u/AlexGtrStudio

Barre chords hurt? Two fixes I give every student who's stuck

My barre chords drove my own guitar teacher insane, so I know the struggle. The first fix: roll your index finger slightly onto its bony side — it presses the strings more evenly than the soft middle of the finger. The second: don't squeeze with your thumb, let the weight of your arm pull the barre in. And it's fine to place the barre first or the rest of the chord first, whatever works for your hand. Barre chords take time for everyone, so go at your own pace.

u/AlexGtrStudio — 6 days ago

The first song I do with every beginner — a bluesy one. Full lesson, part 2

This is the first song I do in my first lesson, without much talking, to get people accustomed to the guitar while playing a simple and fun song. You learn the basics while I guide you through it step by step in a playing manner. It teaches you fretting and is an introduction to fingering. It's a bluesy song. This is part 2 — part 1 is here: https://www.reddit.com/r/GuitarBeginners/comments/1wpzp5o/the_first_song_i_do_with_every_beginner_a_bluesy/

u/AlexGtrStudio — 13 days ago

25 years teaching guitar — opening a few free spots in my beginner course for people who'll actually stick with it

(Posted with mod approval.)

I've taught guitar for 25 years and trained at LAMA in LA. I built a small beginner course — 12 weeks, the way I teach in person — and I'm opening a few free spots for people who genuinely want to learn and will show up.

To be upfront about the money side: the first lessons of the course are free for everyone, the full course is paid. The beta spots I'm talking about here give you the whole thing at no cost — what I want in return is your feedback, not your money.

The course is my attempt to bring real 1:1 teaching into course form. Over the years I've refined my private lessons down to the exercises and songs that turned out to be the pillars — the things I end up working through with every single beginner to get the basics down. That's what the course is built from.

To be clear: this is a video course inside a community, not private lessons. You work through the lessons at your own pace, I'm in the community to answer questions and fix what's tripping you up, and there's a monthly live Q&A.

How it works: you learn by playing, not by watching. I walk you through everything note for note and practice with you. We skip theory wherever we can — you'll meet tabs and strumming notation along the way, but you pick them up by playing along, not through lessons about them. And because we're all different, some reps will be one too many for you and others one too few — but slow, guided repetition is the key, and one rep too many beats one too few. In my experience that's the fastest way to the basics.

Who it's for: absolute beginners. The first few lessons are just the basics, so "I know nothing" is exactly the right starting point — including if you know a few chord shapes but can't actually change between them. The first thing you should feel is that the weird feeling in your hands is normal, and that you're moving — I'll walk you through the reps until it feels comfortable. And through all the early struggles every beginner runs into, the guitar should still be fun — as far as that's possible at this stage, anyway.

There's a clear path, a monthly live Q&A, and I'm in the community to fix whatever's tripping you up.

The catch? I'm after people who'll see the whole thing through and give me honest feedback along the way — what's working, what's confusing, where you get stuck. If a stretch of steady practice sounds like you, send me a message and tell me where you're at on the guitar.

Edit 2: A few people have asked — this is a video course with a community and monthly live Q&A, not 1:1 lessons. I'm in there daily, but you work through it at your own pace.

Edit 3: This got far more response than I expected — thank you. I'm working through the DMs in order; if you've messaged me, you'll hear back today or tomorrow. I can't reply to every comment from here on, but I'm reading them all. The way in is still a DM, not a comment.

Edit 4: The beta round is now full — the response today was far beyond anything I expected, thank you all. Everyone who has already DM'd me is taken care of — if you're waiting on a reply from me, it's coming. If you're finding this post later and you're interested: DM me anyway and I'll put you on the list for the next round — you'll hear from me first when it opens.

reddit.com
u/AlexGtrStudio — 2 months ago

25 years teaching guitar — opening a few free spots in my beginner course for people who'll actually stick with it

(Posted with mod approval, per rule 1.)

I've taught guitar for 25 years and trained at LAMA in LA. I built a small beginner course — 12 weeks, the way I teach in person — and I'm opening a few free spots for people who genuinely want to learn and will show up.

The course is my attempt to bring real 1:1 teaching into video course form. Over the years I've refined my private lessons down to the exercises and songs that turned out to be the pillars — the things I end up working through with every single beginner to get the basics down. That's what the course is built from.

How it works: the lessons are recorded videos, built so you learn by playing, not by watching. I walk you through everything note for note and practice with you. We skip theory wherever we can — you'll meet tabs and strumming notation along the way, but you pick them up by playing along, not through lessons about them. And because we're all different, some reps will be one too many for you and others one too few — but slow, guided repetition is the key, and one rep too many beats one too few. In my experience that's the fastest way to the basics.

Who it's for: absolute beginners. The first few lessons are just the basics, so "I know nothing" is exactly the right starting point — including if you know a few chord shapes but can't actually change between them. The first thing you should feel is that the weird feeling in your hands is normal, and that you're moving — I'll walk you through the reps until it feels comfortable. And through all the early struggles every beginner runs into, the guitar should still be fun — as far as that's possible at this stage, anyway.

There's a clear path, a monthly live Q&A, and I'm in the community to fix whatever's tripping you up.

The catch? I'm after people who'll see the whole thing through and give me honest feedback along the way — what's working, what's confusing, where you get stuck. If a stretch of steady practice sounds like you, send me a message and tell me where you're at on the guitar.

reddit.com
u/AlexGtrStudio — 2 months ago

A simple bluesy tune to get absolute beginners playing from the first lesson

As a teacher of over 25 years, here's a little simple and fun, bluesy tune for absolute beginners — one I also do with my own students — to get your fingers moving and learn your first song.

The whole video is built around one idea: introducing a few simple things about the guitar (frets, hand positioning, etc.) while you more or less start playing right away. You play along with me as I guide you through the parts of the song.

We first look at the parts, then put the whole thing together, and take a first look at form.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L49oWfbZJUM

Happy to answer any questions.

u/AlexGtrStudio — 4 months ago