Home › Forums › Beginner Guitar Discussions › Total beginner seeking advice
- This topic has 8 replies, 8 voices, and was last updated 1 year, 7 months ago by Marek S.
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August 7, 2022 at 7:48 pm #317158
I’ve signed up and have completed the first couple of videos. I got to the scale lesson. What I am wondering is how will I know when I should move on to the next lesson? I can remember the sequence but my fingers are nowhere near coordinated enough. Is this something I should master before moving further? Or can I just continue?
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August 7, 2022 at 9:54 pm #317163
Hi John,
I think it’s more important, at this point, to understand the concept of the sequence of intervals in the major scale, ie. W, W, H, W,W,W,H. That’s only one position of 5 patterns along the fretboard and there are many other ways to create the scale. You could even do it on one string. The sequence of intervals is important in forming the chords and chord family in the next sections. You’ll have plenty of repetition to improve your technique.
John -
August 8, 2022 at 12:07 am #317167
Good question, John. I’ve been a member for 7 years, and my fingers are reasonable coordinated. But that didn’t happen by learning or practicing scales. It happened by learning lots of lessons, like one every week or two. I reckon when people are just starting out, they should focus almost entirely on the pentatonic scales. You will find some good exercises in the Blues Lead Course, BUT don’t think you have to memorize all those example licks. The idea is to just get the hang of where and how your fingers can move within each of the pentatonic positions. And note that the jamtracks are in a different key from the tabs. That is done to demonstrate that all the pentatonic licks are moveable up and down the fretboard.
Sunjamr Steve
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August 8, 2022 at 5:01 am #317172
Hi John,
I guess you joined this site to learn how to play the guitar, not to learn music theory?!
The right amount of music theory is required to understand what you do and to become, eventually, a better musician (which is slightly different from being a good player!).
But making music requires practice, so I’d say if you got the concepts down, try to apply them by learning lessons – you can even try and search for specific lessons. The majority of the AM members are actually rather theory averse 😉Brian’s lessons focus heavily on the pentatonic scales, which is entirely fine given the style of music he plays and teaches. But it is important to keep in mind that the pentatonic scale is in fact a reduced and simplified major (or minor) seven notes scale scale, particularly suitable for blues and all its derivatives.
The big problem I have with the “just dive and swim” advice is that the lesson you pick may actually be way beyond your current physical abilities. So a few specific hand coordination exercises are often a good idea. You’ll find many of them on the internet, or I can suggest some if you want to.
Oh, and by the way: welcome to AM! Have fun!
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August 8, 2022 at 10:16 am #317183
Good advice given above. I play every day, but I still need to warm up my fingers by using various exercises. I have a trigger finger” on my ring finger left hand which hinders my ability to stretch my fingers particularly for a 1st position 4th fret note. But exercises do help. Just keep learning….
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August 8, 2022 at 1:54 pm #317193
As I get older I too feel the need to warm up. And I am not ashamed to place a capo at the second fret to make fingering a little easier…
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August 8, 2022 at 7:33 pm #317222
Hi John, I feel where you are at. Everyone’s journey is different. It took me a year to learn my first whole lesson, my issue was finger co-ordination, getting confused what string I was on and trying to string a momentum for any length of time. Something that can be taken for granted when the coordination is already there to start with. So for me watching all the lessons, and absorbing the knowledge was where my energy went to. The best thing is to keep moving and to make it fun, when stuck, try something else before going back to it. Treat the whole site as a creative smorgasbord where you can dip in and dip out and discover everything there is to offer rather than make it regimented lineal learning. Practicing one verse or any sequence out of difference lessons is making progress. The coordination will come, it takes time, like climbing a mountain. When it clicks in, the real progress in playing happens. The answer is continue… for the goal is to play music on the guitar. All the best in your journey.
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August 10, 2022 at 9:32 am #317302
You will know. You will either feel ready, or just get bored of what you are currently working. Also, it’s ok to be working on several projects at once. I always am. Remember, there is no right or easy way to do this! Good luck on your journey.
John
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August 14, 2022 at 12:21 pm #317482
I think the most important thing is to have fun.
To me, scales are good practice to get your fingers moving, but so is playing a song. The theory is definitely important and worthwhile, but don’t forget to have fun.
One of the things I would recommend to an absolute beginner is try to get your hands on Ben Bolt’s 39 Progressive solos for classical guitar. Book is a gem, even if you don’t like classical guitar. I feel like it does a super job of working your left and right hand in a progressive way.
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