What are some things a beginner guitarist should work on?

Question

like how to get used to chord shapes and transferring from chord to chord

Answer 1

scales, and the main chords, C G D and F.

visit my son's youtube account wycuz1 and check out his songs, especially "Jack watches too much TV." then visit his uncle's site which is on the same account under "stratman" for some free lessons.

my son flew to visit his uncle in Kazakhstan yesterday...his uncle has a studio there and they will be recording together this summer...

Answer 2

I'd say just focus like three different chords at once and switching back and forth a few times. Like play for a few strums then switch and continue to do that for a while until you can switch faster and faster. So you can use like the "D" chord, "C" chord, and the "G" chord (they sound alright with each other). And then do different chords.

Answer 3

I think the most important thing by far is to train your ears. Some good ways to do this include learning to tune your guitar by ear (with pitch pipes, or tuning the strings so that they're correct relative to each other), and by trying to replicate any melody you hear. For example, try learning TV theme tunes, jingles, or the vocal lines from songs. Doing this will help you to learn your way around the guitar, to recognise the intervals between notes and ultimately to be able to work out how to play anything you want to.

At the same time, work on chords and chord changes, but also on single note lines by learning basic major scale shapes. Try to play each note or chord smoothly and evenly, and ideally in time with a metronome (you can get free software metronomes on the internet).

Play along to CDs. For one thing it's fun, which is what playing music is all about, and it'll also help you get an inbuilt sense of timing and rhythm. Don't worry about playing everything exactly like the recording to begin with, as long as you're playing what you can do in time and with good rhythm.

Finally, record yourself playing as often as you can and listen critically to what you've played. You'll often be surprised by what you hear; sometimes in a good way and sometimes not. Either way, you'll learn what you need to work on.