New to Guitar

[Chris S Anderson]

Funny, Chris. It's almost like we collaborated on this or something. That's a Martin OM under my left arm, by the way

we're like twins, only different and not related and not like twins at all.

[Bryan Morgan]

I've taught guitar and everyone is right, ya just have to practice. Longer the practice sessions the better... BUT, give your fingers time to heal as well. Well, longer is better as long as you correcting mistakes. If you just keep repeating the same mistakes they become muscle memory and are a little harder to undo. There is a little device called a Riff Grip (also sold under different names) that helps with finger strength if you don't have a guitar handy. Finger strength and dexterity are as or more important than callouses. Practice doesn't have to be playing the same boring things over and over... you can plop down in front of the boob tube and try playing the commercial jingles or TV theme songs. Its practicing without sitting there doing only one thing over and over, which gets boring quick and turns a lot of people off. It gets your body used to playing different parts of the neck and in different musical styles.

Good luck with your endeavor! Guitar is a great thing to learn if you want to put the time in. I've been playing over 20 years and I still suck at it, but it always makes me happy when I play.

Guitar and music in general is what I live for (though sadly not my day job). The only reason I'm on this woodworking site is to read up on tools and techniques that people are using to build guitars.

[Dennis Peacock]

One thing that I've learned over the years of playing music...bass guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, ukulele, and finally resting on bass guitar....is that the "action" of your instrument has a lot to do with how much pressure you need to apply to get a clear note/chord out of your instrument.

Learning to play guitar on an Electric Guitar with light gauge strings on it and with the action adjust for easier play without "fret buzz" will be the easiest way to learn how to play without too much pain. You will still have hurting fingers, but that will decrease over time. If your instrument is hard to play or requires a good amount of pressure to get a clear note or chord out of it? Then you need to take it and have it adjusted properly.

Learning how to play with a hard to play instrument not only creates more pain quicker for your fingers, but it also slows down your moves and can tire you quiet quickly. Many things are tied directly to excessive pressure while fretting your instrument...bass or guitar....doesn't matter. I was blown away at how much BETTER my bass played after I had a guy adjust it to his playing preference. The action was too high and intonation was out as well. Now I play with "half the finger pressure" and now I'm getting faster finger moves and better notes because I'm not having to apply as much pressure to fret the notes any more. Makes a huge difference in playing speed, accuracy, and how long you can play without stopping.

Volumes have been written and discussed on strings, intonation, neck action, pickups, and even the size of the frets. But......NOTHING can ever take the place of you spending time in the "wood shed" strumming and picking on your guitar. There are no shortcuts. I'm teaching my youngest son now how to play acoustic guitar.

Hang in there and practice together...there's motivation in all of it for each of you.

[Chris Ricker]

When I started, my instructor suggested soaking my finger tips in Which Hazel to draw the moisture out and build calluses faster.
I don't know if it helped but eventually playing was more comfortable.

hope this helps, don't give up!!

[Sean Troy]

I've been practicing for several days now and really enjoy it. My finger tips are pretty sore but not enough to stop. I do need to work on dexterity. My wife was cracking up watching me try to fit 3 fingers in one fret.

[Jim Tobias]

I also just started lessons about 4 montha ago and love it. BUT, it takes a lot of time and woodworking eats into that. I have decided that I WILL learn to play, but it won;t be real quick because I:
[LIST]
still have a job
can't give up woodworking
still have to sleep

The callouses do get better. If you lay off a few days, the fingers get soft.

Jim