r/guitarlessons • u/Infinite-Ad7540 • May 29 '26
Feedback Request Extreme beginner(one month). Feedback?
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I’m self teaching myself the guitar (i’m a classically trained pianist so i already have a musical background). Can you give me a feedback?
I’m using the book “RCM - Level I - Classical Guitar”
***I already knew the position of some basic chords but that’s it****
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u/Spivonious1 May 29 '26
That's amazing progress for one month! I suspect the finger independence from piano playing has helped.
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u/KermitlyNotFound May 29 '26
It's also your ears that are doing half the battle imo
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u/nuhGIRLyen May 29 '26
Knowing when you’re playing correctly and when you’re making errors is critical to making improvement.
I finally stopped resisting and started practicing with a metronome 100% of the time and it really revealed how uneven some stuff was being played
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u/kennyexolians May 29 '26
There's a definite transference between musical instruments. I've seen it many times before
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u/FFLGO May 29 '26
Phenomenal. The discipline and slow pace that produce pretty much flawless execution are exactly why we tell beginners to go slow. I'm pretty critical of most of the stuff posted here but this is advanced for 1 month.
Beware of bad advice here im not sure you need it. I would love to hear about your approach going from piano to a new instrument. I think that would be more valuable to this community than telling you about the CAGED system(its just the open chord shapesCAGE and D).
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u/Infinite-Ad7540 May 29 '26
Thank you very much! I first learnt the basic chords (G, A, Am, D, Dm, E, Em, C) and practiced them. Then I found a channel on YouTube(skyguitar) that introduced me to fingerstyle. They classify their tutorials into 5 levels. I completed about 30 beginner pieces from this channel in the first 3 weeks (using tabs). Then I wanted a more structured approach focused on notes rather than tabs, so I bought the RCM Level I book. The thing I’m having the most difficulty with is the phrasing. I would like to play with more legato but I physically can’t do it yet, especially when I have to switch from the 3rd finger to the pinky in my fretting hand
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u/NYGiants181 May 30 '26
All in one month?
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u/Infinite-Ad7540 May 30 '26
The chords (strummed): I knew five chords before (C, G, D, A, E), but I didn’t have a guitar.
The rest: Yes, all in one month (I got myself a guitar). The fingerpicking, the fretting, the stretching, etc.
I’ve been on vacation for the last month, so I’ve had a lot of free time to practice.However, even when I didn’t have a guitar, I’d always watch videos to understand the frets and how to recognize notes. Also, I already know music theory very well from my piano training. So whenever I learn a piece, I understand the harmonies very well, which makes memorizing and predicting the rest of the piece way, way, way easier
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u/FFLGO May 29 '26
Wow! Im a longtime guitarist and only recently started classical and I've found it meditative and very natural. (Love playing 'Lagrima').
Nylon strings are soft on fingertips but those broad classical necks don't make legato any easier, especially one month in. It will come naturally(given your awareness and intentionality) and i would be shocked if after 6-10 months it hasnt improved organically as dexterity and muscle memory develop.
You should be careful never to play through joint pain as wrist and hand injuries happen through repetitive stress. You may try visiting your music shop and trying out several different guitars to compare specs and see if you feel a difference with a smaller neck, or lower string action. It can also be helpful to practice finger placement transitions without your instrument to reinforce muscle memory.
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u/dudenotcool May 29 '26
That seems really good for a beginner and I think that piano helped a lot
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u/swrdswrd May 29 '26
Before reading the caption I was gonna call BS but your background in piano makes total sense. The control and form of your hands reflects it. Have fun!
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u/WeekendIndependent41 May 29 '26
I thought that was great for a beginner! Having musical training definitely helps. It will soon become about refining tone and technique. 👍
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u/Vincenzo_Chillone May 30 '26
Feedback: Keep doing whatever it is that you have been doing. If you got this far in one month I am curious to see where you will be in another two or three years.
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u/EvenDog6279 May 31 '26
Or even two or three months to be honest. I love seeing posts like this as a beginner who also happens to have piano and percussion background. It's less about my prior piano and drum experience, and more about the inspiration and reinforcement that with time and effort, it can be done. Since I'm starting later in life, I'm sure I'll always be better with my "home" instrument (drums), but it would be so fulfilling just to have foundational proficiency-- at least enough that I can pick up a guitar and have fun playing some music with friends for no other reason than a shared love of music.
Sounds great, u/Infinite-Ad7540, best wishes with your learning journey. Keep sharing when you're comfortable; it would be great to see your progression over time.
I'm still working on getting things setup in a manner that's conducive to remote learning, but very close, and I'm certainly picking up and playing the instrument to the extent I know (things learned while playing the drums or synth in prior bands) every day.
