I just picked the guitar up in january and started lessons in Feb. So it's been a solid 2 months and i can say, i really enjoy learning the guitar. however, i need some tips.

- i need some help learning to strum. I feel like an idiot, because my head knows the songs (like "Brown Eyed Girl" and "Im Yours") but my hand just doesn't want to strum. maybe years of guitar hero has screwed me up.

-whats a good exercise to do to help me speed up my transitions between chords?

-is there a right/wrong way to hold a pick? In lessons, i dont use a pick, just my fingernails…which is also strange to strum up with…sometimes i end up using my finger tips to strum up, and other times i use my thumb…strange i know. . .

just over all tips would be appreciated, thanks everyone

hold the pick between the thumb and forefinger close to the tip and strum with your wrist as if you were "dusting off" the strings with a little broom. Don't hold the pick to tight.
A good exercise that I give to all my beginning is to take 2 chords like E and A and strum each chord down and up 8 times and change to the next chord. The trick is to KEEP STRUMMING while changing chords! At first you will get several strums that sound like crap but don't stop strumming! Eventually you will be able to change between the 2 chords with fewer bad strums in between. Keep doing this until you can change cleanly and quickly. Then try 2 other chords like D and G then C and F. eventually you will be able to change between all of these chords without any problems.
another tip; ever notice that the longer you practice something the worse it gets? most beginners get frustrated because after about a 1/2/ hour their hand kinda gets "dumber" (left hand) This is due to something called "Mechanical memory" which the left hand has very little of. Remember that your left hand is an idiot NOT YOU! Try practicing about 15 minutes then put the guitar down for five minutes then repeat this process 2 or 3 more times. This helps build up Mechanical Memory in your left hand and makes it easier to learn faster

I just picked the guitar up in january and started lessons in Feb. So it's been a solid 2 months and i can say, i really enjoy learning the guitar. however, i need some tips.

- i need some help learning to strum. I feel like an idiot, because my head knows the songs (like "Brown Eyed Girl" and "Im Yours") but my hand just doesn't want to strum. maybe years of guitar hero has screwed me up.

-whats a good exercise to do to help me speed up my transitions between chords?

-is there a right/wrong way to hold a pick? In lessons, i dont use a pick, just my fingernails…which is also strange to strum up with…sometimes i end up using my finger tips to strum up, and other times i use my thumb…strange i know. . .

just over all tips would be appreciated, thanks everyone

Just keep practicing, you'll eventually get better.

Try holding your fingers in the position of the chord you are trying to play, and press it down on the fret board. Pretty simple, but it builds strength and finger memory to make transitions faster. And when I was starting, I just tried to do transitions really fast, even though I knew I wasn't going to play it right. Eventually you'll get it! :]
As for the strumming part.. I guess try to imagine strumming the guitar without a real guitar in your hands. Once you get the rhythm, try it on the guitar. Then, for holding the pick, I hold it in a different way than most people, so i guess there's no wrong way as long as the pointier end is facing the strings…and I used to strum "up down up down" for hours to get the strumming up part.

Hope I helped

right ive been playing the Electric Guitar for roughly five years.
i wanna make something out of it make some cash.

any ideas i would be most appreciative.

any answers given, ill repay back the favour :).

Thanks

Playing in a band - unless you're extremely successful - doesn't rake in the money because your fee is split between all the band members so doesn't go that far.

Unless you can make it as a professional session musician, the best money you can make from playing guitar is by teaching. A good teacher can make anything between £16 - £20 p/hour.

I've played several different instruments and as hard as I tried, I never had any luck with learning to read notes, I always played by ear and composed with no written music. Can I do the same with guitar?

Of course. Just learn the technique, and try to learn to read guitar chord charts which often appear on the sheet music, and you should be OK. I play keyboards by ear all the time (for over 50 years!).

I own a PRS santana SE electric guitar and have been playing electric guitar for nearly 5 years, I have never owned an acoustic guitar and want to know if i should buy one. If i should buy one my budget is around $300-$450.

It is all about your personal music taste! Playing the acoustic is very different toelectric , as the stings are thicer and where your fingers out , its requires a lot of skill to play some stuff , e.g. Stairway to Heaven, but it is great to have an acoustic , as you dont need an amplifier to make a great sound! its also light so you can take it almost anywhere. If was you, i would look into getting an Electro-Acoustic , as they are great for the money , and will not cost you the end of the earth , as great ones come from as little as 200! Electro acoustic also was a cut away , which allows you to play past the 12 fret , so it is very much like an electric, which would suit your playing style , seeming as you have played electric for 5 years!

Hope this helps

i want to start playing the acoustic guitar, and i went on this site where they sell guitars, and i dunno what to get ?
Theres some that come under 'kids sizes' and the rest under 'adult sizes'
So what do i get ?
Adult or Kids ?
Would kids be too small ?
Would adult be too big ?

Help me pleassssse (:

Thats loads x

I suggest that you go to a guitar shop and try some. Look for a guitar that you would comfortable with. Don't buy a guitar from the internet. You should do a search on important things you should know when buying a guitar. I'm sure that there are plenty of websites that could guide you.

Hi people. I'm making up my own electric guitar at the moment and need some advice. The last component I need to purchase is the pickups but I'm not sure which to get.

My main styles are heavy metal and hard rock. I play a lot of lead guitar and fast shred style solos but also want a powerful crunchy sound when I play power chords and rhythm. Which pickups would best suit my playing style?

I had to jump in and answer this if for no other reason than we share the same last night and might be related!

If all you're looking for is heavy tones, then the fav pickups these days are EMG actives. If you're building your own guitar, you can make accomodations for the battery that they require.

Passive pickups? Try the Seymour Duncan Invaders or the SH-8.

What ever you do, I would recommend this….put a high output pickup in at the bridge, but then put a lower output pickup at the neck (like a Duncan SH2 or '59). Then, if your amp is set up right, you can go from clean to scream with your pickup selector switch.

Greetings from Austin, Tx

Ken

So I can tune the guitar I need to know the names of each string, but don't rattle them off, A C D..etc tell me "the top string is B…" that type of thing. Thank you!

It depends upon how you tune your guitar! I played acoustic bass one night with Joni Mitchell and she tunes her guitar to an open chord! If I watched her fingers I got very confused. I had to do it completely by ear.

The conventional tuning is (Starting from the top, or lowest pitch and, therefore, thickest string) is E, A, D, G, B and E an octave higher than the top string.

Note that the top four strings are the same as a bass guitar (4-string) but in a different octave. This tuning is known as the cycle of fifths (going up) or fourths (going down). For example, the A is the 4th tone in the E scale, etc. But the E is the 5th tone of the A scale. Once you get to the "B" string, B is the 3rd tone in the G scale, but then E is the 4th tone in the B scale.

Tears Don't Fall or Suffocating Under Words of Sorrow

I've never really been able to sing while playing guitar, is there any way to practice this?

Some songs are just easier to do than others. The toughest song I ever had to play bass on and sing was Sweet Emotion by Aerosmith. The vocal line and bass line are doing two completely different rhythms.

I had to learn each part individually to the point I could do them on autopilot. I finally got the bass part to the point that I didn't have to think about it, and then I could just worry about getting the words right.

As the other posters have said….practice. I would just say you might want to practice the playing and vocal separate for a while, and then put them together.

Good luck.

Greetings from Austin, Tx