[NicBDA]

I know this seems irrelevant to all of you but HOW OFTEN SHOULD I CHANGE MY PLECTRUM? Or do I just wait til it breaks (or katy Perry's face rubs off)? And how 'thick' is the best one?

It's like with strings, when it doesn't give the tone or feel you want, change it. (or it looks more like a 10p coin than a teardrop, unless you like that)

I use dunlop JazzIII picks and they last ages, but they are a little weird to use at first because they are very small, and quite thick.

For what is best is again down to you. Luckily they are pretty cheap, and you can usually buy a mixed pack of them to try different sizes and thicknesses. Try a few different brands as well.

For a little piece of plastic, (or wood, or metal, or tortoiseshell, or felt...) there is a huge amount of design work.  When you try new ones give them a chance to show you what they can do, just one strum and saying "nah" isn't enough. I kept all the picks I didn't like from my random selection box, and I go back every now and again to see if there is something that works for a sound or feel that is different

Benjo - Just think Bryan Adams and Summer of '69

[Jess]

You will probably lose it long before you wear it out! (and will probably become quite good at shaking it out of the guitar when you drop it in the soundhole)

Heehee I have fond memories of the guitar-shaking-over-head-dance I actually think my plectrum's lucky though...I got a pack of katy perry plectrums in my stocking last Christmas (as in 2012) and I've been on the same one ever since! I keep 'losing' it or leaving it in around school and then it just appears again

Thanks for all the fabby advice

[tina m]

omg i can wear out a plec in a evening bcos i love string scraping ... so ive got 100s... the pretty ones i keep but dont use
 sometimes i get holes drilled in them to grip them better
anyway as evryones telling there secrets the 2 bigest steps forward i made when i was learning was
 learning bar chords ...they just open up the whole guitar so you can play in any key & also make lightning chord changes
& im suprised no one has mentioned how playing the guiatr is all about getting your left hand to stretch till you can almost dislocate your fingers & getting your right wrist to move like a dancer

the best thing i ever found to stretch my fingers into the relms of double jointedness was trying to play the chuck berry status quo 12 bar riff
try to play that evryday for a month & your fingers will be so stretched youll be able to manage any chord easily
i spose its also about building up strength in your left hand

[Jess]

Thanks Tina, my hands DO NOT stretch more than 3 frets (at an absolute breaking my fingers push) so I'm going to try that

[andy5544]

Love this thread,

good to hear you have taken up the guitar Benjo, callusing your fingers isn't the most enjoyable part of it, unless you're a masochist.

A little tip for when the skin starts to flake that I use is to get at them with a nail file and smooth them out - having numb fingers probably helps with this.

and since this thread has evolved into a "what guitar do you own" thread I have a classical Ramirez R2 bought to do my gradings on. But i want to buy a steel strng acoustic this year any one have any suggestions of a good all rounder? I play alot of rhythm but also play alot of the old blues finger picking stuff - Gary Davis, John Hurt - I know absolutley nothing about guitars apart from how to play them.

Oh and suggestions under £500 please.

Good luck Benjo!!!

I would suggest you check out some Crafter acoustics , test some out in a shop , then buy a used one on ebay , because they are dirt cheap second hand ,well under 500 and they are lovely guitars.
Dont know why they have such a bad used value but that works to the buyers advantage 

[benjo]

 my fingers are struggling to go from fret to fret
 will it ever get easier

 I tried to sing while strumming this morning
 my god how the hell do you guys do it

 its like patting your head while doing a circle on your belly
 with your other hand
 but its so addictive when you hear a tune come out of it

 checked out your guitar jess WOW its beautiful
 I like it in all colours LUCKY YOU

[digger72]

Hi Benjo,

Might be worth checking out this guy's lessons;

http://www.justinguitar.com/

He even got me playing - so anyone can.

Sore fingers is the least of your worries - wait till the "i need this or that" disease kicks in.

Good luck.

