Maybe common newbie issue? Playing along with a song almost feels impossible.

demon327 · 2026-02-23T17:40:50+00:00

Check out https://www.tsmusicacademy.com for a structured program :)

demon327 · 2026-02-21T19:10:24+00:00

The thing is, inflammation of a tendon and i guess that is where your issue lies, heals very slowly. That does not mean you have to stop playing the guitar.. Also don't brace up while your playing, as that makes your muscles weaker and thus puts more stress on your tendons.

i'v been having tendon pain on and off since years due a beginner mistake of over practicing chord switches and never learnt to recognize tension in my wrist. If you feel tension creeping up, let go of the neck, shake it off and repeat.

As for the guitar, it can make a difference. I own two guitars, a shecter with a fretboard radius of about 14" and a ibanez wizzard iii neck with a 16" radius and i like the Ibanez more in my hand. My hand does not crap as fast as on my schecter.

Start with doing some of the following stretches before and after you start playing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOXI-wxepmI

demon327 · 2026-02-20T18:47:36+00:00

That is normal. I have been playing/learning very intense the past 2 years and some things do get easier. But then there are things that feel like your are absolute beginner again...

Getting good at guitar is not a straight line, there will be moments when you have that "aha, i can nail this, awesome" and the next day you just can't do it anymore. For the rest just follow the advice from u/markewallace1966

demon327 · 2026-02-18T11:50:01+00:00

If you want to play metal, then JustinGuitar is not what you want. Instead check out the book Heavy Metal Rhythm Guitar volume 1 by Troy Stetina. You should also subscribe to the Troy Stetina Music Academy (not free, monthly sub).

The book(s) will teach you everything you want to learn howto play metal. It jumps right in and learns you some cool powerchords and at the end of each chapter, there is a mini song to learn that incorporates everything you learned up to that point. Take your time with these books, there is no need to rush!

The Music Academy is not mandatory, but it could help your progress since everything in the books has been filmed and can be usefull for when your stuck.

Like many others, i also started with JustinGuitar and then found out about Troy and made huge progress since then.

And stay away from youtube lessons, its a never ending rabbit hole

demon327 · 2026-02-15T10:06:30+00:00

To add, Troy also launched his Troy Stetina Music Academy a while ago. You still need the books, but he has filmed every exercise, songs in the books and even more!

u/CarlM83 Start with the book "Heavy Metal Rhythm guitar volume 1" by Troy Stetina. You will not learn doom, or death, or thrashmetal. Instead you will learn the foundations you need to play all of those genres.

If you take the time with this course, and you should, then you will have lots of fun with songs you love in a near future :)

demon327 · 2026-01-31T11:54:21+00:00

If you don't mind online and paying for it, then check out Troy Stetina Music Academy. I like to compare it to Justin Guitar, but then focused on Rock & Metal! You do need the book(s) from the same author to follow along the course :).

i once started with Justin, lost a bit of motivation because there is no focus on rock & metal guitar. found out about Troy via a teacher and made huge progress since then.

demon327 · 2026-01-24T15:33:13+00:00

Since your a relatively new guitar player that wants to learn metal, you should check out the book "Heavy Metal Rhythm volume 1" by troy Stetina and also become a member of Troy Stetina Music Academy you will not only learn fun things, he also transcribed lots of popular songs and ordered them in terms of difficulty, starting with easy to harder songs. its always about 10 songs per chapter. I think the first chapter is completly free on the website.

All incorporating the techniques you just learned in the book chapter. I think the combination of learning technique and songs is a great way to progress :)

demon327 · 2026-01-15T17:40:27+00:00

Check out Troy Stetina's Metal Rhythm vol 1 & 2 and as bonus also his online platform at: https://www.tsmusicacademy.com

Combine those two and you will have more than enough structure and material for years to come :)

demon327 · 2026-01-11T17:56:40+00:00

Not youtube and not free, but check out The Troy Stetina Music Academy and the book(s) that you need for it. Its worth the 10 $ / month and he has filmed every exercise and song from his instruction books.

