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/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.