Im having trouble hitting chords that span multiple frets

Spider-doing-pushups-on-a-mirror is a fun exercise for people learning sign language. I guess it would work well for guitar players, too. Put your hands together, palms against one another with all fingers touching (like a little kid clapping.) Keep your fingers touching at the tips and move the palms away from one another. Bring all your fingers together in the middle, with the tips still touching. Spread them all out again, going back to the position your hands started in. Repeat this 10-20 times at a stretch, doing 10-15 sets throughout the day.

Another good signing stretch is to place your hands together, palms flat together and all fingers touching, like "praying hands." Push the heels of your hands down, still touching, as far as you can. Relax, then repeat. Do sets of 10-20 of these several times throughout the day.

A good variation on this is to put the hands together the same way, but then spread the heels of the hands out and leave only the fingers touching. Make sure the fingers touch along the whole length of each finger, not just the tips. Press down as far as you can, and then relax. The goal here is to get 90 degrees of bend on your fingers. Work up to it by doing sets of 10-20, several times a day.

You can also find good finger-flexibility exercises by doing an Internet search for them.

I have been playing for around 3 years now, and while I have made much progress compared to when I first started out, I still want to improve.

I've never had a music instructor, though I did take a few guitar lessons.

What I want to know is how do I become a well-rounded musician - not just a talented guitarist?

What do I need to learn? How should I practice? What should I practice? How long should practice time be?

hey dude i play and sing, not very well tho. my son however is a guitar genius, playing a song he hears after listening to it on an olf monofm radio!!
heres what he did.
1. went to school and took music there.
2. found a couple of mates who could keep up with his playing. they all have different styles so he has had to learn their stuff too.
3. carry your guitar with you everywhere.
4.down load tabs from all the best sites and learn a song a day. more if you can…
5. talk about your playing with more experienced players
6. record your stuff to your computer m-audio fast track turns your computer into a mini recording studio..
7. practice scales then scales with different rhythms
8. play along with your fvourites heaps
9. if you dont have a job then make learning music your job
10. write tunes down that float into your head then find the chords tab them and play.
11. play every day
12. play better today than you did yesterday….

enjoy. dont take drugs, drink only in moderation and enjoy the opposite gender safely!! ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

I have probably never even picked up a guitar in my life much less any other instrument but am interested in taking guitar lessons. How long does it usually take to learn most of the basic skills required to play an acoustic guitar? What are the biggest challenges a guitar teacher faces when teaching someone like me, with absolutely no experience? Thanks!

All good answers.

I had more than one college professor tell me that to "master" a task takes about 10,000 hours.

Now, their definition of "master" is more along the lines of "I can now teach this and make a living at it".

Depending on your learning ability and finger dexterity, you should be playing something that resembles songs in about 100 hours or so.

The greatest challenge for a teacher? Getting a student to practice and stick with it. Most people give up long before they should. As long as you go into this with realistic expectations, you'll do fine.

I crack up when I read questions here that are something like "how long will it take me to become awesome at guitar". I always want to answer with something like "Don't worry about it. You'll be bored with it and back to playing video games this time next week."

Good luck to you.

Greetings from Austin, TX

Ken

I play electric guitar mostly rock and metal. I want to learn how to solo(improvised solos). any tips like what scales and techniques that i should learn?

You need to learn Modal Theory. Every song has a modal scale based on the selection of chords that accompany the verse and the chorus. Knowledge of this mode (scale) will allow you to select notes that blend of supplement the chord progression. Knowing modes will help you improvise greatly on your songs. Once the modal scale is mastered all over the fret board you are then applying techniques to it, Blues, Classic Rock or Heavy metal riffs and pattern to make it sound hot.

I recently started playing classical guitar (about 6 months ago) and finger picking/plucking is really important when playing classical but I want to switch to electric at some point so should I bother to still improve my right hand? I've always concentrated more on my left hand because my fingers are ridiculously short.

You should definetly learn how to use a pick, but do not neglect your finger picking.

Perhaps you could try a style that some of the world's hottest guitar players use called "hybrid picking.?

This is a means by which you hold the pick between the thumb and forefinger, and use your second and third fingers to pluck upward on other strings. This is a great technique, and since you already have a great start with finger picking…I'd study this area.

Here's a little exercise that got me started using pick and fingers…

Hold down the first and second strings at the 3rd fret using your 3rd (ring) finger on the second string at the 3rd fret and your pinkie on the first string at the 3rd fret.

With your pick, hit the open 4th string (D) and immediately hammer on the 2nd fret of the same string….

Then use your your second finger to strike the second string /3rd fret note you're already holding, followed by your ring finger striking the 1st string 3rd fret note.

Then use your pick to hit the open 3rd string G, followed by a finger picked 2nd and 1st string again.

Back to the open D again..etc.

It's counted like this ….

………1………………..&………….
Open D, hammer on 2nd fret,

…..2……………………..&……….
2nd string-3rd fret——-1st string 3rd fret

……3……..&……..
open 3rd string G

………4………………………&…..
2ndstring-3rd fret—-1st string 3rd fret

Hope that made sense to you…best of luck and keep picking till those fingers bleed!

