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=> Off Topic Discussions => Topic started by: EKnight on April 15, 2009, 08:56:39 PM
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I want to learn to play guitar. I have no knowledge of notes or anything and I am aging quickly. Do you think its too late? I just want to sing and play acoustic guitar. One of my sons plays drums the other plays guitar (electric) and they both taught themselves. My daughter can sing. All this musical talent does NOT come from my husband. So maybe I have a chance?
what do you think?
Eileen
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what do you think?
Your too old for American Idol. ;) ;D
Craig
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Yeah, would never have had the nerve to perform in front of an audience any way. :P :P
Eileen
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I think that the ability to learn comes out of the desire to learn.
If you really want to learn something new, then you can't be too old to do it!
Heck, I've learned more about who God and Jesus are this year in my 40's than the rest of my life put together!
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I want to learn to play guitar. I have no knowledge of notes or anything and I am aging quickly. Do you think its too late? I just want to sing and play acoustic guitar. One of my sons plays drums the other plays guitar (electric) and they both taught themselves. My daughter can sing. All this musical talent does NOT come from my husband. So maybe I have a chance?
what do you think?
Eileen
Hi Eileen,
I guess it doesn't really matter What I think or someone else thinks. Whats important is how you think
and feel about it. You have the desire, now only if you have the time available or are willing to make
and take the time. If I was going to learn an instrument, it would probably be the guitar, also. Talents
seem to be of a genetic predisposition, at least to some extent. My oldest Daughter is very artistically
talented, but she didn't get this from my Ex-Wife or me, however it could be from my Mother who had
some talent in this area.
If you have the desire, then go for it, especially if you think you might enjoy it. Good Luck and may the
force be with you. ;)
Kind Regards, Samson.
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Hey, don't you know it, you CAN teach an old dog new tricks!! ;)
So go for it, girl! Get that guitar and play! Learn 3 Chords and you can sing lots of stuff!! ;D
I know, all you musicians out there..but, hey, she didn't say she wanted to join a band she just want to play the guitar!! ;)
Kathy :)
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I found a site online that teaches guitar. So far I have learned the parts of the guitar and "tabs". I tried to play "mary had a little lamb" and it didn't sound anything like it. >:( I am hoping the guitar needs tuning ??? ???
Eileen
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Hi Eileen
Wanted to send personal message but do not have a clue how unless someone sends me one. Its not you who have this desire, but the Holy Spirit prompting you. There is a creativity inside of each and everyone of us, be it art, music, writing, whatever. It has nothing to do with age or ability.
If you throw your heart into whatever you want to do the creativity of God flows through you and you will bring a uniqueness to the medium that no one else on this planet can bring.
Maby you will never be lauded in this world or have your name in neon lights but who cares. You will bring joy to yourself, joy to whoever God sends your way and most importantly, Joy to God who takes pleasure in the endeavours of His children.
PS.
Use methylated spirits to toughen your fingertips, and practise the blooming thing everyday no matter what Mary with her lamb sounds like.
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If you throw your heart into whatever you want to do the creativity of God flows through you and you will bring a uniqueness to the medium that no one else on this planet can bring.
Yep, awesomely put. ;D
Since you can now read tabs and things, there is this small useful program, basically a chord dictionary, with virtually all the guitar chords packed into it. :) It's great to use as reference every time you forget the chords or wanna add a new one to your repertoire. ;D Pretty user friendly too. Only knowledge you need is your CDEFGABC, haha. :)
http://www.subjectmusic.com/easychord/
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Do you think its too late? So maybe I have a chance?
what do you think?
Eileen
Eileen,
It's NEVER too late so yes you have a chance. If you want it you can do it. I learned the guitar, dobro and mandolin at an early age out of a sheer sense of being curious to know how and the only person in my family who could play music was my great-grandfather who could play the strings off of a mandolin, so I've been told by my grandfather. Other than that I never knew where the desire or intensity came from. So do it.
A good way to learn these days is to purchase a dvd that will caption the lessons in split screen and show up close and slow motion all things being taught. I wish that method would have been available back in my day of learning.
Here's a couple of sites that may help in that area.
http://books-videos-music.musiciansfriend.com/learn-to-play
http://elderly.com/videos/cats/911.htm
Good luck,
Gary
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Hey you! Go for it!
