Trying to learn guitar...help? - General

I just got my first guitar today, an acoustic electric (I am left handed if this helps any) (It is a left handed guitar as well). Been trying to play some basic chords but am finding some difficulty. Am I supposed to put my fingers on the frets or in-between them? Also when I do try to play, usually one or two strings make a really bad buzzing noise even though I have correctly tuned the guitar. Am I missing something? Also my fingers hurt like hell trying to press the strings down. It doesn't buzz when I just strum. I don't get it. I'm really frustrated. Also if it helps, I've played the piano for 9 years so I know music pretty decently but this is my first time with another instrument.

Hey man. [QUOTE=>VLN<;31195414]Am I supposed to put my fingers on the frets or in-between them?[/QUOTE] Put your fingers right [I]by[/I] the fret, but not [I]on[/I] it. Like this: [img]http://gb.fotolibra.com/images/thumbnails/455256-guitar-fingering-g-chord.jpeg[/img] [QUOTE=>VLN<;31195414]Also when I do try to play, usually one or two strings make a really bad buzzing noise even though I have correctly tuned the guitar. Am I missing something? [/QUOTE] It is most likely that your fingers are either touching some strings they aren't supposed to, or/and you aren't pressing at the right place with the right amount of pressure. It's a practice thing and it happens to everybody when they're trying to play their first chords. So just practice your fingering and it will go away. If you absolutely cannot get a clean tone, then it could be the guitar's fault. Give it to someone who [I]can [/I]play guitar and let him try before blaming the instrument. You could also rule out instrument flaws by just playing every note on every string, one by one, and see if any frets are buzzing. [QUOTE=>VLN<;31195414]Also my fingers hurt like hell trying to press the strings down. [/QUOTE] Play more. Your fingers will roughen up and soon you won't feel a thing.

5ish years of guitar experience here, I'd probably consider myself intermediate-advanced. First things first. Fingers go directly in-between the frets. You can have them closer to the fret but it's not much of a difference (for righties move to the right, lefties move their finger closer to the left). I would definitely start out in between. Acoustic guitar is much harder to learn than an electric guitar because the guitar is larger and more uncomfortable, and the strings are thicker, thus requiring much more finger strength. The key to playing a chord well is laying into it, [b]make sure you're pressing the strings down very firmly, and make sure none of your fingers are laying across another string. [/b]If a loose finger is pressing another string it won't ring out properly. One of the hardest things to pick up is arching your fingers properly so that none of the strings are being muffled by an improperly placed finger. Your palm should bent, and at about a 90 degree angle to the fret board (aka horizontal fretboard = vertical hand), try and find some videos on youtube of tutorials that will give you a better idea of where to put your hand. If a particular string is buzzing, try just playing that string by itself, stop fingering the chord and just finger the fret of the string on the chord where it's buzzing. Your fingers will hurt for a while, eventually you'll build muscles in your fingers (I play piano as well, and as far as I can tell it's a very different set of muscles) so you can press as firmly as you'll need, and you'll start forming calluses (I don't even notice mine) so your fingers won't be as raw after extended playing. If you have more questions let me know and I'll see what I can do. [editline]18th July 2011[/editline] [QUOTE=Rad McCool;31195676]Like this: [img]http://gb.fotolibra.com/images/thumbnails/455256-guitar-fingering-g-chord.jpeg[/img][/QUOTE] That fingering style works, but if your thumb can bend, I find it much easier to keep my thumb on the underside of the fret board at all times, unless the thumb is needed to play a note on the low E string, which is relatively uncommon. It may be a personal preference though, so do whatever works best for you. If you can take lessons so someone can make sure you aren't picking up any bad habits, by yourself or by my terrible advice.

Might as well post this question in this thread since its much along the same lines. Is there an easier way to master bar chords? They are ridiculously uncomfortable.

Hey, thanks guys for the responses, they've boosted my moral and I will keep trying my best. I guess I'll get the hang of it eventually. :v:

[QUOTE=Billiam;31197543]Is there an easier way to master bar chords? They are ridiculously uncomfortable.[/QUOTE] If you want to be incredibly lazy, you could probably buy a capo and just move it until you get the hang of it. But honestly just keep playing anything and eventually you'll build more and more muscle so you can get better at bar chords. Practicing them is obviously the best way, but more playing of any kind equals more muscle equals easier bar chords, it takes longer but you'll still get stronger.

[QUOTE=Billiam;31197543]Is there an easier way to master bar chords? They are ridiculously uncomfortable.[/QUOTE] They take a lot of practice to get down well. One exercise I do is to slowly switch making sure they are clear, and then getting faster and faster. It's good to do this with common progressions, like Cm Fm Gm. It's all about going from one chord shape to another. Works well. What really helps is a grip exerciser. Don't overdo it, but I found these really help with giving you the strength.

[QUOTE=Billiam;31197543]Is there an easier way to master bar chords? They are ridiculously uncomfortable.[/QUOTE] Also try switching entirely to barre chords. That way you'll learn much faster!

Been playing for around 3 years, first thing I did was work the fingers it's going to hurt a little when you're learning and may even make you want to give up, but don't keep working at them! Stretch your fingers, one I use is putting my first on the 9th fret, second on 10th and third, well you get the picture, then move your fingers up a fret starting with your first without letting any other fingers off, first moves to 8th, then second to 9th you get the picture that will be quite difficult at the first stage but will benefit in the long run!

