help & suggestions......

[jenny]

would be greatly appreciated. I have purchased a second guitar.. my first one, a yamaha (my mom bought me as a surprise) was too big and uncomfortable. So that is when I began getting signatures on it....bonnie raitt...janis ian... mary gauthier.... kathy mattea.... jim brock... anne mccue.... catie curtis.. Because of those reasons I had no desire to learn to play. Well a friend of mine was selling his and he felt it would be a perfect fit for me.... Boy was he right... It is an electric acoustic cutaway Ibanez... I LOVE it... it is small, a short neck, the strings are close to the neck and I finally have the desire to learn.... I took my second lesson today and am well on my way.... I accomplished yankee doodle dandee over the weekend. I was so excited...
are there any suggestions on learning to put your fingers on the right strings... being able to strech your fingers getting them on the right notes and cords... it looks so damn easy... I apparently have short fingers and some notes and cord feel awkward..... hints on reading the music etc..... thanks in advance for any suggestions.... hopefully I can get up to speed and be able to play a tune in front of janis someday ;-) wouldn't THAT be something..... ;-)

[Darlene]

You have made the real first step you have a teacher. I am learning too, well I did kind of learn when I was in my teens, but now I am learning to really play. I am taking an on line course, the only one I could afford. I just purchased a used (get this a "Yamaha" Compass Series) It is an electric acoustic cutaway too. The strings are close to the neck so it hardly hurts at all. And I got at this really great price. Anyway my hands and fingers are really small so I can identify with that. From what my lessons say is to just not to worry too much about the quality of the sound it is the timing that is most important. The quality of the sound will come with practice.
My old guitar was a Yamaha a classical one and the strings hurt more than this steel strings on this one. Reading music is really hard for me I have never learned to read music but this course is already teaching me about timing, notes, tabs, and chords and I am only on lesson 5 out of about twenty-two. Plus they have a band to play along with after you learn something. Even if it is really cheap online course I am learning a lot and it really fun to play along with a band at the beginners stage. Plus all the stretching and twisting will make your fingers seem a lot longer. I just hope that mine will get longer.
Good luck!
Peace, Darlene

[DaveM]

Ibanez makes decent guitars at decent prices. I once got a too-good-to-pass-up deal on one of their "exotic wood" (in this case quilted maple, though it's veneer so I strongly suspect that all of the guitars in this series are made of the same materials and just have the top layer prettied up) instruments--$120 with hardshell case. The cutaway acoustic-electrics tend to be more expensive but have a pretty decent sound plugged in or not. Built-in onboard tuner, too, though I have no idea how well they hold up.

I wouldn't call mine the equal of those dream instruments that Lucille and Kath of the Guitar come up with now and then, but every Ibanez I've played has had an easy action, a neck that accomodates smaller hands nicely, and a great middle of the road sound with plenty of projection. They respond nicely to the person holding them, which seems to me to be the best possible thing a guitar can have for someone who is taking lessons. More people have been scared away from music by bad instruments than anything else I know of.

So enjoy, Jenny, and please do let us know how it goes!

[Amy in Vermont]

Jenny:

I have only one recommendation:

Practice!

I have been playing for ..well... 40+ years. Be patient with your self. Having the right guitar for you will make all the difference.

Neck shape, string spacing, scale length, action and body size all come into play, as do the strings you use. Don't be afraid to experiment.

[Oak Kitten]

Jenny,


I second Amy. The more you practice, the more you will acquire a feel for the right string. If you are learning theory, that is good too. I never bothered to learn music theory and it is a big disadvantage, because I can't figure out stuff logically, and I can't improvise. I have to learn by rote imitation. I am hoping to remedy that by taking lessons again.
95% of the battle is motivation. If you want to learn and are willing to practice, you're well on the way.

You go, girl!

Oak