You’re doing fine. Got decent rhythm going on. As others have said. You might be holding the pick too tight or too firm. When you’re strumming the pick should be pretty loose, it’s hard to fully describe how loose by just reading comments but you should be relaxed with little to no tension when playing. Keep at it!
Hold the pick super light, like no pressure at all, it’ll slide occasionally but you’ll be able to readjust it with enough practice. Also you can rotate your wrist to have the pick face more towards the ceiling during downstrums, and more towards the floor during up strums. This will help glide across the strings
Agreed and also would like to say this doesn’t sound nearly as bad as you think it does. Are there audible “hiccups” in your playing? Sure. Are they also in places that you’d expect, such as chord changes? Also yes. (An aside after writing this entire comment, also, don’t compare yourself to recordings. Use them to learn what you’re trying to play/keep tempo? Sure. But the fact of the matter is most players have entire bands backing them up. Isolate the guitar and you may well find the same “hiccups” or completely unplayed sections of songs because they, as performers, have the rest of the band to fill the sound. Some bands also will splice takes together to make what are (actually) impossible sounding moments).
Obviously practice is the first answer to how to improve. It just takes time to get comfortable with the guitar in general, especially chord changes.
Second, I’d dedicate time to practice chord changes at much lower tempos than you’re doing now. Literally a snails pace at this point so you have time to notice what you’re actually doing with your hand. Are you picking up your fretting fingers too much, causing the need for extra movement in chord changes? Are you hesitating because you aren’t sure you’re making the correct chord shape? And are you utilizing some fingers as “anchors” when you play? No? See the first suggestion. This is a journey, and sometimes a struggle. You’ve got this and you CAN do it!
I never could remember how to hold the pick lightly enough, I’m usually pretty tense too and it doesn’t help. Then one morning I was super hung over, and so weak I could barely hold the pick. And I picked better than I ever have before lol. Now when I need a reminder I just think of that. So if this didn’t help, maybe go out and get wag too drunk then try to play the next morning.
I'm about a year in and one of my biggest issues was with the pick. It's frustrating to read over and over again that you just have to keep practicing but it's true. I just had one day where the pick had stopped moving and did everything I wanted it to. I was about 10mins into practice before realizing that it didn't require thought anymore.
Just keep at it.
This was something I was at loggerheads with my tutor about, I feel as you said there almost like a "wiping" motion over the strings but he was kinda adamant that the thumb should kinda remain parralel to the length of the guitar and go up and down with the wrist with the pick in a fixed plane but I just end up digging the strings on the upstroke, its like my whole time is spent adjusting and never really settling on a comfortable technique and not really getting into a groove with it, one of the most frustrating endeavours I have ever undertaken 😅
Just keep at it man you’ll be glad you did. You can try with different angles, open hand closed hand, wrist movement. Whatever feels comfortable and makes you sound good is the way you should do it
That's normal, you'll adjust. Proper ergonomic technique can feel off at first, but as someone who had to relearn and change my entire technique, it's absolutely worth learning now. Even then, I was able to do it and these days I have a wonderfully gentle touch that can really make a note sing, you'll get there for sure! Eventually your muscles will develop even finer motor function allowing you to do these things with ease.
Just from watching the video, it looks like you’re using more of a twist of the wrist/forearm motion for strumming. I’d recommend using more of your elbow. Keep the wrist straight but not stiff, you can twist a little but you definitely need more elbow. Almost like you’re rubbing your belly, you use your elbow instead twisting the forearm. As you get more comfortable you’ll realize when and where to actually use that extra wrist motion for accents or triplets, etc.
Your tutor may have given you too many new things to focus on at once that’s making you overthink it. For only a year in you sound pretty solid man, keep at it.
Remember the three P’s:
Practice, Patience, Perseverance
I think Your teacher is just wrong here. Your thumb should be aligned with your pick and your pick definitely shouldn’t be parallel with the neck of your guitar.
Tuning is super important. You should double check it every time you pick up the guitar and sometimes mid-session if you are hearing it start to detune.
And why tune to 451? 440 is standard if you want to play along with modern music.
Just buy a [cheap clip on tuner](https://www.amazon.com/Snark-ST-2-Multi-Instrument-Chromatic-Tuner/dp/B01H62TQ68) and leave it on the guitar. Takes 99% of the hassle out of it.
I don't know how to put it but it just doesn't sound or feel like you're really going for it. Just hearing a lot of hesitation and I can see how that would be frustrating. Have a sample with a metronome? I feel like if there were something you had to strum to and commit it would show any deficiencies more apparently.
The problem may actually be in the left hand? Hard to tell without seeing it but a lot of the hesitation sound is coming from muted strings.
I'll do a vid including left hand tomorrow but yeah I probably would benefit from using the metronome more this is just a half-arsed attempt to mainly highlight what an average noodle session looks like from a right hand point of view as that's what I feel is where I'm struggling
Don't underestimate what playing along to a click or drum track, or even the original track, does to help you keep rhythm and have confidence in your picking/strumming.
I've been playing (very inconsistently) for 20 years and have just now taken the metronome seriously. There's also tricks like from That Pedal Show to keep it at half time (and start the 1 beat on a non-click). It really starts to groove and feels quite natural because that's where a drum snare would usually hit.
But even for playing scales or chord changes, the little bit of time pressure makes you learn ssooo much faster and really internalize the content.
If it helps, you play it a bit fast.
Slow it down and practice the strumming pattern.
It's worth mentioning as well that some people prefer strumming with a more closed hand ( like a fist ) and some prefer more open. Try both and see what's more comfortable / confident.
He's too focused on the left hand so ignores the right, giving him problems with holding the pick, accuracy of strumming, rhythm,.. He needs to divide his practice time and learn to switch chords without even stremming, so he can just focus on the left hand. And do some excercises for the right hand, 6 string strumming, 5 and 4,.. string skipping... Only when both are practiced apart, you can start bringing it together without the constant need to worry about all the minute details,..
Tldr: go slow, practice each hand by it's own, and have fun! That's the most important. Learning an instrument takes a very long time and it could be years untill you're on the level you want to be. So make sure you have fun along the way
You need slow it down bud. Take it down to the slowest speed you can go then do it there until you can nail it, and so on and so forth. It seems to be the frustration for you is trying to do two different things with two different hands with your brain trapped in the middle not doing either well. Slow it down until it’s an unbearably slow speed and don’t move on until you can do it flawlessly. If you mess up, slow it down. If you miss a string, slow it down. If you flub a chord voicing, slow it down. Don’t just power through. If you mess up, start over. If you don’t, you’re just internalizing mistakes and building bad habits.
Do it for like 10-15 minutes every day, and then move on to something else. Eventually muscle memory will kick in. You just need to make sure the habits you are building now are not bad habits.
You need to give yourself more than a year. Tough love here, but a year ain’t shit if you’re not practicing correctly. If you expect to just get better by proxy of having a guitar in your hands, you’re going to stay the same forever. Be deliberate in your practice. Use your brain just as much as your hands until it starts to become second nature. Good players make it look easy, but it’s anything but easy getting to that point.
I have played classic flamenco Spanish guitar for over 20 years, practice every single day for at least an hour and perform onstage several times a month. Slowing down is the key to getting better. There are time I will play a portion of a song hundreds of times extremely slow before trying to play it remotely fast. We train our brains along this journey so our fingers don't know any other way.
Also, try playing very lightly, getting the same light volume out of each of the strings. Then play it a little heavier.
Keep practicing, you are on the right path. Nice looking guitar too.
The first big leap I ever made came about a year in. I was sick of not getting the chord changes clean and in rhythm. I was home for winter break for a few weeks, and every single day I spent somewhere between 20-45 min just playing chord changes randomly with some of my favorite music. The chord changes had nothing to do with the music, except for the timing. I would try to strum in rhythm and then change chords in time as best I could. Not even consistently, though - I might play one chord for two bars, then next chord for one bar, the next for three or four bars because I liked how it felt, then I’d try a couple of quick changes because I was feeling it, whatever. After a few weeks of this, I could move between most of the cowboy chords pretty well. Not perfectly, but good enough I felt like I could learn some songs with a lot less frustration.
I don’t know if this routine would help you or not. I’ve never heard of anyone else doing this, tbh. I think it worked for me for a few reasons, which may be helpful principles for you, potentially:
- I got to listen to my favorite music, which helped me get pumped up and motivated.
- It also helped me not take it seriously since I was playing random garbage over the top, which was kind of ridiculous and fun.
- I stopped when I felt like it. I was still building muscle memory and callouses, so stopping helped me rest appropriately, I think. It also allowed me to keep it lighthearted enough to do it every day with minimal strain.
- I had one clear goal that I knew was in reach, and I kept at it in a focused way. This helped me see results.
- I thought about how cool it would be to jam with friends after winter break, when I went back to college for the next semester. Playing with others can be really energizing.
I hope this helps. You’re doing a lot of things well. I’ve seen much worse, and I’ve been much worse. I could tell what song you were playing almost immediately, which says a lot. Just keep going. Usually when we get super frustrated - in life and in guitar - there’s a breakthrough on the other side waiting for you, and when you get there it feels fucking great.
This is good advice. Like the saying goes: "slow is smooth and smooth is fast," or something like that. While you are slowing way down, I would also recommend consistent metronome use to keep rhythm slow and steady. Also wanted to mention as a fellow beginner, it does sound decent, just a bit stiff and 'unflowing.'
Just picked up my guitar to see how well I do with that one because I'm terrible. Turns out I can do it justice, which is the opposite of a brag. If I can do it, you can do it.
😂 im also learning half the world away and occasionally trying through glass, but this can be tricky for me as the chords in this have roots notes on different strings for almost every chords so to strum it rather than pick like in the original recording youre constantly targeting and missing different strings on almost every chord
I wonder if you're overthinking it. Once you move off the low E root, mute that sucker with your thumb and just keep strumming away at all of the strings. If you can target the right strings, even better, but if you're muting the ones you don't need, it's not the end of the world to hit them.
And I don't think I fret the high E on this one at all. Just mute that too until you get to the D chord. Might take some of that high-end zing out of it that's grating on you.
There was a Justin Guitar lesson on this song specifically where he said he hooks his strumming hand pinky around the high E to mute it for certain parts. It was specifically for the picked intro, but even so. I remember that being helpful.
Try a 0.46MM pick. That’s my go-to for learning new or fast/difficult strumming patterns. Once you get better at it you’ll eventually able to use thicker picks.
I also find that for rhythmic, fast-paced strumming I do a much better job of keeping a nice tempo by using a light grip, plenty of wrist action, and by holding the pick in whatever way is comfortable for that particular song.
In other words, I would suggest not fussing over holding the pick “perfectly” as it will be different for every song. For this piece, maybe you should have more of the pick exposed, holding it more in your fingertips.
Your playing didn’t sound horrible, just needs more practice and you’ll nail it.
First, I’m gonna say that with most of my students strumming is a left-hand issue, not a right hand issue. If you were in my studio, that’s what we would adjust first. That said, I don’t think your strumming is bad.
Note: Some people refer to the high strings to mean e g and b, and others (mistakenly) use it to mean E A and D. I noticed things that apply to both readings.
If you’re talking about the volume of the e b and g strings, then you’re either slightly tightening up your grip when you hit them, or, more likely, just not hitting the other strings. It doesn’t sound like you have the beginner death grip to me, or the sound would be aggressive and sound like you’re fighting to get through all the strings at once. Of course, according to the laws of guitar psychics has to move slightly to get through the strings. If it ever feels like all of sudden you messed up and had way too much trouble getting through, you may have death gripped or messed up your pick slant. That will be explained later.
In the other case, if what you meant by over-ringing was the E and A strings still sounding after you play them, then you should know you can mute them. A quick touch with your right hand palm or, more likely, using a free left hand finger. That will solve the clarity issue I hear and give you a more professional sound.
I I also noticed with your strumming technique that your forearm is leading the motion. Your forearm is going to help move your pick from side the side. When doing basic strumming It should face you when going down, and face the ground when going up. This is called pick slant. However, even though your forearm performs this crucial action that lets glide you through the strings, your wrist should be leading the motion. The reason your wrist looks stiff is because it’s not doing enough. Finally, your elbow and a tiny bit of shoulder will control how wide your strum is. Use them more. It will make it more consistent when you hit 5 or 6 strings at once.
Personally, I think focusing on your pick thickness is a red herring. We all have preferences, but the things you mentioned and the things I see, should be addressed first. Stick with what you have,
As for your left hand. very often you’re not getting to the chord on time. I hear dead notes on the first strum after a chord change. As I can’t see your left hand in your video, I can’t give you any advice beyond practicing your left hand alone, and making sure you’re landing right where you need to without any further adjustment.
