm to practice more, longer, and I think I'm addicted to the pain on my fretting hand fingertips.

Again one - two weeks into playing the acuistic I am still eager and diligent at practicing every night but I seemed to have more questions at every page of the books then I was learning from them.

Someone at work suggested not once but twice to check out a online site, guitartricks.com, and I finally went home and looked it over. It looked good but wasn't sure, so I googled reviews, most being to guitar tricks favor. And I saw on YouTube Lisa McCormick and fingerpicking. I like country music and love bluegrass picking along with folk songs and anything with an acoustic string sound. That sealed the deal for me, I want to play the guitar but I really want to learn picking and that harmonizing sound.

Here is the kicker, after signing up and starting the core system, alot of my questions I was asking myself are being answered by GT either in the core system or I am finding on the GT forums. What was I waiting for? Yea my fingertips loved the pain of directionless hours fretting up and down the neck but Diane was telling me that was getting old and she wants to hear music. With GT you can easily watch a couple lessons ahead and see we're the lessons are taking you and it's quick to see and feel it all adding together. GT has given me direction. I just hope I don't disappoint my guitars and they are singin with sound soon.

I am so happy to find out about GT and join that I haven't even told Diane so maybe she will believe it was my endless fretting that all came together. But rest assured I'll be telling everyone else about GT. And I'll thank the person who told me. I never see him without a guitar magazine in his hands but he was insistent about GT.

Thank you Lisa McCormick and Guitar Tricks, no more YouTube or Internet surfing for my guitar questions. I hope to progress with less stress now.

What a great story. Thanks so much for telling us. Please thank your friend for recommending GT. :)

Hi Wade

I like that you don't want to "disappoint my guitars" ..I can relate to that one.
It's nice to hear that GT helped bring it all together for you, welcome to the site and congrats on your progress!

How funny--I was just searching through the forum for posts on how to deal with fingertip pain, but reading your post I realize that there is a part of me that finds it kind of addicting as well. I also like the numb feeling they have the day after I play.

That said, any tips on what to do when the pain gets to be TOO much, but you want to keep playing? I tried the superglue trick last week and it actually worked wonderfully, but it's not something I want to do often for obvious reasons.

Good luck with your playing!

SS

When I started out I found small doses of practice/playing helped with the finger pain. Ten minutes at a time, three or four times a day was easier for me than 30 minute or even 15 minute sessions. It didn't take long before a 'normal' practice session was doable.

I understand about disappointing the guitars (love that wording, too!). I have two quality instruments that deserve better. And I've promised and committed to be just that... :D