So new......it's embarrassing

[jac]

Hi, my name is Jay.  Brand new to playing the guitar and just trying to figure the basics out.  I have always wanted to play the guitar.  When I was in high school I played bass in a punk band.  Needless to say, bass in a high school punk band doesn't really teach you much at all.  I played most of my notes on one string....badly.  I'm 30 and finally in a position where I can take the time to myself and learn the guitar.  Oddly enough I have two guitars, an Ibanez acoustic (a gift and I know nothing more about it) and a Fender squier Telecaster.  In fact, that's how I found this site.  I came across the youtube video of Robert playing the tele, I followed the link here and the rest is history.  The reason I joined the forum is because I purchased the blues lesson "I got it".  I had the song memorized within 40 min, lol.  For a "noob" there is nothing better then knowing one song.  When I get frustrated with my fingers continuously numbing the other chords, I stop what I'm doing and I play the one and only song I know, and that reminds me that I can, in fact, play.

I apologize if this is a forum full of experts, as I will have nothing to bring to the table.  But I am enthusiastic to learn as much information as I can so that I one day, I hope, I can play a second song.  :-)

[zagatron1]

Let me be the first to say welcome jac, and I hope you find your experience here a pleasant and rewarding one. We all had to start somewhere, thats for sure. We more we learn, the more we want to learn. Do it at a comfortable pace, and you'll be alright. 

[sven]

Well you know...We all like to think we know everything, and would be too happy to tell all about what we know.  So bear with us too.  Welcome...Robert is a good teacher.  You are on the right track.

[robert]

Hi Jay, great to hear you learned that song so fast! That's showing something right there.

This is a good place to ask and learn. There may not be that many members posting regularly, but the ones who are here are very helpful.

I hope you enjoyed and learned something from my lesson.

[jac]

Well, thank you all very much.  Hopefully in the future I won't make as many grammatical errors in my posts.   

I have been taking it slow, making sure I get the chords right before I move on and learn something else.  The only deviation from that path was learning that one song. 

Robert, the video was amazing.  I found it very easy to understand and the quality was amazing.  I don't have a HD screen on my laptop and it was still amazingly clear.  I had been practicing just before I found your site so my fingers were already a little sore.  See, I'm so new I'm in the sore fingers stage!  Because you broke the song down into sections I was able to get one section down before moving to the next one.  And because I knew the basics of playing power chords, learning "melody" part was very easy.  I can't play it as fast as you, but I can do it without making too many mistakes.  Plus my wife likes it so that really makes me feel like a pro.  In fact, I will leave a detailed review in the review section if you would like.  I also thought the heavy dust on the head was a nice touch.

Again, thank you all for the warm welcome.  Hopefully I'll have a moment where I can help someone in some way.  If not then I guess I'll just stick to purchasing lessons from Robert.  lol

[sven]

Hey Jac.  Just because you're older, it doesn't mean you have to play everything nice and tidy.  I'll bet playing bass badly in a punk band was a lot of fun!  There are other grownups out there who still enjoy a thrash now and then.

[charlie51]

Nothing to be embarassed about Jac.  If anything, I'm embarassed that I played for so long, gave it up for over a decade (not too bright) and now find myself wondering where on the neck those notes disappeared to?

IMHO, ANY musical experience is something you can draw from...garage bands, punk bands, jazz bands in high school...it's all valuable stuff that will kick in when you least expect it. 

And if your wife likes what you play?  Even better.   Many of us (ahem) took up guitar to impress the girls...or so I'm told.