Learning to play guitar can be challenging. Many try and give up for many, many reasons.
Here’s a few obstacles I came across that maybe you can avoid to keep you strumming along!
That G’it Fiddle just doesn’t want to stay in tune!
G’it fiddle is what my pappy called the guitar, funny…I can still hear him say it. Well let me just say if your g’it fiddle or any stringed instrument is not staying in tune you either need to get the action adjusted or you need to buy a better instrument. This is the very thing that can discourage you from wanting to learn and just up and quit all together.
If you don’t know much about adjusting the trust rod of the guitar neck, leveling the bridge or setting the height of the strings then search out a luthier or a professional or even a friend who does know how. Set it right and it will stay in tune.
It sounds and plays so much better when it’s in tune! Ya, you can get a fandangled electro gizmo tuner thingy to tune the strings but if it goes out of tune soon after while your picking then you have to make some adjustments.
I have guitars I left in the closest for years and pulled them out and they were still in tune. If the temperature changes ie if you take your guitar from inside to outside, the guitar wood will expand or contract and the tuning will change, so be aware of that.
If you change your strings and don’t use the same gauge this will not only affect the tuning but also change the action – meaning the distance between the string and the fret. If the action changes you might get some buzzing because there’s not enough clearance between the fret and the string for the string to vibrate freely.
Some guitars are just made better so do some research before buying one or ask someone who knows better to come along when you’re ready for the big purchase.
Those string are hurting my fingers!
Lighten up that gauge and make it easy when you’re first starting out so you don’t get discouraged and you can hang in there long enough to actually play something well.
The gauge of the strings are something to consider when first learning. I first learned on an acoustic guitar – much thicker gauge than the typical electric guiatr and harder to press on unless your Stevie Ray Vaughn – I understand he used 12’s or 14’s on his high E string. I could be wrong but he did have a thick sound and thick strings play a big part but you need thick, strong fingers to do that!
I suggest getting a thin gauge string to start like .08 or .09 for that 1st string otherwise known as the bottom string or the high E string and not to be confused with the low E.
Some might think playing on a thinner gauge is wimping out. Hey…learning the guitar is a long road. If you can take a few short cuts in the beginning you may just hang in there long enough to get over the struggles of learning something new… AND being able to start play something INTERESTING! When your not discouraged and it really holds your interest that’s when you can really get serious and can plow through other challenges with ease.
I wanna ROCK not play nursery rhymes!
When I first started learning I had the itch to play but my first teacher was teaching me how to read. I started out learning killer tunes like “My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean” and “Mary Had a Little Lamb”…ok not so killer, right? I know, I know…ya gotta start somewhere but it wasn’t holding my interest.
After a couple of years, I found another teacher who sat me down and show me some classic ROCK – Smoke on the Water by Deep Purple, One Way Out by the Allman Brothers and Play that Funky Music by Wild Cherry…OK I’m not sure if the last is actually considered classic ROCK but it was still fun! I love getting funky!
Anyways, my point here is that when you have something that holds your interest and you can play it pretty ok you’ll get excited about learning more. You’ll even impress your friends because they say hey I know that song! Nobody gets impressed when you whip out a nursery rhyme on the guitar at the next block party or barn fire gathering!
Well I hope this helps keep ya learning. If you hang in there, it’s worth it. Music is a way of communicating on a whole other level. – it’s definitely been spiritual for me! All from the heart and no sass!