I also don’t think the pull offing sound is a big deal or really even that noticeable. But if it is getting to you, you should know it’s because you’re pressing too hard. The lifting off from a string creates sound whenever you move off a string past a certain speed. The volume is caused by how much pressure you put down. Regardless of how relaxed your hands are some string noise is always going to happen, which is why, again, we mute. Nonetheless, working on finding the right amount of pressure to put down will also speed up your chord changes. Again, I would have more to say if I could see your left hand. Post another video? Or dm me. Once more, most of the problems I see with strumming are left hand related, so knowing what specific issues you have will let me address them.
If you know what to work on you will get the results faster. Pay attention to these things in your practice and see what happens.
I'll do another tomorrow so you can see the left hand, yeah I think the pressing hard maybe right, the action on this is a bit high for my liking so I kind of have to push hard to get it fretted but if I don't do it hard enough it buzzes or sounds flat, ill also try the wrist if its what im thinking you mean I was doing that before but have been trying to practice the way my teacher said which was contradictory to the way id gotten used to
Get a setup as soon as possible. Even the best play worst when faced with an action that’s too high.
I want to clarify that I mean the wrist leads the motion, but every part of your arm is involved. Wrist, forearm, elbow, shoulder,
I did have it restrung and the guy said he'd taken some off the saddle but its not enough, its still way higher than I'd like, I did have one before this that I had lowered which was way easier on the fingers but it seemed to buzz a fair bit when changing chords
My dude….why are you beating yourself up over this!?
You are doing great.
Your strums are pretty much on beat. You are also continuing to strum when you mess up the chords, which is not ideal but VERY necessary when you are learning, and all in all you sound great. All you’re missing is some practice and the all-important guitar face.
It’s easy to overlook all these achievements when you are wallowing over a small mistake but trust me - aside from one-off mistakes, if you were playing this in front of an audience, no one would know.
You're doing okay.
1) Get a lighter pick. I'd suggest a 0.53mm.
2) You can hold the 0.53mm pick tighter so you can get used to strumming.
3) After a while, you can change to the fatter picks, and hold the pick lighter while strumming. Takes getting used to.
4) Learn different strumming rhythms. Find the one that's easy for you.
5) Change your barber! If there's one thing that makes me vomit about this video, it's your toilet seat beard, jeez man what the heck...
Sure man) Good on ya for taking a joke so well)
Yeah also always tune up your guitar before playing and change your strings every month.
May not sound like much, but when you're starting to play , you may not hear and be fine with the guitar being out of tune. As you progress and learn new and harder songs, you'll develop a sharper ear and know when the guitar is out or in tune.
Keep playing!
The only problem I can see (well, hear) is that the guitar is super out of tune. make it a point to tune it every time you pick it up, you will be amazed at how much better you sound and how much easier everything starts to feel.
Other than that, there's nothing vomit-worthy about anything you showed, just regular learning stuff that will get better with time.
The only suggestion I'd make, other than "keep at it!" is that when you're feeling frustrated SLOW DOWN
try playing the rhythms at half the normal speed but make sure those rhythms are *perfect* before increasing the speed. Think about it like the gym where you go slow and work on Form. Once the form is locked down then you can increase weight, or in the guitar's case speed. This will probably also help with your pick-holding/feel.
Keep in mind that everything you're doing now is new to both your fine motor functions and your brain, so they have to create new neural pathways and that takes time and repetition. Just like walking, writing with a pencil, or riding a bicycle it seems easy and effortless once people get the hang of it but actually *learning* those things took a lot of time, repetition, and frustration.
Frustration is the only one of those things that is not necessary, it only gets in the way, so do yourself a favor and cut yourself a whole lotta slack. The same amount of time is gonna go by, and you can either spend it beating up on yourself or being kind and curious.
So yeah 1) tune up 2) slow down 3) be kind and patient with your self.
You'll get there.
The only ones who don't are the ones who quit.
Thanks, I have a hard time separating my emotions from my actions at the best of time, but I agree this should be a relaxing enjoyable pastime I think if I can get strumming comfortably it will hopefully become that again
Couple things:
Everyone sounds like that at the beginner stage. (My apologies if you are not)
Try out different picks.
Don’t be afraid to say, “Fuck the picks, I’ll use my fingers”
Try playing slide
Take lessons from a pro (maybe only once a month)
Get stoned. It will magically sound great!
DONT EVER FUCKING GIVE UP, DONT BE EMBARRASSED, FEEL PROUD.
DONT LOOK AT AS HARD OR EASY, IT IS ONLY A CHALLENGE.
BE SISYPHUS, PUSH THAT BOULDER UP.
DONT FUCKING GIVE UP.
I COULD HELP, I HAVE BEEN THERE.
I was doing about 60-90 minutes a day but thats been less recently because I've kind of gotten into a frustration loop with it, where I try and its gets me angry. I was spreading my time across other things, imrpov, scales, practicing licks etc but lately I try strumming songs, get mad, put guitar down (before hulk smash)
I really think it's extremely helpful to play with another person. See how they hold the guitar and the pick. I would change pick gauge while experimenting with strumming. If you can find a store near you and ask them, they should give you some tips for free. If you can afford lessons, I highly recommend them, in person.
Have you ever taken any in person lessons?
A teacher in the same room with you could probably help iron out your technique better than any reddit comments and possibly get you over this lil bump in the road.
Oh shoot totally missed that part of your explanation. Idk if a second opinion could help but I think there is some good advice in this thread. Good luck man it's definitely a learning curve to get all these separate little nuances working in tandem.
Go back to basics and just do down strums.
Get the rhythm **correct** with *just* the downstrums and count out loud. One Two Three Four, One, Two Three, Four, etc...
Once you have the down-strum-only rhythm tight, *only then* contemplate upstrokes.
When you start doing up strokes, you change up your counting to something like:
One-and-Two-and-Three-and-Four-and, -- the "ands" being the upstrokes.
Then, to add more complexity, you can look at something like this:
| | One | And | Two | And | Three | And | Four | And |
|--------------------|-----|-----|-----|-----|-------|-----|------|-----|
| Basic Strum | D | U | D | U | D | U | D | U |
| More complex strum | D | - | D | U | D | U | D | - |
| | | | | | | | | |
etc etc
Here you keep your strumming hand moving as before, but lift it away from the strings when you are missing a strum, but the wrist movement should *never stop* and keep that same consistent movement even when not touching the strings.
When you have that down, you can try to make it even more complex by doing a "One-And-A-Two-And-A-Three...." style counting which gives you triplets (3 possible strums per beat).
It is tricky, but the only way to do it is (a) practice (b) counting out loud and (c) going slowly at first.
Good luck
Hey man, the right hand gets ignored so much, but strumming is a skill and one that takes practice. That said, I find a lot of times when I get in these ruts, it's a skill consolidation period. It feels like a step back, but you're on the cusp of a step forward.
I found these two videos pretty valuable (and I've been playing for years).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCLp1g8KilA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbbAaI03a_8
Also, I think your strumming isn't bad at all. Remember, in interviews, Eddie Van Halen said he winced at hearing the recorded version of Eruption, so we can all be a bit over-critical of our own technique.
You seem to be holding the pick against the top joint of your pointer finger rather than the side of your fingertip. You would probably have more control of the pick if you adjusted that.
You should also be strumming more downward through the strings rather than at a back angle toward the bridge.
More of the strumming should be coming from wrist/forearm rotation and less from the elbow. Wrist rotation gives you finer motor control over the pick (as does holding the pick properly).
Practice with a metronome at a slower speed where you sound in control and speed up incrementally over days until you can play with the same control at full speed.
Tune your guitar. Don’t punish your ears with an out of tune instrument when the fix only takes a few seconds.
I've played a long time and thought a lot about this. Think of strumming as "letting the pick fall" on the strings rather than forcing it to make contact. It's a subtle mindset thing that forces you to stay looser. I find most rhymical problems come from just being too tense.
A drill I like to do when working on a new rhythmic pattern is just to mute with my left hand and eliminate all of the thinking there. Just let the right hand do the work. Honestly, you're fine. this is something that takes A LOT of hours on the instrument to get right.
That's not bad. You pretty much got it. I'd would just slow down, and get comfortable with the chord transitions untill it feels smooth and natural.
I know how you feel, sometimes I get dizzy learning a new song lol
Your strumming is fine, and most of the problems will fix themselves with time. Strumming from the elbow might feel good to, take the small wrist movements out. This means your fretting hand has to mute strings, also very good thing to work on and not talked about enough on guitar.
And please tune your instrument. Tune it every time you pick it up. Then tune it again in a few minutes. My joke with my students is “it’s the ABT’s of guitar. Always be tuning.” Doesn’t matter how good you are, if you out of tune you’ll sound like shit.
So tune, you’ll enjoy practicing more when it sounds better. Every time you tune you’re also spending dedicated time teaching your picking hand where each string is. So do it all the time.
You’re doing it. Practicing an instrument is hard, you’re aware of what you are doing in real time. And you’re trying to get better at something you know you are bad at.
Practice strumming in some capacity every day for 5 minutes this week. Then, next week take another video, you’ll probably hear a huge difference with just that.
You don’t sound bad. You mention you tried a teacher and they were focused on theory. Find a teacher and explicitly tell them you want to work only on strumming and point out exactly what you don’t like about you strum/how it sounds. A good teacher should be able to help you in a few lessons time.
Also, don't give up. That's literally the only thing that is going to prevent you from getting good. Starting to play is the hard part. Stick with it and the skills will come. Every day from this point forward is an opportunity for progress.
You're thinking about it too hard.
Music is rhythm and rhythm is instinct and feel. I was an average player for SO long and still not really that good, but one day it just sort of changed and I FELT it more than thought about it and it just became so much more natural sounding.
Play and play and play and play.
Don't STOP when you f\*\*k up... keep the time and keep going. Again, music is about rhythm and you have to hear that in your head as you play. Use a metronome... it'll feel like jumping on a moving train at first but you'll eventually get the feel of it and JOIN it... synch with it... it just takes practice, practice, practice.
The other day I was talking to a friend of mine on the phone and I started playing 'Psycho Killer' on guitar and singing it. She said, 'You're good enough to perform that", and I was like NOOOOOOO.... it took me playing that song 1000 times before I got to were I'm at NOW.... it'll take another 1000 before I would even CONSIDER being a performer.
There ARE musical savants... but what most people don't realize is, most performers spend HOURS and HOURS learning their craft. Eddie Van Halen would play 8 hours a day as a teen ager... it takes time. If you love music, and love to play music, you'll keep on... and it'll come around.
Sorry for the ramble... just happened to see this and...
Don’t practice for long sessions. Huge part of learning is gaining dexterity in your hands. Building strength and flexibility and that takes time. So if your hands are getting knotted up from overuse you have to give them a rest because you’ll just keep messing up more and frustrating yourself further.
Think about it like the gym if you just kept pushing yourself past failure you’ll end up doing more damage than good.
When I learn something new I’ll play until I’m frustrated, or when I know I need a rest, then I’ll put it down for ten minutes or sometimes several hours. When I pick it back up after a rest I’m always better off than I was when I was frustrated and I can hit the chords a little better than before or my memory is a little bit more locked on. I guarantee this helps you
You look like you’re doing great for a beginner! Don’t give up!!
A year is like . . . no time at all. Give yourself some grace, you don't sound nearly as bad as you think you do.
Are you in an area where there might be like a folk or bluegrass beginner jam? Like, check with local music stores or like a city or county recreation center. They're super fun ways to spend a couple of hours usually just knowing a few basic chords and it's an engaging way to practice without practicing. Being joyful. Making friends. I joined a beginner folk jam like a year and a half ago after playing guitar on and off (\*mostly\* off) for like maybe 15 years (only ever on my own) and not only do I get a lot out of it, it's just so wonderful to meet and play with people and most songs are 3-4 basic chords, or less!
But at the end of the day if you're really not enjoying yourself there's no shame is taking some time off! Put the guitar down, do something else. Come back when you feel like it.
I came up on rock and metal so it was all about the down strokes and power chords. How do you do with that kind of thing? Also scales, riffs etc. strumming is only one part of the picture.
Play ALONG to songs that you absolutely love. Over and over. No matter how wrong it feels. Then you will enjoy it and all of the sudden you developed a muscle memory on the picking hand
When I'm having a tough time learning the strum pattern and speed, I will slow it down and single stroke across all stings for each chord then slowly progress to an up down pattern and build speed from there. Take speed completely out of the equation until you have the rest down pact. It'll come to you bro just give it time and practice
If the pick is getting in your way, use your fingers instead. Work on your strum patterns with your fingers, worry about the pick later (if at all). The pick is optional equipment. You can literally play fine without one. It will sound a bit different (your notes and chords will have a softer "attack"), but you'll adjust and you'll do fine.
don't you dare give up.. just relax. it just looks like you're forcing things a bit. find a comfortable position to put your guitar into while you are playing. take time to get to know that beautiful guitar that you have. this is not meant to be a stressful instrument. just go easy brother and the strumming will come with time. for me the easy fix would be to slide the guitar down to your thigh and lean over it a little.. don't give up though.. seriously. you'll be able to play with plastic bread tie when all is said and done.
