Semi Beginner ?

PJGARDENPJGARDEN Posts: 1,484
edited December 2007 in Musicians and Gearheads
I have been playing guitar to about 2 years now. When I started I wanted to learn finger picking. I figured it would be easier if I learned it from the beginning than if i started learning later. Problem is, now I can only play with my fingers. I am completly lost when I try to use a pick and it seems to be slowing me down. I am loooking for some suggestions on some easy songs that would help me get more comfortable with using a pick. I was thinking maybe RITFW. Any other suggestions ?

BTW....I usually don't post in this section of the pit but I come here all the time and wanted to thank all of you. Even though you didn't know it, many of you have answered so many of my questions. I have learned a ton and several threads have made me feel so much better about my progress. Thanks.
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • I JUST posted about this earlier, haha BUT, Betterman is a good one to try. It meshes the fingerpicking and pick use together. Are you trying to learn strumming? I don't quite know the exact question.
    Grand Rapids '04, Detroit '06
    JEFF HARDY AND JEFF AMENT USED TO LOOK THE SAME
    "Pearl Jam always eases my mind and fires me up at the same time.”-Jeff Hardy
  • PJGARDENPJGARDEN Posts: 1,484
    Strumming mostly. Honestly I'm just a little tired of the finger picking but when I use a pick I feel like I'm starting all over again. I guess I need an easy beginner song. I know its a little backwards but in the 2 years I have been playing I have NEVER used a pick. Does that make more sense?
  • OKAY!!! I can suggest a few. If you just want some PJ songs, try:

    Leavin' Here, Small Town, Lukin, Not For You, Daughter, Indifference(acoustic version), Last Kiss, RITFW, and Oceans. Those are beginner to intermediate. Some focus on all the strings while others only look at certain ones. Start VERY slow with some of these. (I wish I could finger style, haha, I'm learning though). I hope this helps at least somewhat.
    Grand Rapids '04, Detroit '06
    JEFF HARDY AND JEFF AMENT USED TO LOOK THE SAME
    "Pearl Jam always eases my mind and fires me up at the same time.”-Jeff Hardy
  • lucylespianlucylespian Posts: 2,403
    Hah, see I know a guy whose teacher is forcing him to lern everything fingerpicking, including any number of things which he would be much better off using a pick for. I feel it is really holding him up, an opinion backed by his minimal progress in the year I have known him.
    SAure there a few guys like Knopfler and beck etc who don't use a pick, BUT most guys are adept at both styles.
    You didn't really need to go that purist route, but it's easily fixed.
    Go the the guitar store and buy yourself a whole bunch of picks of varying thicknesses.
    Dunlop make a range of nylon picks which start at really floppy and work their way up. Foir strumming, a really floppy one will get you going in no time. For single string stuff, you will nedd a thicker one.
    For an exercise, do the caterpiller, ie a chromatic scale anywhere on the neck with the 1234 pattern an go successive strings, then skip a string.
    The intro to Sweet CHild of Mine is straight 8ths, so you can set a metronome slow and learn it. It's a great picking exedrcise, in fact that's what Slash originally wrote it for. Someone heard him practising, and siad, hey, that would make a great song. It will teach anyone to navigate confisently form one string to another in no time, and it's cool.
    Get someone to show you how to hiold the pick, and basic up down strumming style, and you will be flying in no time.
    Music is not a competetion.
  • PJGARDENPJGARDEN Posts: 1,484
    Thanks. Yeah Ive been with a teacher since I started. I'm happy about that b/c I don't feel like I've picked up any bad habits I don't think I'm near as far along as I should be. I am starting to try to teach myself different songs than he has been teaching me so hopefully that will help. Thanks again for the suggestions:)
  • PJGARDEN wrote:
    Thanks. Yeah Ive been with a teacher since I started. I'm happy about that b/c I don't feel like I've picked up any bad habits I don't think I'm near as far along as I should be. I am starting to try to teach myself different songs than he has been teaching me so hopefully that will help. Thanks again for the suggestions:)

    I have the same problem... I can play like Garden, Release, Guaranteed, and some other finger picking songs real easy, but i'm really slow when I use a pick.I have been learning to play betterman, and Off He Goes picking, and then like Elderly Woman and Society for strummin. Also Immortality isn't bad to learn.

    What I just noticed is the section of giventowail.com where they have PJ for beginners. I have been going through those songs, and it's helped alot.
    "There was a band playing in my head, and I felt like getting high"
  • jordn6971 wrote:

    What I just noticed is the section of giventowail.com where they have PJ for beginners. I have been going through those songs, and it's helped alot.


    Amazing section
    Grand Rapids '04, Detroit '06
    JEFF HARDY AND JEFF AMENT USED TO LOOK THE SAME
    "Pearl Jam always eases my mind and fires me up at the same time.”-Jeff Hardy
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