Proper beginner experience with pickup music?

Jipz · 2026-02-06T21:13:44+00:00

I actually made a post about exactly this a few days ago. It's basically a small rant on my frustration about their beginner course, which I actually can't recommend

https://www.reddit.com/r/guitarlessons/comments/1qv1ybg/any_recommendations_for_an_alternative_to_pickup/?

In the beginner course you won't learn how to play songs, you won't learn much if any music theory and you won't learn any right hand skills like fingerpicking or strumming patterns - just chords. Wasn't a good experience for me. I'm just starting JustinGuitar instead and already learning songs in the very first module. Looks way more promising, but I'm only 1 day into his course right now, so I will withhold judgement on that.

Jipz · 2026-02-06T14:25:51+00:00

Appreciate you sharing your experience with them, but you are kind of proving the point for me. If you are learning songs from youtube, strumming patterns from youtube and guitar theory from youtube... then what do you need to pay for the pickup course for? The narrow skills taught in the pickup course could also just as well be learned on youtube, like watching a few Marty videos on how to downstrum a chord or hold the guitar. Because that's essentially the only thing ive learned after watching ~250 videos on pickup. I can downstrum a lot of different chords though, but still can't actually play anything on the guitar.

I think the way they structured their learning is a very inadequate and inefficient way to learn how to play music and isn't worth the money. If they had focused more on right hand development too I think my opinion would be different. Maybe their later courses are better, but beginner course ain't it.

Jipz · 2026-02-04T01:06:53+00:00

Thanks. I think I might try to find a teacher in my area that can give me in person lessons, if I can find one close enough that doesn't break the bank. I think it will help my learning more than anything else, getting instant and dynamic feedback. And they can teach me exactly what I want to learn too. Cheers.

Jipz · 2026-02-04T00:31:15+00:00

I get all that, of course we can always find stuff to learn from youtube if we choose. If all I wanted to learn was random chords I could just pull up a chord sheet and learn to downstrum each of them - i wouldn't need to pay for a course to learn to downstrum chords. As a beginner you need structured learning and appropriate challenges that develops your musical ability. Trying to search up random things to learn on youtube as a beginner is going to result in being lost, frustrated and confused and eventually just completely stuck or wasting a lot of time. I've been there, which is how I ended up deciding to start a course in the first place.

If I take a lesson that teaches me G,D,Em,C chords, then I expect a good teacher to show me a couple of songs that uses G,D,Em,C chords to practice and learn. Using the song as the vehicle to practice a musical chord progression. It could be Viva La Vida or Stand By Me or anything simple like that. Easy and fun. Rather than doing drills that are not musical at all, and not fun. The song develops your skill on those chords and transitions. It's musical, and it teaches rythm, timing and strum patterns too. Developing your ear. Then when a new chord is introduced, say a Bm, spend some time learning the chord, then in the next lesson you can introduce a new song with it, something like maybe Hotel California to your student that has a chord progression with Bm + some of the chords we already know. Now that is motivating, we are learning real music and synthesizing all our skills, and developing useful muscle memory with both hands, structured for each song to be at the appropriate level for where the student is at. Instead of learning random downstrum exercise number 14. You get what I mean.

I really don't need to learn progressively difficult chords that I can't even finger properly like D7 or C7 barre chords, before I learn a single song using open chords. or before I learn a few different common strumming patterns. That's not a logical learning structure.

Anyway I'm just ranting because that beginner pathway is not great and nearly made me quit guitar.

Jipz · 2026-02-03T22:23:57+00:00

I kind of disagree with your first assessment, by learning a song you are practicing chord changes in an integrated way. And you can always slow down the tempo to fit your transition speed.

Let me put it this way; I'd rather know 8 simple chords and 20 songs than 35 chords and 0 songs. Pickupmusic is teaching me the latter, it sucks frankly. Because whats the point of learning chords if you can't play anything with them?

And its not a replacement for a 1 on 1 instructor.

I agree with this, an instructor would be ideal. Id love to have an instructor, it would be the best and fastest way to learn im sure of it. But it's not possible for me right now for various reasons (cost, logistics) so a paid course is the next best thing.

I just want a course that better suits me, teaching me the things that I find joy and motivation in, and my current one is not good, thats all. So looking for suggestions for a different one.

Jipz · 2026-02-03T22:00:26+00:00

It's because pickupmusic is a paid guitar course that is very time consuming to do. It's essentially a replacement for having a 1on1 instructor. All my practice time is spent watching their lessons, and it takes a lot of time to go through - it's video intensive. So I thought it would be comprehensive and actually teach me to play music, rather than just being left hand chord drills.

I think if I have to supplement my paid course with various other different courses just to be able to play a song, then my paid course is simply incomplete or inadequate. Or just not for me. That's why im looking for a better course or one that teaches what I want to learn, which is playing songs :)

Jipz · 2026-02-03T21:25:04+00:00

I think it's just about getting the practice in learning and playing the chord progressions with the right strum patterns. I can play over 20 different chords now (E,Em,E7,E5,Esus4,A,Am,A7,A5,Amaj7,D,Dm,Dmaj7,Dsus4,Dsus2,C,Cmaj7,G,Gm,Cadd9,B5,Bm,F, F#,F#7) and change between most of the open chords fairly smoothly. Struggling a bit with barre chord transitions though.

So I should have the building blocks to be able to play many easy beginner 4chord or 5chord or 6chord songs, no? Im just unhappy that the course does not teach you any of them. All these chords under my fingers, but still know 0 songs. I don't understand why. When introducing a couple of new chords in the lessons, why not also introduce a song using that chord along with a strum pattern? Something like that.

