Can someone help me ? I am learning the guitar

[dora96]

Hi guys,

I am trying to learn the guitar as quick as possible. My aim is to play songs and accompany myself. My problem is changing one chord to another. Most people learn the guitar by memorizing the fingering position and many frets they counting. I just can't do that since I have been playing the piano for 20 years. I know how the chords make up by the notes or each letter. Example C major chord CEG and G Major chord GBD and in order. However, in the guitar there are so many frets and so many same note, I am so confused at the moment. I have been searching some diagrams  in the internet that will describe the guitar fret board on grand staff. I am trying to play the guitar related to how to play the piano.

Do you think that I am doing some wrong or right ? I suppose if I know each chord, it will help to change chord quickly, but they don't seem in right order in guitar. If you know how to memorize guitar chord quickly and efficient, please let me know thanks

[thalbergmad]

I am trying to play the guitar related to how to play the piano.

I think that is probably a mistake.

I have not got a great deal of experience on guitar, but on plectrum banjo you learn the different chord shapes. Barre chords are movable up and down the fretboard and once you learn the shape and what chord you are going to achieve on what fret, you have an immense amount of chords at your disposal.

Moving from chord to chord is at first difficult and slow, but will come in time. Some are really easy to shift from one to another, but others are bastards.

Thal

[go12_3]

I taught myself guitar and I just got a good guitar book with the basics and away I go.
I learned the chords and some are quite difficult because of my small hands and fingers.
So I learned to play classical guitar instead which is easier for me.  I had to learn the notes
on the frets which isn't hard to do, if you have a good ear and finger pattern memory.
Have fun learning!   

best wishes,

go12_3

[tds]

do we have guitarstreet.com?

[db05]

I think that is probably a mistake.

Seconded. Don't TRY to relate piano to guitar, just learn to play guitar as a beginner, and the similarities will appear. It feels quite fulfilling to start from scratch, like when I started piano I could play Hanon all day, I was so fascinated. Yeah, I play guitar, but more focused on classical.

Playing acoustic guitar for accompaniment, I find that the main problems are
1. changing chords
2. strumming/ picking patterns
3. trying to sing while playing - very hard for me

I try to practice those 3 separately, instead of just playing the song over and over hoping I get it right. The singing comes last, when I can play comfortably.

do we have guitarstreet.com?

I don't think so, but there is ultimate-guitar.com which is a forum and guitar tabs site.
Also try guitarprinciples.com

[timothy42b]

I agree, big mistake.  A guitar is not a piano.  Most people who attempt to learn piano fail, most who attempt guitar succeed, not because it's easier but because the approach is different.

If you try to learn guitar like piano you'll likely do the impossible, actually fail to learn guitar.

Here's how to do it.  Pick a song you have on CD, something easy to sing with no more than 3 chords, preferably just 2.  They'll be I and V7, or I and IV, or if you're really ambitious I, IV, and V7. 

Now, very important.  Don't learn it in 12 keys.  Learn it in ONE key. 

Much more important, don't practise slowly.  Practise in real time, at tempo, along with the recording.  The first few times you won't make all the chord changes.  Be sure you get every I chord on time, later every IV, soon every V7. 

It should take you no more than a week to be able to play along with a slow folk song, getting all the chords right. 

[dora96]

I agree, big mistake.  A guitar is not a piano.  Most people who attempt to learn piano fail, most who attempt guitar succeed, not because it's easier but because the approach is different.

If you try to learn guitar like piano you'll likely do the impossible, actually fail to learn guitar.

Here's how to do it.  Pick a song you have on CD, something easy to sing with no more than 3 chords, preferably just 2.  They'll be I and V7, or I and IV, or if you're really ambitious I, IV, and V7. 

Now, very important.  Don't learn it in 12 keys.  Learn it in ONE key. 

Much more important, don't practise slowly.  Practise in real time, at tempo, along with the recording.  The first few times you won't make all the chord changes.  Be sure you get every I chord on time, later every IV, soon every V7. 

It should take you no more than a week to be able to play along with a slow folk song, getting all the chords right. 

Hi Tim,

Your suggestion is great. Why I want to learn to play the guitar like the piano, because I want to understand how the lay out of the fretboard just  like each key presents in the piano.  My bigger problem to memorize the chord e.g. I can play Dm chord, however if I need to change to Dm7. You will find there is a shift in the strings which is quite different position. The F chord is real pain because the barre chord, I have very small hand, and can't really hold firm therefore the sound of the chord is dull, not crystal clear. Another problem is the rhythm, the strumming techniques go along with chord progression. At the moment, I just memorize each chord by without knowing what  note is in each fret which makes memorization is really hard.

I thought guitar is very easy to learn, people don't have very much music knowledge can play the guitar well. It looks easy but not that easy after all.   I am so tensed playing the chord, and make my shoulder and wrist ache

[go12_3]

There will be aches and pains while playing guitar but after awhile it will ease up.
The small hands and fingers presents a problem for me in doing chords and therefore,
the acoustic guitar playing has more appeal for me rather than dealing with such
chords which is a challenge.  But, keep on working at it and the fingers will adjust to
playing guitar.  Pracitice 10 minutes at a time throughout the day, and that will enable
your arms, hands and fingers to rest between practices.   

best wishes,

go12_3   

[thalbergmad]

It should take you no more than a week to be able to play along with a slow folk song

And about 3 minutes to master the complete works of Status Quo.

[ahinton]

And about 3 minutes to master the complete works of Status Quo.

...which you presumably did on the banjo years ago...

Best,

Alistair

[uberson]

A good place to start with chords is with a nice reference book.  I've used the ebook at www.stringtheorychords.com to quickly get myself up to speed.  It teaches you about chords on both the guitar and the piano and how they are related.  It then includes all common chords for both instruments in a side-by-side type of format.

[dora96]

Thank you for sharing brilliant site. That's what I want to relate the guitar to piano.