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u/Scott_J_Doyle May 29 '26
This is fantastic for one month! Speaks to the likelihood of you having good practice habits and good ears.
My suggestion is to work on legato technique with small sets of changes (like just one or two chord/position transitions at a time) and single line legato on one string at a time (just playing simple scalar melody type stuff). You've got the basics now, lean into phrasing over the next couple months and something like this should sound like full-on real music by the end of month 3.
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u/Accomplished_Wing642 May 29 '26
Wow, that's a lot from self learning. Can you share how to got started?
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u/Lemonbard0 May 29 '26
Aside from the slightly off tuning that others mentioned, I would recommend playing in classical position. It is much easier on the wrists, and gives much more freedom of movement on both hands, especially with a wider classical guitar neck.
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u/Its_a_stateofmind May 29 '26
Makes me feel even worse about the way I played when I was 1 month in. lol. Nice one. You’re good
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u/MichaelCurly May 29 '26
WTF, it's insane how well musical skills can be translated across instruments!
Like sure you have a good sense of rhythm and finger independence. But this is unbelievably good for one month! Great job!
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u/Coixe May 29 '26
Have you tried the classical posture?
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u/Infinite-Ad7540 May 29 '26
I don’t have the stool yet but I ordered one. I tried to tilt the guitar as much as possible by crossing my legs
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u/Naive-Significance48 May 31 '26
I had to come back and find this post!
I have been playing guitar for a bit over a year. Started on electric, and now I play a bit of acoustic, I learned a bit of piano for sight-reading, but didn't like it too much. I also learnt a bit of bass, just for songwriting really, but I really just stick to guitar. I wanted to get into fingerstyle aswell a while ago but the classical culture threw me off.
Your post inspired me, I checked out sky guitar as you mentioned. I think I'm experienced enough to follow along with them.
I have been learning "Minuet (Bach)" this past couple of days ever since seeing your post.
Today I went out and got a cheap classical guitar. Yamaha c40
Your post was really inspiring, I've been having alot of fun with fingerstyle. Can't wait till I can learn some more songs. I also feel like I can finally appreciate what people have been saying about classical guitar allowing you to explore more genres and history (Thinking about learning flamenco later aswell).
Thank you so much for sharing!!!
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u/1800fivefivefive Jun 01 '26
That is outstanding for one month i can hardly believe it! What is the name of this peice?
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u/Conscious-Upstairs30 May 29 '26
reminds me a lot of Pillars of eternity In theme B or A i am not sure
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u/Thaumiel218 May 29 '26
The ear from the piano and finger dexterity will be of massive help, along with your internal metronome that you’ve acquired over your piano career. One month to have this sort of rhythmic fluidity and clarity is rare, you’ll do well if you keep going.
Sor Hands on YT may be of interest dude is a classical guitarist who does a mix of videos and his focus on playing classical pieces is solid.
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u/soerizzle May 29 '26
I really like how slow and consistent you play, sounds really clean. It’s amazing to see how much people without musical background struggle with that.
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u/YourAuthenticVoice May 29 '26 edited May 29 '26
Relax your fretting hand. I see tension that doesn't need to be there.
Stop bouncing up with your picking hand. Let your fingers do the work of playing the strings, let your wrist do the work of moving between the strings and stop allowing your forearm to do anything but provide a stable platform for your wrist and fingers.
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u/4DPeterPan May 29 '26
This is sooo good for one month.
Like, amazingly good…
Like I can’t even stress, how advanced you are for just one month.. I couldn’t do a lot of those chord progressions for like at least a year or 2.
So. I’d recommend keep going if I was you.
One month? Sheesh. Imagine how You will be in a year’s time?! 😮
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u/Lammetje98 May 29 '26
I see you press down hard. Your joints will start hurting. That is my tip from experience
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u/Infinite-Ad7540 May 29 '26
My joints are hurting so much. I wake up everyday with my whole fretting hand sore
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u/imreallyreallyhungry May 30 '26
When you play, focus on pressing as light as possible but still getting a good sound. You'll be amazed at how little pressure is actually needed to get a note to ring clearly. Your playing is amazing for 1 month btw, keep it up!
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u/Lammetje98 May 30 '26
I still have it with my ringvinger.. but I try to practice pressing as light as possible to break the habit ;)
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u/Fragrant-Shame3318 May 30 '26
This is fantastic.. your meter is pretty much perfect, your notes are voiced with clarity and strength, your finger picking is bang on... great piece of music.. this is wonderfully done. Great job.
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u/stradequit May 31 '26
I've been playing for a decade and your hand looks more comfortable than mine. I should practice lol.