At the risk of offending people here who can actually read music I'll say this. You don't have to know how to read music to learn to play. You should have some knowledge of the basic scale and which chords go together in order to play a simple song. As someone else said, learn 3 chords and you can play a lot of stuff.
check this out. Below is a list of "chords" A chord, B chord, C chord etc....
A B C D E F G (There is no H chord, or H note in music,,so dont think past G)
Now, I'll assign numbers to each chord...the corresponding number is above each chord.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
A B C D E F G
Note; So, A=1,,,,B=2 etc. etc.
The 3 chords that go together to play a simple song are always going to be 1, 4, and 5, no matter what key you're playing in...or in this case, since A=1 it's A, D and E......So, you're playing this song in the key of A. So A equals the number 1.
Now, lets say you wanted to play the same song in the key of G instead of the key of A. Just make G number one chord and list the rest of the chords in numerical order after the letter G,,
G becomes the number 1, and since there is no "H" chord in music, for the next chord you'd go back to the beginning of the scale. So A would come next after G.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
G A B C D E F
G chord becomes the numer one chord.....
Remember; the three numbers you need to play the basic song are 1, 4 and 5 right?
So to play the song in G chord, you'll need numbers 1, 4, and 5,,,,,or G, C, and D...
Here's the cool part of all this, no matter what key you want to play the song, just make your main, or first chord equal the number one, then list the next letter of the alphabet next as your number 2 chord and so on.
Here's the same thing if I wanted to play the same song in "E" chord...
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
E F G A B C D
So, the three chords I'd need to play the song are 1, 4, 5,,,, or in this case, E,,,A,,,and B...
You can do the same thing for any key.
Sometimes you'll try to sing along with your guitar, only to find that the key you're playing in is just to high or low for your voice to sing best. So, that's when you have to change KEYS, or chords.
That's why you need to know this number system. When you change keys, you change which 3 chords you need to play the song.
Note; the numbers never change, only the chords under the numbers.
Try fooling around with this, let me know if you don't understand it and I'll try to explain further.
Even studio musicians use this number system to see a "Chord Chart" of a particular song.
Like; In 2/4 time: Each measure of music equals two beats. You'd count, "ONE TWO, ONE TWO" etc.
1114 1151
Each number represents a chord, strummed each time as you count the first beat of a measure of time in the song. Every time you count ONE, you strum that chord,or number depending on what key you're playing in.
So, 1114 from above actually means that on ONE of every measure, you play the choresponding chord.
1 1 1 4
ONE TWO ONE TWO ONE TWO ONE TWO
That might be more than you want to learn right now, but just work on the number/chord system to you can choose any key you want and automacilly know which 3 chords to use to play your simple song.
Joe
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Hi Eileen
Wanted to send personal message but do not have a clue how unless someone sends me one. Its not you who have this desire, but the Holy Spirit prompting you. There is a creativity inside of each and everyone of us, be it art, music, writing, whatever. It has nothing to do with age or ability.
If you throw your heart into whatever you want to do the creativity of God flows through you and you will bring a uniqueness to the medium that no one else on this planet can bring.
Maby you will never be lauded in this world or have your name in neon lights but who cares. You will bring joy to yourself, joy to whoever God sends your way and most importantly, Joy to God who takes pleasure in the endeavours of His children.
PS.
Use methylated spirits to toughen your fingertips, and practise the blooming thing everyday no matter what Mary with her lamb sounds like.
Wanted to send personal message but do not have a clue how unless someone sends me one.
Jassy,maybe this will be of some help :)
http://forums.bible-truths.com/index.php/topic,4618.0.html
Peace...Mark
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Hey Joe, that's cool! That's what I was taking about you said it better than I! Playing 3 chords is easy!
Oh I never thought about the numbering system, though! I always just know that you can use A-D-E together or G-C-D etc. but the numbering would be SO much easier!! See?? You're never too old to learn something new!! Gettin' out my pencil, now... 8)
Kathy ;)
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Jassy,maybe this will be of some help :)
http://forums.bible-truths.com/index.php/topic,4618.0.html
Peace...Mark
Thanks Mark, much appreciated.
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The guitar is not the easiest instrument to learn on, as a small key board perhaps. If that is what you want though, then go for it!
Joe's info is just like gold, and I wish that I had known what he posted when I started to learn (40 years and counting).