Digger

[benjo]

 WOW digger

 that is an amazing site
 I can't believe the list of songs
 I will be going there my friend

           THANK YOU FOR THAT BUD

[tina m]

 link=topic=6327.msg58395#msg58395 date=1388783864]
http://www.justinguitar.com/
[/quote]

justin your wearing a flat cap indoors & in evry video.... you might aswell admit youve lost all your hair! .....it means the same thing
i rememebr justin when he had hair!
ive never got on with lessons i tried a few times but i cant stand people telling me what they think i should do ....you end up playing like evry one else there teaching & playing stuff you dont like anyway
i was the same at school so maybe its me
i found the best way is to listen to all the things you like & work them out by yourself so you develop your own style which you cant help but like...unless you want to end up being just a imitation jukebox

[benjo]

 hey tina,

 very good point I do agree with you in a big way
 its about being original I suppose

 but you can learn the basics and then find your own way
 but I've learned all you guys out there that are at a really good standard
 and I've heard a lot of you since joining this forum
 you must have incredible patience and will power to progress
 and keep picking that guitar up because its not natural
 so my hat is off to you all I now know how it feels

 the first song I actually tried to play was BLACKBIRD BY MACCA
 cause I loved the sound of it

                                   HERES A QUESTION FOR YOU GUYS

 WHAT WAS THE FIRST SONG YOU LEARNED AND WHAT WAS YOUR  FIRST GUITAR

[Jess]

WHAT WAS THE FIRST SONG YOU LEARNED AND WHAT WAS YOUR  FIRST GUITAR

My first guitar (in fact my guitar until Christmas) was a 3/4 Valencia classical thing, at the time I loved it, it has a HUGE fretboard and the nylon strings weren't too bad on the fingers, but it sounded awful to strum! They really are meant for...well I don't know...classical music? Plus mine was like orange, so it wasn't really a looker either But I love her all the same!
The first song I tired to learn was Valerie (hence why I named my guitar Valerie) but it was too hard for a beginner, so I moved on to Amazing Grace (really good for a beginner) and leaving on a jet plane (also really good). The first song you learn is probably not going to be your favourite song in the world, but it's just about nailing those basic chords I guess Katy Perry's songs are also pretty easy...if you were looking for some inspiration

[tone]

I stand on the other side of the fence from Tina. I used to learn every song I heard that I liked - whether it was learning from someone else, getting the chords from the library ( ) or just working it out by ear.

If you are able to work songs out by ear, this is by far the best method, as other people's transcriptions usually can't be relied on, especially some of the Beatles books out there!

I don't think learning other people's music makes you lack originality. I think it teaches you about how songs are put together, and how chords interact. It took me a long time, but I think I found my own songwriting voice, and I still learn songs that catch my ear to this day. Seems perfectly healthy to me.

My first guitar was a Concorde acoustic which I inherited from my Dad when he bought an electro acoustic. It was a big old beast with a pretty high action, but I loved it. I played it for about 4-5 years, acquiring a cheap electric along the way before finally getting a nicer acoustic which is still my main guitar 20 years later

First song I learned to play? Honestly, I can't remember. But it may have been house of the rising sun...

[Boydie]

First song for me was La Bamba - a classic 3 chord masterpiece

The song I remember learning the most was "Sunshine Of Your Love" by Eric Clapton

This is a really good song for a beginner to cut their teeth on as it involves a little bit of "lead" work and some "rocky" 5th chords

First guitar for me was a "no name" nylon strung and then a Marlin "strat" copy

[andy5544]

Think my first guitar was a les Paul copy by Avon.
First song I learned all through was  by Status Quo .
It was good cuz you had to stretch your hands over 5 frets to do the status quo "thing" they do.
And I had a HHelectronics 150 watt combo !
Never turned it up above 3 

[Jess]

whether it was learning from someone else, getting the chords from the library ( )

...what's a library!? I think they're called museums now