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I've fumbled around with the instrument like an 8 year old for maybe 4 hours total at this point.

Would I be wrong in assuming that getting oriented with the guitar is similar to learning to type on a keyboard? I ask that question, because I'm not kidding about the fumbling around.

I currently can't tell what fret my fingers are on or what strings I'm strumming without actually focusing on them.

I'm guessing that I should start by learning a chord or two first..

That leads to another host of issues I've experienced.. I seem to lack the dexterity in my hand to accurately manipulate the fret board. I'm constantly inadvertently muting strings or misplacing fingers between the frets/strings. Guessing this is hand coordination which will require the brain to create more neural connections.

I knew it took talent to play, but I amdeveloping a new level of appreciation for guitarist.

This instrument is making me feel like an damn monkey.

I've fumbled around with the instrument like an 8 year old for maybe 4 hours total at this point. Would I be wrong in assuming that getting oriented with the guitar is similar to learning to type on a keyboard? I ask that question, because I'm not kidding about the fumbling around. I currently can't tell what fret my fingers are on or what strings I'm strumming without actually focusing on them. I'm guessing that I should start by learning a chord or two first.. That leads to another host of issues I've experienced.. I seem to lack the dexterity in my hand to accurately manipulate the fret board. I'm constantly inadvertently muting strings or misplacing fingers between the frets/strings. Guessing this is hand coordination which will require the brain to create more neural connections. I knew it took talent to play, but I amdeveloping a new level of appreciation for guitarist. This instrument is making me feel like an damn monkey.

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[–] • 0 pt

Yep, I remember those days, almost 40 years ago now. What you're experiencing is what every guitarist experiences when they first start. Your fingers will hurt, your forearms might ache for a bit, and you'll sound like crap for a while. Just do a bit each day, every day, and within a week or two you will see improvement. Like others have said, start with some simple open chords; C, F, G aren't bad to start with, and they get you into what's called a 1 4 5 progression, which many songs use. I would also start learning scales, starting with the major scale (this will suck for a while, but it gets better).

The one thing to remember: Playing guitar takes one major component, and that is putting in the time.

You're building muscle memory, and there is no shortcut to that. Once you feel comfortable with some open chords and changing between them, find a songbook of very common songs, and start playing. If you want to also sing while you play, now is a great time to do that also, otherwise you'll just have to figure it out later. I played for almost 25 years before I tried to sing and play at the same time. It wasn't quite like learning to play again when I decided to try learning that, but it was close.

Just be consistent, practice a little every day, don't do so much that it hurts, either from blisters or fatigue, and eventually you'll start seeing results.