Some one asked Hank Williams why he used only three cords, I believe he said "cause that's all there is."
You've been given lots of good advice and if there is anything that I can help you with just let me know.
Ches
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You guys are the best!!!! So encouraging and so much useful information. I colleague at work is going to lend me a disk she has for learning guitar. She told me the same thing about only needing to learn a few cords to be able to play a lot of songs.
I will let you know how I progress. I hope I have the patience and sticktuitiveness to follow through. :) :) :) :)
Eileen
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I hope it's ok to put on link here. I found proof that there is hope for me!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY)
Eileen
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All this talk of playing the guitar, starts me thinking again about trying to learn the Harmonica. I've had this yearning to learn it and had started a few years ago, but then I shattered my wrist and haven't gotten back at it. I just love the Harmonica!!!
Eileen, you can do it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
hugs & luv,meee
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Hi mee,
My daughter wants to play harmonica. Soon we will be the Partridge family!!!
Eileen
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Wow Eileen , that wouldn't be so bad at all!!!!! ;)
My Mother used to play piano and could paint portraits, but I didn't inherit any of her talent. My playing will be for my fun and pleasure only.
meee
Hi mee,
My daughter wants to play harmonica. Soon we will be the Partridge family!!!
Eileen
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Just to give you an idea of my size; I am 4'10 about 102 lbs, I wear a size 4 1/2 shoe (they don't exist). So you can imagine I have small hands. I don't understand why, with such small hands, I can't keep my fingers from touching guitar strings that they are not supposed to touch!!! How does a normal sized person do it??? I can barely stretch my fingers to reach the string and frets!!!
For my birthday, I have asked for a small guitar (Little Martin?) and I am hoping this solves some of my problems. In the meantime, my fingers are killing me!!!! ;)
Eileen
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Eileen, you are about the tiniest woman I have ever heard of. I started singing when I was 45 and joined the choir, I loved it even though I was terrified I would fail. I kept at it and was so proud of myself. Once I was the only one who hit the right note. That was my grand finale but I know I was making God happy, I could feel Him being happy with me. By the way I am 5'9" and weigh 170 lbs. strong as a bull and just as stubborn!
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5'9" Judy,
I know why women don't want to be compared with cows, but why do you describe yourself as being stubborn as a BULL, a male bovine. I mean, we males aren't the only ones who are stubborn are we? Your own words prove that stubborn is a human trait that we all share.
Just a comment from a "sensitive" male. (smile)
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I want to learn to play guitar. I have no knowledge of notes or anything and I am aging quickly. Do you think its too late? I just want to sing and play acoustic guitar. One of my sons plays drums the other plays guitar (electric) and they both taught themselves. My daughter can sing. All this musical talent does NOT come from my husband. So maybe I have a chance?
what do you think?
Eileen
You never know until you try. I play guitar and bass [though, i haven't been playing that often lately]. It takes awhile to get your fingers stretched out enough, and then the coordination takes practice, but once you get comfortable with it, it's pretty simple to play and sing. If you got smaller fingers, that's a plus. Me, I got "fat finger disorder" :D, so that slows me down sometimes. haha [of course, if you want to get into doing Solos then that's a whole nother ballgame :o ;D]
But it's a lot of fun, and a very relaxing hobby both physically and mentally. Stress reliever for sure!
8) ;) Rock On Sister!
- Daywalker.
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Stubborn bull Judy? Are you a taurus? (not that I really believe in that stuff) But I'm a taurus and just as stubborn. ;)
Daywalker, I have been practicing switching between Em and D chords. It takes me a long time to "set up" my fingers on the strings. I am getting better at reading the tabs though. I can't wait for my "Little Martin".
Eileen
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Eileen,
I just happened to remember something! I haven't thought about this for a long time! I used to play the baritone ukulele. It tunes just like a guitar without the two bottom strings! That might be something you could do, too. of course the sound isn't as full as the guitar, but pretty close. Those two missing strings are those two little tiny strings that cut your fingers to death on the guitar! Ha! You chord the baritone uke just like a guitar (without those two bottom strings) :D
I loved my baritone uke, my little niece and nephew got hold of it and broke it one day and it was not fixable :'( (I was going to buy one not too long ago, but it was very expensive) I still have my soprano uke, I play it occasionally, but I really loved that baritone!! When you think of the uke you always think of Hawaiian music, but the baritone doesn't have that same sound as the regular one. My baritone was about the size of that "Little Martin" you talked about! :D
Kathy ;)
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Daywalker, I have been practicing switching between Em and D chords. It takes me a long time to "set up" my fingers on the strings. I am getting better at reading the tabs though. I can't wait for my "Little Martin".