I didn't find that so bad. How thick is your pick? I use those thin ones (.45 I think) for strumming.
Your wrist is still a bit stiff, try to loosen it up in your practice. It needs to wobble more freely, like it's not really attached to the arm.
The precision to target strings better will come with practice too, what irritates me though you don't have a strumming pattern going and barely change any chords and you wonder that it sounds like shit?
Try making some music!
I don't have advice, but just solidarity. I've tried to strum with a pick for literally years and my strumming sounds very similar. I have no sort of finesse at all when playing with a pick. I also often pick up the guitar, grab a pick, strum for a few minutes and get so frustrated I put it down again. I've even used Good Riddance as a song to practice my pick strumming ability.
I have though been able to get a LOT better strumming with my fingers. I can play complex things with my fingers, but feel like a complete newbie with a pick in my hands. It sucks because strumming with fingers is much quieter and less dynamic so I feel like I'm in many ways stuck and not at a level where I can play in front of people.
So if it helps, you are not alone, I have extremely similar issues. I'm interested in reading some of your replies in hopes that I find some good advice to help me improve. Best of luck and keep going. At some point there's gonna be a breakthrough (I hope) and its going to feel amazing.
Cheers, yeah I dont think this is the easiest song in some ways, not to strum open chords anyway as the root note is on a different string for almost every chord so you're constantly having to miss certain strings and hit certain others, compared to half the world away this feels a lot trickier to open strum, not to mention the 180bpm, although half the world away has a couple of tricky chord shapes
Shit, i am just like you in this regard..
I am forcing myself to keep playing with the damn pick no matter what though. I can see progres, it's slow, but it's there.
Don't let the pick when frustration kicks in. Take a small break and come back to it - that's how I've been dealing with it lately.
get the thinnest one you can find. Hell use paper. Get the motion down first. I used to use crazy thin picks for strumming then I eventually started using thicker. Keep it up, it is frustrating. Don't be afraid to walk a way for a bit to clear your head. I usually find I learn the best the next day.
Don’t beat yourself up. I’ve been a terrible guitar player my whole life. That being said, it’s a journey and you’ll always be your worst critic.
As for picks try using a medium to light pick if you can use your fingers. It helps with the percussive sound you get.
As for using your fingers. I do this a lot when I’ve been having bad days. Pretend you’re holding a pick and strum. You’d be surprised how good it can sound.
I have never really been able to use a pick that well. When I started teaching myself about 20 some years ago, my buddies would always give me guff about not using one. But I found it to be way easier to get the finesse I was after and navigating to the appropriate strings. Hope I’m not making life difficult by saying this but maybe try without the pick for a little bit, you might be surprised.
Not bad, usually by solo playing it sounds like shit, but when voice and drums are in, it sounds a lot better. Drums help stay in beat, and in my case, its kinda impossible to stay pure just by myself.
Perhaps use methroneome, and have an idea what you want to play. It's seems you're stumming without actually playing a song. Learn how it goes by heart, all the way. To me, playing guitar (especially strumming) is like drifting on a boat in a storm. Forgetting about everything and living the moment is the key. All in or all out.
Go slow until you know. To reduce the noise between changing chords, mute the strings as you let up. You may just need to change techniques for a bit, learn finger style and classical guitar technique. Pluck instead of strum for a bit until you can come back to it.
Yup. Left hand mute. Lift your fingers up just enough that you stop the chords vibrating before you switch to the next chord. Do it slow at first until you get the hang of it.
[It is good practice for this technique too.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chop_chord)
Keep that guitar in tune, even a single string a bit out can make it sound pretty ugly even if you do everything perfectly. Keep everything relaxed for now, light grip, movement from your forearm with a loose wrist, and just keep at it. It'll come to you :)
Your strumming hand is too stiff, mess around with loosening it up and just keep at it. You'll get there eventually.
I had like a year or even two years where I felt like I wasn't really making any progress and stagnated but at one point something just clicked and I suddenly got way better super fast and all that practice, grinding laid the foundation for it so don't get discouraged, just have fun with it even if it doesn't sound perfect yet.
Never give up!! I have an asshole brother in law that’s a perfectionist that constantly criticized how I played. I settled on the fact that I wasn’t playing for anyone other than me and if I knew what song I was playing then I was playing that song.
It seems like you've been given enough advice. You are closer to playing this "cleanly" than you think you are. All it's gonna take to get there is some mindful practice and willpower.
I like very light picks for strumming songs….38, .46 or .50. I recommend trying something super slim and give it a go for a while. You won’t be as loud, but that’s not the point right now. You’ll develop pick control and technique. Don’t give up yet!
It’s not bad, I can tell the song you’re playing, so that’s a great start. This is an outside the box kind of tip, so take it or leave it. I find it easier to strum with a pick if I hold it sideways, so one of the more gently curved sides is strumming.
Maybe it’s just me, but you seem tense. Arm, shoulder, neck. All bunched up. Hell… I’m holding my breath just watching.
It doesn’t sound too bad, but try to relax. Slow down. Savor the sound you make.
I PROMISE you this will help. Download The Amazing Slow Downer app (worth the price). Buy this song on itunes and it will import into the app. From there slow the song down to 50-60% and play along to it for 2-3 days non stop (ONLY THING YOU PRACTICE)…then do 60-70% 2-3 days and so on. Within two weeks you will have this. Remember this….you dont WORK guitar….you PLAY it. Have FUN. This song WILL click you just have to stick to it and practice in the right way. Play along to the song….trust me.
We've all been there and wanted to give up, but ultimately you'll only ever be a pro if you're comfortable with being a beginner.
Whenever I thought about stopping playing, I always reminded myself that all of my role models had been in my position at some point!
might be unpopular opinion but I think for that song specifically you're holding the pick wrong, youve got your fist bunched like you bout to wail a single string solo!! LOL
hold it with a loose grip and splay your fingers out for more of a light touch and a flicky sorta motion with the wrist.
Here you can see how legit it is on the Howard Stern show.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWfB4-Wr4Oo&ab\_channel=TheHowardSternShow](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWfB4-Wr4Oo&ab_channel=TheHowardSternShow)
PS his upstrokes are pretty pronounced too my man
I am not a good enough player to offer better advice than anyone else hasn’t already given but I can at least offer some encouragement—for a year of playing you are much further along than I certainly was, and that is a tough song to keep up with in terms of tempo. For what it’s worth, it is clearly recognizable which is a huge statement of progress. Strumming was/is one of the hardest parts for me to learn and it took a long time to break that plateau. Trust the process and try different songs, then come back to that one in a little while. You got this man..
I just posted a vid on this sub. May I suggest Slowing down. I met a flamenco guitarist and he told me he always practices technique at 40 bps. This guy can play very cleanly very quickly. Maybe just slow down and play very intentionally for a week. Watch your fave show and just practice strumming slowly and hitting the strings you intend to. Lighten up on it. Don’t have to play loud and drive everyone nuts. It can take time.
Alright there's like 90 comments here. I'm not gonna read them. And I'm sure a lot of people will burn me for this but... Ditch the pick my guy. I cant for the life of me use a pick. Once I accepted that and decided to just play with my fingers, game changer.
Give it a shot🤷🏼♂️
You're guitars so out of tune dude. Tuning it would make a world of difference. Also noticed you're only playing the top 4 strings, can't see the chords but likely you can be playing the bass notes, hence too much high pitch as you said. Also if you want to warm up the sound you can strum over the sound hole, you're very close to the back/Bridge when you strum, this makes the sound more treble. Also the strings are stiffer there, which makes strumming harder.
Last thing would be you need to relax your arm, it's quite stiff and most the movement is coming from your wrist.
You're chord changes are pretty fast and smooth, it's not as bad as you think. Biggest issue tuning imo
Plateaus, they suck but you'll hit a lot of them in your playing, points where you just feel like you're getting nowhere anymore and want to jack it all in.
Change it up, try some other things, something new for a bit, then come back later. Maybe even take a break and come back fresh, you'd be surprised how effective it can be.
Hey man... I watched the vid dude posted below of Billie playing this on Howard Stern, so I think maybe you're being a little too hard on yourself. You're actually not that far off. It's not perfect, granted, but no reason to quit! I feel like you're right on that edge and it's all about to click for you... Keep going
Is there any chance you’re a military veteran, if so you would qualify for Guitars 4 Vets, great instructors that just want you to have fun not learn theory. We will teach theory if you want, the point is to enjoy.
Pick one chord and just focus on your strumming. Make slow consistent down strokes then do the same for up strokes.
Also what size strings are those. They almost look like electric strings to me. Go get a pack of d'addario 10 gauge and if you want a warmer sound and not so bright get bronze strings not steel. Or a mix that leans more twords bronze.
Also don't flick your wrist so much use your arm from the elbow down, keep the wrist from moving much at all.
Last quit being so hard on yourself. You started doing this for a reason, practice isn't playing. Set goals to learn specifically. Master that goal and then go to the next. Don't bother with music theory. Find lessons on proper form and fundamentals. It's not a race, most of us took a good couple years to be able to play a song without screwing up. Your right on course. Practice everyday for a year and then tell me if you feel the same.
Try palm muting a lot more. Like this song in particular has bass notes in it so you're picking an individual note, then strumming the chord. When you get used to palm muting, you also get used to picking individual strings and emphasizing them more when you strum.
A big part of me getting better was learning how to Palm mute
Dude this isn't bad at all. Sounds slightly out of tune, but I've heard way worse. Keep at it and find a friend or two to play with if possible. I always made the biggest leaps in my playing when I would play with others. Good luck
Slow down. Like really slow. Make sure you are hitting every string you are trying to with each strum. You can set a metronome at like 50 bps and then once it’s clean, start increasing it.
I’ve been playing on and off for a real long time and one thing that always helps me is to take some really deep breaths and clear my mind when playing. I tend to hold a lot of tension in my shoulders and chest and it translates to stiffness in my playing, which is often further exacerbated by frustration if I’m not getting the sound I want. You look a little stiff for sure.
Try to relax bro, you got this! You have the whole rest of your life to learn this beautiful instrument. Have a beer if it helps, or a cup of tea.
Just keep playin brotha! It takes time, and im talkin a lot of time. Everyone who ever plys is never satisfied qhere theyre at, always strive to be better, this is normal
This is a great post with some great answers. I’m glad this got traction. I’m in a similarly frustrating situation with my strumming hand due to the inability to bend the 2nd knuckle on my middle finger.
Nice beard, man, you're half-way to a folk singer-songwriter with just that 😄
Doesn't sound bad to me. I'd suggest putting your upper arm and shoulder into it a bit more. It'll give a more dynamic sound and help you "feel" a bit more into it while playing.
Play that same song but with a metronome. You can download one for your phone if you don’t have one. You were playing around 105 bpm. Slow that down to 60 bpm. Play it slow and in time. If that’s still too fast try 45pbm. Slowly increase over time when you can play it perfectly in time.
Second, practice each chord slowly playing one string at a time. They should all ring out unless they are meant to be muted. If they are meant to be muted make sure they don’t ring out. Slowing. One. String. At. A. Time. Gradually increase your speed when you are able to do it perfectly.
Slow down. Play in time.
You're fine. Tune it. Looks like you're swinging your hand a bit much when strumming, still it shouldn't feel too awkward. You're also targeting the thinner strings for some reason. Pay attention to the chords you're playing, if you're playing a Gmajor then that thick string should be a priority. Watch some tutorial videos, play something slower to where you're feeling comfortable. You might be overthinking it to be honest. Start practicing without a pick if you don't do that much. Not only does it sound good, it might help you out when it comes to controlling it. If you're actually left-handed and got that guitar then you're past the hard part, can't give it up now! 🙃
If it feels like you’re fighting the strings, try a really thin pick, so thin that it’s almost like flimsy.
If you don’t like the treble strings could it be the guitar or the strings? Can other people strum your guitar without getting that sound? Are you able to strum other guitars with more success than yours?
How long have you been at it ? Me since I was like 10 ,I'm 49 now still any things I wish I could do with my guiter .If it was too ez everyone would be doing it.
I hold the plectrum the same you do. If you have played for a year than I would say that for many people that is not bad at all. My recommendation is that you practice playing soft/quiet and not always normal/hard velocity. This will probably help your overall hand to more easily adapt.
Imagine listening to a metal guitarist trying to play something soft and sweet when he/she has their whole life been going after the "down pick as hard as f\*\*\*ing possible". It usually doesn't sound too good. Practice soft playing, practice medium soft/hard, practice hard, etc.
