Calling All Guitarists! (Acoustic)

Mediocre guitarist trying to further skills

from Demigod Forums

Hey all,

So I've been playing guitar for a few months now and I think I've made awesome progress. I can play a handful of chords now and play songs with the right strumming! I know, big whoop, haha. I just bought a Yamaha APX500 also, it's an Acous/Elec since I'll be performing this Fall at my College.

Anywho, I just wanted to ask you guitarists for any learning tips you may have. For example, I build up callus but when I take a shower at night, that mother hurts! It peels off and is so soar. I thought by now it'd be hard enough. Also, I can't do bar chords real well, I'm teaching myself everything off of videos online and just looking up songs and chords and figuring it out on my own.

I have one problem, I don't use a pick. It started off because I didn't want to make such a loud noise(had a roommate) so I used my bare hand to strum(thumb and index finger kinda, it's weird) and now I can't use a pick! I play so much better without one. The problem is that the sound is muffled and not as clear as a pick. Has anyone else had this happen to them?

Any help in anything guitar related would be friggin sweet. Thanks a lot.

- Elixir

off-topic
33,572 views 6 replies
Reply #1 from Stardock Forums Top

I have one problem, I don't use a pick. It started off because I didn't want to make such a loud noise(had a roommate) so I used my bare hand to strum(thumb and index finger kinda, it's weird) and now I can't use a pick! I play so much better without one. The problem is that the sound is muffled and not as clear as a pick. Has anyone else had this happen to them?
End of quote

If I were you I would learn to use a pick. Unless you are going to be fingerpicking heavily, get a pick and learn to work with it.

Calluses will fade eventually.

Other than that bit of advice I can't help you too much with acoustic playing. I'm mostly an electric guy but do play rhythm on my acoustic from time to time. When I do I'm just strumming chords (with a pick).

Another option, that could be too expensive for you (not sure), is to take formal lessons. Just being able to play with someone who knows the instrument is a big help. They can give you pointers that books or videos couldn't. Even after you've 'learned the craft' it's good to take lessons (from different instructors) to continue building techniques that you pick up from different sources.

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Reply #3 from Demigod Forums Top

nice, im learning the guitar aswell, HOW FUN IS IT!

anyways ive learnt all the chords, and yes bar chords, particularly F was the hardest.

when you play normal chords you should notice the palm of your hand is at the back of the neck of the guitar. when you play a bar chord you need to make sure your palm is infront of the guitar(the strings side or under it).

its hard to explain but yea..

picks arent to hard to get used too, you just need to hold them lightly and angle them when struming.

practise makes perfect. hope that helps ;)

Reply #4 from Elemental Forums Top

Calluses will fade eventually.
End of quote

Oh, thats a lie.  They just spread out enough to merge seemlessly with your non-callused flesh.  My fingers are still a bit tough from my days of heavy bass guitar playing.

It just will stop LOOKING like they have Calluses, and won't hurt.  But they will have thick calluses on them that will let you play the guitar with no pain.  I'll be able to feel it (or not, because they will grow knum, but other people will), just not see it.

It goes like this...  you build a Calluse, it peels off... you start playing with the edges of the tender area, so you start building a callus on the side of the tender spot, but then the tender spot heals and you start playing on it again.  However, now the skin around it is too callused to let it peel off, so you're result is a huge indistructable self-supporting calluss on your finger that refuses to peel and is impervious to even the smallest of metal strings (or needles, according to marge simpson O.o)

Reply #5 from Elemental Forums Top

you should be able to use both picks and fingers to play the strings since in some occasion a pick is highly reccomended, while for other songs you can't use picks(e.g if you need to play 6th 3rd and 2nd string togheter and occasions like that).

In particular it's important to know how to pick strings with all fingers because its very useful and also a bit cool :)

It's just a matter of knowing another method for picking strings, it's ok you use the one you prefer when you can choose, but i reccomend you to learn how to use both, some pieces are very hard to be played with just one method

Reply #6 from Demigod Forums Top

THAT DAMN F CHORD! (I ended up cheating and using a different finger setup that isn't a bar chord.)

Yah bar codes still wtf-own my hand and make me feel crippled.

Thanks for the Callus info!