Real Guitar Live #34 | Q & A Guitar Lesson

Learning to play guitar is an exciting and rewarding journey. If you’re a beginner guitar player you probably have more questions than answers. You’re not alone in this! And that’s exactly why we have these monthly live Q&A sessions. 

We do these live sessions on the first Tuesday of every month to answer any and all of your questions you have about learning the guitar. You might even see some questions you didn’t think about asking yet!

I’ve included the time stamps for each question I talk about below so you can skip ahead. 

[2:31] While doing the May practice session lesson "Two String Crisscross", (or any scales for that matter) how hard should I press to go faster? I've been concentrating on playing the notes clearly and trying to increase speed.

[7:44] What is the optimal amount of practicing time? Now that I'm locked-down at home, I have a lot of time to practice. Is there such a thing as practicing too much so that it becomes counter-productive?

[10:00] I have arthritis in my lower thumb and would like to know how I can do an F. Is there a way that doesn't apply too much pressure to it.

[13:18] My Guitar at times sounds odd, full of vibration and not like properly tuned guitars, despite being tuned properly with a tuner. It may be because of the high action of the strings. And I'm thinking of realigning the truss rod with a wrench to fix it. What should I do? 

[19:21] What do you recommend as a method to memorize the notes on the fretboard?

[23:18] If I have a cheap guitar, will putting real high-quality strings on it make it sound a lot better or it's not worth the cost?

[24:07] I broke a fingernail on my picking hand. Should I just grin-and-bear-it and wait till it grows out again or maybe I should invest in a finger-pick? I don't like glue-on fake nails, but I don't know if a finger-pick is worth anything at all.

[27:19] Is it only for the B major chord that you should try and mute the high E string or also for other chords like Bm, Cm, and C major bar chords? 

[29:53] I keep missing the bass notes with my thumb. When i want to hit A, I hit E or D. Is there any exercise to overcome this?

[32:55] When I tune my cheap classical guitar, the strings fall out of tune themselves really quick, why is that?

[34:00] I have an Epiphone AJ200 that sounds a little "boxy". It has a solid top. Is there any way to make it sound better?

[35:03] Now that I'm finally able to work out the melody notes to some of my songs, I wanted to know if there is some software or something to use to type the tab pages. 

[36:30] How do I get backing tracks for my original compositions? Are there software programs that can automate it or is the only option to find professional musicians to work up a track for me?

[38:42] What is the best practice to make sure I hit the right strings?

[40:51] About picking. I use a pick, probably always will. How much will I be limited?

[45:32] One of the songs that I wanted to write out the melody has its chords in the E minor scale, but I play the song with a capo on the third fret. How should I find the melody notes? Should I try to find them in the G minor scale without the capo on, since that is actually the key it's in with the capo in place, or should I place the capo and try to find the notes on the strings after the third fret?

[46:52] How do you get over stage fright? I find that even if I've practiced a piece a hundred times, once I'm in front of an audience, and it doesn't matter who or how many, I feel such stress about the fact that I might make some blunder, that I end up almost assuredly with a self-fulfilled prophecy.

[54:28] Can you demonstrate a picking pattern?

[55:26] Why would you use an electric/acoustic? I do it so I can hear myself play standing up outside.

[56:55] Is a nylon string guitar of steel-string guitar preferred for playing finger-style?

[57:36] How do you start fingerpicking?