I am learning guitar

Stuff I know so far:

>CHORDS
I am very reliable and fast with these:
A, C, D, E, G
Am, Em
A7, D7, G7
These give me trouble:
F, Dm, B7, C7, FMaj7

>SCALES
Minor Pentatonic

I have played a few songs using the chord progressions. It's all fun but I really want to improve faster.
I have been playing non stop for the past week and my fingers hurt a lot so I will probably not play at all tomorrow.

Any tips for how I should continue to improve?

I am using a classical guitar. My dad built it, he is a guitar constructor.
Finger strumming. I have tried some figerstyle but it is hard.

Other urls found in this thread:

youtube.com/watch?v=XDt_4ha9Xjs
twitter.com/NSFWRedditVideo

What style of music are you wanting to play? That could possibly help in determining how to progress

I don't really care about doing solos right now.
I want to learn rhythm guitar and probably focus on jazz stuff but be able to play with anyone.

Really want to be able to know how to get a groove going and lead a band. I want people to really like playing with me, if that makes sense.

For FMaj7 you can use your thumb to hold down F on the low E string and then use your index on only the B string.

Are you doing any sort of exercises to improve on your finger picking?

>I am using a classical guitar. My dad built it, he is a guitar constructor.
Is the guitar in the picture a guitar your dad did? What's his name?

No I don't know what to do.
I have just been fucking around trying to do chord progressions really fast.

I kind of just looked at a guide they just said learn a bunch of chords so I just basically went through that.
Some people said learn the minor pentatonic so I did but I have never used it.

Oh I should actually say I am not reliable with G7 actually. I find it a really awkward stretch.
I also forgot to include that I can play E7, and reliably since its pretty simple.

Don't do this. Learn proper technique instead, ignore the faggots going "but muh hendrix"

You should focus on technique to begin with or you'll be fucked in the long run.

Practice fingerstyle. Practice with a pick too if you're into Fripp-type stuff. Keep practicing those chords. Learn simple songs that you like. Practice regularly and not too much (5 hours of practice is not necessarily 5 times better than 1 hour of practice, especially when you're just beginning)
You can not lead a band or even be in a band if all you know is to hold a nice rhythm, unless you're a band of 15 year olds. You need to know more than that. A bit of theory, some soloing, some fingerpicking. You need to have range.

I didn't even know Hendrix did that. What's wrong with it though lol

This is only something you should use when you can do a proper barre chord and if you'd know when the context calls for using the thumb on the low E.

You're treating the guitar like it's some kind of learning process where the endgame is being technically proficient at everything.

You should go into guitar with the mindset that you are doing it because music is cool and you want to do it as well. Learn songs that you like, see how others put together rhythms and melodies.

As you get better you'll be able to play more complex music. Remember that speed comes with time, start out as slow as possible playing things perfectly. It's infinitely harder to unlearn something than spend an extra week learning it properly.

I should've clarified barre chords are necessary regardless, but when would using the thumb on low E for an FMaj7 not work desu?

You shouldn't really be using your thumb at all on the fretboard as it restricts your reach. Although there are obviously several professional guitarists that do so, teaching proper technique takes precedent over the off chance that they might happen to be the next hendrix.

Ya it is.

But isn't it wrong to use a pick with a classical guitar? My brother is a pretty good musician and he says you really shouldn't.

I will start practicing fingerstyle since you are recommending it.

youtube.com/watch?v=XDt_4ha9Xjs

Skip to minute three and try not to kill yourself from listening to this guy's bullshit.

The exercises on this video are for left-hand independence purposes. Repeat these exercises over and over until you can

1) Play them at a considerably regular speed without paying much attention or giving it much effort

2) Play them at a considerably regular speed without breaking tempo. That means, no staccato, every note is supposed to last the same and is supposed to keep a steady beat.

Also, this guy never goes up the neck, you can also keep doing these exercises on higher notes. It's fun when you start doing it really fast.

You can also alternate this with right hand practice, using your index finger and middle finger to pick at the string alternately. Then alternate with the rest of the fingers, two at a time.

This and the chords is pretty basic, right now you need to develop your motor skills to the point where you could play any of these blindfolded. This is the hardest part, so keep at it until your fingers bleed.

Also, try to learn a bit of basic musical concepts. How to build chords yourself, the tonal disposition of your instrument, how scales are built and which notes form chords and what differentiates a minor chord from a major chord harmonically speaking, how dissonances work, concepts of enharmonics, how flats and sharps work, maybe do some scales. Brushing up on this will help you understand what you're doing and motivate you further.

Scales will help you improvise. In this guide you read they said to learn the pentatonic scale probably because it's the most used scale in blues and 70s rock&roll in general, but learning major and minor scales comes first imo. Leaning scales and understanding how they can be overlaid in a particular tone helps when you feel like improvising something or maybe writing a melody for some cadence you really like.

I hope this helps, OP.

he's fucking good.
Get a teacher. A classical guitar teacher. If you can't afford it, look for "Pumping Nylon" by Scott Tennant. And don't listen to anyone itt.

If you're learning to play guitar for the first time disregard your brothers advice. Learning how to use a pick is more important than musician elitism.

It depends on the sort of music you're playing but from what you've said you're mostly playing chords, which should be practised with a pick at this point of your learning.

But for that chord it doesn't matter if your reach is restricted. Same with like a D/F#.

Actually, it's not really musical elitism. Using picks on nylon strings damages them and makes it easier for them to break at any moment. Also the sound that comes out is not ideal, it's very robotic and unnatural.

OP, if your guitar has metal strings or you have an electric guitar laying around then please do practice your picking on them. If you only have nylon strings then I would advice against it. It damages your instrument, and learning to care for your instrument, doing stuff like changing the strings, cleaning it, polishing it, and all around taking care of it is very important to your learning experience.

There's no advantage of teaching the thumb technique, it's a shortcut to fucking up your thumb tendons.

If someone wants to use it, it should take place further in their education when they have a proper understand of its uses.

>proper understand of its uses.
Like what?

I wouldn't recommend it myself but people suggest it for "thinning out" a chord or leaving a finger available for other frets.

But you're in this thread.

Wow what advanced knowledge!

Is it particularly strainful? It doesn't bother me at all but that could just be because I have super-lax tendons or w/e that's called. Never had a problem with it.

For someone just starting with music it's far better to start with solid groundwork to build on.

Yeah you're right But I have big bass player hands so I'm able to. So, why not?

If you know what you're doing feel free, but OP has obviously just started out so I would generally advise people to learn standard barre chords before doing the thumb over technique as it adds little value unless you're at a higher skill level.

I hope this isn't a stupid question.

Basically my dad has worked on many guitars but he hasn't sold any.

He is looking for people to buy the guitars for upwards of 1000$.

I am not trying to shill here. I just want your thoughts on where buyers can be found for something like this. The guitars are very high quality and he puts a lot of care into them.

The only reason I am using this guitar (one of his favorites) is because it cracked in the back because of cold temperature. He told me he can't sell it and that it would be the house guitar.

If at all possible, a guitar with smaller frets than a classical guitar would help a bit with awkward stretches, as well as more lead work. But any guitar will do so don't stress over it. You'll get used to it with time.

Also, when you get used to your basic chord shapes ( A-G major and minor chords basically) then start looking into the CAGED system. Its a way of playing chords in diff positions on the neck with the classic chord shapes that your used to. It's gonna help you understand the guitar better, and is a good way to get into "music theory"

Good luck man