Hello, and a Question before I plunge in

Introduce Yourself
#1

Hey all, first time poster. I’d say I’m a relative beginner. I can comfortably play the main open chords, keep timing with songs etc. I can play barre chords but this is pretty new to me. I know only a few scales (major, major pentatonic) and can finger pick in a fairly basic fashion. My picking isn’t great, keep hitting wrong strings and sync between hands isn’t too good so I’d like to improve in this area, but I can play some basic lead melodies, although not very fast. I’m a leftie and have been playing only a few months.

Is the picking primer and other video series here good for someone of my beginner-ish level, or should I go get better then come back here when I am more competent? I couldn’t find any info on what level of ability these video series are aimed for.

Thanks all!

#2

I think most of the people who post here discovered CTC after many years of playing experience, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you won’t find anything of value.

On the one hand, I do think someone who has a comfort level with playing intermediate “lead guitar” playing will be able to pull more out of what’s here, but at the same time, I’m sure there’s also stuff here that could help steer a beginner down a healthy path of discovery. I and several other experienced players have made comments to the effect “I wish I had known this stuff when I was starting out”. But I don’t think there’s a ton of feedback available yet on how much benefit actual beginners have been able to get from the material. If you do take the plunge, I’m sure @Troy and company would like to hear from you on the forum about what’s working for you, what isn’t, and if there’s anything they can do to improve it.

One thing to understand for sure is that at least with the content as it is right now, there’s not a structured “Cracking the Code” curriculum to follow step by step. I see the Primer as an attempt to distill the key principles into a more succinct and coherent set of videos (https://troygrady.com/start/).

As I say to even experienced players who are on the fence: on a month that you expect to have some free time, sign up for a membership for one month, binge-watch as much of the material as you can, and decide from there whether you think you’d get enough out of it to justify further investment.

#3

Coming this week in an update to the Pickslanting Primer: our new Introduction to picking motions, including four different hands-on speed tests that don’t require actual guitar picking skills, and four case studies featuring real-world footage from right here on our forum. This includes players from a total non-guitarist-level beginner to very experienced and quite speedy players, all tackling basic challenges in developing smooth picking motion.

Stay tuned!

3 Likes
#4

Thanks guys! I’ll keep an eye out for the update! Sounds really interesting! Signing up for 1 month sounds like a good first move.

#5

Hej!

If you are in to metal or a another style of music where picking is crucial, even on a basic level.
Go for it!

#6

Thanks for signing up!