The Old Folks' Beginners Thread

RE: I still can’t make a reliably clean chord change from Dm to F.

Can anyone? The F chord is appropriately named. I think it's the bane of beginners and intermediates alike. I came up with a cheat that works, but continue to work on getting it right. My hands are too small and chubby to do a finger one barre that covers the "f" and "c" note while reaching around the "e" and "b" strings to put finger two on "a" and finger three on "f".

My cheat is to use four fingers instead of three. Finger one hits the first fret of the "e" string (f) and finger two hits the second fret of the b string (c). This makes it quite easy to reach over the "e" and "b" strings with finger three to hit the second fret of the g string (a) and finger four on the third fret of the "d" string (f). This is enough to play a clean basic "f" chord. If I want to go full-on "f", I can reach around the neck to cover the first fret of the low "e" string with my thumb. I showed the cheat to my guitar instructor, who was first surprised; he hadn't seen it before. He said: "whatever works". Apparently, every guitarist has their own cheats.

Personally, the cheats are hopefully temporary. I'm still practicing the "f" chord each day in hopes that it starts to click.

I was having problems with F, and then having issues going from open chords to Barre Chords. I found a solution that may not work for everyone-- [deleted] sit down and practice nothing but the problematic chord transition for about an hour or two or three, over and over and over again.

Total cure.

Originally Posted by: bdonnach

RE: I still can’t make a reliably clean chord change from Dm to F.

Can anyone?

Yes.

Easy peasy change. Where's the problem?

10 days later, the store called. My new axe having arrived I set about it. Couldn't remember anything beyond open Em or A if memory serves accurately. I couldn't finger any chord natively, and certainly couldn't effect a smooth change between any chord. A couple of months with You Tube and Justin tutes, I realised I wanted structured paid for pro tuition. Joined GT in the Feb 2018. Lovin' it. Best move I could have made.

So you'll be there soon enough too. Just remember the reward comes after the work, and like anything worth doing, i.e. learning to fly, takes time where you have to learn the basics first and build your skillset on a solid foundation of them.

Well youngens, I'm 64 in two days and started playing guitar at the end of December. My wife bought me a second hand acoustic on a whim. I signed up to guitartricks in January and am very glad I did. Have finished Lisa's beginner's course 1 and have started the second beginner's course. Jumped around a bit to start to learn blues, strumming and fingrerpicking.

LIke everyone I have good days and bad days; somedays I think I am on my way to becoming a guitar god, others I think I will never get this stuff and should just quit. But the most important thing I tell myself is I had to sit up before I could crawl, crawl before I could walk and walk before I could run. And I am just starting to sit up. So I just keep at it. That's the best advice I could give anyone - so play, play and play. (Remember when we were kids and played all day - how good life was - I want to start doing that again.)

Ken

Ah, to be 64 again . . .

Ha! Just kidding, I'm only 50 and I feel much younger thanks to all of you. I am just getting into Barre Chords in Fundamentals 2, been about 10 days now, and on my electric guitar, I can make them easily. I can even make them fairly consistently up and down the neck of my acoustic. Transitioning quickly between Open Chords and Barre Chords is still a challenge, but I am definitely seeing improvement from repetition and practice.

Lisa's lessons help tremendously as she starts with the easiest transitions and works forward from there. As well, I have been working on the Song "Imagine" and the transition to/from the F Barre Chord. The Song helps me because it gives me an incentive to get the transition down in time and with good tone - once I really get it down, I'll be able to play the Song.

Hey, when you work on that transition, it occurred to me from Lisa's lesson, you need to really focus on the fact that your left arm and wrist position change substantially from open chords to Barre Chords. Don't just focus on the shape of your fingers, as you do with open chord to open chord transitions; when switching to a Barre Chord, you need to physically move your left arm and the angle of your wrist relative to the neck of the guitar. THAT move, rather than simply repositioning your fingers, needs to be the focus of your practice. You can practice that move without a guitar in your hands (at work, on the subway, grocery store). As you practice that move without a guitar in your hands, stick up your index finger as if it were your middle finger and you were giving someone an impolite greeting. You'll find that the next time you pick up the guitar to practice, your transition will be smoother!

I'm 71 and new to all of this. I took a few guitar lessons as a kid but never got anywhere. I decided I would give it a try again. At the moment I wish my fingertips would get hard a little faster. I am only on simple chords with Lisa. I really like her lessons. My goal is to just take my time and learn what I can. Hopefully progress to some of the songs I like. Bob Dylan is one of my personal favorites. I like ACDC too but that could be a while. Wish me luck.

This looks like a good place for my first post on the forum.

