New guitar for my birthday...?

Question

Ok, so today is my birthday...yay. and my boyfriend got me a washburn acoustic. i have a few questions...(i'm a learner)...
1) washburn good? i've never heard of them, but my boyfriend says the guy helping him said it was. i don't overly care, just because it's my learning guitar, but still, just wondering how well it'll hold up.

2) what can i do to get my hand ready for playing? some of those chords really get my hand working (and if you're reading this, you know about guitars and fully know what i'm talking about) anyways- it KILLS my hand...any exercises? lol

THANKS!!!

Answer 1

1) Wasburn is a very good guitar and should provide many years of happy sounds.

That is the easy part

2) You at least understand that you do have to exercise your hands and that is great, many people starting out think they should be able to throw a few chords together and sound good in a few minutes of playing, it ain't gonna happen. First off, don't burn your fingers the strings will do that for you and playing at least thirty minutes a day with a set warm up exercise will get the calluses going. A simple muscle builder I used to play was to play open position chords C - G D and to see how fast I could transition between them. If you are just sitting around doing nothing grab the guit and try it out, ten minutes of that and your hand will be tired. Sorry for being a little long windy, good luck with the guitar.

Answer 2

Washburns are suppose to be neat guitars, I've never owned one but I've heard. As for your hand hurting, how well I remember, just keep practicing and believe me it will get to the point where you won't think about it because the pain goes away with practice. For twenty minutes a day make a C cord, and then a Am and then a G or D, strum these cords and alternate changes, do this for about a month and you'll be surprised at how that pain you felt in the beginning will no longer be there. Lots of kids that I have taught are surprised at how awkward and painful it is in the beginning and that that all goes away with a little practice and patience. Good luck..

Answer 3

Washburn acoustics are quality guitars. Some have wider necks than others I've encountered, but I couldn't judge yours because I do not know the model.

Start learning the basic chords and strumming techniques. Buy a beginner's guitar book having music theory in it. It is best to have an instructor help you initially with forming the chords to avoid making bad habits.

Be persistent. Once your calluses are hardened you will be on the way to improved playing.

Answer 4

When i started learning it hurt my hand too. You can help your hand movement by playing "spiders". You play one the top string 1 2 3 4 with the matching fingers, and then move up to the next string. When you get to the high E move up a fret and go backwards to the low E. You can also switch around like
1 3 4 2 or something. Hope this helped.

Answer 5

Happy birthday! Yes Washburn is a very good guitar!! As for the pain, exorcise it, use one of those stress balls. And stretch it good before you start to play. Hang in there, it'll go away in no time.

Answer 6

Washburns are fine guitars. Especially for a beginner. As a tip. You may want to put lighter strings on the guitar until you build up your strength. There is no magic answer to how to build up your hand strength. But, just take it so slow. Don't push it. And stay relaxed...as relaxed as you can.

Check out my website. http://www.chaddukes.org/

Answer 7

it will hurt for a while, it takes practice.. good site for info:

http://www.betterguitar.com/instruction/rhythm_guitar/lesson_1/rhythm_guitar_1.html

the bellow poster points out a common warmup, once you get more advance and can do 1234, 1324, etc.. then startying doing it with pulloffs and hammerons as well.

if you finger tips are tender you can harden them by burning them a little with a lighter or touching a hot pan. try streching your hand by extending the fingers as much as possible and closing into a fist.

more strecting routines :
http://www.stetina.com/lessons/warmup.html

washburns are descent, they have become more popular lately.

Answer 8

Well I just wanted to Wish You a
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!