The RPM Challenge - Anyone can play guitar...

Anyone can play guitar...

Monday, 14 April 2008

...or so Radiohead would have you believe.

LIES!!

I have been playing for about 10 minutes and, not only have I had to file all the nails off my left hand (I'm not terribly girly, but I did like having fingernails), I've also started shredding my fingers. Oh and my strumming sucks. According to my guitar handbook, strumming either comes naturally or it does not. Hmm. So I'll be finger picking then.

Have written a very simple song using five chords (at least I think they're chords...at least one is A) and will record and post it on my profile page as soon as I get my studio up and running again. Am liking the idea of writing a new song every time I learn a new chord, but at the moment it's going to be kind of tricky singing through the PAIN.

Tess

Comments (15)

1 Fight the good fight baby!
Written by One Inch From Midget, on 04-14-2008 09:18
Don't give up Tess! You'll find it is well worth the pain and effort. And once you have developed those well-earned callouses...oh yeah, what a beeeyouteeful day that is :)

It took me like a year to learn to play an "F" chord so don't despair! And I don't beleive in natural strumming or picking ability..just start out with whatever sounds and/or feels best to you..then build from there...

Also, not to brag, but at least two of my RPM songs require only 2 chords...Page France is good example of a band that can do beautiful 2 chord songs.

2 Written by the substars, on 04-14-2008 09:38
Five chords? Simple? Maybe for a prog rock opera... :)

Seriously, the strumming thing sounds like BS. You could probably come up with some practice exercises to improve your rhythm or whatever it is that you don't think you're doing well. Personally, I've tried to get more serious about bass recently, which has been pretty painful for me since you've got to apply a lot more pressure to fret notes cleanly.

I'm hopeful that I'll toughen up with some practice. You should be, too!

3 Written by Strummindude, on 04-14-2008 09:52
...is an artform. Any artform can be taught and learned. And if you got five chords after playing for just ten minutes, sister, that\'s brilliant!

The easiest way to practice is by imitating a pattern you hear and try to duplicate it. And don\'t stop until your fingers bleed. Callouses nothing! No pain, no gain, go for blood!

The Strummin Dude

4 I'm no natural
Written by Michelangelo, on 04-14-2008 10:26
Yeah, it's really a matter of practice for everything. When you get some good callouses on your finger tips everything will get easier and you'll be able to practice longer.

Then remember it's practice. It's not about sounding good, it's about sounding bad working on the things you're not good at (which at the beginning is everything).

I have to practice a lot if I want to play something in a repeatable fashion. After 20 years even.

5 Like any physical endeavor
Written by Doug Hayman, on 04-14-2008 11:04
There are those martial arts films where the student stabs his hands repeatedly into a bucket of water, then one filled with sand, then rice, beans, pebbles and so until he can puncture a wall...or rip someone's heart out and show it to them. I've had women rip my heart out with much less rigorous training....but I digress.

As someone who did martial arts for 10 years and guitar for 34 years my experience is that it is more of a case of using just enough pressure to hold down the string with the fretting hand...and no more. See how lightly you can press and not get buzzing. In time you'll develop muscle memory for all of the various positions and scale runs.

As for the picking hand it is a similar process. Try a larger pick and strum against the outside seam of your jeans while sitting listening to tunes. Try downstrokes only; then upstrokes only; then down/up....make it fun. Again holding only with the minimal tension to hold the pick rather than so tight you strain yourself.

Have fun grasshopper.

6 tess...
Written by Night Driving, on 04-14-2008 11:59
i dont know if you're a tv watcher, or if you sit around solely doing things with your eyes at any point (see: bird watching, enjoying a nice day, looking at art) but if you dooo...

mute the guitar strings with your left hand and just strum up and down with your right while you're doing whatever else you're doing. the click click click might annoy whoever's in the room, but the comfort of strumming will just show up and you wont even notice it.

7 Written by Honeycomb, on 04-14-2008 15:31
Best advice for strumming - strum from the wrist, not the elbow. If you strum from the elbow you'll end up playing sharp and jaggy - Arctic Monkeys style. The wrist give a more fluid sound. Try and keep your elbow still.

As for pain. No pain - no gain. EVERY guitar player has been through what you're going through now.

Keep it up, you'll get there. If you have a musical ear (which can be verified by listening to your songs) you'll find that once the callouses appear it'll be uphill all the way.

8 Written by Helen Sventitsky, on 04-14-2008 22:49
Hi Tess,

I've heard you're guitar playing. You are not bad at all! That said, I feel your pain. One of the reasons why I don't practice so much is my girly side can't deal with cuts on the finger ends, followed by calluses.

And with THAT said, I've read somewhere hat practicing for at least a half hour every day should get you up to speed in no time.

BTW, a song with 5 chords is NOT simple! :p

Best,

Helen

9 No such thing as natural picking
Written by Nyarlathotep, on 04-14-2008 23:39
That guitar book is full of itself. Nothing comes 'naturally'; if you practice, picking will start to feel natural. I had the hardest time learning to alternate pick -- first time I tried it, I couldn't even comprehend how people could do it. I'm sure, if you practice, you can learn to pick, or strum, in no time. I can't agree with Michelangelo more, practice is absolutely everything.

