Acoustic Newb

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Comment by Andy Gallacher on May 10, 2013 at 7:39am

Oh, wow thanks for the tip,  Jan  was kind enough  to  find a youtube clip showing  various songs being played with only DCG or GCD  which was amazing to realise in some ways they were doing so little for something that sounded great but I shall go and try typing 'lesson' after a favourite song, thanks again.

Comment by TheValleyGirl on May 10, 2013 at 7:34am

Great story Andy! You may find YouTube a fun starting place. Pick out a favorite song of yours, type it in and add the word "lesson" after it. Good luck!

Comment by Walt Pilcher on May 9, 2013 at 3:21pm

I also meant to say that was a great story, Andy.  Sounds like you did everything right and used very practical criteria, but when the decision point came you ended up making it on a very sound basis instead of being slavish to your going-in plan. The process is a living thing and just can't always be based solely on a list of specs and limitations.  It's a lot more fun when you approach it with flexibility. Glad you found the guitar for you.

Comment by Robert F. Booth on May 9, 2013 at 3:14pm

That's right, just have fun. I use to practice every day, and was not getting anywhere, until a friend, told me you would learn more by just having fun, and he was right. So just have Fun, Fun,  Fun.

Comment by Phil Manuel on May 9, 2013 at 2:56pm

Just keep it fun Andy, that's the main thing.  Also, pickup that guitar and think "I'm playing guitar!" Then, it doesn't seem like practice.  I can't tell you how many kids in my neighborhood had guitars, but keep them under their beds gather dust.  They would invite me over to "play guitar", and I'd play something on mine, then they'd pull theirs out from under the bed, and say "I wish I could play like you."  Not that I was all that back then, but I'd just notice the dusty case, and say "well, you do have to take it out every now and then to play it" 

So, keep it fun and it will be fun!

Comment by Mark on May 9, 2013 at 2:36pm

Welcome Andy! 

Great story there.   I completely agree about a guitar needing to "feel right" .

I also have trouble forcing myself to practice.   If I'm not good at something, I don't enjoy doing it and tend to lose interest fast.   So there is a huge catch 22 there.

One thing that seems to work for me is going to open mics.  

Once I had achieved the level of being able to actually play and sing a song or two   ( It literally took me YEARS to go from learning to strum a couple of chords to being able to sing an entire song whilst strumming along!) 

Anyway, once I got to that point, I started going to open mics.  At first I would just sit and watch the "real" musicians.  Enjoying all the music while I took mental notes on how they did what they did.  I interacted with everyone and became friendly with the regulars.   This helped especially because when I finally felt comfortable enough to try it. I was surrounded by friendly, welcoming, supportive people  rather than sitting up there in front of a room full of judgmental strangers. 

So after I had done it the first time, it became easier each time thereafter.   (This is where I tie this looooong story back to practice by the way...)

I started to challenge myself to learn a new song every week to perform at open mic.   Having a deadline like that breathing down my neck seems to be just the incentive I need in order to actually sit down and suffer through the practice part of this little hobby. 

Comment by Walt Pilcher on May 9, 2013 at 12:03pm

Thanks, Andy Gallacher, for joining the Newb group, and thanks for your comment on my "Not Left Behind" video.

Comment by Andy Gallacher on May 9, 2013 at 7:34am

almost half a century old, acoustic guitar newbie, sort of... I've been trying on and off for almost 20 years to learn to play, i have taken lessons here and there over the years but for some reason would rarely do  more than  a tiny amount of practice in between.

I have no other reason to want to play but for my own  pleasure, no intention or desire to perform but every time i begin  a new attempt, I just don't practice.... but I very much do want to be able to play so there's my catch 22. This time I hope joining a forum, being able to talk to and read of other newbie's trials and tribulations, will push me a little more, i am sure if i could get to that stage where even  badly being able to strum out something  vaguely melodic would help me to continue.

I would like to point out Phil Manuel who  has given  me so much advice and food for thought from my first post only a couple of days ago asking advice on which type of guitar to buy, i am really pleased to see his name here in this forum too.

So, I thought i'd just  say what guitar i have, I had the absolute most restricted budget, I am from Scotland in the UK, so i am giving an approximate  $ amount to what I bought. My budget was only $155,

after getting advice from Phil Manuel and some others I decided against  my first choice of buying a 3/4 size guitar, i am  a very  short guy of 5'3 and have small but not delicate hands/fingers. So, I again, took the forum advice and went to a guitar shop to  'handle' a few guitars, I picked up 1 of only about 3 they had in my price range.. it was $135, it felt ok, was an Epiphone DR100, I assume DR meant Dreadnought,  

I didn't want to  really pick up anything over my budget as I felt i couldn't really compare it as it would surely feel much better, and sound better so how could there be a comparison.

I was about to leave the shop and go back to my  many hours of searching 'the net' when i  saw a nice looking  guitar, I didn't look at the price but as it was among  others of around $460-780,

i thought i might have found a mega cheap guitar because it was as light as a feather, well, compared to the $135 one I had tried, I sat down and I swear it imprinted on me! I remembered what Phil and some others said that in the end, cheap or not what feels right when you hold it, is more important because when you practice and you're struggling, having a guitar you enjoy the feel of will mean your more likely to keep trying than if you have something that feels big, or awkward or just 'not quite right' 

This guitar felt just right,  I should also point out apart from my short stature, tiny hands I also have a bit of a belly, so again how the guitar felt against me was important, I dared myself to look at the price... $255. a full $100 over what i really wanted to spend, but it instantly felt right, when I sat with it, it felt comfortable, much more  so than the $135 I had sat with initially and it weighed  I would say  going towards half as much  which I felt as a beginner would help me practice for longer (the painful fingers part doesn't bother me, I take it as a badge of perseverance haha)

So,  I made the decision to  pay out the extra cash, it was on offer  down from  $300 to the $255 and i got a free pick  haha. So, my little gem is a Fender CF-140S acoustic. Known  by the various names as a small bodied or folk guitar.

I have searched online and I have found nothing but very  favourable reviews about it, when all said and done, it's still in the dregs of the very  cheapest prices for guitars but all in all I am really very happy with how it feels and the tone.

Apologies for my  epic of a message, i do have a tendency to write 5,000 words when 50  was twice as much as i needed...

Comment by Phil Manuel on May 3, 2013 at 9:41am

Thanks Walt.  Just thought I might be able to help some folks along their musical journeys...

Cheers to all!

Comment by Walt Pilcher on May 3, 2013 at 7:19am

Welcome to the group, Phil Manuel.  Have enjoyed following your posts over in the Seagull group.  It's good to have experienced players here!

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