I got the Beginners Songbook yesterday, and, of course, I had to try to play all the songs, so now my fingers are bleeding (at least it feels like that) and I am not going to play today. I can still type on the keyboard (sort of), so maybe I should present myself.
My name is Thomas Jensen, I am 52, from Denmark, and have been playing guitar for 15 years on daily or weekly basis - 30 years ago. I never have had any proper instructions, I have never spend time practicing, I have just picked up some chords and played. And I have never been good - my rhythm was (and still is) awful, and I have never used a pick to strum.
Two months ago I found a classic guitar (nylon strings) with 3 strings on a garage sale (£3), and when I looked in the sound hole, I could see it was a Giannini from Brasil (GN-90) and it was made 13.07.1971. It seemed to be in good condition, and I thought it would be a shame not to rescue such an old guitar, so I bought it and gave it some new strings.
The fact that it had a "date of production" made me think it could be handmade, but now I can see it is not. It sounds okay, but it is probably what we call a beginner guitar. Still, it sounds fine and is absolutely playable.
I began to find chords to some of the songs I like, but I soon realized I was very rusty. All the song I liked and wanted to play, was too difficult. I started to look for easy song lessons on youtube, and I came across Andy' Guitar. I thought he was a good teacher, so I started to follow his beginners course.
But at the same time I got some serious problems with my right arm (heavy, heavy pains), so I could not play, and I just sat home watching videos - and realized I needed a guitar with steel strings!
10-12 years ago I was playing with a friend and back then I thought about buying myself a guitar. I never did, but today have the money and time to practice, so I went out and bought a Sigma DM-18+. It's not a super guitar, but is is okay. It was the best guitar I could get for my budget.
But I still couldn't really play because of my arm, so I kept watching videos, and soon I realized I had to pay if I wanted to continue with Andy Guitar. I also learned about Adrian Woodward/"anyonecanplayguitar" on youtube. He is also very good, and I really like him, so I watched his beginner course as well.
But then, of course, I found Justins videos, and they really impressed me. I think he is charming, funny, intelligent and very well organized. It is really state of the art teaching.
My arm is not really good yet, but I can play a little now, and, as I said, I just got the Beginners Songbook. Jubiii! It's good to play again, but it is also a little depressing to learn how bad I am.
My really big issue is strumming and rhythm in general. I have started to use a pick, and that doesn't make things easier, but I think I need to learn this. My left hand works very well after the 30 years break, and I am far from beginner when it comes to chords. I am really amazed how well/fast I can play/change chords. But keeping a steady pace with 4 down strums is very, very difficult for me. I can play some of the 4:4 strumming patterns with a pick, but my rhythm isn't good. I have bought a metronome, and I am working hard, so I hope it gets better.
The last thing I want to tell you is a video recommendation. I wanted to play some Brazilian songs on my Brazilian guitar, so I searched for "The Girl From Ipanema" and found this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vzDUZ0Y0UA- and I love him! Check his other videos, he is fantastic! Well, maybe you don't like him, but I find him so charming. He is not really good, but yet he has something - rhythm, feeling, ... something.
Well, enough for now. Hope to soon show you some videos of my progress.
Topic: Introduce yourself (Read 522788 times)
