Practice help

[71fast]

Hi
I just started beginning blues guitar. as I am practicing my first licks I am also working on counting and it is going slow.should i stay on my first lick untill i have the counting part down or can I move along with the licks and work on the counting/rhythm as I move through the other course?
Thanks
Mike

 

[MikeS]

Sticking with it will be tedious and frustrating, so I'd say that If you are getting close, Move on.
If you are really struggling with counting, it an indication of a weak area and something that you need to work on. ( try without a guitar in your hand)
Moving on to keep things interesting is not a bad idea unless it prevents you from working on the thing that you are having the most trouble with.

 

[Elio]

Here is something you can try, if you haven't already. Along with Mike's suggestion, the only way I can really count effectively is to count out loud while listening a few times. Once I am comfortable doing that, it is much easier to pick up the guitar and then count out loud while playing.

 

[luckylarry]

I agree with Elio. I spend some time with each lesson without a guitar in my hands. I write in my book the count and I listen over and over to the lesson while counting out loud and tapping my foot and or hand or both. When I have the beat it becomes really easy to add it to the lesson. Most times I slow the beat down for the lesson but the beat is right on just slower. Amazing how quickly I can get up to speed this way. FYI, I used to not have a plan on how to learn the beat because I was in a hurry to be a guitar player. That cost me a lot of time as I had to unlearn wrong counts and re-learn proper counts. This takes longer than starting off on the right foot.

 

[PAYROLLGUY]

I have really made the effort to count and it has paid off. It may take a little longer learn to count and play, but I learn the songs better, It's worth the effort.

 

[sdbrit68]

Sticking with it will be tedious and frustrating, so I'd say that If you are getting close, Move on.
If you are really struggling with counting, it an indication of a weak area and something that you need to work on. ( try without a guitar in your hand)
Moving on to keep things interesting is not a bad idea unless it prevents you from working on the thing that you are having the most trouble with.

exact advice I took

 

[71fast]

Thanks for all the great advice.I am working on my counting as I move along with my first set of licks and I am making progress. It may be slow progress but progress none the less.Thanks for your input and support.
Mike

 

[mountain man]

Another good thing about getting your voice engage counting out loud now is that later when you start thinking about singing? You already have your vocals used to the correct time and rhythm!!!

 

[02KnowBetter]

I agree with the advice to move along once you feel that you've got most of a lesson under your fingers. The learning process has to somehow be 'fun' to encourage you to stick with it. Learning to play guitar involves learning to keep the play in the equation. I find that routinely cycling back to an old lesson when I have a minute or two to kill is rewarding. As for counting, do it and do it out loud. I started on the wrong foot and it's taken years to make counting second nature (I'm not there yet). Start early and don't stop.