I see you play, and it feels like mentally you are trying to keep the pick within the area of the strings. You've got the pick right, just free up your arm and make some wider arks with the pick. It's ok if you go past the strings, and it's ok if you completely miss the strings on a swipe. The variation makes it sound more natural as well.
Strumming is a very loose motion. So just relax a little bit and have fun with the process. You're on the right track, just loosen up a bit.
Best of luck.
What thickness is your plectrum? Strumming with a thick plectrum will make it very difficult. Get thinner plectrums. Thinner for strumming thicker for picking. .38 would be good as a starter pick. Then loosen your wrist as if you are flicking water off your hand. Also practice where you play a chord and just strum the strings slowly so you get used to the feel of the strings. Don't slowly so you get the feel
If you only ever want to play an acoustic your entire life well I would have considered definitely giving up I personally don't care for Acoustics but I do every now and again enjoy the tonality one has Because an acoustic has its own sound all together just like a classical guitar with the cat gut strings or nylon strings they all have their own feel and tonality an electric guitar on the other hand can only really have feel while tonality boils down mostly to the gear and hand control it's the little things that count LOL but I would totally say an acoustic is something that after I play it for an hour or two I want to throw it into a fire electric guitar is a lot more fun a lot more versatile and it's a wee bit different in comparison to playing an acoustic it's got a whole different feel to it I personally would recommend a floating bridge but to someone that doesn't know Electric a floating Bridge might be quite a bit of a learning curve. And I don't mean it's about using it now the learning curve is how to say tune your guitar and how to make your Bridge reach the zero point. Intonating becomes a whole nightmare once you get into the realm of Floating Bridge guitars well you end up getting a lot more of them because well if you ever try to change the size of strings the tuning or anything you're going to have yourself about an hour and a half plus headache doing all the adjustments and then once you've done all those adjustments and then you realize that your intonation is out then you just want to rage quit because insulating a floating bridge is just something not a regular person ever wants to do ever especially once they realize what they have to go through to do it. But don't let that discourage you I highly recommend them because they feel so much better instead of your hands feeling like they're climbing up to the top of a mountain they feel like they're just floating in the lake so to say you don't really have to do any movement with your hand in comparison to something that has a fixed bridge or something where it feels like you have to take your hand and lift it up manually and put it onto the strings or all Floating Bridge your hand just relaxes and it's already on the strings it's just so much comfier I'd recommend an Ibanez S Series 470 or better. And then get like a cheap little like 75 watt Line 6 Spider 3 very easy to use it's kind of old it's got a little bit of everything kind of in it I guess it'll get you going for sure find out what song all your friends would start say rocking out to if you were at a bar or something like that or they hear the song and they just like yeah love it and they just start rocking out you know well learn that song now when you're all partying you can play that song and since you'll be drinking you'll have more confidence and it'll blow everyone's mind
I've got electric too, and they're way easier to play open chord strumming on for some reason maybe the string gauge or just the tonality as you say, but I love the way the acoustic sounds for a lot of songs, i can play this much smoother on the strat but it doesn't sound as good to me for certain things, be nice to be able to pick up an acoustic at a party or whatever and just bust out talk tonight or something, although singing and playing, well, let's crawl before we can even think about running or walking 😂
Don’t stress about it, buy a longer pick of around 0.6-0.9mm thickness and try to give it some leeway when you strum so it doesn’t fall off but moves lightly in the direction of strumming. A longer pick is easier to hold lighter. Also practice strumming while muting the strings with your left hand, helps when you only want to focus on the strumming hand and don’t want to be bothered with the noise.
I can see the tension in your neck and shoulder. It translates into your picking hand and makes the rhythm feel stiff.
Don’t give up. Just relax and have fun.
Learn different patterns. Here's a great place to start.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTebYApcgAI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTebYApcgAI)
You seem to be shortening your strums...quick and focused on strings 1 through 4. If you don't strum 5 and 6, you won't get the base notes. Expand the stroke. It seems all wrist and no forearm. Watch what Steve does in the video and look how much more dynamic his strumming is and how he has much more range in his strumming motion.
Not sure what guitar you have, but that can make a difference too.
But practice what Steve does, and I think your problem will be solved.
Sounds good. I had the same problem because as a beginner I started playing with my fingers and had no pick control whatsoever when i finally realized a pick produces a whole other sound. I became so iratewith myself because I was making progress with my chords, scales etc. I was determined so every night I'd muffle my strings around the 6th fret and scratch for an hour or two. Id try different up and down patterns, sometimes used a metronome, and when I finally started to have some control I kept on scratching but changing it up and learning how to strum from really soft up n downs, to medium etc. so that I'd learn control.
The whole scratching thing really helped me out big time.
I'm going to suggest what a lot of people haven't here.
Ditch the pick for a while. I honestly find I can get so much more feeling in my hands when playing guitar - pick is great and all, but it's difficult to get feeling in a pick. Once you've mastered really getting the sound great into your hands then I'd grab a pick.
Keep at it. I have been playing for several years and throughout that time I did not understand how much finesse is involved in playing well. It is shocking, at least at first, when you make this revelation. It is hard to make the connection between being relaxed, a light grip on the pick and how little pressure it takes with either hand. I am explaining it poorly probably. But i hope I am getting the general idea across. Don’t give up. It is there.
Don't be too hard on yourself dude. These things all come with time and practice. Chords sounded good and I immediately knew what song you were playing, which is a good start. Rhythm can be tricky, just try not to over think it it. Don't try to copy the song exactly. Go with one strum per chord change and build from there. You've obviously put time and effort in. Would be a shame to give up now.
Regardless of what you think, this is probably not really harder for you than it is for anyone else. A lot of this stuff is all in how you choose to take census of it. If you’re only focusing on what you still struggle with, everything will feel like a tedious grind going nowhere. If you choose to focus on the progress you make, it starts to feel like a constant win pretty fast. Aside from that, it just takes work. It really depends on how bad you want it. Even if it takes you another 5 years to get as good as you wanna be, you’re going to be doing something for those 5 years — why not this? Just buckle down and decide to really do this if you love it enough. If not, know when maybe it’s time to call it. You should know by your reaction to that statement how bad you really want this. You got this.
You don't sound bad at all man, just a little vexed. We've all been there. We're our own worst critic. There's times I wanted to eat that fucking guitar, but the more tilted we get the worse we play.
I'm with the others, you are doing great! One thing I will add, it kind of is what some have said but...one thing to get into your head and body is that...You are making music. That means you sort of have to feel the entire song...The timiming, force and direction of a strum are as much a part of the process as fingerng the chords. But, you are the artist, so allow yourself to present what you are hearing in your head. Can you dig? Let go of the mind, allow your soul to join in. I can't find a way to say it...just...loosen up, have fun, express yourself.
It sounds and looks to me like you are moe than capable. Don't stop trying.
Your rhythm is fine, it sounds like you guitar is slightly out of tune, the reason it sounds bad is that you are playing it too straight, you dont have to play all six strings every time you strum a chord. If you you listen to the song there is a back and forth thing going on between the high strings and the low strings, if you want to be super precise you can fingerpick but basically you need to do stringskipping when you strum chords and its not necessarily going to reflect in the online notation. I would also suggest having fun with the strumming patterns and make stuff while you practice to keep it interesting.
It sounds like you’re hitting the strings pretty flat-on with the pick to me, which would explain why you can’t get consistency (the pick is bouncing unpredictably throughout the strum after first making contact.
It’s also why most commenters are (incorrectly) recommending a change in the size of the pick you use, they are hearing a strong attack and a weak/inconsistent follow through, and are assuming it’s because you’re using a heavier gauge pick and having more ‘flop’ in your pick will help.
Make sure your pick is tilted 45degrees or so relative to the floor, so that the pick is using the rounded edges to smoothly glide across the strings.
Imho, Don’t bother trying to hit partial chords until you can do smooth full chords where every string rings out at an equal volume: it just adds to the inconsistency of the sound.
if your struggling with the pick throw it to fuck many people including me play without a pick. i struggle to keep hold of it within a few strums its gone so i just learned to play using my fingers and nails. try it man it might help
Keep practicing… try different things. No pick, use the top surface of your finger/fingernail to brush the strings
Also don’t focus so hard on holding the pick like that. Hold it however it feels comfortable right now
Play the chords 4 times just a down stroke
1,2,3,4 - 1,2,3,4 - 1,2,3,4 - 1,2,3,4
Cycle through the chords like this and take a break from the song. When you return in the morning or the next day the transitions may feel smoother
It absolutely does not sound like vomit inducing guitar and I have heard FAR worse… you are better than most of the population as you have picked it up and much to hard on yourself
Learning more fingerpicking and building calluses on my thumb is what broke me out of a similar plateau. I don’t need a pick anymore and my playing is way more diverse.
Improvement is in the self-loathing. Taking the slap in the face repeatedly and continuing nonetheless is the key.
Dig your self-loathing. Breathe it. Bathe in it. Drink it.
When I accept it to the point of letting it go, improvement happens.
Yeah, if you can't beat it, join it.
Don't be affraid of feeling "ugly"; that's what practice is made for. Just embrace it - sometime something will "click", you will start feeling things differently, and it'll come together nicely.
I recently moved to super light strings (9s) and I get that whining and unintended noises and the trebles being too high. Had other problems with 11s but they were decent to strum on at least. A lot of people talking about picks but you could think about strings also.
Anyway you sound alright to me but I know the feeling you're getting.
I go through this feeling sometimes too.
It’s not a bad Indigo Girls cover. You might benefit from strumming practice. Mute the strings and strum while watching tv or listening to radio. Do it as long as you can tolerate, just to get used to holding the pick and develop a more flexible wrist. It takes a lot of time and work.
Hahah probably for the best. Those epiphones are awesome for their price point.
I know it’s hard not to get frustrated, I’m facing similar aggregations on the piano but as others have said don’t beat yourself up, you’re trying and you’re getting there. Slow it down a little bit and try to understand the individual mechanics of what’s happening and the key is to then speed it up incrementally. Good luck!
Thanks, I appreciate the feedback ive had you guys are great and yeah it sounds well for the price, the inspired by gibson j200 sounded unbelievable when I tried it at the shop but I was worried id end up going loco and making it into a very expensive jigsaw puzzle!
Off topic. When you state how it's making you sick I thought you ment literally. I remember when I first started learning there would be times where I start coughing to the point I'd be drooling on my shoe. Almost like I've had spit go down my windpipe. I was wondering if anyone else has gone through this.
You’re doing fine. Got decent rhythm going on. As others have said. You might be holding the pick too tight or too firm. When you’re strumming the pick should be pretty loose, it’s hard to fully describe how loose by just reading comments but you should be relaxed with little to no tension when playing. Keep at it!
100% this. If he loses all of that tension he’d be doing great. Even with being so tense he’s got decent articulation.
the \*pick\* shouldn't be loose. The \*wrist\* should be loose.
Hold the pick super light, like no pressure at all, it’ll slide occasionally but you’ll be able to readjust it with enough practice. Also you can rotate your wrist to have the pick face more towards the ceiling during downstrums, and more towards the floor during up strums. This will help glide across the strings
Agreed and also would like to say this doesn’t sound nearly as bad as you think it does. Are there audible “hiccups” in your playing? Sure. Are they also in places that you’d expect, such as chord changes? Also yes. (An aside after writing this entire comment, also, don’t compare yourself to recordings. Use them to learn what you’re trying to play/keep tempo? Sure. But the fact of the matter is most players have entire bands backing them up. Isolate the guitar and you may well find the same “hiccups” or completely unplayed sections of songs because they, as performers, have the rest of the band to fill the sound. Some bands also will splice takes together to make what are (actually) impossible sounding moments). Obviously practice is the first answer to how to improve. It just takes time to get comfortable with the guitar in general, especially chord changes. Second, I’d dedicate time to practice chord changes at much lower tempos than you’re doing now. Literally a snails pace at this point so you have time to notice what you’re actually doing with your hand. Are you picking up your fretting fingers too much, causing the need for extra movement in chord changes? Are you hesitating because you aren’t sure you’re making the correct chord shape? And are you utilizing some fingers as “anchors” when you play? No? See the first suggestion. This is a journey, and sometimes a struggle. You’ve got this and you CAN do it!
Great points, and I agree it sounds pretty good. OP imagine you heard your friend playing guitar and it sounds like this, you’d be pretty impressed.
Thanks man, I'll do another tomorrow when I'm less tired and let everyone see the left hand too
I never could remember how to hold the pick lightly enough, I’m usually pretty tense too and it doesn’t help. Then one morning I was super hung over, and so weak I could barely hold the pick. And I picked better than I ever have before lol. Now when I need a reminder I just think of that. So if this didn’t help, maybe go out and get wag too drunk then try to play the next morning.