I am 59. I played Guitar when I was younger but never too seriously. I got my old ibanez steel string down from the cupboard and started on GT last year and loved it. My wife thought I was crazy when I wanted an Electric guitar for Christmas but I bought myself an Epiphone ES 339. It is a sweet guitar.

I like being able to learn whole songs from GT. But the one thing that has really got me pumped is the ability to play those songs along with backing tracks. I don't know if anyone else does this but I wanted to share the site I found where I can buy backing tracks to use at home. They cost me a few Australian Dollars and I can customise it to take out the guitar track so it is like I am playing in the band. A couple of my favorites at the moment are TNT and No Rain by Blind Melon. Two songs I learnt on GT but play along with my band. The great thing is that they have volcals because I can't sing!

The site is https://www.karaoke-version.com/custombackingtrack/

This whole online thing is making the journey so much better than when I was younger.

Cheers

Stephen J

Originally Posted by: ccangiaHopefully progress to some of the songs I like. Bob Dylan is one of my personal favorites. ..SNIP.. Wish me luck.

Hi!

[br]Learning though songs is definitely the way to go keeping it fun.

Get yourself enthused and playing Dylan quickly with his mesmerising "Knockin' On Heaven's Door". Campfire strumming version is easy peasy four open chords G-D-Am, G-D-C repeated ad infinitum at a very laid back tempo.

The timing with vocal delivery is more of a challenge. GL with it!

Hey Old Folks, been missing the posts for a while, but practicing and playing quite a bit. Getting a little bit of a repetoire for the backyard soires! I am on the next to last chapter of Fundamentals 2, but have slowed my progress in the course because there is just SOOOO much to go back and practice at this point and I don't want to go too far ahead without proficiency. Suffice it to say, Barre Chords are really slowing me down, transitioning from Open to Barre and from 5th string root to 6th string root is tedious, but trying to do

And then there's majpr scales. I can do them fairly well, but it still takes me a minute to figure out the open position scales. Minor scales are coming up in the next Tutorial section; I actually already peaked a little, but haven't started practicing them. Do you think that we need to memorize the potioning for every major scale in the open position?

Rhythm and "play along" with the band are still a challenge, but definitely improving.

My fingertips are getting bigger and rounder; getting better at holding on to the pik during vigorous strumming (stil using a little Gorilla Snot - get some if you have pik holding issues!!).

Doing a little bit of Blues and Country guitar stuff - awesome ! Definitely a good thing to get outside of the Fundamentals lessons and practice and learn a new song every once in a while.

Hope that all of you other Old Folks are doing well - please keep us all apprised on your progress and any cool new guitars that you buy!

I'm new at the guitar. At 71 I'm not expecting much but personal amusement. I am following along with Lisa. She really is very good. I know the lessons on the main five chords comes soon. I have been looking at some songs I would like to play and notice that most songs can be done with three or four chords. At least the simplified version. That's encouraging. My big goal at this point is to play Happy Birthday for my wife. I have a month. The chord change from G to D to G to C is my main focus at the moment. I want the changes to be perfect. Wish me luck.

Hi Everyone

I am a young oldy 69yrs going on 70. I am left handed started to learn in the late 1960s with right handed friends guitars, I could not find a left handed guitar I was able to afford. so I brought a right handed jumbo acoustic a turned the strings around.

I was also tone deaf at that time, was told in school by my music teacher not to sing. took me four years to learn how to tune with a set of pitch pipes.

My fretting hand pinky is stuck in a perminant L shape and my other fingers on both hands are not working great.

Now there is so many good left handed guitars around and ways of learning that about seven months ago decided to give it another go, there are some chords I will never be able to play but i find another shape to use.

I sing maybe out of key and play what i can and really enjoy myself.

So grab a guitar and go for it.

Barry

Originally Posted by: ccangia

I'm new at the guitar. At 71 I'm not expecting much but personal amusement. I am following along with Lisa. She really is very good. I know the lessons on the main five chords comes soon. I have been looking at some songs I would like to play and notice that most songs can be done with three or four chords. At least the simplified version. That's encouraging. My big goal at this point is to play Happy Birthday for my wife. I have a month. The chord change from G to D to G to C is my main focus at the moment. I want the changes to be perfect. Wish me luck.

Hello and best of luck to you.

Originally Posted by: bbriant

Hi Everyone

I am a young oldy 69yrs going on 70. I am left handed started to learn in the late 1960s with right handed friends guitars, I could not find a left handed guitar I was able to afford. so I brought a right handed jumbo acoustic a turned the strings around.

I was also tone deaf at that time, was told in school by my music teacher not to sing. took me four years to learn how to tune with a set of pitch pipes.

My fretting hand pinky is stuck in a perminant L shape and my other fingers on both hands are not working great.

Now there is so many good left handed guitars around and ways of learning that about seven months ago decided to give it another go, there are some chords I will never be able to play but i find another shape to use.