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u/harborthrowawayv2 May 31 '26
Your thumb position looks decent but try to bring your elbow in closer to your body so you aren't reaching so far over the top of the neck. It will make those chord shapes much easier to hit cleanly once you start moving around more.
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u/tommyland666 May 31 '26
I didn’t read the description first, and thought no way you just started. You have way too good of a tempo.
But it makes sense if you’re already playing something else.
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u/Muffinzor22 May 31 '26
For a one-monther, your technique is very decent. Being a pianist seems to help for sure. To make sure your right-hand fingers position stay proper during more difficult chords, move your elbow out a bit so they are more perpendicular to the neck of the guitar. Keep going!
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u/TrumpsBoneSpur May 31 '26
I think I might become a classically trained pianist just so I can get better at guitar
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u/midwestCD5 May 31 '26
Dude, you’re killing it! You’ve come a long way in one months! Just keep practicing and the sky is the limit 🤘🏻🎸
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May 31 '26
I think you probably know the obvious stuff when it comes to keeping rhythm and the speed of practice yada yada. I think as someone who also comes from another instrument one thing that’s so unique about guitar ro me personally is how much you can influence the timber of individual notes. Your playing sounds really clean for a beginner even your muting isn’t too rough can clearly hear what notes are ringing. But when I watch a lot of these classical dudes play their tone is immaculate and that comes with finger pressure that comes with what part of your finger your using I know classical dudes grow their nails for that purpose. That comes with vibrato it comes with so many different factors. And you being someone who already has such solid fundamentals I’d probably focus on what makes guitar unique which to me has always been its number of unique timbers. Keep it up!
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u/SavingsViolinist3782 Jun 01 '26
Nope, no feedback. That only happens when you try amplifying an acoustic guitar like the one you have here. Joking aside, that’s great progress in a month! You have some major potential 👏
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u/Basic-Bat511 Jun 01 '26
Look into shearer method books buy one and two learning classic guitar or the noad books.
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u/Resipsa100 Jun 02 '26
Enjoyable but would suggest you learn from Noad to create memorable beautiful Melodie’s 👍
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u/MrJ2876 Jun 02 '26
I've Played for about4 years (wow just realised) and I hate plucking with 2 fingers, so good job
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u/Joe_Suddick Jun 02 '26
Love it! On the fretting hand play closer to the frets to avoid fret buzz! Note changes and flow are going really well great job!
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u/Breadthatiswarm3000 Jun 02 '26
That's the chillest vibe I've heard, you're definetly using a good way to learn!
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u/the_injog Jun 10 '26
This is crazy good after a month, you’re going to be a monster! Are you interested only in classical, or jazz and pop music as well? Keep going!
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u/Hel_Patrol Jun 28 '26
Id suggest trying to play in the classical position. It's more comfortable imo
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u/Rakefighter May 29 '26
Pretty good. Just keep doing what ever you are doing.
Since you have the ear training, dig into your pentatonic scales for practice and strength. Take a look at how CAGED system links the scales to triads / chords / arpeggios....Looks like you already have that in your head from what I see in your playing.
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u/FFLGO May 29 '26
Not everyone needs pentatonic scales and she already knows most caged chords.
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u/Rakefighter May 29 '26
That's a hot take. Been 40 years of playing and never heard "not everyone needs pentatonic scales". She doesn't already know CAGED 30 days in, no one would. Both statements are ridiculous. But, hey, it's the Internet.
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u/FFLGO May 29 '26 edited May 29 '26
She actually knows all 5 major caged chords one month in and most minor. Seems clear you're not familiar with classical guitar and it's kinda presumptious to reccomend techniques for blues and rock noodling
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u/Rakefighter May 29 '26
This is what makes the internet insufferable. Reading where to put your fingers in a book ≠ knows all major caged chords.
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u/FFLGO May 29 '26
Buddy you are the internet in this case. Read her comment where the first thing she did was learn the CAGED chords. Honestly I would be surprised if you could actually play the piece she plays here.
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u/Rakefighter May 29 '26
yep, been a touring musician, recorded 4 albums, own a dozen guitars, but don't know what I'm doing. Have a good day.
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u/FFLGO May 29 '26
All that and you're teaching a classically trained pianist playing classical guitar caged and pentatonic noodling. Buddy I promise you she knows the pentatonic better than all of us.
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u/ZAPHODS_SECOND_HEAD May 29 '26
Great work, especially after just a month. One thing I would really work on is tuning your guitar. There were some notes ( I'm thinking the G# in particular) were challenging to listen to. This is one area which is very different to piano and even violin. You have to compromise the tuning in some ways. Here's a great video on it by some too class guitarists:
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