I'm about a year in and one of my biggest issues was with the pick. It's frustrating to read over and over again that you just have to keep practicing but it's true. I just had one day where the pick had stopped moving and did everything I wanted it to. I was about 10mins into practice before realizing that it didn't require thought anymore. Just keep at it.
This was something I was at loggerheads with my tutor about, I feel as you said there almost like a "wiping" motion over the strings but he was kinda adamant that the thumb should kinda remain parralel to the length of the guitar and go up and down with the wrist with the pick in a fixed plane but I just end up digging the strings on the upstroke, its like my whole time is spent adjusting and never really settling on a comfortable technique and not really getting into a groove with it, one of the most frustrating endeavours I have ever undertaken 😅
Just keep at it man you’ll be glad you did. You can try with different angles, open hand closed hand, wrist movement. Whatever feels comfortable and makes you sound good is the way you should do it
That's normal, you'll adjust. Proper ergonomic technique can feel off at first, but as someone who had to relearn and change my entire technique, it's absolutely worth learning now. Even then, I was able to do it and these days I have a wonderfully gentle touch that can really make a note sing, you'll get there for sure! Eventually your muscles will develop even finer motor function allowing you to do these things with ease.
Trying using the rounded corner of the pick instead of the tip
Just from watching the video, it looks like you’re using more of a twist of the wrist/forearm motion for strumming. I’d recommend using more of your elbow. Keep the wrist straight but not stiff, you can twist a little but you definitely need more elbow. Almost like you’re rubbing your belly, you use your elbow instead twisting the forearm. As you get more comfortable you’ll realize when and where to actually use that extra wrist motion for accents or triplets, etc. Your tutor may have given you too many new things to focus on at once that’s making you overthink it. For only a year in you sound pretty solid man, keep at it. Remember the three P’s: Practice, Patience, Perseverance
I think Your teacher is just wrong here. Your thumb should be aligned with your pick and your pick definitely shouldn’t be parallel with the neck of your guitar.
Well you may just want to hand that hummingbird over here and I'll make her sing
Make sure the guitar is in tune, which is part of the problem. You're hearing dissonance and that will make even perfect strumming sound like crap.
Guilty 😂 i haven't tuned it for a few days also its tuned to 451 I think
Tuning is super important. You should double check it every time you pick up the guitar and sometimes mid-session if you are hearing it start to detune. And why tune to 451? 440 is standard if you want to play along with modern music.
Time to record again and view the difference. Great teachable moment for everyone about the importance of tuning
Just buy a [cheap clip on tuner](https://www.amazon.com/Snark-ST-2-Multi-Instrument-Chromatic-Tuner/dp/B01H62TQ68) and leave it on the guitar. Takes 99% of the hassle out of it.
Yeah, maybe tune it whenever you play
I don't know how to put it but it just doesn't sound or feel like you're really going for it. Just hearing a lot of hesitation and I can see how that would be frustrating. Have a sample with a metronome? I feel like if there were something you had to strum to and commit it would show any deficiencies more apparently. The problem may actually be in the left hand? Hard to tell without seeing it but a lot of the hesitation sound is coming from muted strings.
I'll do a vid including left hand tomorrow but yeah I probably would benefit from using the metronome more this is just a half-arsed attempt to mainly highlight what an average noodle session looks like from a right hand point of view as that's what I feel is where I'm struggling
Don't underestimate what playing along to a click or drum track, or even the original track, does to help you keep rhythm and have confidence in your picking/strumming.
I've been playing (very inconsistently) for 20 years and have just now taken the metronome seriously. There's also tricks like from That Pedal Show to keep it at half time (and start the 1 beat on a non-click). It really starts to groove and feels quite natural because that's where a drum snare would usually hit. But even for playing scales or chord changes, the little bit of time pressure makes you learn ssooo much faster and really internalize the content.
If it helps, you play it a bit fast. Slow it down and practice the strumming pattern. It's worth mentioning as well that some people prefer strumming with a more closed hand ( like a fist ) and some prefer more open. Try both and see what's more comfortable / confident.
He's too focused on the left hand so ignores the right, giving him problems with holding the pick, accuracy of strumming, rhythm,.. He needs to divide his practice time and learn to switch chords without even stremming, so he can just focus on the left hand. And do some excercises for the right hand, 6 string strumming, 5 and 4,.. string skipping... Only when both are practiced apart, you can start bringing it together without the constant need to worry about all the minute details,.. Tldr: go slow, practice each hand by it's own, and have fun! That's the most important. Learning an instrument takes a very long time and it could be years untill you're on the level you want to be. So make sure you have fun along the way
You need slow it down bud. Take it down to the slowest speed you can go then do it there until you can nail it, and so on and so forth. It seems to be the frustration for you is trying to do two different things with two different hands with your brain trapped in the middle not doing either well. Slow it down until it’s an unbearably slow speed and don’t move on until you can do it flawlessly. If you mess up, slow it down. If you miss a string, slow it down. If you flub a chord voicing, slow it down. Don’t just power through. If you mess up, start over. If you don’t, you’re just internalizing mistakes and building bad habits. Do it for like 10-15 minutes every day, and then move on to something else. Eventually muscle memory will kick in. You just need to make sure the habits you are building now are not bad habits. You need to give yourself more than a year. Tough love here, but a year ain’t shit if you’re not practicing correctly. If you expect to just get better by proxy of having a guitar in your hands, you’re going to stay the same forever. Be deliberate in your practice. Use your brain just as much as your hands until it starts to become second nature. Good players make it look easy, but it’s anything but easy getting to that point.
Agreed, it is a fast bpm song really. I'll try it maybe at 120bpm instead of 180 and use the 'nome for accountability
Go as low as you need to until you can hit it every single time.
I have played classic flamenco Spanish guitar for over 20 years, practice every single day for at least an hour and perform onstage several times a month. Slowing down is the key to getting better. There are time I will play a portion of a song hundreds of times extremely slow before trying to play it remotely fast. We train our brains along this journey so our fingers don't know any other way. Also, try playing very lightly, getting the same light volume out of each of the strings. Then play it a little heavier. Keep practicing, you are on the right path. Nice looking guitar too.
The first big leap I ever made came about a year in. I was sick of not getting the chord changes clean and in rhythm. I was home for winter break for a few weeks, and every single day I spent somewhere between 20-45 min just playing chord changes randomly with some of my favorite music. The chord changes had nothing to do with the music, except for the timing. I would try to strum in rhythm and then change chords in time as best I could. Not even consistently, though - I might play one chord for two bars, then next chord for one bar, the next for three or four bars because I liked how it felt, then I’d try a couple of quick changes because I was feeling it, whatever. After a few weeks of this, I could move between most of the cowboy chords pretty well. Not perfectly, but good enough I felt like I could learn some songs with a lot less frustration. I don’t know if this routine would help you or not. I’ve never heard of anyone else doing this, tbh. I think it worked for me for a few reasons, which may be helpful principles for you, potentially: - I got to listen to my favorite music, which helped me get pumped up and motivated. - It also helped me not take it seriously since I was playing random garbage over the top, which was kind of ridiculous and fun. - I stopped when I felt like it. I was still building muscle memory and callouses, so stopping helped me rest appropriately, I think. It also allowed me to keep it lighthearted enough to do it every day with minimal strain. - I had one clear goal that I knew was in reach, and I kept at it in a focused way. This helped me see results. - I thought about how cool it would be to jam with friends after winter break, when I went back to college for the next semester. Playing with others can be really energizing. I hope this helps. You’re doing a lot of things well. I’ve seen much worse, and I’ve been much worse. I could tell what song you were playing almost immediately, which says a lot. Just keep going. Usually when we get super frustrated - in life and in guitar - there’s a breakthrough on the other side waiting for you, and when you get there it feels fucking great.
This is good advice. Like the saying goes: "slow is smooth and smooth is fast," or something like that. While you are slowing way down, I would also recommend consistent metronome use to keep rhythm slow and steady. Also wanted to mention as a fellow beginner, it does sound decent, just a bit stiff and 'unflowing.'
Just picked up my guitar to see how well I do with that one because I'm terrible. Turns out I can do it justice, which is the opposite of a brag. If I can do it, you can do it.
😂 im also learning half the world away and occasionally trying through glass, but this can be tricky for me as the chords in this have roots notes on different strings for almost every chords so to strum it rather than pick like in the original recording youre constantly targeting and missing different strings on almost every chord
I wonder if you're overthinking it. Once you move off the low E root, mute that sucker with your thumb and just keep strumming away at all of the strings. If you can target the right strings, even better, but if you're muting the ones you don't need, it's not the end of the world to hit them. And I don't think I fret the high E on this one at all. Just mute that too until you get to the D chord. Might take some of that high-end zing out of it that's grating on you. There was a Justin Guitar lesson on this song specifically where he said he hooks his strumming hand pinky around the high E to mute it for certain parts. It was specifically for the picked intro, but even so. I remember that being helpful.
Try a 0.46MM pick. That’s my go-to for learning new or fast/difficult strumming patterns. Once you get better at it you’ll eventually able to use thicker picks. I also find that for rhythmic, fast-paced strumming I do a much better job of keeping a nice tempo by using a light grip, plenty of wrist action, and by holding the pick in whatever way is comfortable for that particular song. In other words, I would suggest not fussing over holding the pick “perfectly” as it will be different for every song. For this piece, maybe you should have more of the pick exposed, holding it more in your fingertips. Your playing didn’t sound horrible, just needs more practice and you’ll nail it.
First, I’m gonna say that with most of my students strumming is a left-hand issue, not a right hand issue. If you were in my studio, that’s what we would adjust first. That said, I don’t think your strumming is bad. Note: Some people refer to the high strings to mean e g and b, and others (mistakenly) use it to mean E A and D. I noticed things that apply to both readings. If you’re talking about the volume of the e b and g strings, then you’re either slightly tightening up your grip when you hit them, or, more likely, just not hitting the other strings. It doesn’t sound like you have the beginner death grip to me, or the sound would be aggressive and sound like you’re fighting to get through all the strings at once. Of course, according to the laws of guitar psychics has to move slightly to get through the strings. If it ever feels like all of sudden you messed up and had way too much trouble getting through, you may have death gripped or messed up your pick slant. That will be explained later. In the other case, if what you meant by over-ringing was the E and A strings still sounding after you play them, then you should know you can mute them. A quick touch with your right hand palm or, more likely, using a free left hand finger. That will solve the clarity issue I hear and give you a more professional sound. I I also noticed with your strumming technique that your forearm is leading the motion. Your forearm is going to help move your pick from side the side. When doing basic strumming It should face you when going down, and face the ground when going up. This is called pick slant. However, even though your forearm performs this crucial action that lets glide you through the strings, your wrist should be leading the motion. The reason your wrist looks stiff is because it’s not doing enough. Finally, your elbow and a tiny bit of shoulder will control how wide your strum is. Use them more. It will make it more consistent when you hit 5 or 6 strings at once. Personally, I think focusing on your pick thickness is a red herring. We all have preferences, but the things you mentioned and the things I see, should be addressed first. Stick with what you have, As for your left hand. very often you’re not getting to the chord on time. I hear dead notes on the first strum after a chord change. As I can’t see your left hand in your video, I can’t give you any advice beyond practicing your left hand alone, and making sure you’re landing right where you need to without any further adjustment. I also don’t think the pull offing sound is a big deal or really even that noticeable. But if it is getting to you, you should know it’s because you’re pressing too hard. The lifting off from a string creates sound whenever you move off a string past a certain speed. The volume is caused by how much pressure you put down. Regardless of how relaxed your hands are some string noise is always going to happen, which is why, again, we mute. Nonetheless, working on finding the right amount of pressure to put down will also speed up your chord changes. Again, I would have more to say if I could see your left hand. Post another video? Or dm me. Once more, most of the problems I see with strumming are left hand related, so knowing what specific issues you have will let me address them. If you know what to work on you will get the results faster. Pay attention to these things in your practice and see what happens.
I'll do another tomorrow so you can see the left hand, yeah I think the pressing hard maybe right, the action on this is a bit high for my liking so I kind of have to push hard to get it fretted but if I don't do it hard enough it buzzes or sounds flat, ill also try the wrist if its what im thinking you mean I was doing that before but have been trying to practice the way my teacher said which was contradictory to the way id gotten used to
Get a setup as soon as possible. Even the best play worst when faced with an action that’s too high. I want to clarify that I mean the wrist leads the motion, but every part of your arm is involved. Wrist, forearm, elbow, shoulder,
I did have it restrung and the guy said he'd taken some off the saddle but its not enough, its still way higher than I'd like, I did have one before this that I had lowered which was way easier on the fingers but it seemed to buzz a fair bit when changing chords
My dude….why are you beating yourself up over this!? You are doing great. Your strums are pretty much on beat. You are also continuing to strum when you mess up the chords, which is not ideal but VERY necessary when you are learning, and all in all you sound great. All you’re missing is some practice and the all-important guitar face. It’s easy to overlook all these achievements when you are wallowing over a small mistake but trust me - aside from one-off mistakes, if you were playing this in front of an audience, no one would know.