I sing maybe out of key and play what i can and really enjoy myself.

So grab a guitar and go for it.

Barry

Jeez Barry, tough music teacher! Rock n Roll even Country has been filled with people who didn't have the best of voices but so what? Stylize it! Concentrate on song writing and getting a groove.

That was my advice to my son anyway when he wanted to form a band back in highschool. And like you, he ignored the critics and just went ahead and sang with his buddies. That's Rock n Roll man!

No child should be told not to sing in my opinion. Think of all the things 4 teenage boys could have been into aside from writing songs, practising, gigging and even cutting an album.

Keep singin man!

Hell yes Barry, go for it! Love the enthusiasm and persistence.

CCangia - Good luck; keep us apprised of your chord changes!

I learned the first riff from Muddy Waters', Baby Please Don't Go (on GT Songs page) last night. Spent about 3 hours on it and I am super-stoked. When I watched the video the first time, I thought "I'm not going to be able to get that down", but then I DID and it actually sounded like Blues Guitar!!

Can't stop to celebrate too much, taking a deep breath and getting back to work. Soooooo much to learn.

Going to work on the Guitar1 solo piece tonight.

Still have Tutorial 6 and 7 to get through to finish Fundamentals 2 course, but I have been spending 30-45 minutes at a time going through prior lessons to practice earlier skills (mostly Barre Chord to Open Chord and 6th-string root to 5th-string root transitions) before I move too far into Minor Scales (Tutorial 6).

My biggest weakness right now (aside from Barre Chord transitions) is definitely rhythm and timing - going to start working with a metronome and playing along with "the band" to develop better rhythm and timing.

Hey man...nice to see I'm not alone....I'm 53...keep up the efforts....we got still we die...all the time we need...

CCangia - I just learned Happy Birthday for my daughter's birthday this past weekend, she loved it ! Don't be afraid to improvise once you get the basic chords down. Watch Lisa's video - D to A, A to D, D to G, D A D

Working on Minor Scale in Fundamentals 2, slowed down quite a bit on the Fundamentals course because there is soooo much to take in and work on. I could finish up Tutorial 6 and move on to the final Tutorial 7 and finish in the next week, but even aside from needing to go back and improve my speed and ability to "play along with the Band" in time, I don't know if I can fit anything else in my head: Barre Chord transitions continue to be a bitch and then there is rhythm and timing, of everything! Memorizing where all of the notes are; I can figure it out easily enough, but being able to move to a note or a chord quickly? And now the confusion starts to set in, information overload!! Scales, Keys, Minor and Major, are we really supposed to memorize the open scales? AAAArrrggggHHHHH!

Thanks, I am working through A min and E min. I just moved to Em and D. I'm getting there.

Charlie

Soooo, I went forward and completed all of the lessons in Fundamentals 2. Yay! Though, to be honest, I'm not as excited as when I finished Fundamentals 1 because I realize that I need to go back and continue to practice and master a number of things:

- Barre Chord transitions (especially open to barre, minor to major, 5th to 6th string root)

- memorizing note positions and open scales

- Reading music (I mostly watched the tab, though certainly understand how to read the notes, just can't do it while playing)

- Three note harmonies - it's like you need to have a finger-position plan for the left and right hand when you start learning the song. Ugghhh!

So, I want to move on to Country, Blues and Rock courses to learn riffs and techniques that will allow me to noodle and create sounds, I want to learn more songs (with some good strumming technique and some melody notes thrown in) and I want to become more proficient in the Fundamentals. I need some guidance on how to balance all of this so that I progress eficiently, but don't get bored or overly frustrated.

Going to get an inexpensive amp stand at GC today. Always love new stuff to reenergize and a $40 amp stand is a good alternative to a new guitar that I can't afford and I don't need just yet (but hopefully soon).

How are all of the other Old Folks Begginners doing? Let's keep each other motivated folks!

Scotty - 50 yr. old begginner!

hi

just got a new lp style guitar its great for learning barr chords on. really low action.

I changed the pickups because they were more for metal and i like blues and rock. I put a pair of giovanni 59ers on and now its really bluesy.

keep Truckin.

Barry

I played on a friend's Ibanez with a Wizard neck and it was super-light and easy; definately set up for speed "Metal" guitar, but probably a great guitar for beginners in terms of practicing technique for Barre Chords - they are called "Barre" chords, right? why? I assumed it was because you used your fingers as a Bar across all of the strings, but why wouldn't they be called "Bar Chords" ?

I thought about picking up a very inexpensive Ibanez with a Wizard neck for probably around $150 - $200 (used?), just to have something for learning and practicing speed scales, but then I start looking at the RG550's or even just an RGA420 . . . (restraint!!).