Q. Is it normal that I'm not getting guitar hand muscle memory quickly? I just got a guitar 2 days ago and learned how to read chord charts and just started to play songs. But I have to remember the chord progressions, my fingers don't fly to them like they do when I'm playing piano. How can I get better at this? Is it just practicing?
A. Yes, it is just practice. 2 days is no time at all. It always feels weird taking up a new instrument - you feel that it should be almost as easy as the one you're familiar with but, as you say, you need to develop the muscle memory . . . which takes time, though it should come much quicker than if you hadn't played any instrument before.
Okay, I have a question about the Guitar!?
Q. I would like to learn how to play guitar.I can already play a bit of the piano (not completely but I know the basics) and I have two questions. I'm prepared for sore fingers!
Can someone buy you a guitar, or does it depend on the size of the person, like the violin or does it not matter?
Secondly, is it possible to teach yourself or should I just go for lessons. If lessons is the answer, how many weeks/months till you sort of "get the hang of it" and can play.
A. When it comes to guitars in general, only the neck portion of the guitar is the part to pay attention to when just starting out. A matter of physical comfort and playability.
Body size only matters as secondary comfort, as some sizes feel more secure to the player in the beginning. Necks come in different lengths too, for even more playing convenience, but just different scale (fret numbers). Same playing technique all around.
But one has to sacrifice tone quality and volume due to smaller 'box' of acoustic guitar sizes. And electric guitars is just a matter of overall feel, balance and weight factors. Ask about neck 'set ups' for any guitar you may purchase at a music store. This will make sure that the playing area (fret/fingerboard) is as comfortable as possible for your fingers and hand.
You have a choice of either standard steel (folk/dreadnought) or a nylon 'classical' guitar to begin with. The nylon strings of the classical will be more forgiving in conditioning the fingertips but will have a thicker and wider neck, thus as well, really providing exercise for the hand and chord reach. Once learning from this particular guitar, you can tackle most any other guitar on the market.
Of course it is possible to be self taught but what will determine this is how much desire you have for the guitar in the first place. Depends upon if you enjoy even the music it represents, the thought you can create your own in time, and if you continue to have love for the instrument overall.
But lessons will expose you to the elements of playing and real discipline in what it will take to learn more seriously, even as a result, a little quicker than on your own.
And the time-line will depend once again on your willingness to learn in any situation when just starting out and over the next few months to come. Give yourself at least those months to see any real progress. Most instruments of any kind, if one sticks with it, will show true results within a year.
Plan on getting some good reference material in the meantime. Instruction books of beginner guitar, chord chart and finger position instruction. CDs for the music, and DVDs for video training will help as well. All even before you may decide upon lessons with a good instructor.
Lastly, get with someone (or group) who is already into guitar playing and buddy up as both of you can bounce off one another for the experience, if not a good lesson in a social relationship with such common ground.
Learning Piano Chords?
Q. Where do I begin? Majors? Is there a good free site which has pictures included?
Would it be good to learn scales before chords? Or after?
Thanks in advance
A. I was taught to play piano classically and I'd say if you want to be able to sightread and play classical pieces of music then there's no substitute for learning the scales. It was boring as anything but it'll stand you in good stead when playing piano generally because you'll already know the key signatures/fingering.
However, I know some other types of piano-playing particularly jazz and blues (and to some extent I guess rock) are built more around chords. This method is also supposed to be a fast-track method to learning to play? So if you're wanting to learn more for fun - to play around with songs or maybe write your own then maybe you don't need to know the more "correct" fingerings.
There's plenty of websites out there doing this kind of stuff but be warned a lot of them are trying to sell you something.
I've just had a quick look and I think this is my favourite because it shows you all the variations and how they should sound: http://www.8notes.com/piano_chord_chart/
If you prefer videos this is kind of basic but shows you exactly what you're doing and what fingering etc.
http://www.expertvillage.com/video-series/464_basic-piano-lessons-chords.htm
I think the normal order would be to learn them in the order of fewest sharps and flats so starting with C, G, D, A and F majors and A and D minors. (look at the ABRSM syllabus for the order they teach the scales: http://www.abrsm.org/resources/pianoComplete0608.pdf)
I think if it was me I'd learn both at the same time, so start with a basic scale like C major, and then learn the C major chord at the same time - maybe playing around with some of the variations a bit too.
I'm sure some other people will disagree though and if you're already familiar with music theory or play another instrument pretty well you can probably skip the scales. Or if you're not too serious about piano and doing it just for fun by all means learn the chords.
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Title : Guitar muscle memory question?
Description : Q. Is it normal that I'm not getting guitar hand muscle memory quickly? I just got a guitar 2 days ago and learned how to read chord ch...