still need help

Kaneohe til the end

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chord progressions are killing me, anyone know an easy first song to learn (the guitar equivalent of surf).
also, for the cmaj chord, you dont strum the first chord, but i have a hard time not hitting it. any suggestions.

and out of curiosity, how many people started on the uke and learned guitar second?
 
chord progressions are killing me, anyone know an easy first song to learn (the guitar equivalent of surf).
also, for the cmaj chord, you dont strum the first chord, but i have a hard time not hitting it. any suggestions.

and out of curiosity, how many people started on the uke and learned guitar second?

i played uke for about 2 years - then moved on guitar. i switch back and forth depending on whether the moon is waxing or waning.

starting with uke is the main reason i can't use picks. i just got so used to strumming w/my fingers.

as for songs.... we all have different tastes. but i'd suggest practicing open chord progressions - and not jumping into the cliched "tears in heaven" or "more than words"

Coldplay - Viva La Vida
http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/tabs/c/coldplay/viva_la_vida_crd.htm

or even something like ella ella ella ayyy ayyy ayyy
http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/tabs/m/marie_digby/umbrella_ver3_crd.htm
 
you can try to mute the 6 string with your thumb
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i started with the guitar then uke, then alil bit of piano, but i stopped playing the uke now, i just like the guitar better even though its bigger and harder to learn.
 
I'd disagree with the thumb mute approach for the Cmaj7 chord. I personally feel that using the thumb like that diminishes the reach you have with the rest of the fingers. Anyway, the neck's not supposed to be resting on the webbing between your left thumb and index finger. The proper holding position is to have the ball of your thumb on the back of the fretboard. This will let you press the strings down with the greatest amount of pressure, preventing buzzing.

What'd I would recommend is that you add an extra finger to the third fret of the low E string. It would look like this:

Code:
 e |--0------|
 B |--0------|
 G |--0------|
 D |--2------|
 A |--3------|
 E |--3------|

The finger placing would be this:

e - OPEN
B - OPEN
G - OPEN
D - MIDDLE
A - PINKIE
E - RING (Anular)

This will give you a G note in the bass of the chord, which is the fifth. So, the technical name would be Cmaj7/G, but it would still be perfectly acceptable.

Incidentally, it is perfectly fine to play the open E string when you strum the chord. The notes that make up the Cmaj7 chord are C,E,G, and B -- so you're aren't doing anything wrong. Writers just say to mute the E string so that the bass note is the first played, but when strumming chords it doesn't matter.
 
Sometimes I find I can fairly easily mute the low E string with my ring finger. Basically I fret the 5th string but the side of the finger rests on the edge of the low E.

Edit: Wow I did not realize how old this thread was, got carried away just reading threads.
 
just practice more, or play the g , 3rd fret on the e string or just play an a shape bar at the third fret , or an e shape at the 8th, problem solved.

that thumb over is not great technique but a lot of people find it works.
 
Hey man, I had the same issue when I was starting out with guitar like 14 years ago lol. Chord progressions use to annoy me so bad.. I found the best way to train your fingers to go where you want them is to start with some basic chords and just play the absolute hell out of them till you don't even have to look at the fretboard to hit the chords. You could start with probably the most common progression. For example: G, D, Am, C . That is used in sooooo many songs. Off the top of my head that is Knockin' on heavens door, Wagon wheel by OCMS, All I can do is write about it by Lynyrd Skynyrd. Hope this helps
 
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