I Am Sungha Jung. Guitar Player on Youtube . 3 Million Subscribers. AMA!

Whoa. No questions but holy crap where did the time go? I last remember you as a little kid playing Hey Jude. I feel so old now. Congrats on your successes!

Time flies (: . Thanks for your support!

Do you like to play League of Legends?

Yes I Do ! (:

Really what's your rank? O: do you happen to stream? do you follow competitive League scene? sorry so many questions xD

Silver Division II , I don't stream but i do play for fun (:

When are you gonna cover free bird?

Sometime soon hopefully. I've been super busy practicing other songs.

how much money do you make from youtube views?

Roughly $1-5k. Some videos get 50k views, while others get 1M.

How old were you when you started? And what is your best advice on how to take playing to the next level? I've been watching you for years, simply amazing!! Thanks for all your hard work and for sharing your talent with the world!

Started when I was 4.I played for fun but as time went on , I started dedicating most of my time to guitar. Best advice to take playing to the level is to be better than you were yesterday (Always tell myself this). And thanks for your support! Love my fans :)

You play exceptionally well. Can you or have you tried singing and putting vocals to your playing?

Ive tried. But I am not a good singer :( . So I let the guitar sing for me!

I have such a hard time with bar chords. I feel it's severely limiting my progress. What kind of advice would you recommend?

Keep practicing !. Your fingers will eventually build "muscle" to play those bar chords. Good luck! (:

What would you say is your favorite song to play?

I'm Yours (:

Did you get alot of girls growing up?

Yes. But Im not really interested because Im only interested in things that make me happy.

Music.

Been your fan from Sophomore year, just curious who is your favorite girl group ? ㅋㅋ

2NE1 (:

Why are you so good? T-T

Practice, practice, practice. Even if it's only a few minutes of practice !

Are you going to plan to have a concert in Hong Kong?

Yes! Already planned. October 10th. :)

Thanks for doing this! You really inspired me to play fingerstyle back when you held your concert in sweden! My questions are:

1. How much do you practice everyday?
2. How can I, as a avid fingerstyle guitarist learn to stop making mistakes?
3. Will you ever come back to sweden? (My mom asked last time you came and you said no)

Thanks! :)

I practice almost 7-8 hours (With breaks) A day. But i started off with 1 hour a day, then 2 hours, then 3, etc. Start small at first.

To stop making mistakes , play some songs slowly. Once you get comfortable with playing it slow , build the speed. It's all practice (:

I am probably not going back anytime soon unfortunately :( . I've been super busy with other concerts and composing songs.

Hey man thanks for doing this, love your work. What would you say is the hardest song you've ever had to learn how to play?

Hmmm. Most of the songs were hard to play. But the hardest song i've ever played was Payphone by Maroon 5. Took forever to learn!

You are my hero!!

Do you do your picking nails yourself? Are Lakewood guitars your favorite sounding guitars?

Of all your original songs, which is your favorite? Mine is Felicity! How long does it take you to compose a song? What's your inspiration for your compositions?

What's your favorite arrangement of yours of someone else's work?

Which piece of yours is your most difficult to play?

Yup. And I love lakewood so yes! It takes me around 1-3 months to compose a song (Fingerpicking, strumming, etc) . David Goliath's arrangement is my favorite so far. (:

Can you play any other instruments - particularly ones that aren't strings? I love your work :)

I used to play the drums when I was younger. I kinda miss playing it. I might start getting into drums again (: (While still playing guitar of course)

I have been an on/off acoustic player for about 3 miserable years. I try so hard at times to get better, and play songs, and push myself to learn, going on a week long binge, but I get so frustrated with it all and then stop all of a sudden because I dont see progress. Any advice to end my stupidism?

Don't quit. Learn to enjoy/love playing and you will progress without even trying too hard :)

Who encouraged you to start posting videos on YouTube?

I started playing around local shops. Ive had a crazy amount of attention. A lot of people told me to start a YouTube channel so i did :)

Which is your favorite of your covers? My favorite is your cover of Safe and Sound by Taylor Swift - you arranged it so well! The harmonics are beautiful.

I have a lot of favorite covers!. But my favorite would be Viva La Vida - Coldplay :)

I've been a fan since you've been posting videos as a kid! What is your advice about gear/guitars in general? Do you think having an expensive guitar and gear is necessary to advance playing? Also do you spend time also improvising rather than meticulously covering or writing songs? Thanks man can't wait to see you keep on rocking.

