Beginner's Progress

[Arndrake]

About a month ago, I bought a new Mexican Strat HSS and a 15W amp. Since then, I have been practicing and trying to learn the proper fundamentals. I usually have been putting in about 15 to 30 minutes a night either exercising, playing scales, or just trying out a few chord progressions.

 

Currently, I have learned the major CAGED chords and the major scale, although I am still a bit sloppy on some chord progressions. I almost have all the different modes of the major scale committed to memory. I also have been working on exercises to improve my finger strength and dexterity. However, I think the fastest I can play most of them accurately is about 120 bpm, which I am guessing is still too slow.

 

I guess I'm just concerned about my progress and worried I am not advancing as fast as I think I should.

 

Now I realize the general responses will be that different people learn at different speeds and that it is also dependent on how much you practice. But it is kind of disheartening when you go into the local GC and see a 13 year old kid just wailing away on a SG. Now I realize he may have been playing since he was 10, but still. It can make you feel unworthy.

 

One of my concerns is that maybe my hands aren't well suited for guitar. I seem to have short wide fingers. Some have referred to such as 'sausage fingers.' The concern is that when I fret some notes, my finger may accidently touch and mute the string below it.

 

I guess I am hoping that I will eventually have a breakthrough. Maybe some day while watching someone play or reading some tab, I could just see the notes and patterns and say 'Oh, I get it now!" Instead of having to be lead by the hand and slowly shown each note and finger position.

 

Maybe I'm just expecting too much too soon of myself.

[jdouglas]

idk, i started at 12 and it took about a year before i could play anything without being sloppy or making mistakes..and i have long boney guitar fingers....so i wouldn't let it get you down..

 

It's good to set aside 30 mins a day, also just play while you are watching a baseball game, or reading the rush message board, or sitting outside...

 

most people don't want to hear you until you get the hang of it so don't worry about the amp or the sound/tone yet...start with one EZ rush song (like dreamline or subdivisions) and just play it until you have it nailed...again...and again...and..

 

good luck

[-D-RocK-]

I expect you to know "Classical Gas" by mid-summer.

 

Get to work!

[JoenataArctica]

120 bpm?!?! why in my day we had to play 300bpm in the snow, BOTH WAYS! BAREFOOT

[Drumnut]

Arthur Rubinstein was once approached in the street near Carnegie Hall, and asked, "Pardon me sir, but how do I get to Carnegie Hall?" He replied, "Practice, practice, practice."

[daveyt]

i started on acoustic which made an electric seem like a dream. goos discipline.

 

are you tapping your foor with all of your practicing? it is a must. no one does it today.

[rushfanNlv]

Everyones hands are suited for guitar. I have stubby little fingers myself but I do just fine. If your fingers are fat, you may have some problems but there are guitar players who got around that. It's all a matter of desire.

 

I think that you are in fact expecting too much too soon. Don't worry about it. If you want it bad enough, you'll progress no matter how long it takes. How old are you? The reason that 13 year old kid is wailing on that SG is because kids are like sponges. They learn at a rapid rate, especially when it's something they really want to learn. I noticed you said you practice about 30 minutes a night. If you want to get better quick, try doing a couple of hours a day. If you're an adult, like I think you are, chances are you don't have that kind of time to commit to guitar right now. That little kid on the SG has all the time in the world to practice and he does. That is where I learned. I would literally practice all day. I would watch TV all day with a guitar in my hand. I would play the same thing over and over for hours and hours. Good times.

 

 

Good luck man. And don't worry. You want it, you'll get it.

 

[Rand]

IMO their are two mistakes most beginners make.

 

1. They can't hold down a rhythm or keep the beat. They can't transition between chords quickly enough they lose the beat of the song.

 

2. They don't learn entire songs. Most beginners just try to learn bits and pieces. Like the intro to Smoke on the Water or Eruption. I'm guilty of this myself. I started playing when I was 15 (42 now) and I know the main riff of almost every Led Zeppelin song but I can't play any of them all the way through.

 

I'll bet you that 13 yo kid whaling away at the music store can't play an entire song all the way through.

 

I'd advise you to learn some songs. Chords and scales are good to know but I'm afraid you'll get bored if you aren't actually making music.

 

Try playing along with recordings, backing tracks, drum machines or better yet - Other musicians.