What’s this week’s question? Let’s dive straight in…
Question: So, as you can read from the title I’m missing fingers on my right hand. To be more precise I only have my thumb and pinky finger, they both don’t have any joints in them besides the knuckle. My pinky is about 2 1/2 inches jutting out to the right and my thumb is about 3 inches jutting out to the left. Alright here’s the question lol, I want to learn to the guitar using my right hand as the strum hand, I have tried to just using my thumb to strum but it starts to get really soar and inconvenient. I have tried thumb picks but all they do is turn around in circles because I can’t hold it there. I have even resorted to taping a normal pick to my hand, but even that didn’t last long lol. Is there anybody out there that might be in the same situation and have resolved it, or anybody that thinks they can come up with a solution. Thanks in advance for trying to help me out 
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Answer: You do indeed have a difficult situation and I admire your determination. A properly fitting thumb pick shouldn’t spin around…and that seems like the most feasible approach. Thumb picks come in different sizes and thickness, so I suggest that you experiment with some smaller ones. An old trick to custom fit a thumb pick is to momentarily dip it in boiling water using needle nosed pliers. Pull it out and while it’s still hot, you can manipulate the shape and fit.
Approaching this from the opposite direction, have you considered playing slide guitar (or dobro) using your left hand to pick? It wouldn’t be too difficult to find a hollow slide to fit over your right thumb or pinky. It may not feel natural at first, but it’s definitely possible to train your left hand to pick.
Best of luck to you.
This week’s question is a good one. Let’s have a look:
Question: My mom has this old acoustic guitar that she inherited from her dad, but doesnt actually know how to play it. She doesnt really want to either, so she said I could have it. Other than getting lessons, what do you think is the quickest and easiest way to learn how to play? Are any of those books like "guitars for dummies" good? Videos? Ive always wanted to play, and now i have the opportunity to, and to learn. Please help! Thanks in advance. 
Answer: youtube. TONS of videos.
i would recommend a guy who has alot of videos names Marty Schwarts. i bet 75% of people who have tried to learn any bit of guitar from youtube videos have seen him. he is a great teacher. teaches blues.
but look up how to play country or blues. i guess thats what you play on acoustic mainly? ive only owned electric. (only seven months) about to buy another for guitar centers 4th of july weekend sale.
but just look up stuff like "beginner guitar songs" "how to play ’song’ on guitar/ acoustic guitar" "how to play blues/country/whatever for beginners"
but you are going to want to start with looking up how to play some chords stuff.
techniques you might want to look up are "travis picking" "chicken pickin"( i dont know what that is) and some scales. everyone knows the pentatonic.
and for reference, a lick is a little group of notes that sound cool in a solo or improv. licks arent really more than like 5-6 notes. combine a bunch to make a solo.
riffs are some chords that sound good together like in the song iron man. the chords playin in tha background makes up a riff.
good luck.
This week’s question is as follows:
Question: And I was wondering, what will I need to buy?
Obviously I’ll need to buy a classic/acoustic guitar, but what else would you recommend?
A pick?
Tuner?
How long does it take to get the basics down? Like, how long before I can play knowing where the notes are?
I can somewhat already read music if that helps…
Anything else?
Many thanks in advance, ow and if I have asked anything stupid my bad, I am new to this.
P.S. I am a 18 y/o girl if that effects anything.
Answer: I am also new with the guitar, but i know a good amount so ima help u as best i can. A pick is ur choice, some people like useing one and others are more into useing there fingers. If you are looking to play something electric then i would use a pick. But you can get a pick and try it out. They will let u do that at a guitar shop. With a tuner, unless you know how to use one it’s kinda pointless to get it. Sometimes they will also tune it for u there at the shop, watch them and ask questions on how to use it. Starting off playing a tuner isen’t a NEED thing. Once you get better and better i would get one. With how long it takes, well that depends on how long u practice. I got a CD for starting off and it helped me alot. A couple times aday you will soon inprove i garente. Because you can already read a lil of music that will make learning for u faster. Good luck and let me know if u need anymore help.
P.S Age isn’t important lol
Hope i helped u enough 
We’ve had a reader question come in on the subject of learn guitar. Let’s take a look:
Question: Ok so when I tell them I want to plan something to do they always taking me that im joking. Ok im might come up with crazy ideas sometimes but recently i was thinking of learning the guitar ( one of my goals in the future) seriously and don’t know how to tell them =/ Im thinking they’ll tell me " No ". I can’t wait to learn the guitar when i move out.
How can i tell them? Thanks in advance.
@sauce money is not the problem. The problem is their house their rules. =/
Answer: Just approach them seriously but casually and tell them you truly want to learn to play the guitar and that you’re not messing around or anything. Make yourself convincing but don’t yell at them or anything, of course. If they don’t believe you, try asking around school or looking online for places near you where you could learn guitar and write them down, show your parents you really want to learn this. Don’t give up!
Good luck!
A tough learn guitar question this week. Let’s dive straight in
Question: Hey everyone, I am 16 years old, which is probably a bit late to start learning an instrument, but I just felt like trying it out. I never learned to play an instrument because…eh, I just didn’t. So my two main options now are piano and guitar. I was leaning slightly toward piano, since it seemed a bit more useful, but my dad pointed out that the guitar could be taken places (portable). Which should I choose? Thanks in advance
Answer: piano is the basics of music. Its most easy to learn to play piano before any other instrument. I suggest to learn piano first, then try out guitar. i personally prefer guitar, but you can do anything.
A learn guitar question that should definitely interest you all this week
Question: I’ve been playing like 7 or 8 months now, and still have been putting off learning individual notes. Is there a method that can teach me everything in two-three days?
Thanks in advance!!
Answer: This is easy. Just pick a note — say, A — and then play it everywhere it is on the fretboard.
Unless it is an open note, it will be there only twice on each string (on a 24 fret guitar). (On the A string, the A is there three times, of course.)
Do this for all twelve notes repeatedly.
A tough guitar players question this week. Let’s dive straight in
Question: Hi, am learning bass and would like to know the notes I can use in each scale eg…C which notes would fit when making a bass line and sound ok?? any ideas where I can get this info from please?? thanks in advance peeps!
Answer: Okay, it depends entirely on what key the rest of the band is playing in and whether it’s a major or minor key. It also depends if you’re playing bluesy stuff, straight rock, heavy rock or whatever.
The basic rule is, stick with the root note of the chord so if your guitarist or keyboard player is playing an E chord play an E and so on. If you want to get more adventurous, use the octave of the note you’re playing and the 5th as a fill in – for example if the chord is G, and assuming it’s a four string bass, put your first finger on the bottom E at the third fret, then move your ring finger or little finger to the 5th fret on the A and D strings. Pluck or pick the bottom string followed by the D string, then down to the A and back to the bottom string. You can move this shape all over the fret board and get some great results.
Best thing you can do is learn to know what chord your guitarist/ keyboard player is playing and work from there. You can sometimes play either the third or fifth note in the chord instead of the root note as that adds colour, but don’t go mad to start with. The main thing with all bass playing is tight, precise rhythm and for that I use Jim Dunlop Delrin 2mm picks, same as Flea!