Eileen the D chord happens to be one of the toughest open chords and the Em is probably the easiest. Take your time learning these chords. Its OK to "set up" you fingers at first. You want to use your finger tips when holding your chords not the fleshy part of your fingers.(there will be exceptions to this rule later) Keep your thumb firmly behind the roundest part of the guitar neck and make sure your fingers are arched when pressing a chord. Pretend that your have a golf ball inside your fretting hand to insure the best finger arch.
Another thing to watch for is you posture. Are you standing or sitting? If you are sitting and playing right handed(you strum with your right hand) then make sure your guitar sits on your left lap not on your right. Having it on your right will cause you to have bad posture along with developing awkward form to playing your guitar.
Now here is the encouragement part. Take your time working out these chords. You are working with motor skills that you have to develop. You don't want to waist your time practicing bad form that will later hold you back from progressing or having to relearn it. You have to work harder and longer to break bad form than it is to just do it right the first time. I still have a couple of bad habits that show up from time to time in my playing that I practiced 15yrs ago. So its OK to TAKE YOUR TIME!!! Now about that D chord. It took me about a months worth of practice at about 20 to 30min a day to move to and from the D chord. As you will notice your hand "shifts" a different position for every chord that you play. Practice going to and from these following chords, C, G, D,and Em. These four chords sound good together in any combination and have completely different shifting patterns that will help you step up to other chords later. Also practice A, Am, and E. Again all of these chord "shapes" will help you in the future when expanding to other keys.
So go get em.
roundbellygroove
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Roundbellygroove,
Your advice about putting the guitar on the left is priceless. I have been doing the opposite and I have been playing totally hunched over. My back was hurting. Hopefully this will solve the problem.
You've got me wondering if I am doing the D chord correctly because it's easier for me to switch from Em to D because two of the fingers remain on the same fret.
Thanks for the encouragement and mini lesson. I am on vacation this week while my bathroom is being re-done so I have a lot of time to practice. I am anxious for my fingers to stop hurting though.
Kathy,
I will consider the uke. I would like my daughter to play as well and maybe that would be enticing to her too.
Thanks again.
Eileen
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Hey Eileen,
I was reading what you said about your size..I am a shorty, too! I am just at 5' tall and (well I ain't gonna say what my weight is!) :D BUT one of the things that I like about playing that smaller instrument is the size of it of course! I have played an acoustic guitar before and wow! It is kinda hard to get your arm around it and still be able to stretch to get the chords! My son has a big acoustic, well big for me! I think he has a Takamine kind of like this one here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wRkI8UXuc0&feature=related
My older son can play like this guy, but the younger one who has the Takamine can only play rhythm. My older son took guitar for several years and is quite accomplished, but he has carpal tunnel and doesn't play much any more. Note the expression on this guy's face! I know a lot of guitar players and every one of them has these funny facial expressions! I think it has to do with passion for the instrument, love of music, and maybe a little pain!!
Talking about size you know Dolly Parton is barely 5 feet tall and probably has the longest nails of any guitar player ever and she can do it! You'll notice when she plays she uses mainly bar chords!
Well, just have fun learning, if you get your little Martin, you're gonna love it!!
Kathy :)
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Kathy,
I will consider the uke. I would like my daughter to play as well and maybe that would be enticing to her too.
Thanks again.
Eileen
Eileen,
For that matter, you may want to consider the mandolin. Much smaller neck (width/depth) and a much smaller fretboard to work with.
Gary
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I watched that You tube video that Kathy just posted. I am watching this guy and I notice three things. First, his fret hand is moving like crazy (don't see myself ever getting there). Two, he doesn't appear to be using his finger "tips" but rather that "fleshy" part. Third, he isn't always strumming directly over the "hole" but more toward the bridge. ??? ???
Eileen
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Stubborn bull Judy? Are you a taurus? (not that I really believe in that stuff) But I'm a taurus and just as stubborn. ;)
Daywalker, I have been practicing switching between Em and D chords. It takes me a long time to "set up" my fingers on the strings. I am getting better at reading the tabs though. I can't wait for my "Little Martin".
