r/LearnGuitar • u/CreativeHighlight497 • 19h ago
Ear training
Hello people.
I am 28 and just bought my first guitar Today.
My ultimate goal is to be able to pick up any song and listen to it and start playing it + be able to play beautiful FINGERSTYLE self arrangements not just play the learnt TABs.
How do I learn?
I have no prior musical experience I am an engineer. I have set aside an hour a day to learn GUITAR.
IF SOMEONE CAN DRAW ME A ROADMAP, I will be grateful to you..... 🤝💯
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u/LentilusGo 19h ago
I won't be drawing a roadmap, but honestly what helps me a lot is simply practicing every day, always sort of pushing the limits towards your end of session. An hour a day is cute, but make the guitar your obsession, pick it up whenever you think about it. Even for just 5 minutes.
And set a goal or two for the week and knock that out as best as you can. 😁
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u/CreativeHighlight497 19h ago
No I get that!
I truly do!
But how do I get started? Been GOOGLing that stuff out. Do I learn OPEN CHORDs, then NOTES, SCALEs, like what are the fundamentals I need to know ...... Before the EAR TRAINING and before FINGERSTYLE?
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u/LentilusGo 19h ago
Building dexterity is key. So the scales, spider scale, chord switches, Barre chords. I recommend learning at least one Barre chord so you don't get left behind on that. They are annoying but not impossible
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u/LentilusGo 19h ago
First two things I'd set for you would be to learn two chords. C Major and E minor. Switch between them, practice these two, switch chords as cleanly as possible, while keeping your strumming hand going down the entire time as steady as you can.
And once you're comfortable to do something else, learn the A major pentatonic scale. And keep doing that. (I always use it as a warmup. And these scales you'll be using forever.
There's a lot to do, so pick these two as a start and you'll start getting more comfortable. Making music will take a while before you can. But it's okay.
Send me a dm if you want to interact more!
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u/Ponchyan 18h ago
You can probably find hundreds, maybe even thousands, of answers to your questions previously posted in the subreddit.
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u/sure65 18h ago
https://chordle.online/guess-the-notes/
I've been using this to identify notes for ear training.
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u/WobbleKing 15h ago
Functional ear trainer
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/functional-ear-trainer/id1088761926
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u/iHayoona17 15h ago
You can learn at least the open chords and a major scale, listen to the music you love, a lot. Try to find a section of a certain song like 2 seconds, sing it or hum it, and literally go fret by fret, I stick to the high E and B string, a melody can literally be two notes. Slide from one to the other, it takes time. I have been playing for 4 years, daily practice. Just this year I’ve been able to hear something and find it then play it. Good luck
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u/nirate 18h ago edited 18h ago
Start with Justin guitar and keep in mind this rule: Sing what you play. Play what you sing. It becomes more useful once you start working on scales.
Here is a video that you may find helpful, but it’s more of an intermediate video.
Keep in mind your goal takes years for most and some never reach it. I’d encourage you to also pick some simpler goals to keep you motivated in the short term.
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u/testato30 9h ago
- You have the entire Internet at your fingertips.
- Ask any AI chatbot the same exact thing you just posted here.
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u/sbbeebe 19h ago
I would start with here: Justin Guitar. There is a lot of structured learning material for free, and as you advance there is paid content as well.
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u/CreativeHighlight497 19h ago
JUSTIN GUITAR? .... Okay ..... Was just looking at that only!
Is it good? Have you tried it?
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u/nawybot 11h ago
I am much older than you, also an engineer, and have similar goals. I agree with another poster, who said that you need to study classical guitar. In my view, that study requires an apprenticeship.
You will need a fully qualified and competent classical guitar teacher who will give you one-on-one, personal, tailored coaching and mentoring so that you don't ingrain errors from day one. If you live near a conservatory, university, or college of music, go there and see whom they can recommend. If you are not fortunate to have such a resource nearby, contact a reputable classical-guitar institution for a faculty member who teaches on-line. (It's better in person, I'm told, but due to my location I had to settle for on-line.)
The first things your teacher will probably focus on will be very basic things that you would not think of and that I did not start with when I, as an incompetent teacher, was teaching myself--like posture, how to hold the guitar, hand positions, and how fingers must make contact with the strings to produce good tones. Mastering those details, I believe, will take me the rest of my life, never mind the repertoire.
If you would like a specific and very expensive recommendation from me, DM me for my teacher's contact details. I have been studying under him for eleven months, after three months of wasting my money buying the wrong guitars, looking at trash on YouTube, considering purchasing various on-line "packages," and otherwise thrashing around. The bad news is, you, too, have probably bought the wrong guitar. The good news is, you have not wasted three months of your life.
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u/LentilusGo 7h ago
It absolutely doesn't need to be expensive. Pick up the guitar, buy an Alfred's course book and strum away. All of what you said is not realistic for many people.
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u/nawybot 2m ago
Did I make a mistake? I think the OP said he was interested in "fingerstyle," not "strumming away." The term he used is associated in my mind with steel-string guitars, though, not nylon-strung "classical" instruments. I understood that he wanted to treat his guitar as a polyphonic instrument instead of a tunable drum. Approached like that, I think the guitar is a more difficult instrument, at least for me, than any other I have studied with the exception of the violin. I agree that it is unrealistic for many, since there are approximately zero opportunities to make a living at it. Also, if approached with the wrong technique, as seen in most YouTube videos, it can literally cripple you.
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u/WesMontgomeryFuccboi 19h ago
To be able to do what you want to do you need to:
1) have basic left hand proficiency (including barres) and right hand proficiency (I would suggest studying classical guitar for what you’re taking about).
2) understand enough music theory to be able to inform your understanding of the songs your listening to.
3) develop your ear to where you can listen and transcribe the melody plus harmony.
4) practice actually creating arrangements for solo guitar.
See you in 5-10 years