Moi?
A cheap acoustic guitar from Amazon… That’s what happens when you’re unemployed, you waste that little money you have… I can’t even play it, I though it would be easy to at least pretend to play it but nope, even those “easy to play songs” on YouTube are impossible for me and I’m negated in learning chords, now is a pretty dust collector that I want to destroy.
Also I guess cyberpunk 2077. That game isn’t what it promised to be.
Edit: people, you also can ask about the game, not just the goddamn guitar. Seriously, stop asking about the guitar, the post wasn’t even about music advice.
I can’t do chords at all dude. It’s impossible.
It sounds like you spent an hour looking at YouTube videos then gave up? Guitar takes time to learn, and it’s even more difficult on a cheap acoustic than say a mid priced one from a good brand. If you spend 15-20 minutes a day on it you’ll be surprised how soon you make progress
That’s already a lot. Plus extremely boring, because you’re not doing anything remotely sounding graceful. You get annoyed really fast.
Just an example, a couple of years ago I also bought an electric guitar and after 2 years I could only badly play one song that doesn’t use chords at all. I’m not doing that shit again. The acoustic is even worse to hold and feel. That’s why I almost instantly regret buying it.
It’s something every single musician has to go through.
Actually it’s something everyone has to go through when learning anything.
Would you also quit learning a second language because you can’t immediately have a full conversation with a native speaker? Quit working out because you don’t start with the ability to do pull-ups? Quit any game you try if you don’t win your first match?
The excitement is in seeing yourself progress from the point of being a complete beginner. You are depriving yourself of a great joy by abandoning the project at the first sign of any friction
It sounds like OP might have ADHD. Which makes it even harder to both focus on something that isn’t immediately gratifying as well as keep a schedule. It’s still possible (I’m learning guitar slowly myself) but it definitely takes more effort than a NT person may have.
I’ll second that. We love to try new things!
In fact, we love it so much, that we instantly stop caring about all the old things that we’ve tried.
Just ask my Magic cards, D&D books, homebrewing equipment, lock picks, camping gear, axe & knife throwing range, video & board game collection, and whatever else is collecting dust at my house.
I’m not a musician. I don’t get paid for suffering reading and researching boring tutorials on YouTube plus the hundreds of hours trying to hold the guitar correctly.
I wish musicians actually got paid lol
So you mean you actually had no intention of even trying to learn the guitar? Hmm… Yeah, that would make me regret buying one too lol Did you think it would just magically play itself?
I tried already. That’s my point.
If you spent an hour looking at YouTube tutorials and expect to be able to do much, you’re just going to frustrate yourself. I’ve been playing guitar for almost 30 years and I’ve also taught plenty of beginner guitar lessons, and to get anywhere with it you need to practice at least for a few minutes on a regular basis.
It doesn’t have to take up a big part of your day, you don’t have to spend hours and hours on it, but you do need to do it regularly. For the people I’ve taught I recommend half an hour of practice every day, but even 15 minutes a few times a week will get you to where you can comfortably play simple songs within a month.
The fact that you’ve bought two guitars now sounds like you really want to learn, but it is going to take work. Even playing as long as I have I still practice often and I still find new things to learn all the time!
This holds true across pretty much everything, you’re always better off doing a moderate amount of effort regularly over a longer period of time than going all-in for a short period, it’s just being human. Ever since we were hunting mammoths by slowly walking behind them, rather than sprinting.
That doesn’t work for me. I need fast result in everything.
Well, I’m afraid that means you’re just going to have to get used to being disappointed then. Good luck.
Well the ukulele is easier then electric guitar, and wonder wall will still sound nice in it
Fun fact for anyone that wants to apply this, if you have a capo and a guitar then you can sort of play ukulele. Capo on the fifth fret in standard tuning, ignore the two thickest strings. Take them off altogether if you’re really committing to the bit. You now have ukulele, basically! Well, you have a four string guitar in GCEA tuning, the most common one for ukes. All the fingerings will be the same.