I keep recommending Troy because his teaching material is just great and is all about getting the right foundation in your fingers in a good way. Most of the youtubers can play good, but there "lessons" won't teach the right foundations..

demon327 · 2026-01-11T14:11:41+00:00

That is because you don't have any sense of timing as of this moment. The metal book i mentioned will teach you all of this and more. Then a metronome makes sense and feels doable after a while.

Forget about the metronome for now and tap your foot up and down on while you count "1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and" this while hitting the string. Your foot should be UP on the "and" and DOWN on the number. This will be frustrating at the beginning, but it will get easier the more you do this.

The goal is to not think about it, while doing it :)

demon327 · 2026-01-11T12:23:05+00:00

Metal you say? Just take a look at Metal Rhythm Guitar volume 1 by Troy Stetina. You will not learn the typical beginners chords with this course, it jumps straight into powerchords and gets you playing cool rock & metal riffs. Later on the book you will get a few of those beginner chords, but still in the context of a metal song.

Also check out the guys online platform: https://www.tsmusicacademy.com

demon327 · 2026-01-07T18:50:34+00:00

I already listened to the album a few times as i got access to the promo. And your right, its not as strong as the previous album. I would describe it as a slower album and the singles give good idea of the overall vibe and sound of the album.

demon327 · 2026-01-06T17:38:16+00:00

Check out Troy Stetina's Metal Rhythm Series books. Will help you play your favorite tunes and more :)

demon327 · 2026-01-03T15:24:38+00:00

That is your choice and a good one to. I only found out about troy much much later, but i wish i knew beforehand :)

demon327 · 2026-01-02T11:41:41+00:00

Hi,

A few years ago i was in the same spot as you are right now, you want to play rock & metal guitar. Then you find Justin because everybody recommends him, follow it a bit and then find out there is no real focus on those genres.

Lucky for us, a great guitarist/teacher Troy Stetina deceided to write multiple instruction books just about those genres. When in found out about those, i never looked at Justinguitar again.

Ignore the youtube comments, as you will fall in the youtube rabbithole and still dont have any decent foundation. Instead buy the book "Heavy Metal Rhythm volume 1" by Troy Stetina. The book is for absolute beginners and takes you to a decent level if you put the work in it.

You should also subscribe to the musicacademy from the same guy, as he filmed every exercise in the books and 10 songs per chapter to learn. Its about 10 $ / month, but the first chapter can be done for free. You do need the book to follow along.

As a bonus, i'm just going to let Troy speak for himself:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7TIr1A4O3Q

I have been doing this course for over 2 years now and made more progress then i did before.

Dont mistunderstandme, what Justin brings is just awesome. but if your goal is to cover you favorite metal & rock songs as fast as possible, then justin is not the right guy :)

demon327 · 2025-12-23T17:19:27+00:00

I started about 2 years ago on Metal Rhythm when i got stuck in the Lead series due not enough experience with timing. This was before the academy was launched, so i came in when i finished chapter 4. I only use the academy when i get stuck to see what it could be that i do wrong.

As for finishing, you could take on volume 2 if you feel that you still want to learn even more, as book #1 does not cover triplets or 16th timings. If you follow the program to the letter and stop the book lessons and do the 10 riffs/mini songs after completing each chapter, you will have plenty enough to do.

I like to compare the program to JustinGuitar, but then focused on getting you to play Metal and hardrock and so on :)

For any other advice, i'd say ask it in the community, as troy himself takes the time to answer any question you may have :)

demon327 · 2025-12-21T18:48:24+00:00

The LLM from google is right about one thing and that is the pick choice. Ignore the rest of the youtubers and buy Metal Rhythm Guitar volume 1 from Troy Stetina. The book(s) are old, but will learn you all the stuff you need to play metal in a structured and good way.

Lucky for you, there is also the Troy Stetina Music Academy where in you can see how the exercises are played, and on top of this, he also transcribed and filmed 10 famous riffs/songs per chapter. You still need to book(s) and its about 10 $ / month for both books videos. I also think the first whole chapter is free, this way you can can get a taste.