[QUOTE=Paragon;31216352]Been playing for around 3 years, first thing I did was work the fingers it's going to hurt a little when you're learning and may even make you want to give up, but don't keep working at them! Stretch your fingers, one I use is putting my first on the 9th fret, second on 10th and third, well you get the picture, then move your fingers up a fret starting with your first without letting any other fingers off, first moves to 8th, then second to 9th you get the picture that will be quite difficult at the first stage but will benefit in the long run![/QUOTE] To be honest, your fingers can hurt no matter how long you've been playing. At this very moment my fingers on both hands are raw and sore, but I'm still playing though it because I'm so bored. That's the nice thing, if you're having enough fun the pain is much less noticeable. I cut my finger open on accident when I was playing drums once and I didn't notice until near the end of the set because I was so into it, and the same is true for guitar. In show choir competitions I've seen one or two guitarists who have cut their fingers but kept playing, so if you're playing enough chances are you can always be sore or raw in some way. It gets better obviously, but it's still possible. Also for any advanced guitar players reading, the sweeping riff in the guitar solo from Megadeths Tornado of Souls is excelling for practicing stretching, it's a two string arpeggio lick that will have you stretching from the tenth to the 16th and the 17th fret while alternating on the 12th fret as well. It's nuts and I can hardly do it but it's helped a lot. [editline]19th July 2011[/editline] [QUOTE=Rad McCool;31202839]Also try switching entirely to barre chords. That way you'll learn much faster![/QUOTE] This could be sound advice, but remember; fun comes first. Hard work is necessary to improve but you still have to find [i]some[/i] enjoyment in what you're playing.

[QUOTE=Biscuit-Boy;31217692]To be honest, your fingers can hurt no matter how long you've been playing. At this very moment my fingers on both hands are raw and sore, but I'm still playing though it because I'm so bored. That's the nice thing, if you're having enough fun the pain is much less noticeable. I cut my finger open on accident when I was playing drums once and I didn't notice until near the end of the set because I was so into it, and the same is true for guitar. In show choir competitions I've seen one or two guitarists who have cut their fingers but kept playing, so if you're playing enough chances are you can always be sore or raw in some way. It gets better obviously, but it's still possible. Also for any advanced guitar players reading, the sweeping riff in the guitar solo from Megadeths Tornado of Souls is excelling for practicing stretching, it's a two string arpeggio lick that will have you stretching from the tenth to the 16th and the 17th fret while alternating on the 12th fret as well. It's nuts and I can hardly do it but it's helped a lot. [/QUOTE] Cut my thumb near enough ever weak from just over playing but like you said if you're having fun who cares, my electric still has some blood on it from a gig around 8 months ago, that's rock and roll haha! (Or just me being lazy) And regarding the fingers it's really all down to the calluses I think, you can play for a week regularly and develop them then not play for 2 days and they'll go and start to hurt again, those E and B string cut like a bitch!

[QUOTE=Billiam;31197543]Might as well post this question in this thread since its much along the same lines. Is there an easier way to master bar chords? They are ridiculously uncomfortable.[/QUOTE] I find that the thumb-over technique is alot more comfy for me than barring it normally. It feels weird when you first try it out, but it's a thumb saver for me 'cuz when I play bar chords after a while, it hurts. Since I didn't find anything in the rules about not pasting links, I'm assuming it's alright. If there IS something, then sorry about that. :/ [url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dgi1X_2bPIk[/url] <--A basic instructional video on the thumb over technique. Hope that helped. :D

[QUOTE=Urban_Sniper_1;31264946]I find that the thumb-over technique is alot more comfy for me than barring it normally.[/QUOTE] This is not recommended as a substitute since it's very hard to do on the A-string. Nor does it allow the same kind of freedom as Barred chords do. Use this if you want to play Hendrix-stuff. Don't use it as a substitute for barring. Learn both instead.

In response to the buzzing strings, in addition to everything else, your hand should be like a claw, all fingers pointing directly at the fret board, instead of laying across it.

If you want to get good start,firstly get a teacher.You may want to change him few times until you find one who meets your interests.When you know most of accords,start to improvise and/or create songs.Thats it :)

I self taught myself, I started off with a very basic song. Metallica's Enter Sandman. It's great for beginners.

To get the hang of power chords I recommend playing some Nirvana songs. They sound good, are easy to play and mostly consist of power chords.

[QUOTE=Billiam;31197543] Is there an easier way to master bar chords? They are ridiculously uncomfortable.[/QUOTE] when i play barre chords i simply don't play the low and high E String, so the barre is unnecessary. But that highly depends on the style you want to play, and i recommend to learn it the "hard" and standard way before taking shortcuts, you will thank yourself. Also learning the Music theory behind the chords is the best thing a guitarist can do. Its horribly boring to begin with, but opens whole new areas to experiment and playing your guitar like a pro. (The CAGED System e.g., google it). and (of course) practicing your finger skills.

[QUOTE=CupUp;31322776]To get the hang of power chords I recommend playing some Nirvana songs. They sound good, are easy to play and mostly consist of power chords.[/QUOTE] Or if you don't like Nirvana, you can play ANY other hard rock/heavy metal song. :)

[QUOTE=Simiil;31328725]when i play barre chords i simply don't play the low and high E String[/QUOTE] Gj losing 2/3 of your harmony bro

[QUOTE=Eric95;31341807]Gj losing 2/3 of your harmony bro[/QUOTE] like i said, it highly depends on the style you want to play. i prefer the full barre chords as well, but in some situations it sound better without it

It is especially valid if you're doing some complex routine. iIf you are switching chords quickly, going from two very different positions, or have a passing chord, you don't need to go for the full bar because the extra harmony wouldn't add anything and playing the passage would sound better. It's also valid when you are doing it for effect. There are a lot of chord progressions that have a downward or upwards motion, and it makes sense to ensure the bass note in the chord follows this goes. Also, playing just a few notes may sound better than playing all of them. Like it has been said, practice the full on bars, but there is no need to feel like you have to do those when you are playing.