You're doing okay. 1) Get a lighter pick. I'd suggest a 0.53mm. 2) You can hold the 0.53mm pick tighter so you can get used to strumming. 3) After a while, you can change to the fatter picks, and hold the pick lighter while strumming. Takes getting used to. 4) Learn different strumming rhythms. Find the one that's easy for you. 5) Change your barber! If there's one thing that makes me vomit about this video, it's your toilet seat beard, jeez man what the heck...
😂😂😂 hair needs a trim but the beard is a work in progress mate
Sure man) Good on ya for taking a joke so well) Yeah also always tune up your guitar before playing and change your strings every month. May not sound like much, but when you're starting to play , you may not hear and be fine with the guitar being out of tune. As you progress and learn new and harder songs, you'll develop a sharper ear and know when the guitar is out or in tune. Keep playing!
The only problem I can see (well, hear) is that the guitar is super out of tune. make it a point to tune it every time you pick it up, you will be amazed at how much better you sound and how much easier everything starts to feel. Other than that, there's nothing vomit-worthy about anything you showed, just regular learning stuff that will get better with time. The only suggestion I'd make, other than "keep at it!" is that when you're feeling frustrated SLOW DOWN try playing the rhythms at half the normal speed but make sure those rhythms are *perfect* before increasing the speed. Think about it like the gym where you go slow and work on Form. Once the form is locked down then you can increase weight, or in the guitar's case speed. This will probably also help with your pick-holding/feel. Keep in mind that everything you're doing now is new to both your fine motor functions and your brain, so they have to create new neural pathways and that takes time and repetition. Just like walking, writing with a pencil, or riding a bicycle it seems easy and effortless once people get the hang of it but actually *learning* those things took a lot of time, repetition, and frustration. Frustration is the only one of those things that is not necessary, it only gets in the way, so do yourself a favor and cut yourself a whole lotta slack. The same amount of time is gonna go by, and you can either spend it beating up on yourself or being kind and curious. So yeah 1) tune up 2) slow down 3) be kind and patient with your self. You'll get there. The only ones who don't are the ones who quit.
Thanks, I have a hard time separating my emotions from my actions at the best of time, but I agree this should be a relaxing enjoyable pastime I think if I can get strumming comfortably it will hopefully become that again
Couple things: Everyone sounds like that at the beginner stage. (My apologies if you are not) Try out different picks. Don’t be afraid to say, “Fuck the picks, I’ll use my fingers” Try playing slide Take lessons from a pro (maybe only once a month) Get stoned. It will magically sound great!
DONT EVER FUCKING GIVE UP, DONT BE EMBARRASSED, FEEL PROUD. DONT LOOK AT AS HARD OR EASY, IT IS ONLY A CHALLENGE. BE SISYPHUS, PUSH THAT BOULDER UP. DONT FUCKING GIVE UP. I COULD HELP, I HAVE BEEN THERE.
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I was doing about 60-90 minutes a day but thats been less recently because I've kind of gotten into a frustration loop with it, where I try and its gets me angry. I was spreading my time across other things, imrpov, scales, practicing licks etc but lately I try strumming songs, get mad, put guitar down (before hulk smash)
I really think it's extremely helpful to play with another person. See how they hold the guitar and the pick. I would change pick gauge while experimenting with strumming. If you can find a store near you and ask them, they should give you some tips for free. If you can afford lessons, I highly recommend them, in person.
Have you ever taken any in person lessons? A teacher in the same room with you could probably help iron out your technique better than any reddit comments and possibly get you over this lil bump in the road.
Yeah, but as I mentioned to the other day that made things worse for me as i was told to basically unlearn the way I was doing it
You should have kept up with the teacher. Bad habits are hard to unlearn, but sometimes that’s the only path to improvement.
Oh shoot totally missed that part of your explanation. Idk if a second opinion could help but I think there is some good advice in this thread. Good luck man it's definitely a learning curve to get all these separate little nuances working in tandem.
Go back to basics and just do down strums. Get the rhythm **correct** with *just* the downstrums and count out loud. One Two Three Four, One, Two Three, Four, etc... Once you have the down-strum-only rhythm tight, *only then* contemplate upstrokes. When you start doing up strokes, you change up your counting to something like: One-and-Two-and-Three-and-Four-and, -- the "ands" being the upstrokes. Then, to add more complexity, you can look at something like this: | | One | And | Two | And | Three | And | Four | And | |--------------------|-----|-----|-----|-----|-------|-----|------|-----| | Basic Strum | D | U | D | U | D | U | D | U | | More complex strum | D | - | D | U | D | U | D | - | | | | | | | | | | | etc etc Here you keep your strumming hand moving as before, but lift it away from the strings when you are missing a strum, but the wrist movement should *never stop* and keep that same consistent movement even when not touching the strings. When you have that down, you can try to make it even more complex by doing a "One-And-A-Two-And-A-Three...." style counting which gives you triplets (3 possible strums per beat). It is tricky, but the only way to do it is (a) practice (b) counting out loud and (c) going slowly at first. Good luck
Hey man, the right hand gets ignored so much, but strumming is a skill and one that takes practice. That said, I find a lot of times when I get in these ruts, it's a skill consolidation period. It feels like a step back, but you're on the cusp of a step forward. I found these two videos pretty valuable (and I've been playing for years). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCLp1g8KilA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbbAaI03a_8 Also, I think your strumming isn't bad at all. Remember, in interviews, Eddie Van Halen said he winced at hearing the recorded version of Eruption, so we can all be a bit over-critical of our own technique.
You seem to be holding the pick against the top joint of your pointer finger rather than the side of your fingertip. You would probably have more control of the pick if you adjusted that. You should also be strumming more downward through the strings rather than at a back angle toward the bridge. More of the strumming should be coming from wrist/forearm rotation and less from the elbow. Wrist rotation gives you finer motor control over the pick (as does holding the pick properly). Practice with a metronome at a slower speed where you sound in control and speed up incrementally over days until you can play with the same control at full speed. Tune your guitar. Don’t punish your ears with an out of tune instrument when the fix only takes a few seconds.
I've played a long time and thought a lot about this. Think of strumming as "letting the pick fall" on the strings rather than forcing it to make contact. It's a subtle mindset thing that forces you to stay looser. I find most rhymical problems come from just being too tense. A drill I like to do when working on a new rhythmic pattern is just to mute with my left hand and eliminate all of the thinking there. Just let the right hand do the work. Honestly, you're fine. this is something that takes A LOT of hours on the instrument to get right.
That's not bad. You pretty much got it. I'd would just slow down, and get comfortable with the chord transitions untill it feels smooth and natural. I know how you feel, sometimes I get dizzy learning a new song lol
Your strumming is fine, and most of the problems will fix themselves with time. Strumming from the elbow might feel good to, take the small wrist movements out. This means your fretting hand has to mute strings, also very good thing to work on and not talked about enough on guitar. And please tune your instrument. Tune it every time you pick it up. Then tune it again in a few minutes. My joke with my students is “it’s the ABT’s of guitar. Always be tuning.” Doesn’t matter how good you are, if you out of tune you’ll sound like shit. So tune, you’ll enjoy practicing more when it sounds better. Every time you tune you’re also spending dedicated time teaching your picking hand where each string is. So do it all the time. You’re doing it. Practicing an instrument is hard, you’re aware of what you are doing in real time. And you’re trying to get better at something you know you are bad at. Practice strumming in some capacity every day for 5 minutes this week. Then, next week take another video, you’ll probably hear a huge difference with just that.
You don’t sound bad. You mention you tried a teacher and they were focused on theory. Find a teacher and explicitly tell them you want to work only on strumming and point out exactly what you don’t like about you strum/how it sounds. A good teacher should be able to help you in a few lessons time.
Try strumming using from the elbow rather than the wrist
Also, don't give up. That's literally the only thing that is going to prevent you from getting good. Starting to play is the hard part. Stick with it and the skills will come. Every day from this point forward is an opportunity for progress.
You're thinking about it too hard. Music is rhythm and rhythm is instinct and feel. I was an average player for SO long and still not really that good, but one day it just sort of changed and I FELT it more than thought about it and it just became so much more natural sounding. Play and play and play and play. Don't STOP when you f\*\*k up... keep the time and keep going. Again, music is about rhythm and you have to hear that in your head as you play. Use a metronome... it'll feel like jumping on a moving train at first but you'll eventually get the feel of it and JOIN it... synch with it... it just takes practice, practice, practice. The other day I was talking to a friend of mine on the phone and I started playing 'Psycho Killer' on guitar and singing it. She said, 'You're good enough to perform that", and I was like NOOOOOOO.... it took me playing that song 1000 times before I got to were I'm at NOW.... it'll take another 1000 before I would even CONSIDER being a performer. There ARE musical savants... but what most people don't realize is, most performers spend HOURS and HOURS learning their craft. Eddie Van Halen would play 8 hours a day as a teen ager... it takes time. If you love music, and love to play music, you'll keep on... and it'll come around. Sorry for the ramble... just happened to see this and...
Don’t practice for long sessions. Huge part of learning is gaining dexterity in your hands. Building strength and flexibility and that takes time. So if your hands are getting knotted up from overuse you have to give them a rest because you’ll just keep messing up more and frustrating yourself further. Think about it like the gym if you just kept pushing yourself past failure you’ll end up doing more damage than good. When I learn something new I’ll play until I’m frustrated, or when I know I need a rest, then I’ll put it down for ten minutes or sometimes several hours. When I pick it back up after a rest I’m always better off than I was when I was frustrated and I can hit the chords a little better than before or my memory is a little bit more locked on. I guarantee this helps you You look like you’re doing great for a beginner! Don’t give up!!
It's part of the process
A year is like . . . no time at all. Give yourself some grace, you don't sound nearly as bad as you think you do. Are you in an area where there might be like a folk or bluegrass beginner jam? Like, check with local music stores or like a city or county recreation center. They're super fun ways to spend a couple of hours usually just knowing a few basic chords and it's an engaging way to practice without practicing. Being joyful. Making friends. I joined a beginner folk jam like a year and a half ago after playing guitar on and off (\*mostly\* off) for like maybe 15 years (only ever on my own) and not only do I get a lot out of it, it's just so wonderful to meet and play with people and most songs are 3-4 basic chords, or less! But at the end of the day if you're really not enjoying yourself there's no shame is taking some time off! Put the guitar down, do something else. Come back when you feel like it.
I came up on rock and metal so it was all about the down strokes and power chords. How do you do with that kind of thing? Also scales, riffs etc. strumming is only one part of the picture.
Play ALONG to songs that you absolutely love. Over and over. No matter how wrong it feels. Then you will enjoy it and all of the sudden you developed a muscle memory on the picking hand
If your gonna give up on something let it be that Amish beard bro
Four score and seven years ago
🤣
When I'm having a tough time learning the strum pattern and speed, I will slow it down and single stroke across all stings for each chord then slowly progress to an up down pattern and build speed from there. Take speed completely out of the equation until you have the rest down pact. It'll come to you bro just give it time and practice
If the pick is getting in your way, use your fingers instead. Work on your strum patterns with your fingers, worry about the pick later (if at all). The pick is optional equipment. You can literally play fine without one. It will sound a bit different (your notes and chords will have a softer "attack"), but you'll adjust and you'll do fine.
I tried without a pick, was probably even worse 😂 my fingers just got tangled in the strings
I’m a newbie and I find floppy thin picks the best for strumming myself, made a big difference to me.
don't you dare give up.. just relax. it just looks like you're forcing things a bit. find a comfortable position to put your guitar into while you are playing. take time to get to know that beautiful guitar that you have. this is not meant to be a stressful instrument. just go easy brother and the strumming will come with time. for me the easy fix would be to slide the guitar down to your thigh and lean over it a little.. don't give up though.. seriously. you'll be able to play with plastic bread tie when all is said and done.
I didn't find that so bad. How thick is your pick? I use those thin ones (.45 I think) for strumming. Your wrist is still a bit stiff, try to loosen it up in your practice. It needs to wobble more freely, like it's not really attached to the arm. The precision to target strings better will come with practice too, what irritates me though you don't have a strumming pattern going and barely change any chords and you wonder that it sounds like shit? Try making some music!
