Guitar Lessons Preparation

Well I finally decided to go for a guitar lesson, as this self-teaching lark isn't getting me very far. I know the basic Major chords, a few minors, and struggle with barre chords, and still can't string them together very well.
Is there anything I should be doing/working on before I go? I've never been before, and want to make the most of my 1/2 hour.
Any advice welcome.

Hi Mate,
Me personally, if I have trouble with a song I jump on u-tube, there you will find that many people with FREE advice.
Also may be good for some riffs & licks aswell. Just type in the top" Guitar laessons" & watch the magic happen.
Goodluck & PLAY HARD .
Cheers,
Richie.

OK, so you know the "cowboy" chords - the open position ones - and some minors; well, that's really all you need to play a song as most modern songs revolve around a I-IV-V progression; all you have to do is practice them until your finger memory is where you can put your fingers on the fretboard and make a chord shape without looking at your fingers. Do it slowly to start with; the speed will come only with constant practice and repetition.

I've got to say that if were learning from a teacher, it'd be chord theory I'd be learning; how the 12 notes in the Western scales fit together... my €0.02 worth...

Ta folks, I've been following a couple of different websites free lessons, but tend to get a bit and de-motivated. Thought maybe a few lessons might help. It's £13 per half hour, so we'll see if it's worth it soon enough. I don't expect to be able to pick it up and play like Clapton, but I don't seem to be progressing very much on my own.

Nobody stays near aberdeen who fancys giving a few lessons, do they???

Hello Penfold,

The best advice that anyone will give you, is that you MUST practice EVERY DAY as often as you can. I have taught guitar for over 20 years and been a player performer for over 35 years and during this time, I have never seen anyone learn to play guitar to a fluent level that has not practised every single day. It would appear to be down to nerve links and motor functions of a human body. When you practice daily (using a bit of intelligence and effort) the body strengthens its nerve links to the fingers, which starts to build greater control and dexterity, plus you start to strengthen the muscles needed to perform. If you miss a even a days practice, you will find that when you pick up the guitar again, you will feel as if you have taken 3 steps backwards from where you were the last time you practised.

Imagine a gaping chasm with a gang of workmen on one side, who are slowly trying to bridge the gap by building a bridge piece by piece. Only there is a wind blowing and the pieces are being held in place with flimsy temporary fasteners. As long as the workmen keep turning up daily the bridge is tended and progresses further across the gap. But if they don't turn up for a day, the wind takes hold and shakes loose the fasteners and the construction collapses. When the workmen eventually return, they must start again. The wind across the chasm is relentless and unless the workmen are as relentless as the wind, it will never be built.

It would appear that the human body reacts exactly like the story, if you are relentless with your daily practice, the body will build its bridge. If not it will collapse its construction even faster.

Good luck with your lessons.

Martin.

my advice would be get a metronome, learn and practice scales until your fingers bleed, keep the speed slow and don't be tempted to speed the metronome up past 100bpm until you are ready.......... keep the guitar sound clean, distortion hides many a sin! and don't use you tube or you'll have a case of guitar ego overload!

And as Martin says , practice everyday if possible

Don't literally practice until your fingers bleed. Stop when they're rubbed raw.

Yo there Penfold,

You sound like you have done exactly what I did - learned all the basics then got stuck! Sadly, I don't have the time to practice every day, as Martin so wisely suggests, and my playing is living proof of that!

Stick in there and glean as much information from your guitar teacher as well as the guys in here and I'm sure you will be playing like a pro in no time!

Good luck and keep us posted of your progress.

Polly

bowenjaybee wrote: learn and practice scales

.. but not to the extent where everything you play sounds like a scale or mode which I found was a real danger, at least to me!! I got to the point of using little devices such as rewards for completing a set of scales like playing something I wanted to play, and then going back to the scales; well, it worked for me but the practice is the biggie - you've gotta be prepared to put time in EVERY day; I've not played much at all in the last 18 months and my chops which were never that great have suffered disastrously!!

get a metronome,

...yep; good idea as keeping time is quite important!

Hiya, Poll - nice new avatar... Is there something you want to share with the class?!

Yeo John, here's a couple of my exercises to get youir fingers tingling (play them slow and build up to speed)...

Penfold4140 wrote:Well I finally decided to go for a guitar lesson, as this self-teaching lark isn't getting me very far. I know the basic Major chords, a few minors, and struggle with barre chords, and still can't string them together very well.
Is there anything I should be doing/working on before I go? I've never been before, and want to make the most of my 1/2 hour.
Any advice welcome.

Your instructor will help you plan a practice routine.

Scales with a metronome is the only way to get really fast but it isn't a lot of fun. I suggest getting a log book so you can record what scales you play and at what tempo. Do not spend too much time on this - maybe 10 minutes in a practice session. Play songs that you like to play and are interested in learning. This will keep you motivated and you will look forward to playing often.

colt933 wrote: Play songs that you like to play and are interested in learning. This will keep you motivated and you will look forward to playing often.

With the proviso that you keep the songs reasonably fresh; there's a real danger of becoming too comfortable with songs and not pushing yourself to play more difficult songs... ask me how I know this!!

I tend to just noodle in scales and have never learned anybody elses songs, just played my own. Does that make me an unusual case?

I don't know - I'm not clever enough to write anything good enough to want to play!! I did find that it was easy to try the tougher songs, not make too much headway and fall back onto easier ones, though....

Thanks for all the advice. I went for the lesson, and he started me on some 12 bar blues, playing 5ths, he also showed me what he calls the "Oasis Chords" as they are really easy to play, and I can probably apply them to a few other songs. Obviously I'm looking to build up to playing songs using the "real" chords, but this should give me some success and probably keep me motivated. He did pick out a few "habits" I've developed which I should work on, but I feel I did learn a bit more than expected for a first lesson.

I must say, I'm glad I went. I know it'll take quite a few lessons before I'm playing as well as I would like, but I'm enjoying the novelty of being able to try new songs which I discarded before as being "a bit too difficult".

So far so good!!!