6 Common Guitar Technique Problems of Adult Beginners (AND Their Solutions!)

These 6 issues are the causes of the majority of problems I’ve see in adult beginners. Refer to this video repeatedly as you build your chord vocabulary.

0:00 Intro
0:47 Play like a sloth
2:27 Placement of fingers
6:04 Placement of the thumb
8:29 How to position elbow
10:15 Don't tilt the guitar
12:05 Press above the fret
13:58 Outro

Join me in my Facebook group, Guitar for Adult Beginners:

[MrGmooney]

Excellent, I have been teaching guitar for 25 years and I agree with all of what you were saying.
With one exception, I always recommend beginners to keep elbow of fretting hand in close to body specially for the difficult C chord.

[dough.]

Thank you for the informative video. I'm a late 50s guy who has been trying to learn for many years. I've subscribed and look forward to learning from you.

[glossocc]

Thank you for a great lesson. My common offenses are gripping too tightly and looking at the strings. This lesson helped a lot.
Thanks for the “rule of thumb” tips too. They’ve proven key to playing Barre chords cleanly without the left hand tiring quickly.
I’ve never payed attention to the placement of my elbow, but that part of the lesson really struck a chord with me.
A strumming and picking habit I’m trying to break is rolling the wrist. It causes the high E and B strings to ring sharp. Might be a good video to make if you haven’t already.
Well done! Keep up the good work.

[momofplusdsg]

When I first tried to teach myself to play the guitar, others were telling me that my fingers had to be perpendicular. They were also self taught and many of them have much longer fingers and larger hands. So, rotating back is not always wrong?!

When my fingers have to be perpendicular, so I don't mute strings, I have to thumb the neck from behind, because I don't know how else to avoid muting strings with my small hands and short fingers. I've also been told that was wrong. My brain is almost resistant to you telling me I should do that.😄

My pinky fingers have a natural bend in the outer joint. Yup, I'm guilty of tilting the guitar (and twisting my body) at odd angles. I have a "normal" sized Martin and a small Taylor. I mostly practice on the Taylor.

[bugsunplugged]

Some wonderful advice overall.
Especially good on avoiding that "death grip"!
Number Seven (My recommendation) - Yes, get used to playing standing up.
BUT invest in the effort necessary to install a strap button at the base of the guitar neck, where it meets the body.
In other words: Do NOT attach the guitar strap to the head-stock, just behind the nut w/ the black string like is seen in the video.
FOR me, the discomfort brought about by this and how your left hand has to respond to the position of the guitar locked into place by where the strap crosses over your shoulders to the strap button at the base of the guitar is insufferable.
As your playing improves and you begin to move out of first position, it feels (TO ME) SO MUCH easier to make micro-adjustments in the neck position to facilitate chords higher up the neck. The neck also feels freer & less weighed down by any radical movement of the guitar body.
I think a guitar body attached strap button also facilitates a looser left elbow & forearm.
No disrespect, Ginny - But from the start of the video, I thought certain that at some point you were going to mention how unnatural having the guitar neck locked to the movement of the guitar body is by virtue of the strap literally tied to the head-stock.
(Even though I'm aware this is an old acoustic guitar tradition.)
But we all arrive at our guitar playing destinations via different routes.
Maybe I'm in the minority here.
THANKS for sharing your knowledge.

[ericjohnstone]

How good it is to hear someone who actually understands the word “perpendicular “ and uses it correctly

[marshallohio]

Love this !!!! I started playing in the late 60 s on a junk acoustic and those Mel Bay (l think) books .... 50 years later in watching cool learning videos !!! I've made a very nice living playing guitar !! So, enjoy what Gin is showing you, and remember to stay relaxed while learning!!!! 😊😊😊 Besides, Ginny has an extremely nice smile 😀😀

[paulkennedy]

Thank you so much, I've been struggling for 3 or 4 years to learn and don't seem to progress. I'm now 64.

[drummermomcjs]

Thank you so much. I am learning to play, and have been plagued by come of these problems for years. Yes, I am self taught. I have small hands which makes it more of a challenge, however having played drums for over 45 yrs, rhythms are easy for me. It all balances out. This was most helpful for me and encourages me to keep refining my skills and fixing bad habits. Thank you.

[JohnPrendervilleJr]

65 year old beginner. started in Sep. 2023. looking forward to your videos. also interested in zoom lessons! Thanks Ginny

[jstephens]

Great tips! I am self-taught, but learned some of these years ago from experience. But I still received benefit from your video. What is going on with the finish of your guitar?

[dougalvis]

Super helpful - Thanks Ginny ! 👍 I was doing all the things you showed so well not to do!

[martinstults]

I'm 75 and have big fingers, not long just big. I picked up guitar playing again after 40 years. I also have arthritis in my hands but I practice everyday. One frustrating problem I have after 7 months of practice is that dreaded F cord. I just cannot make it clear no matter what I do. I'm not a quitter. I just keep trying. BTW, you have a captivating smile.

[olddogflatpicks]

I like your DM. I've been playing one for 25+ years and it's still my go to....

[markwillride]

Thank you! Today was my first day and I suspected that I was doing some of those things and they might be important. I’ll be back.

[briansventures]

Glad i found you.. older beginner thats been struggling ...i joined your group just now....looking forward to the fun

[mnr]

Thank you for this excellent video! Very helpful ❤️

[joannefleet]

Thank you, I hope to find some time to practice .

[mmercier]

As an adult beginner with 10 years experience it seems important to me to mention that all of these fretting techniques work better once you have built up some solid calluses on your finger tips. Everything is less painful and sounds better with good calluses built up from playing for a few weeks. be patient :)

[Dmax]

Always wanted to learn. It looks like so much fun. I bought a cheap Yamaha guitar and tried three different times to self learn but just never could get the hang of it and gave up. Ended up giving the guitar away. I`m 65 now and just feel like what`s the use. It just wasn`t meant to be.