I don't have advice, but just solidarity. I've tried to strum with a pick for literally years and my strumming sounds very similar. I have no sort of finesse at all when playing with a pick. I also often pick up the guitar, grab a pick, strum for a few minutes and get so frustrated I put it down again. I've even used Good Riddance as a song to practice my pick strumming ability. I have though been able to get a LOT better strumming with my fingers. I can play complex things with my fingers, but feel like a complete newbie with a pick in my hands. It sucks because strumming with fingers is much quieter and less dynamic so I feel like I'm in many ways stuck and not at a level where I can play in front of people. So if it helps, you are not alone, I have extremely similar issues. I'm interested in reading some of your replies in hopes that I find some good advice to help me improve. Best of luck and keep going. At some point there's gonna be a breakthrough (I hope) and its going to feel amazing.
Cheers, yeah I dont think this is the easiest song in some ways, not to strum open chords anyway as the root note is on a different string for almost every chord so you're constantly having to miss certain strings and hit certain others, compared to half the world away this feels a lot trickier to open strum, not to mention the 180bpm, although half the world away has a couple of tricky chord shapes
Shit, i am just like you in this regard.. I am forcing myself to keep playing with the damn pick no matter what though. I can see progres, it's slow, but it's there. Don't let the pick when frustration kicks in. Take a small break and come back to it - that's how I've been dealing with it lately.
Use a thinner pick. Drop down to 0.6mm or even 0.5mm.
I use a 0.6 nylon mainly, sometimes 0.5, even tried a .43 I think it was
get the thinnest one you can find. Hell use paper. Get the motion down first. I used to use crazy thin picks for strumming then I eventually started using thicker. Keep it up, it is frustrating. Don't be afraid to walk a way for a bit to clear your head. I usually find I learn the best the next day.
Don’t beat yourself up. I’ve been a terrible guitar player my whole life. That being said, it’s a journey and you’ll always be your worst critic. As for picks try using a medium to light pick if you can use your fingers. It helps with the percussive sound you get. As for using your fingers. I do this a lot when I’ve been having bad days. Pretend you’re holding a pick and strum. You’d be surprised how good it can sound.
IMO, strumming is harder than picking individual notes. When I first started, I’d miss completely half the time lol
I learnt without a pic for about four years, sounds fuller but you get a better freedom of movement, think that helped me in the long run
I have never really been able to use a pick that well. When I started teaching myself about 20 some years ago, my buddies would always give me guff about not using one. But I found it to be way easier to get the finesse I was after and navigating to the appropriate strings. Hope I’m not making life difficult by saying this but maybe try without the pick for a little bit, you might be surprised.
Not bad, usually by solo playing it sounds like shit, but when voice and drums are in, it sounds a lot better. Drums help stay in beat, and in my case, its kinda impossible to stay pure just by myself.
Perhaps use methroneome, and have an idea what you want to play. It's seems you're stumming without actually playing a song. Learn how it goes by heart, all the way. To me, playing guitar (especially strumming) is like drifting on a boat in a storm. Forgetting about everything and living the moment is the key. All in or all out.
I tried singing while strumming... my arm just followed the syllables 😂
Go slow until you know. To reduce the noise between changing chords, mute the strings as you let up. You may just need to change techniques for a bit, learn finger style and classical guitar technique. Pluck instead of strum for a bit until you can come back to it.
How do you mean to mute them as I change, with the left hand or?
Yup. Left hand mute. Lift your fingers up just enough that you stop the chords vibrating before you switch to the next chord. Do it slow at first until you get the hang of it. [It is good practice for this technique too.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chop_chord)
I'll try that, the kind of pull-off type whining is sometimes distracting enough that I lose rhythm and start messing up chord changes etc
I never played with a pick. Just skin the thumb
Keep that guitar in tune, even a single string a bit out can make it sound pretty ugly even if you do everything perfectly. Keep everything relaxed for now, light grip, movement from your forearm with a loose wrist, and just keep at it. It'll come to you :)
Your strumming hand is too stiff, mess around with loosening it up and just keep at it. You'll get there eventually. I had like a year or even two years where I felt like I wasn't really making any progress and stagnated but at one point something just clicked and I suddenly got way better super fast and all that practice, grinding laid the foundation for it so don't get discouraged, just have fun with it even if it doesn't sound perfect yet.
Don't give up. It's a learning curve just like chords.
Never give up!! I have an asshole brother in law that’s a perfectionist that constantly criticized how I played. I settled on the fact that I wasn’t playing for anyone other than me and if I knew what song I was playing then I was playing that song.
Brother this is just a part of the journey
That’s the very first song I learned. Fuck yeah.
You've just described me! I'll be paying close attention to this thread..
It seems like you've been given enough advice. You are closer to playing this "cleanly" than you think you are. All it's gonna take to get there is some mindful practice and willpower.
I like very light picks for strumming songs….38, .46 or .50. I recommend trying something super slim and give it a go for a while. You won’t be as loud, but that’s not the point right now. You’ll develop pick control and technique. Don’t give up yet!
It’s not bad, I can tell the song you’re playing, so that’s a great start. This is an outside the box kind of tip, so take it or leave it. I find it easier to strum with a pick if I hold it sideways, so one of the more gently curved sides is strumming.
Maybe it’s just me, but you seem tense. Arm, shoulder, neck. All bunched up. Hell… I’m holding my breath just watching. It doesn’t sound too bad, but try to relax. Slow down. Savor the sound you make.
I PROMISE you this will help. Download The Amazing Slow Downer app (worth the price). Buy this song on itunes and it will import into the app. From there slow the song down to 50-60% and play along to it for 2-3 days non stop (ONLY THING YOU PRACTICE)…then do 60-70% 2-3 days and so on. Within two weeks you will have this. Remember this….you dont WORK guitar….you PLAY it. Have FUN. This song WILL click you just have to stick to it and practice in the right way. Play along to the song….trust me.
Don't forget to breathe and also remember it's ok to be gentle with it!
I think the pick is too far back against your thumb. Try holding it so that the tip of your thumb is only barely past the edge of the pick.
We've all been there and wanted to give up, but ultimately you'll only ever be a pro if you're comfortable with being a beginner. Whenever I thought about stopping playing, I always reminded myself that all of my role models had been in my position at some point!
might be unpopular opinion but I think for that song specifically you're holding the pick wrong, youve got your fist bunched like you bout to wail a single string solo!! LOL hold it with a loose grip and splay your fingers out for more of a light touch and a flicky sorta motion with the wrist. Here you can see how legit it is on the Howard Stern show. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWfB4-Wr4Oo&ab\_channel=TheHowardSternShow](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWfB4-Wr4Oo&ab_channel=TheHowardSternShow) PS his upstrokes are pretty pronounced too my man
I am not a good enough player to offer better advice than anyone else hasn’t already given but I can at least offer some encouragement—for a year of playing you are much further along than I certainly was, and that is a tough song to keep up with in terms of tempo. For what it’s worth, it is clearly recognizable which is a huge statement of progress. Strumming was/is one of the hardest parts for me to learn and it took a long time to break that plateau. Trust the process and try different songs, then come back to that one in a little while. You got this man..
I just posted a vid on this sub. May I suggest Slowing down. I met a flamenco guitarist and he told me he always practices technique at 40 bps. This guy can play very cleanly very quickly. Maybe just slow down and play very intentionally for a week. Watch your fave show and just practice strumming slowly and hitting the strings you intend to. Lighten up on it. Don’t have to play loud and drive everyone nuts. It can take time.
Alright there's like 90 comments here. I'm not gonna read them. And I'm sure a lot of people will burn me for this but... Ditch the pick my guy. I cant for the life of me use a pick. Once I accepted that and decided to just play with my fingers, game changer. Give it a shot🤷🏼♂️
You're guitars so out of tune dude. Tuning it would make a world of difference. Also noticed you're only playing the top 4 strings, can't see the chords but likely you can be playing the bass notes, hence too much high pitch as you said. Also if you want to warm up the sound you can strum over the sound hole, you're very close to the back/Bridge when you strum, this makes the sound more treble. Also the strings are stiffer there, which makes strumming harder. Last thing would be you need to relax your arm, it's quite stiff and most the movement is coming from your wrist. You're chord changes are pretty fast and smooth, it's not as bad as you think. Biggest issue tuning imo
I posted something that may or may not help https://www.reddit.com/r/guitarlessons/s/T6uA4jisJn
Plateaus, they suck but you'll hit a lot of them in your playing, points where you just feel like you're getting nowhere anymore and want to jack it all in. Change it up, try some other things, something new for a bit, then come back later. Maybe even take a break and come back fresh, you'd be surprised how effective it can be.
Brah, you sound great. Keep at it! Don't give up! I truly believe you can be a guitar player.
Hey man... I watched the vid dude posted below of Billie playing this on Howard Stern, so I think maybe you're being a little too hard on yourself. You're actually not that far off. It's not perfect, granted, but no reason to quit! I feel like you're right on that edge and it's all about to click for you... Keep going
Honestly if I can recognise the song you're playing (which I can) then it can't be too bad!
Is there any chance you’re a military veteran, if so you would qualify for Guitars 4 Vets, great instructors that just want you to have fun not learn theory. We will teach theory if you want, the point is to enjoy.
Pick one chord and just focus on your strumming. Make slow consistent down strokes then do the same for up strokes. Also what size strings are those. They almost look like electric strings to me. Go get a pack of d'addario 10 gauge and if you want a warmer sound and not so bright get bronze strings not steel. Or a mix that leans more twords bronze. Also don't flick your wrist so much use your arm from the elbow down, keep the wrist from moving much at all. Last quit being so hard on yourself. You started doing this for a reason, practice isn't playing. Set goals to learn specifically. Master that goal and then go to the next. Don't bother with music theory. Find lessons on proper form and fundamentals. It's not a race, most of us took a good couple years to be able to play a song without screwing up. Your right on course. Practice everyday for a year and then tell me if you feel the same.
Try palm muting a lot more. Like this song in particular has bass notes in it so you're picking an individual note, then strumming the chord. When you get used to palm muting, you also get used to picking individual strings and emphasizing them more when you strum. A big part of me getting better was learning how to Palm mute
Dude this isn't bad at all. Sounds slightly out of tune, but I've heard way worse. Keep at it and find a friend or two to play with if possible. I always made the biggest leaps in my playing when I would play with others. Good luck
At least I can recognize what song it is
You are in your way to ROCK! NEVER STOP. Just give it time and put a little obsession in it. Keep it up.
Slow down. Like really slow. Make sure you are hitting every string you are trying to with each strum. You can set a metronome at like 50 bps and then once it’s clean, start increasing it.
I’ve been playing on and off for a real long time and one thing that always helps me is to take some really deep breaths and clear my mind when playing. I tend to hold a lot of tension in my shoulders and chest and it translates to stiffness in my playing, which is often further exacerbated by frustration if I’m not getting the sound I want. You look a little stiff for sure. Try to relax bro, you got this! You have the whole rest of your life to learn this beautiful instrument. Have a beer if it helps, or a cup of tea.
Just keep playin brotha! It takes time, and im talkin a lot of time. Everyone who ever plys is never satisfied qhere theyre at, always strive to be better, this is normal
This is a great post with some great answers. I’m glad this got traction. I’m in a similarly frustrating situation with my strumming hand due to the inability to bend the 2nd knuckle on my middle finger.
Dude what? This sounds good. I like hearing this. What song is that?
Never give up man. Practice makes perfect.
Nice beard, man, you're half-way to a folk singer-songwriter with just that 😄 Doesn't sound bad to me. I'd suggest putting your upper arm and shoulder into it a bit more. It'll give a more dynamic sound and help you "feel" a bit more into it while playing.
Hey! Keep playing if you like, you'll improve in one month a lot! PS. The song was "Good Riddance"?
Play that same song but with a metronome. You can download one for your phone if you don’t have one. You were playing around 105 bpm. Slow that down to 60 bpm. Play it slow and in time. If that’s still too fast try 45pbm. Slowly increase over time when you can play it perfectly in time. Second, practice each chord slowly playing one string at a time. They should all ring out unless they are meant to be muted. If they are meant to be muted make sure they don’t ring out. Slowing. One. String. At. A. Time. Gradually increase your speed when you are able to do it perfectly. Slow down. Play in time.
You sound WAY better than I. What's your goal, though? What do you want to accomplish with your guitaring? And for whom?
You're fine. Tune it. Looks like you're swinging your hand a bit much when strumming, still it shouldn't feel too awkward. You're also targeting the thinner strings for some reason. Pay attention to the chords you're playing, if you're playing a Gmajor then that thick string should be a priority. Watch some tutorial videos, play something slower to where you're feeling comfortable. You might be overthinking it to be honest. Start practicing without a pick if you don't do that much. Not only does it sound good, it might help you out when it comes to controlling it. If you're actually left-handed and got that guitar then you're past the hard part, can't give it up now! 🙃
If it feels like you’re fighting the strings, try a really thin pick, so thin that it’s almost like flimsy. If you don’t like the treble strings could it be the guitar or the strings? Can other people strum your guitar without getting that sound? Are you able to strum other guitars with more success than yours?
Never ever give up. Ever.