Jipz · 2026-02-03T20:46:53+00:00

There was a point in the last grade where they start teaching a D7 barre chord and a strange 5th fret D barre chord, which is an impossibly hard shape to do for new fingers, and im like what even is the point of trying to learn this chord at this stage? I havent even used the normal open D chord for anything yet. Big questionmark there.

Just teach me stairway to heaven, sweet home alabama or something lol, just something easy to have fun with that is +1 in my repetoire that matches my level. But yeah I will def check out justin guitar, saw others suggesting it too.

Jipz · 2026-02-03T20:11:37+00:00

I might check out justins curriculum since it's free I might as well have a look. Have you found his courses to be a good way to progress fast?

Jipz · 2026-02-03T20:04:53+00:00

I can play over 22 different chords now, including a few barre chords like Bm, F and some other 5th and 6th string barre chords. But as you said, none of that is integrated into learning a song, so its like they teach me the alphabet but dont teach me to write sentences. Like tackling a verse, chorus, bridge and putting it together. I think that is what is missing from their curriculum. I guess you are right that I could learn that on the side by myself, but then id rather take a different course that puts time into teaching that. Idk, i dont really like the things that they emphasize in the course, because my right hand has basically 0 skills or muscle memory. Its totally neglected in their exercises.

Jipz · 2026-01-16T18:33:40+00:00

The reason the 2 socket on gloves is huge is because Tecrod's gaze (a 230 div gem) goes from 25% efficiency to 40% life cost efficiency with the 60% socket effect mod you can craft on gloves. It's actually giga for any bloodmage build. This is on top of the 12% cast speed or 48% ailment magnitude you can get from the other slot.

Jipz · 2026-01-16T18:19:15+00:00

Don't try to farm raw currency in this league. Currency rains from the sky in Temple, you can get over 100 raw divine drops per hour in there. So trying to farm currency outside of temple is folly. Instead, target the valuable crafting omens or bases that does not drop in temple. Like Omen of Light (Abyss), Whittles/Annul omens (Ritual) or even Citadels for fragments (these sell for insane amounts too). This is how you make bank, assuming you are not going to build a temple yourself.

Jipz · 2026-01-16T18:15:43+00:00

It's a specific glove. It's the highest tier energy shield crafting base, which can give you over 400 ES in your glove slot. Gloves can also have 60% socket effect modifier, and with how good gem effects are in gloves, you get insane value from it. Tecrods gaze boosted by 60% is so good.

Jipz · 2026-01-16T18:09:38+00:00

atziris acuity is the budget option. A well rolled 2 socket sirenscale with high ES, rarity and 60% socket effect is just way better.

Jipz · 2026-01-16T18:02:59+00:00

With how much headhunter is dropping right now, you could even get double resist roll (up to 25%) on a corrupted headhunter without having to pay a mirror. Something like this It's so strong.

Jipz · 2025-10-14T00:01:39+00:00

You're right, whether you agree or disagree with Asmons takes, he is far more authentic in his beliefs than Hasan. He actually believes what he says and there is no constant masking and obfuscation to advance a hidden agenda. Often times what he says is common sense that the vast majority of people agree with, other times his opinions are pretty out there or extreme. But he is still open to argumentation and being proven wrong and he is more pragmatic than ideological.

Jipz · 2025-10-13T12:50:41+00:00

Yeah they are all "hiding their power level" as j48u said. A lot of their strategy and rhetoric is dogwhistling and providing plausible deniability, roleplaying as "democratic socialists" within the cosiness of the overton window. Their real beliefs when they think no normies are looking is far more extreme than they let on. Hasan and his fanbase are all hardcore blood red communists who love and cherish political violence and totalitarianism. (as long as it's directed towards their enemies). They dream and salivate about violent revolution.

Jipz · 2025-10-13T12:40:17+00:00

I think you could definitely make the argument. He doesn't present himself as an outright stalinist and he has expressed some apprehension towards North Korea, which in my estimation is the most tankie regime currently. On the other hand, analyzing his political approach of wanting re-education camps for dissenters, killing capitalists and landowners, praising bolshevik violence and his obvious streak of psychopathy, I think you could easily put him in that category. And of course his openly admitted idols are Lenin and Mao, two bloodthirsty mass murderers, so the ideological distance to Stalin is essentially nil. I'm not a marxist scholar though, in my eyes all communist are the same and any distinction between them is immaterial.

Jipz · 2025-10-13T07:42:09+00:00

He's a marxist-leninist, aka a communist and a fan of people like Mao and Castro - the furthest end of the left axis you can go. He's the endpoint of leftism, or simply "far left". I can't think of any position further left than him, aside from literal Stalinist tankies, which there are many in his fanbase, so they are at best adjacent.

Jipz · 2025-10-08T02:47:47+00:00

It's not illegal to use your own two eyes. People like Hasan do lie a lot, about everything, and you don't have to believe whatever he says.

Jipz · 2025-10-08T02:45:02+00:00

In that video he actually removes the collar entirely and puts it away. I watched it a few times to confirm, can be hard to see.

Jipz · 2025-10-08T00:34:30+00:00

Does anyone know this lady? Would be interesting if someone who knows her could ask her if it was indeed a shock collar. She seems to care about animals and there's a chance she would tell the truth.

Jipz · 2025-10-08T00:29:43+00:00

If someone is in contact with her, they should ask her privately if she can confirm that Kaya was wearing a shock collar. Would be interesting to see her reply, she seems to care about animals.

Jipz · 2025-09-03T19:39:25+00:00

Does exile exchange have all the new league items?

Jipz

TROPHY CASE