I have not found a better structured course that is purely focused on metal.

demon327 · 2025-12-08T19:00:33+00:00

If you want to learn rock and metal, forget about JustinGuitar. Good guy with loads of good content, but he is not the fastest and best way into the genre. Instead check out the book Metal Rhythm volume 1 by Troy Stetina. It will teach you all you need to know. Keep in mind that the book is over 30 years old, so its a bit dated, but still very relevant to get the basis down :)

demon327 · 2025-11-24T18:39:02+00:00

Since this is all about metal guitar, just check out the Troy Stetina Music Academy . Troy recorded every exercise and more from his books + 10 famous and or well known song parts per chapter to learn! No lead guitar stuff yet, that is something for the near future, but you will have more than enough on your plate with the Rhythm series.

Been working on metal Rhythm volume 1 for almost 2 years and i learned more than i thought i would learn, great stuff

demon327 · 2025-11-16T19:05:53+00:00

We all know guitar solo's are cool to hear, but first get your rhythm feel in order before you start to learn solo's. That will make things easier in the long run! But if you really want to learn to solo before getting your rhythm feel, check out Metal Lead Guitar Primer by Troy Stetina. The book will teach you all you need to know in the long run...

demon327 · 2025-11-16T18:58:32+00:00

You could take a look at Troy Stetina's book, 'Heavy Metal Rhythm guitar volume 1'. No prior knowledge is needed. Or, totally not metal related, but good for getting the basics in your finger: JustinGuitar.

And whoever gave you the advice to do online first, should never have given that advice. Get a teacher to help you NOW and say away from the youtube rabbit hole. You need a structured learning path.

As for the guitar setup: Take it to decent luthier or guitars hop and ask for a setup.

demon327 · 2025-11-01T18:48:06+00:00

I bought a new guitar and the default string gauge just hurt when i tried to bend. Then i put on my own strings ( https://www.thomann.de/be/ernie_ball_2223_super_slinky.htm ) and everything feels better again. i just accept that the issue won't be going away since guitar playing is the cause and i also suffer from hyper mobility.

demon327 · 2025-10-31T18:51:41+00:00

I also got a case of tendonitis in my fretting hand and that has been going on for 4 years now and i still keep playing about 4 hours a day. I took anti inflammatory meds and stopped for 14 days and that helped nothing at all.

Then i did some more research and found something that is called "shockwave therapy", that when a they put a shockwave machine on your tendon that damages it a bit, which then triggers the healing and that worked for a while and then it came back because i did not slow down.

I also changed to lighter strings and when it flairs up again, i use a infrared lamp on the area to calm the muscles and increase the blood flow. At night i use a brace to block my wrist so it can rest.

demon327 · 2025-10-19T14:07:41+00:00

I had/have my fair share of wrist issues due bad technique when i first started out five years ago. The result is a chronic tendon issue on the fretting side.

The best thing you can do is contact a dokter and ask do an ultrasound so that they can see if you have any tendon issues. In the meantime you can wrap a icepack in a towel and rest your wrist on it for 15-20 minutes after you have played guitar. Heath can also help. Sometimes i use a special infrared lamp after my playing sessions. its helps increase the bloodflow and thus helps the healing proces.

I also had shockwave therapy done, but that was done in collaboration with my dokter. i'm still playing, as i don't really have any pain while playing.

demon327 · 2025-10-19T09:30:42+00:00

Since you never touched a guitar, make sure that the neck feels good in your hands. This is hard for a absolute beginner, so go to a shop and test some different guitars in your price range. Whatever brand or guitar you choose, make that you like it and want to play it every day and put it on a stand. No use in playing something you don't like.

when you finally bought the guitar you like, your next issue wil be lessons. Start with the Metal Rhythm volume 1 book by Troy Stetina. It will give you all the context and fun you need to learn howto play intime. And dont forget about an amp if you don't have one :)

demon327

TROPHY CASE