Also, with regards to your hand, it'll get better. But you might want to use lotion or something to ensure the skin doesn't dry out and flake, like the fingers on my left hand. They're virtually impervious, but that's probably because all the nerves and skin up there are dead. Prooobably not something you want, so take care ;)

Good luck! Remember, every single guitarist was at one point where you are.

10 Helen Sventitsky
Written by Sister Savage, on 04-15-2008 04:12
Hiya - I really have just been playing for 10 minutes...well, 20 now. :-p I'm not playing guitar on my cd at all, but I want to do it next year so I'm trying to learn...TRYING through the PAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

11 One Inch From Midget
Written by Sister Savage, on 04-15-2008 04:13
Which two? Would be fun to try and learn them!

12 Written by Damage_ Damage- Control, on 04-15-2008 14:20
I know at least one song that's three chords: bob dylan-knocking on heavens door...G-D-C. In that order. First song I learned on guitar I believe. Four chords: Rockin in the free world...Em-G-C-D. I know there's many more that are only three chords, or two, or four, that's just a couple that jumped to mind right now. I agree with the others here, five chords is not necessarily simple.

Anyhoo...as far as strumming, any monkey should be able to do halfway-decent strumming, I would think anyway. Not necessarily at first for many, just practice everday for a decently long while, you'll get there in no time. Finger-picking to me is not easy. Of course, it all depends on what specifically you\'re trying to play probably.

As far as playing from the wrist or the elbow, it seems like I always hear different opinions on that. I've also heard you want to do more of it from the elbow. However, that being said, I think it depends a lot on what specifically you're playing. I'm at work, and plus it's just not something I consiously think about when I'm playing, so I'm having to think about how I personally play (as opposed to if I had a guitar in fron of me, I could just play and look). I think it depends. Playing chords that I want to give a hard ragged edge to? Forget using the wrist, that's almost all from the elbow. Trying something much more nuanced, or fluid, espcially while muting specific strings, etc.? Use much less elbow, more wrist. Although I'm not sure that my elbow is ever completely still. Many times, I think for me, it's some kind of combination, or it just depends on the specific sound I'm after. Just experiment, see what kind of sounds come out of different ways of strumming. I don't know if that's "technically" the way one should do it, but I'm nearly all self-taught, so I have no doubt I'm still doing a hundred things that are not the "technical" way of doing it. Which probably means I'm not the best to give advice on technique...oh well, I warned you...

If I have any more revelations on strumming when I can actually sit down with a guitar and witness myself playing, I'll just post again. Other than that, just remember, callouses are your friend, nerves, eh, who needs 'em (lol), just wait until you drum (from what I've heard, anyway), I guess your hand becomes one big callous...

13 Written by Kai Starr, on 04-16-2008 13:10
In all the years I have been playing guitar, I've never been able to keep callouses for more than a week. My skin is VERY oily and they flake off, after a while, no matter how often I play. I also have a monster grip on the neck, unless I've done something to totally relax myself, before I start, so it hurts even when I have callouses. ;P As for strumming, I don't buy the natural ability thing, either. Your strumming pattern is as individual as your signature, imo. I like to strum with fingers instead of a pick, and some people don't like the sound of that. But I like it, and what you as an artist like is what you should go for, no matter how you get there. Many have said before that if it sounds right, it IS right. I believe that.

14 Written by Volksmetall, on 04-16-2008 15:33
Ha, so now you know what I've been whinging about!

15 I remember...
Written by Two Days Alone, on 04-16-2008 18:27
...starting out on guitar, in 1976, sitting across from my brother-in-law, and trying to get him to explain how to strum. It made no sense, and he couldn't explain it.

A few days later, something went SKROINK in my head, and it just started happening.

Tess, you have many, many of those SKROINK moments ahead of you. 30 years later, I'm still having 'em!

Only registered users can write comments.
Please login or register.

Home

Read the Challenge

Participating Artists

Partners & Regional Hubs

FAQ

Miscellaneous

Listening Parties

time left to finish your album:

00h : 0min

Groups online now:

I Are See

latest blogs
Just when I thought I know some $@#! new EP Live at the Players Ring Theatre - Portsmouth, NH. hot diggity dawg! Two New Demos So long... Faster Baby the gig is over new trax for your listening pleasure new trax for your listening pleasure Very Best Gig, Or Groupies Are Forever Lucy, I'm home! Best Gig/Worst Gig-The Sequel Worst gig ever Best gig ever

Full Feed

latest posts
Re:Online mastering Lightbox Re:Online mastering ColinGarvey Re:08 Disk #8 - Voting mick Re:Online mastering mparker Re:Online mastering thel1195 Re:Online mastering mparker Re:Online mastering thel1195 Online mastering Lightbox Re:08 Disk #3 - Ambient / Atmospheric kavin Re:Pimpin Fellows in 2008 kavin Re:Austin, texas 09 kick of kavin

add this site