Eileen
The best advice that I could give is when you play, try not to stop whenever you mess up or miss a chord. You [not literally you, just in general...] tend to want to stop and start over or pause, but if you're able to train yourself to continue playing rather than pausing, then that will help you flow better, and will actually cause you to 'miss chords' less. [it doesn't sound like it works, but it does...]
Anyways, as I said earlier:
ROCK ON SISTER! Hehe ;D :D
Soon, you'll be partying like a rockstar! 8)
Daywalker.
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Eileen, you are a little taller than my daughter and she plays a small guitar that is perfect for her size.
I think you are right, you need a smaller one and that should solve your problems.
My daughter also has a small hand (and short fingers).
We got hers from my bro-in-law who bought a really nice one for my nephew who never ended up playing. What a blessing for us!
Anyway, I said this because you can still have a very nice guitar even though it is smaller! :)
No one would probably even notice unless they picked it up themselves! ;)
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Eileen as you develop in playing, you'll see there are a lot of little tricks or technics with both hands.
I do a lot of finger picking and strumming at the same time. I have 3 guitars but play my acoustic most of the time on an amp with effects.
Its not important if your not playing over the center or near the tail piece.The center gives a bolder sound.
I go back and forth for a mixed sound, but actually never really pay much attention to that. Its just where your comfortable at. It is important to use your finger tips in learning, otherwise you'll mute other strings.
If your practicing right, your fingers will get very tender. Push through that, even if they blister. Soon they will calise and pushing on the strings gets easier.
Do you have a tuner? Get one if you don't.
Most of the mini guitars you mentioned have a lot of tuning problems. Hopefully yours will be OK. I suggest learning on a normal size guitar. You'll get use to it and be surprised what your little fingers can do. All guitars have different size necks, some thick, some thin, some round, some flat. Go to a music store and see what they have.
We guitar players have gone through a lot of guitars. They come and they go until we find the one that you just have to hang on to. 8)
Peace
Roy
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Eileen,
that video I posted was just to show you the guitar and how it sounds, sorry I didn't mean for it to bum you out! It's like Roy says use your fingertips until you learn because you got to get them fingers toughened up!! ;D Even seasoned guitar players when they don't play for awhile get tender fingertips for a little while. Just play!
Have fun and keep us all up to date on how it's going. :D
Kathy :)
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There are already too many guitar players in the world. Take up the drums...every band needs a good drummer. ;D
Sounds like you are getting good advice if you really, really want to join this guitar overpopulation. Just keep at it and you'll get there. In some ways, it's among the easiest instruments to learn because you don't really need to learn 'notes' right off the bat, or any theory, because it's all in chords and where you put your fingers. The initial learning has much more to do with 'technique' needed to get to that so-called instant music.
And it's more portable than a drum kit too, and at your size, I can't say I blame you for not wanting to haul drums around.
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Hi Dave,
My son already has a set of drums in his room and another electric set at his dorm which he will be bringing home to his room in a few weeks. That will be some crowded room!!!! ::) I am not ambidextrous enough for drums not to mention the volume (headache). Besides, you can't really sing along with the drums. Although that might be better because no one will have to listen to me sing. :P
So, I will keep on strumming. ;)
Eileen
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You CAN sing along with drums...they just usually make a poor accompaniment. ;D
You CAN'T sing along with a harmonica or a trumpet, so avoid those fer sure! ;D
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You CAN'T sing along with a harmonica or a trumpet, so avoid those fer sure! ;D
Hey watch it there! I love the harmonica! ;D
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I hope I didnt say anything to discourage you.
Roy
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I hope I didnt say anything to discourage you.
Roy
Roy,
If you are talking to me, not at all. I am currently practicing on my sons electric/acoustic guitar. It has a tuner built in to it (cool). I have a long way to go though and I'm one of those people who needs instant gratification so I see this as an exercise in patience. :-\
Eileen
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Eileen, you've got the music in you. By the way, one doesn't have to be great to be good. Aim high and know that you can go as far as you want to go.
Roy
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Hey Eileen,
This is a very cool web site for learning to play the guitar.
http://www.guitartricks.com/
You can learn any style you want with very detailed instruction.
carol v