I need some help with my studies...

[Obitim]

HI all!

 

I'm in the process of learning the guitar (via book and app) and also getting my knowledge together for work (networking, Windows and general IT).

 

I was wondering if I could call on my fellow nerds for a bit of help?

 

I'm learning the acoustic guitar and have Guitar for Dummies and also I'm using Jamstar.  Guitar for Dummies is workign well for me and I can now quite happily pluck a string, strum and I'm trying to learn the chords A, D and E, which is taking time and I want to do it right, why I was hoping to find was an app where I can put the chord in and the app will tell me if I'm on target (I'm a complete newb with it, I;ve not done any music since I was about 14) and I found the app jamstar, which has some decent lessons but the beginner lessons appear to be basically 'pluck this string in time with the music' which isn;t that helpful.

 

if anyone has any tips or other apps then that would be ace?

 

I'm also working on my IT knowledge with regards to Networks and Windows server/desktop and wondered if there were any decent podcasts or apps I could download which would assist with this as I now have an hour commute each way to work.

 

Any help is much appreciated!!!!

[Frost of the Gloaming]

I have never used this product, but it looks fun and looks like it might actually work; Rocksmith

[Obitim]

Ah, I should have mentioned...my guitar is a basic acoustic one, so no inputs...and I'm trying to save a bit of cash after the Christmas excess!

[Bearded_Dragon]

Although I'm no virtuoso, I kinda did it the old fashioned way. If you can get your hands on some chord diagrams (chordfind is pretty good for that: http://chordfind.com/) then just put your fingers where they should be and play the chord. One of the most helpful things is when your fingers are in place to place each string individually to make sure you get a good, rich, ringing sound off every string. If you don't get that then you'll know you either need to press down harder on the string, or stop muting a string which should be open (hope this has made sense). 

 

But above all just practice, practice, practice. It may sound shit for a while, but don't get disheartened, keep at it, the more time you spend with it the better. 

[Obitim]

Hi Jay,

 

I imagine before reading guitar for dummies I may have struggled with the description but having tried a couple of chords and managed to create that lovely buzzing noise I know exactly what you mean...I know what you mean about practice and have now put my guitar on my gaming chair so I have to look at it and acknowledge it each time I want to play games (which has massively helped with practice!)

 

I'll keep trying and will see how I get on...it's helping me with my life skills anywho!

[Callaeidae]

Hi Obitim!

 

If you're set on learning interactively, I'd take a look at adding something like the beginner's course on justinguitar.com to the book you're already reading rather than apps; it's free, he's a really good teacher, it's nicely structured & helps you minimise bad habits forming. 

I've been playing guitar since my mid-teens & got started through a mixture of learning chords from a chord sheet, applying them to learning songs I actually liked (this is absolutely key to prevent boredom!) and figuring out songs by ear (this will improve your playing & understanding of guitar immensely, even though it can be incredibly frustrating at times). Not to mention soldiering on through those first phases of sore fingers & buzzing strings; just when it seems unbearably impossible, something in your brain kind of clicks & those chords are in your muscle memory flowing beautifully

[Kuiken]

Hi Obitim!

 

If you're set on learning interactively, I'd take a look at adding something like the beginner's course on justinguitar.com to the book you're already reading rather than apps; it's free, he's a really good teacher, it's nicely structured & helps you minimise bad habits forming. 

I've been playing guitar since my mid-teens & got started through a mixture of learning chords from a chord sheet, applying them to learning songs I actually liked (this is absolutely key to prevent boredom!) and figuring out songs by ear (this will improve your playing & understanding of guitar immensely, even though it can be incredibly frustrating at times). Not to mention soldiering on through those first phases of sore fingers & buzzing strings; just when it seems unbearably impossible, something in your brain kind of clicks & those chords are in your muscle memory flowing beautifully

 

I can also recommend the justinguitar.com site-I've been doing it on/off for about 6 months and I'm up to 8 chords now (probably would be further if I practiced more often).  He has a lot of good drills on the website that have helped a lot, so that even when I don't practice for several weeks, it doesn't take much to catch back up.

 

For tuner I use Epic Tune on my iPhone (I think any of the free ones are probably decent) and you might want an metronome app to help you keep time.

 

**Forgot to add, the justin website also has songs for each level.  So even if you only know A, D, and E, you can still play some basic tunes like Marley's 3 Little Birds and The Beatle's Love Me Do.  It doesn't always sound *exactly* like the original, but it's much more fun way to practice your transitions!

[Obitim]

Sounds like Justinguitar will be the way forward then...

 

Cheers peeps!

 

Any thought on the Cisco podcasts?

[Bearded_Dragon]

 

Any thought on the Cisco podcasts?

 

They're alright, but I just find I can't listen to "The Thong Song" that much...

 

I'm sorry, I couldn't resist. 

[Obitim]

They're alright, but I just find I can't listen to "The Thong Song" that much...

 

I'm sorry, I couldn't resist. 

 

Well played sir...well played!