Students chat!

Posted on June 19, 2007 by 8chordsonline

Go ahead and chat with other students by leaving comments on this blog.

Filed under: Uncategorized

« »

18 Responses

  1. 8chordsonline, on June 19th, 2007 at 5:42 pm Said:

    It is easy to post a comment or ask a question. Just click around.

    Reply
  2. octking, on January 2nd, 2008 at 2:47 pm Said:

    Hey everyone………..I don’t know if anyone is out there or not, don’t really see much activity here. So if y’all are out there hello from Louisiana. I’ve been playing a little over a year now but not real happy with my progress, guess thats why I’m here. I have alot of difficulty sing and playing at the same time. I can keep rhythm ok but everything falls to pieces when I try singing. Is this common? Oh yeah if I’m playing a “boom chicka” rhythm I can sing, yeah I can’t figure that out either.

    Reply
  3. 8chordsonline, on January 2nd, 2008 at 3:14 pm Said:

    Hey octking,

    That seems normal for most beginners. To be able to sing and play is pretty hard unless it just comes natural to you. I would focus on simple songs with quarter note rhythms and getting to the right chord changes first. If you can play a song like “Heart of Worship” with all down strums and sing the melody, you are doing good. Then add a simple flip on the chord changes and just practice a ton. Spend some time just humming the melody first and really getting the song down in your heart and in your hands and then try to sing along.

    Another tip, just relax and dont try to force it in terms of the words or the rhythm. When you get frustrated or feel you are stuck, go back to the basic quarter down strum. Your foundation will quickly grow as you practice.

    Please let me know if this helps.

    Eric R

    Reply
  4. Rick, on January 2nd, 2008 at 4:28 pm Said:

    octking,
    I was in the same boat about a year ago. Just started playing then. I’ve found that I really need to know the guitar chords for the song and be comfortable with the song prior to singing with it. I practice at least 2-4 hours each week on the worship set (not including PB rehearsal). While singing and playing, if I get stuck, I start a basic strum pattern…usually down stroke.

    Rick

    Reply
  5. Andy A, on January 2nd, 2008 at 4:59 pm Said:

    octking,
    I used to have that same problem pretty badly. I have been playing now for about 3 years and what I found is the more I practiced the easier it became to sing and play. One tip a guitarist friend gave me was to sing along to the song from the first time you try to learn it, rather than learning to play the song first and then adding your singing later. This really helped me. Now I ALWAYS sing the song as I learn it, even if I am way off tune with my singing. It really made a difference for me. Just a tip that worked for me. :)

    Andy A

    Reply
  6. Dan Webb, on January 2nd, 2008 at 5:20 pm Said:

    octking-

    I’ve been there. I still struggle with singing along as I’m playing. I think Eric’s advice is great and that’s what has worked for me. Once I get the strumming down, I will hum the song as I play it though a couple times. Then I’ll move on to singing. If I have to, I’ll go back to the quarter strums for a while until I get a feel for it, then slowly add in the more advanced strumming patterns. On some of the more difficult songs with patterns or progressions that change, I’ve even had to just play through the whole song playing a G chord so I can work out the rhythem/timing of the song. In my experience, you have to really have the strumming down to the point where it just comes naturally and you don’t have to think about it. Once my mind starts focusing on strumming, I lose the singing part and vice versa.

    And don’t forget to say a quick prayer and ask God for help along the way. If you are singing and playing for His glory, he will most definately bless your efforts.

    Dan <

    Reply
  7. George Carter, on January 2nd, 2008 at 8:05 pm Said:

    This is great, a chat room for guitar. The last comment on prayer is real important, for practice under the permission and the help of the Lord is the way to go. I am slowly learning that. For the Bible says in all your ways acknowkedge Him this includes, practice and playing the guitar.

    Reply
  8. Baredogs, on January 3rd, 2008 at 3:11 am Said:

    I used to have problems with singing while playing when i first stated to. then i started rythym picking and it just fell into to place. certain words will allways hit on the beat. but i let the Lord just guide me on the songs. now i cant play songs without singing it outloud while i play. Just be sure to be ready for the Lord when the Lord is ready for you!

    Reply
  9. octking, on January 3rd, 2008 at 1:55 pm Said:

    Hey everyone, thanks for the great advice and encouragement. Eric, I’m working on your advice now on “Heart of Worship”. Most of these worship songs I’ll have to get familiar with, for the fact that I’m from a more liturgical background. And yes I agree that praying before practicing is key, one reason I’m drawn to sacred music is that it is prayer when one’s mind and heart are on God.

    Randy

    Reply
  10. ohmylove284, on January 3rd, 2008 at 11:45 pm Said:

    hey. i just got an Alverez guitar with a bult in tuner. someone told me how to tune it but they were wrong..now i have no idea how to tune it..can someone help me out?

    Reply
  11. octking, on January 4th, 2008 at 4:19 am Said:

    ohmylove284 I’d be lost without my Korg tuner, you can pick one up for around 20 bucks. I’m not sure about your built in tuner but you should be able to select what string you need to tune and tune up or down to where you need to be. Not much help I’m afraid but you might check out this web site to see if you are close or not. http://www.710.com/reload/fun/tune.htm
    Good luck!

    Peace,
    Randy

    Reply
  12. Lori, on January 4th, 2008 at 4:56 pm Said:

    On borad tuners are pretty easy…turn it on, pluck the string and it should display a note. If you pluck the low E, and you see something other than E appear on the tuner, turn the key until you get the note your looking for. The arrows on the left and right indicate if you are sharp or flat.

    Of course, since it’s electronic you will need to pop a battery in there!

    Reply
  13. 8chordsonline, on January 5th, 2008 at 5:01 am Said:

    http://www.8notes.com/guitar_tuner/

    Check this online tuner out. It is easy and plays the notes for you. In regards to on board tuners, they are awesome but you need to have the string in the ballpark or it will not register to tune it. The mistake most beginners make is trying to tune for example the Low E string to the A note. Make sure your tuner shows what note you are tuning and that it matches the string you are tweaking on.

    The 8notes.com site also has a metronome and other goodies.

    Good luck,

    Eric Roberts

    Reply
  14. Ohlovelypassion284, on January 6th, 2008 at 8:56 pm Said:

    thanks so much! my guitar is tuned now :D

    Reply
  15. Baredogs, on January 15th, 2008 at 3:18 am Said:

    howdy
    i’m trying to figure out scales
    anyone with any advice out there???

    Reply
  16. Dave N, on February 10th, 2008 at 5:51 pm Said:

    Subject – talking an strumming

    While I can’t recall having a problem strumming and singing (could be because I started when Kumbaya was contemporary christian worship), I’ve never been able to strum and talk – any ideas?

    Thanks,
    Dave

    Reply
  17. 8chordsonline, on March 24th, 2008 at 12:14 am Said:

    Strumming and talking? What are you going to say? When leading worship? Just practice and start with easy patterns and it should be a piece of cake. -Eric

    Reply
  18. 8chordsonline, on March 24th, 2008 at 12:15 am Said:

    Does anybody have any ideas for bonus lessons? I add several each week for online students and am open to suggestions. It helps when students ask, then I know exactly what you are struggling with. Just blog them or email me. Thanks, Eric R

    Reply

Leave a Reply