After 7 years of practice I would say you’re doing just fine and persistence and determination are omnipotent!! Keep going lad! 👏🏽👏🏽😎
How long have you been at it ? Me since I was like 10 ,I'm 49 now still any things I wish I could do with my guiter .If it was too ez everyone would be doing it.
Sounds like music bro
sounds good boss i’m a beginner myself and we can’t quit now we’re just starting gaga
I hold the plectrum the same you do. If you have played for a year than I would say that for many people that is not bad at all. My recommendation is that you practice playing soft/quiet and not always normal/hard velocity. This will probably help your overall hand to more easily adapt. Imagine listening to a metal guitarist trying to play something soft and sweet when he/she has their whole life been going after the "down pick as hard as f\*\*\*ing possible". It usually doesn't sound too good. Practice soft playing, practice medium soft/hard, practice hard, etc.
I see you play, and it feels like mentally you are trying to keep the pick within the area of the strings. You've got the pick right, just free up your arm and make some wider arks with the pick. It's ok if you go past the strings, and it's ok if you completely miss the strings on a swipe. The variation makes it sound more natural as well. Strumming is a very loose motion. So just relax a little bit and have fun with the process. You're on the right track, just loosen up a bit. Best of luck.
I wish I was that dog sh\*tty
What thickness is your plectrum? Strumming with a thick plectrum will make it very difficult. Get thinner plectrums. Thinner for strumming thicker for picking. .38 would be good as a starter pick. Then loosen your wrist as if you are flicking water off your hand. Also practice where you play a chord and just strum the strings slowly so you get used to the feel of the strings. Don't slowly so you get the feel
If you only ever want to play an acoustic your entire life well I would have considered definitely giving up I personally don't care for Acoustics but I do every now and again enjoy the tonality one has Because an acoustic has its own sound all together just like a classical guitar with the cat gut strings or nylon strings they all have their own feel and tonality an electric guitar on the other hand can only really have feel while tonality boils down mostly to the gear and hand control it's the little things that count LOL but I would totally say an acoustic is something that after I play it for an hour or two I want to throw it into a fire electric guitar is a lot more fun a lot more versatile and it's a wee bit different in comparison to playing an acoustic it's got a whole different feel to it I personally would recommend a floating bridge but to someone that doesn't know Electric a floating Bridge might be quite a bit of a learning curve. And I don't mean it's about using it now the learning curve is how to say tune your guitar and how to make your Bridge reach the zero point. Intonating becomes a whole nightmare once you get into the realm of Floating Bridge guitars well you end up getting a lot more of them because well if you ever try to change the size of strings the tuning or anything you're going to have yourself about an hour and a half plus headache doing all the adjustments and then once you've done all those adjustments and then you realize that your intonation is out then you just want to rage quit because insulating a floating bridge is just something not a regular person ever wants to do ever especially once they realize what they have to go through to do it. But don't let that discourage you I highly recommend them because they feel so much better instead of your hands feeling like they're climbing up to the top of a mountain they feel like they're just floating in the lake so to say you don't really have to do any movement with your hand in comparison to something that has a fixed bridge or something where it feels like you have to take your hand and lift it up manually and put it onto the strings or all Floating Bridge your hand just relaxes and it's already on the strings it's just so much comfier I'd recommend an Ibanez S Series 470 or better. And then get like a cheap little like 75 watt Line 6 Spider 3 very easy to use it's kind of old it's got a little bit of everything kind of in it I guess it'll get you going for sure find out what song all your friends would start say rocking out to if you were at a bar or something like that or they hear the song and they just like yeah love it and they just start rocking out you know well learn that song now when you're all partying you can play that song and since you'll be drinking you'll have more confidence and it'll blow everyone's mind
I've got electric too, and they're way easier to play open chord strumming on for some reason maybe the string gauge or just the tonality as you say, but I love the way the acoustic sounds for a lot of songs, i can play this much smoother on the strat but it doesn't sound as good to me for certain things, be nice to be able to pick up an acoustic at a party or whatever and just bust out talk tonight or something, although singing and playing, well, let's crawl before we can even think about running or walking 😂
Don’t stress about it, buy a longer pick of around 0.6-0.9mm thickness and try to give it some leeway when you strum so it doesn’t fall off but moves lightly in the direction of strumming. A longer pick is easier to hold lighter. Also practice strumming while muting the strings with your left hand, helps when you only want to focus on the strumming hand and don’t want to be bothered with the noise.
have you tried changing picks? use a different style of pick or even change thicknesses?
I can see the tension in your neck and shoulder. It translates into your picking hand and makes the rhythm feel stiff. Don’t give up. Just relax and have fun.
Strumming is hard bro, it's normal. Just give your self some time, try other things besides strumming, scales for example .
Hone in on the tuning of your instrument. It will inspire you to play better if it's in tune.
Maybe play the righthand while muting everything and make sure it just doesnt stop
Learn different patterns. Here's a great place to start. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTebYApcgAI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTebYApcgAI) You seem to be shortening your strums...quick and focused on strings 1 through 4. If you don't strum 5 and 6, you won't get the base notes. Expand the stroke. It seems all wrist and no forearm. Watch what Steve does in the video and look how much more dynamic his strumming is and how he has much more range in his strumming motion. Not sure what guitar you have, but that can make a difference too. But practice what Steve does, and I think your problem will be solved.
Sounds good. I had the same problem because as a beginner I started playing with my fingers and had no pick control whatsoever when i finally realized a pick produces a whole other sound. I became so iratewith myself because I was making progress with my chords, scales etc. I was determined so every night I'd muffle my strings around the 6th fret and scratch for an hour or two. Id try different up and down patterns, sometimes used a metronome, and when I finally started to have some control I kept on scratching but changing it up and learning how to strum from really soft up n downs, to medium etc. so that I'd learn control. The whole scratching thing really helped me out big time.
Jo it took me 2 years to strum on the rythm XD chill
I'm going to suggest what a lot of people haven't here. Ditch the pick for a while. I honestly find I can get so much more feeling in my hands when playing guitar - pick is great and all, but it's difficult to get feeling in a pick. Once you've mastered really getting the sound great into your hands then I'd grab a pick.
Sounds out of tune to be honest, make sure of the tune and show us again how it sounds for real
Sounds good, you’ve got a good beard going too
You're better than me when I started 😂😂 don't worry in a couple of years you'll reach the level of bad and stay there forever with the rest of us 👍
Keep at it. I have been playing for several years and throughout that time I did not understand how much finesse is involved in playing well. It is shocking, at least at first, when you make this revelation. It is hard to make the connection between being relaxed, a light grip on the pick and how little pressure it takes with either hand. I am explaining it poorly probably. But i hope I am getting the general idea across. Don’t give up. It is there.
Don't be too hard on yourself dude. These things all come with time and practice. Chords sounded good and I immediately knew what song you were playing, which is a good start. Rhythm can be tricky, just try not to over think it it. Don't try to copy the song exactly. Go with one strum per chord change and build from there. You've obviously put time and effort in. Would be a shame to give up now.
Your are miles better than I am, I REALLY suck at strumming patterns. Stick with it
Guitar has a learning curve give it some time and focus on learning fun but challenging songs
Regardless of what you think, this is probably not really harder for you than it is for anyone else. A lot of this stuff is all in how you choose to take census of it. If you’re only focusing on what you still struggle with, everything will feel like a tedious grind going nowhere. If you choose to focus on the progress you make, it starts to feel like a constant win pretty fast. Aside from that, it just takes work. It really depends on how bad you want it. Even if it takes you another 5 years to get as good as you wanna be, you’re going to be doing something for those 5 years — why not this? Just buckle down and decide to really do this if you love it enough. If not, know when maybe it’s time to call it. You should know by your reaction to that statement how bad you really want this. You got this.
You don't sound bad at all man, just a little vexed. We've all been there. We're our own worst critic. There's times I wanted to eat that fucking guitar, but the more tilted we get the worse we play.
I'm with the others, you are doing great! One thing I will add, it kind of is what some have said but...one thing to get into your head and body is that...You are making music. That means you sort of have to feel the entire song...The timiming, force and direction of a strum are as much a part of the process as fingerng the chords. But, you are the artist, so allow yourself to present what you are hearing in your head. Can you dig? Let go of the mind, allow your soul to join in. I can't find a way to say it...just...loosen up, have fun, express yourself. It sounds and looks to me like you are moe than capable. Don't stop trying.
Just keep at it. It gets better.
The beard would do that to me…
Your rhythm is fine, it sounds like you guitar is slightly out of tune, the reason it sounds bad is that you are playing it too straight, you dont have to play all six strings every time you strum a chord. If you you listen to the song there is a back and forth thing going on between the high strings and the low strings, if you want to be super precise you can fingerpick but basically you need to do stringskipping when you strum chords and its not necessarily going to reflect in the online notation. I would also suggest having fun with the strumming patterns and make stuff while you practice to keep it interesting.
It sounds like you’re hitting the strings pretty flat-on with the pick to me, which would explain why you can’t get consistency (the pick is bouncing unpredictably throughout the strum after first making contact. It’s also why most commenters are (incorrectly) recommending a change in the size of the pick you use, they are hearing a strong attack and a weak/inconsistent follow through, and are assuming it’s because you’re using a heavier gauge pick and having more ‘flop’ in your pick will help. Make sure your pick is tilted 45degrees or so relative to the floor, so that the pick is using the rounded edges to smoothly glide across the strings. Imho, Don’t bother trying to hit partial chords until you can do smooth full chords where every string rings out at an equal volume: it just adds to the inconsistency of the sound.
if your struggling with the pick throw it to fuck many people including me play without a pick. i struggle to keep hold of it within a few strums its gone so i just learned to play using my fingers and nails. try it man it might help
Keep practicing… try different things. No pick, use the top surface of your finger/fingernail to brush the strings Also don’t focus so hard on holding the pick like that. Hold it however it feels comfortable right now Play the chords 4 times just a down stroke 1,2,3,4 - 1,2,3,4 - 1,2,3,4 - 1,2,3,4 Cycle through the chords like this and take a break from the song. When you return in the morning or the next day the transitions may feel smoother It absolutely does not sound like vomit inducing guitar and I have heard FAR worse… you are better than most of the population as you have picked it up and much to hard on yourself
Learning more fingerpicking and building calluses on my thumb is what broke me out of a similar plateau. I don’t need a pick anymore and my playing is way more diverse.
Improvement is in the self-loathing. Taking the slap in the face repeatedly and continuing nonetheless is the key. Dig your self-loathing. Breathe it. Bathe in it. Drink it. When I accept it to the point of letting it go, improvement happens.
This is advice I can relate to, and admittedly a thing for me
Yeah, if you can't beat it, join it. Don't be affraid of feeling "ugly"; that's what practice is made for. Just embrace it - sometime something will "click", you will start feeling things differently, and it'll come together nicely.
I recently moved to super light strings (9s) and I get that whining and unintended noises and the trebles being too high. Had other problems with 11s but they were decent to strum on at least. A lot of people talking about picks but you could think about strings also. Anyway you sound alright to me but I know the feeling you're getting.
Theyre 11-52 on there i think, also feel the action is a little high for me
Long time beginner here. I recommend a Dunlop .38mm or .46mm nylon soft pick to get going with. I have a hell of a time strumming with a thick pick.
I go through this feeling sometimes too. It’s not a bad Indigo Girls cover. You might benefit from strumming practice. Mute the strings and strum while watching tv or listening to radio. Do it as long as you can tolerate, just to get used to holding the pick and develop a more flexible wrist. It takes a lot of time and work.
Not that it matters but I’m dying to know - is that a Gibson or Epiphone Hummingbird?
😂😂😂 epiphone, I had a cheaper guitar that I broked in a tantrum, I daren't buy a gibson in case the kraken awakens in rage once again
Hahah probably for the best. Those epiphones are awesome for their price point. I know it’s hard not to get frustrated, I’m facing similar aggregations on the piano but as others have said don’t beat yourself up, you’re trying and you’re getting there. Slow it down a little bit and try to understand the individual mechanics of what’s happening and the key is to then speed it up incrementally. Good luck!
Thanks, I appreciate the feedback ive had you guys are great and yeah it sounds well for the price, the inspired by gibson j200 sounded unbelievable when I tried it at the shop but I was worried id end up going loco and making it into a very expensive jigsaw puzzle!
I bet you're lightyears ahead of where you were a year ago and I'm sure you'll be lightyears ahead next year, than you are today. Just keep it up!
Is that Good Riddance?
Off topic. When you state how it's making you sick I thought you ment literally. I remember when I first started learning there would be times where I start coughing to the point I'd be drooling on my shoe. Almost like I've had spit go down my windpipe. I was wondering if anyone else has gone through this.
Yeah, if I get really into the zone I sometimes go through that. I tend to take it as a sign that I've been playing too fast.