So yesterday I was scrolling through TikTok seeing all these people playing guitar effortlessly and thought, “Man, I wanna do that again.” My acoustic’s been gathering dust behind the sofa for months. Needed something dead simple, familiar, and not finger-torture level. Stumbled across Justin Bieber’s “Love Yourself.” Heard that basic riff a million times, figured maybe it wouldn’t kill my fingers.
The First Try (Kinda Awful)
Grabbed my dusty guitar, wiped it down with my sleeve. Found chords online real quick: just C, G, Am, F. “Only four? Sweet,” I thought. Tuned up roughly by ear (probably still kinda off, honestly). Tried switching from C to G immediately. Boom. Disaster. My fingers felt like sausages, couldn’t press the strings right, and the G chord sounded like garbage. Buzz city. Muted notes everywhere. Felt super awkward holding the neck. That enthusiasm from TikTok videos? Vanished in like two minutes. Thumped on the strings out of frustration – at least the guitar made a noise then.
Breaking It Down (Actually Helped)
Put the phone away. Stopped trying to play the whole chord sequence fast. Focused JUST on the intro riff. Seriously, just plucking each string slowly: open A string, then 2nd fret D string, then open D string, back to A. Did just that riff for a good ten minutes. It sounded nothing like Justin Bieber, more like a bored construction worker tapping pipes, but hey, I could do it without messing up every time. Small win.
Attacking the Chords (One at a Time)
Alright, back to the chords. Ditched trying to play fast. Went painfully slow:
- C Chord: Focused ONLY on making each string ring clearly. Didn’t worry about speed. Just pressed hard with my stubby finger pads until it stopped buzzing.
- Switching: Did C to G over and over. Slowly. Like, counting “1…2…3… switch” slowly. Forgot Am and F even existed for a while. My wrist hurt.
- Adding Am: Once C to G felt slightly less like wrestling an alligator, added Am. Surprisingly, switching G to Am wasn’t as bad because my fingers barely moved.
- F Chord Fiasco: Forgot how much I hated the F barre chord. My index finger refused to press down all six strings. Let my finger just kinda barre the top two strings. Didn’t play the bottom E string at all. Fudged it. Still sounded okayish in context. Called it “modified F” and moved on.
Put it together at snail speed: C – G – Am – F… pause… reset. Repeat. Sounded clunky but recognizable.
The 5 Simple Things I Actually Did That Made a Difference
All this fumbling showed me some basic stuff I always forget when jumping back in:
- TUNE! PROPERLY! Seriously. Even my rough “by ear” effort later on? Fixed it with a free app. Huge difference. Doesn’t magically make my fingers better, but at least the notes aren’t fighting each other.
- Trim Your Nails. Really. Didn’t think my fingernails were long. Tried pressing down for F, nope. Grabbed nail clippers. Suddenly had an easier time getting on the fingertips.
- Sit Up Straight. No, Seriously. Was slouched over like Quasimodo staring at the fretboard. Sat up, guitar resting better on my leg. Didn’t magically fix the F chord, but my back didn’t ache as fast.
- Slow. Down. Your. Brain. My biggest problem. Wanted instant rockstar. Forced myself to play the riff or the chords at half-speed while watching TV. Muscle memory started sneaking in when I wasn’t stressing.
- Fake the Hard Bits (If Necessary). That F chord? Instead of rage-quitting, I simplified it for now. Maybe later I’ll tackle the full barre. Right now? Making a sound that fits the song is good enough for my living room audience (the cat).
Putting It Together (Kinda)
Spent maybe 30 minutes total spread throughout yesterday evening. Started trying to combine the simple plucked intro riff directly into the chords. Did a couple of verses super slow. My transitions are still jerky, especially into that pesky G. But I played the full thing through a few times! Was it perfect? Heck no. Was it recognizably “Love Yourself”? Yeah… kinda! My strumming hand finally remembered a basic down-down-up-down pattern. Still messed up constantly. Cat walked away unimpressed.
Final Thoughts: Dusting off the guitar feels good. “Love Yourself” is definitely beginner-friendly if you take it stupidly slow, simplify stuff, and accept the mess. Those four basic chords really do cover it. My goal tonight: try it once or twice without looking constantly at my left hand. Fingers are still a bit sore today though! Definitely not effortless TikTok level, but hey, I played the song. Feels like progress. Not terrible.