It sounds like you really do want to know how to play the guitar, but have had a hard time learning from YouTube. You’d probably really benefit from some actual lessons, from an in-person instructor. You can often find group lessons on Craigslist for pretty cheap. I took piano lessons once with a bunch of kids in some guy’s house. I was the only adult there, but I learned a lot, and I really enjoyed it. It was fun talking to the kids too, and comparing progress with them.
Aside the fact I’m broke, there’s nobody here that teach guitar. I wasted enough money
I guess it’s not for you then. Good luck with your next hobby! I hope you find something you like.
Start with just root notes then! So if it says to play a D chord, just play a D note. Once you can do that along with the song, start doing power chords. Power chords are a sort of mini-chord on only two strings, and they are everywhere in rock and metal. Once you’re comfortable doing power chords along with the song you’re 90% of the way to playing the full chords
All songs require chords dude. Otherwise they sound disgusting. And require certain natural dexterity than isn’t for everyone. Why do you think artists like lil Wayne (yes he’s an artist, and quite smart, watch his interviews) can’t play for shit despite having all the money in the world plus great gear?
Seven Nation Army is single notes during the verses and it’s arguably the most famous guitar riff ever. Smoke on the Water is double stops, which are much easier than full chords, but the riff totally works with just single notes too. The first song I learned on guitar was the Hindu Times by Oasis because I really liked the riff and it’s msingle notes. Atomic by Blondie. Half of the Black Keys’ catalogue. Almost all of Knights of Cydonia by Muse, which isn’t a perfect example since the middle doesn’t fit but I bring up mostly because of how fun the rest of it is, and those parts are single notes.
But I’m not saying that you should just play root notes and be done. I’m saying that root notes are a useful stepping stone towards being able to play what you want. Can’t do chords? That’s okay, simplify it until it’s in a form you find approachable. Get comfortable with that version. Root notes aren’t interesting by themselves, but they sound good if you play along with the recording of the song. Once you’re comfortable, step it up a level and play power chords. They’re easier than full chords, but they sound good, and if you can play them then you have the entire world of rock guitar open to you. Once you’re comfortable with that, then making the step over to full chords is far easier than going there straight from nothing.
Lil Wayne can’t play for shit because he never learned to. It’s as simple as that. There are some people who are genuinely unable to, but for the vast majority of people it’s just a matter of developing a specific kind of dexterity that you otherwise haven’t trained at before. If you can type on a keyboard at a reasonable speed then your fingers are capable of doing the things that you need them to do to play guitar.
It’s okay if you don’t actually want to learn. Playing an instrument isn’t for everyone. The point of my comment is that trying to do chords straight away is like trying to run up a mountain on your first day of training for a marathon. Maybe try running one mile first. It’s okay if it doesn’t sound as good yet. Find interesting one-mile runs to do (songs that still sound pretty good with just single notes).
My point is that if someone as talented and that has music as his business as lil Wayne can’t play at all, it makes sense why I can’t play at all, especially such an impossible instrument.
“Musical talent” is not how anyone gets good at an instrument. Some people can get better a bit faster, some do it slower, but absolutely everyone without exception has to put in the work if they want to develop the skill. The only reason Lil Wayne plays guitar like he does is that he never learned much of how to play guitar. The fact that he knows a lot about other aspects of music does not change that. But what he plays seems to make him happy, so maybe he doesn’t need to learn any more.
Similarly, I’m a terrible violinist. I’m a good guitarist, I’m a competent bassist, and I know my music theory to a decent level. I’m still shit at violin because I haven’t practiced enough yet. You could have the musical prowess of Mozart himself, you’ll still be shit at guitar when you first pick it up.
Knowledge of musical theory helps, but you have to take the time to learn that anyway. Playing other instruments helps your sense of rhythm and your dexterity, but you still had to take the time to learn them. The only shortcut is if you have already done the work on a really similar instrument, but the point is you had to do the work on the first instrument.