The 3rd string open G is the only note that has a quarter note length..the rest are all 8th notes..if that helps?

Remember…keep your fingers ( 3rd and 4th) anchored on the 1st and second strings at the 3rd fret..they should not move.

Do I need a pick?
How hard is it to read Guitar Tabs?
Can I play without an amp?

1) Do I need a pick?

Yes. It is totally possible to play without one, but I think it would be a lot harder for a beginner to do. Picks are all but free, though.

2) How hard is it to read Guitar Tabs?

It can be a little difficult at first, but once you get the hang of it, it's cake.

3) Can I play without an amp?

Playing an electric guitar without an amp is pointless. If you don't want to play with an amp, look at some acoustic guitars.

So I have been playing Electric and Acustic guitars for some time now and im looking to buy me a good Bass preferably a Traben Chaos Core 4-string. Is it hard to transition to this instrument?

The strumming and fingering are a little more of a challenge; because the strings are thicker and farther apart as well as more difficult to press down to make your pitch and tone clear. If your chosen bass has no frets, this may also be a challenge as well, as you will need to practice placement so as to ensure proper intonation. You would be well-advised to look at a 5-string bass. Jaco lives!!!

Best wishes -

I mean he and carlos santana and the young brothers from ac/dc are my favorite guitar players and i love all guitar players and music, but I love to play carlos santanas style and incorporate it into my own music, but his stuff is easy to play and he plays with feeling, but do you guys think he is overrated or what are your thoughts on carlos overall?

There are very, very few guitar players around that I can pick out just by hearing them play a couple of notes, and Carlos is one of them.

So, his stuff is easy to play. Playing it is one thing, and coming up with it is another. Could you have written something as good?

And don't every downplay the "playing with feeling" aspect of music. Mechanics are easy to learn. Speed demon shredders like Yngwie Malmsteen and Michael Batio can certainly get around on a guitar, but after listening to them for 10 minutes is sounds like someone just practicing scales.

For me, it comes down to "how much can you say with just one note". BB King, Billy Gibbons, Leslie West, and Santana are all players that I can pick out from just a few notes (Tony Iommi, Jeff Beck, and Joe Walsh are the rest of them on my list).

I while I think Angus Young is an amazing entertainer (and a decent guitarist), it's his brother Malcom that is the glue of that band. He's got the best right hand in the music business, and along with Keith Richards and Pete Townsend pretty much define for me what a rock-n-roll rhythm guitarist should be.

I guess where I'm going with all of this is don't gloss over the easy stuff. Sometimes, the simplest thing to play is the hardest thing to choose.

Greetings from Austin, TX

Ken

i have never played a string instrument (trumpet only) but i really want to learn electric guitar. my mom says that she will get me lessons as long as i start on acoustic, because someone recommended it. (she will do anything if someone recommends it!) i want to know if it's easier to start on electric or acoustic. also, is it hard to play a string instrument?

I see this question asked quite a bit, so now its time to offer my 2 cents worth.

There is NO right or wrong instrument to start on. Bad D makes some very good points in his answer. One thing ive seen in the past though : An instrument that the student has no desire to play and is forced into is going to wind up a dust collector in a very short time. An instrument freely chosen by the student is going to get practiced a heck of a lot more than the previous, and chances are, they will move on to another instrument in years to come. If all you want to play though is folk ballads, then definately acoustic is the way to go.

Also, bear in mind this one thing: An instrument of extreme poor quality makes the learning process even more difficult. Go to your LOCAL music store, not Guitar Center, and have the instructors there help in choosing the right electric or acoustic guitar for you. Ive seen to many times at G.C. where the commision of the salesman comes into play and not the best choice for the individual buying it.

Yamaha, Takamine, Epiphone, Fender, and Ibanez make very playable acoustic guitars in the 200-350 range, with Takamine being on the high end of that.

Squire, Ibanez, Epiphone, Yamaha… some electrics to think about when purchasing.

Hope this has helped, and whatever instrument you choose….PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE!

I plyed the guitar the for the first time 5 days ago and my finger tips have been numb since then. I know its notmal for this to happen when playing the guitar, but for 5 days? Is this normal?

Is this on your fretting hand, picking hand or both?

Electric or acoustic?

Sitting, or standing and wearing a guitar strap?

Numbness is not normal, especially for as long as you've had it. That usually indicates that you've pinched a nerve somewhere, and you probably should get it checked out.

I had a problem with numbness in my left hand many years ago. What it finally turned out to be was a pinched nerve in my left shoulder. The cause was using too thin of a guitar strap on too heavy of a guitar (it was a double-neck that weighs 14 pounds). The solution was to simply get rid of that 1" wide strap I was using and get a 3" wide one to distribute the weight over a greater area. Problem solved.

Get it checked out. Hope you get better.

Greetings from Austin, TX

Ken