[Vikal]

Hey guys,
I just found these forums and look to be more and more active as I get into playing. I just wanted to ask a couple questions for those experienced among you.

What is a good ($200-400) guitar that will satisfy me as a novice, but sounds good enough so that I am happy for atleast a year or so?

I am just trying to get those damn bar chords down... I have small fingers, unfortunently, but I was curious how long it took ya'll to get it down? I've having great difficulty getting all 6 strings to sound atm, and it cramps my wrist when I do get them to sound. I hear bar chords are painful, just wanted to make sure it takes this much effort to master them.

Thanks again for your responses.

Matt

[billy16]

If you are just beginning, try getting one of those starter pack things. Comes with guitar, picks, strap, tuner, usually a book on guitar, and a gig bag. Most do anyway. Yamaha has a good starter pack. It might be good to get one of those because it gives you everything you need to start out with, and usually, the guitars are ok for a while. Ibanez, Fender, and Squier also make starter packs, but through personal experience, Squier's aren't very good.

Try looking at www.musiciansfriend.com for more starter packs, or just a guitar.

If it's just a guitar, Washburn makes a decent cheaper guitar, the D100. It will run you about $150-$200 depending on where you buy it from. Fender makes an ok acoustic. Look for maybe a DG-14S from Fender, it's one of the better ones. It will run between $250-$300, again depending on where you are located and where you buy it from. Try to get somewhere to try guitars out if you can. Another place you may want to look is E-bay. But you have to be a bit careful there. Be sure to ask the seller a lot of questions.

As for barre chords, it took me a year to fully get them. Try rolling your finger on its side towards the nut and see if that works. And make sure your guitar is parallel to the ground, you'll be suprised at how much easier it makes barre chords. It'll take awhile. Practice a bit everyday.

[The_buffalo]

For barre chords: watch the position of your thumb - it should be near the middle of the back of the neck - try moving it around a bit and see if that helps. I also found it easier to get the "A" chord at the fifth fret than than the "F" chord at the first fret (same shape) As my hand gained strength, I found that F a lot easier. Also, you may want to try a lighter guage of string until you build up some strength. Also, try curving your index finger a little - remember, on the basic "E" shape, you only have to barre the sixth, second and first strings. Keep at it.

[Vikal]

Thanks for the help guys... I was feeling hopeless there for a while, atleast I know the pain is normal lol. Any responses on some decent guitars? I am currently using my buddies $150 yamaha, and strangely it sounds pretty good for a cheap guitar. I just need to get my own so he stops whining about me always having his guitar. Anyways, thanks for the bar chord support. Any other tips are greatly appreciated.

[räzzle]

eBay

[wannalearn01]

There are two ways to make barre's:

Full barres(using pointer to barre)...the hard kind.

Another way I would call the "monkey" barre:

Which is where you wrap your thumb over the top to barre the top two strings and then use your pointer on the bottom sting...pretty much you are holding it in a lot more natural position, so it is easier on your wrists...but it is for partial chords usually...i use it for my F chord all the time:

e-(use pointer to add highest note of chord if needed.)
B-1
G-2
D-3
A-3
E-(use thumb if you need a bassy part of the chord)



It's all in the effect your going for...full barres are good, but in the begining, do partials..and you get 90% of the sound with a lot less stress, and you will use them more often...like I always use that one I listed above inbetween C's and Am's and what not...

Little diddy that is easy and helps with barres, just strumming any pattern:

e--0------/---x-------/---x-----0
B--0------/---7-------/---5-----0
G--1------/---8-------/---6-----1
D--2------/---9-------/---7-----2
A--2------/---9-------/---7-----2
E--0------/---x-------/---x-----0

Use your pinky(a), ring(d), middle(g), then add your pointer on the chords that need a note on the b string...that allows you to do a really easy slide, but more importantly, it helps to build the weaker fingers up...try to do some of the two fingers barres...like a (224442), those are the ones that are hard, see with guitar,, everytimne you think you got it, there is something that you find that will take months to learn well...see strumming barres are cool, but try doing some finger picking while changing chords and you will almost pee yourself!!!

T^roy

[dogpoo]

for the life of me i can't do what T^roy calls a monkey barre, not even with an electric guitar. it took me about a week and a half to get the full barre perfect, could be because my guitar teacher at the time decided to give me a song with barre chords in it for my first lesson (). it was kind of a situation where you don't want to seem incompetent, first thing you get taught, it looks bad if you can't do it the next week, so that might have made me work all the harder at it, i sucked at it at the lesson, but a few days later i got it down pat

and about the guitar, i won't recommend any guitar brands, not having played a steel string much, but try to stay away from yamahas, i know you played your friend's yamaha, but those guitars are pretty crap. the action is way high for a beginner and that might put you off.

[luckystrike]

what T^ roy says about monkey barrs(good name) is a great way to releive pressure when playing a song with a lot of barr chords in it. It much easier doing them on an electric but with some practice you can do them on an acoustic just as well. Otherwise playing a five minute song on barrs is going to break your wrist so laching that thumb over really helps. as far as standard barrs iv always found its all in the wrist and how you position the thumb to give strength. It takes some people longer than others to get barrs pinned this doesnt mean one is a better guitarist than the other its just to do with wrist strength. Practise them for 20-40 minutes every day and you will build up the strenght to do em.

This post has been edited by luckystrike: 01 March 2005 - 05:35 AM

[wannalearn01]

LOL Yea the monkey barre is hard to play, and this is coming from a guy with monkey hands... I have pretty long fingers and it is still hard!!!

DADFAD told me about those and when I tried them, I thought he was making them up too...but they are doable...they are a neccessity on a electric...esp. if you have it low-slung, as your wrist will be at a TERRIBLE angle, and doing full's will, as said above, break you wrist.

What i do is:

Wrap my pointer around the fretboard, and then use my thumb to help press the finger down hard...like you would if you were trying to say, choke a chicken...with only two fingers...LMAO Then once you can get that to sound good(just a straight barre(ie 555555)), you can add a finger or two...which will seem impossible(your fingers won't want to move to the right place when you want them to)and it takes mad strength to do monkey barres but they are AWESOME to use!!! Think how long it took you to do a full chord...it'll take just as long to do a monkey barre, but once you do that, you can do barres a lot easier...so I have been told, I still can only partially do them.

Full barres take mad wrist/forearm strength...monkey barres are all about your grip(finger strength).

T^roy

[Will_Wood]

The monkey grip is a sure-fire way to early retirement...
It gives you arthritis from the strange wrist position...

It took me a month or two to get the normal barre chords to work for me...so...don't feel bad about it...


As for the guitar...Washburn makes the best guitar for the money in my opinion...I own one...of course...It's nthing compared to my Breedlove guitar (but that set me back $3500! ... so...Don't try to get one of those for awhile lol)

[billy16]

It's much easier to just get the barre chords the right way, with your index barring. It doesn't take too long to get them. It took me so long because I never really bothered much with them for a while.

[olduvai]

Hey guys,
    I just found these forums and look to be more and more active as I get into playing.  I just wanted to ask a couple questions for those experienced among you.

What is a good ($200-400) guitar that will satisfy me as a novice, but sounds good enough so that I am happy for atleast a year or so?

I am just trying to get those damn bar chords down... I have small fingers, unfortunently, but I was curious how long it took ya'll to get it down?  I've having great difficulty getting all 6 strings to sound atm, and it cramps my wrist when I do get them to sound.  I hear bar chords are painful, just wanted to make sure it takes this much effort to master them.

Thanks again for your responses.

Matt

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Your question did not mention accoustic or electric. What are you looking for