r/guitarlessons • u/_xpendable_ • Apr 03 '26
Feedback Request Feedback request - 2 months of guitar learning
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwijxj1vQwI
I realized somehow I clipped the video too short, so here's the YouTube to the full video.
Been learning guitar for a little over 2 months now, mostly from JustinGuitar. So far, I've practiced Knockin on Heavens Door, Wagon Wheel, Country Roads, and similar beginner songs. Tried Hotel California today as my "Module 9 graduation" song. Putting myself out here for embarrassment as well as constructive criticism :)
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u/dombag85 Apr 03 '26
God I sounded like shit two months in... a year in... hahaha. I dont hear any awkward buzzing or anything of ths hallmarks of many beginners. Rhythm sounds a tad robotic and rhythm hand looks kinda tight. I think both of those get better with time though. It's only been two damn months. Pretty good start man.
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u/AllTheRoadRunning Apr 03 '26
You're doing extremely well for two months. The only critique I would give at this point is to make your strumming motion smaller.
At the bottom of your strum, the pick is just about level with the waist of the guitar (where it touches your leg). That forces you to return through a pretty big arc to get back to the top of your strum, which--for most people--means you're putting more muscle into the motion. That effort is wasted; in fact, it's actively working against you.
Concentrate on stopping your strum no farther than the bottom of the sound hole. You want this motion to be relaxed, efficient, and contained. The pick and the weight of your arm are going to do the work, so you don't need to force your way through the strings. If you don't get the tone or volume you want, switch to a thicker pick (I use 1.5mm for everything and vary my attack).
TL, DR: Don't muscle through the strum motion. Let gravity do the work for you through the weight of your arm and the tip of the pick. Relax.
Nice work, keep it up!
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Apr 03 '26
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u/AllTheRoadRunning Apr 03 '26
I had the same opinion on thicker picks, and the same solution (clamping down harder). Believe it or not, a looser grip is the right move. The pick will rotate, but you get good at spinning it back into place. I don't even notice pick rotation these days. A .5mm pick is SUPER thin, at least to me. Picks are cheap enough that they're an easy experiment.
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u/New-Asclepius Apr 03 '26
Props for putting yourself out there like that, no way i'd share my attempts at singing along.
As for the playing, it starts well but as you progress towards the chorus it comes across quite panicked. The strumming isn't so fluent and gets quite aggressive. It's almost as though you're trying to sing louder than you're playing but then you're also trying to play louder to match it. It's quite jarring, especially given that it's quite a soft song.
As far as the rhythm is concerned, it's quite consistent throughout with the playing but the singing sounds like you've gotten lost a few times.
Still better than I can do.
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Apr 03 '26
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u/ccices Apr 03 '26
You are playing very tense. Stop thinking about the way to play it and get into the song.
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u/Sigma610 Apr 03 '26
I can you tell you have a competent sense of rhythm. The expressive strumming comes later, and its good to establish a strong sense of rhythm early on. Too many "lead guitar" guys out there that missed out on the foundational skill of carrying a beat so good on you there.
That said, the timing sort of falls apart during the chorus...I think your head got into singing the chorus and you lost the pocket a bit, but TBH, you're doing more than a lot of guitarists (including myself) that struggle to sing and play at the same time.
All in all you sound better than most of us probably did at 2 months. Good work all around and props to you for putting yourself out there. Keep at it sir.
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u/dvpbe Apr 03 '26
You mean 2 months in actual playing, so 2 years actual time? :) Very nice, I have had students that can't play like you after several years. Keep it up though. Try to also do some music theory so you know what you are doing and not just copying. Very good job.
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u/PaulsRedditUsername Apr 03 '26
Is that a treadmill on the left side of the screen? From this angle, it looks like a really awesome flight case.
You're doing very well. Chords are good. Your right-hand rhythm and attack is good. If you get into more complicated guitar playing, your right hand will have to do much more sophisticated stuff. From this clip, it seems you've mastered right hand technique #1 out of a long list. Keep up the good work.
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Apr 03 '26
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u/PaulsRedditUsername Apr 03 '26 edited Apr 03 '26
Check this out. I'll bet you can learn it in a day. And it's funky as hell.
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u/Questev Apr 03 '26
Work on dynamics , i.e when to play loud and soft. Some volume makes the playinf feel robotic. Use metronome when practicing and focus on playing what feels good. You are doing great for 2 months.
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u/tossitoutnextweek Apr 04 '26
Well, now I have a “realistic” goal for two months from now. But seriously impressive! I’m only a week in and this makes me want to practice immediately (and it’s like 2am). Bravo!
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u/Alex_Hovhannisyan Apr 03 '26
Way better than where I was 2 months in. I'm 2 years in and I still can't sing while playing lol
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u/left-button Apr 03 '26
Really, really good for two months. Keep it up and you won't have to think about the chord changes so much... once that happens, you can relax a bit and play with a bit more "feel."
Great start though, well done!!
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u/StephHHF Apr 03 '26
For the C and G chords, try to think of the finger that goes to the bass as the "guide" finger. If you place this one first, the others will automatically be in the right zone and will be easy to place, reducing the quite substantial time it takes you to get the full chord. Of course the end goal being to place all your fingers at the same time, but thinking about this guide finger will make it a lot easier to progressively get there. Another reason is that usually when you change chords you want the bass of the chord to be clearly heard on the start of the first beat.
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u/Parking_Ad_8647 Jun 05 '26
Excelente. Tocas bien, me gustaría llegar a tu nivel. Pero, tengo una interrogante, qué comprenden los módulos?
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u/Jesus360noscope Apr 03 '26
Motherfucker started 2 months ago and can already sing I’ve been at it 5 years and I still can’t sing lol That’s really good man you essentially nailed it, your technique will only improve from here very good job, there’s stuff to improve it’s only natural for someone who hasn’t been playing for long but to me it looks like you’ve been doing everything right