Expensive guitars / gear is not necessary to advance playing. It's all preferance (: . I always improvise on my songs . Thanks for your support (:

Hey Sungha, I've seen you play mostly with Trace Bundy. How was it to take the stage with another amazing artist at such a young age?

Honestly , I felt really nervous. The fact that an amazing artist is right next to me makes me have all kinds of emotions. But overall it was super fun :)

Hey! Big fan of your videos! One of my favorites is your Canon Rock. Do you listen to a lot of classical music in addition to modern music?

Yes! . Classical and Old schools :)

Do you go to school and do you plan to go to college?

Currently going to school , But it's difficult managing time playing guitar/producing videos and studying. So college might not be a plan.

You seem to like to play with other guitarists. Would you consider playing with Tommy Emmanuel?

Also, how long would you say you've been working on the percussive aspect of your playing? It's really clean and your timing is perfect, and it doesn't seem like you even have to put much effort into it.

You're doing God's work man.

Of course! And 15 years of dedicated time practicing. It really pays off. Thank you for your support (:

do you still keep in touch with Megan Lee?

edit: also will you add me on league? :D

Havent heard from her in a while.

And yup! Comment your user :)

Can you recommend me a microphone to record songs for YouTube like you did when you were younger?

Any pointers when it comes to recording would help a lot!

I used to record with the standard microphone that was built in with my camera. Then i moved onto the snowball microphone.

As for recording , make sure you have a good quality video , and good lighting (:

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

Being happy :)

Whats the most common guitar tuning you use?

DADF#AD

Do you have any tips on where to begin learning how to play guitar more seriously? I have been stuck learning guitar through song tutorials on YouTube or tabs on the internet! I really want to be able to play more stuff the way that you do!

Start with a beginner song. (I would reccomend a song that has simple finger picking). Then build from there. I started with Hey there delilah when I was a beginner. Good luck! :)

My god, you are already 19 years old? That is unbelievable to me hahah, as with everyone else, I have basically grown up listening to your music :). You definitely deserve all of your success, and all that comes in the future, thank you for being so dedicated and amazing at your art.

My only question, is how do you stay motivated to continue playing? What keeps you going?

My fans keep me motivated! People like you who support me through my progression is what keeps me going :)

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I took some guitar classes when I was young. Try to make some time to go to classes. They really help a lot. More than YouTube in my opinion. :)

Your cover of River Flows in You blew me away and inspired me to get serious about learning guitar, and I can't thank you enough for that. I've watched so many of your videos so many times to learn from your techniques.

If you wouldn't mind, I'd love to ask you some questions about practice techniques and drills to really get proficient at right hand techniques.

• I've been using just the flesh of my fingers to pluck the strings. Should I get finger picks? Is just a thumb pick good too?
• What exercises do you feel are most effective for building thumb independence?
• How do you prefer to alternate fingers while strumming the same string?
• What you you recommend for switching quickly between strumming chords and picking strings?

Your wisdom is greatly appreciated. It's amazing to think with the internet I get a chance to ask a guitar master personalized questions.

1.I highly recommend finger picks. Even if it's just for your thumb.

2.Practice and dedication :)

3.As long as the same chords are being played , Then it wouldn't matter :)

4.Play slow at first , and continue to speed up after practice !

Hello Sungha! Thanks for all the music and taking the time for an AMA. My questions are, do you have any warm-up or stretching routines you recommend? Also, do you have any songs you would recommend to someone beginning to learn fingerstyle guitar?

A Beginner song I would reccomend is hey there delilah :) . As for warming up , I would start by playing slow .

Hi Sungha! What is your best tips to achieve a great tone when playing fingerstyle? I love your tone

Have perfect finger placement. Practice on form :)

Hi Sungha! Been a fan and subscriber since something like 2007(?). Recommended your channel to loads of my friends! I'm from Brunei and was so excited when I heard you were coming, and so disappointed when I heard the concert was cancelled. Apologies on behalf of all your fans here for our stupid laws.

Question: have you seriously considered singing? Are you taking singing lessons?

Havent taken singing lessons. But I do plan to take some next week. Im working on my vocals at the moment and trying to improve !

Are you still glad that you took this career from such a young age? Besides doing music, what do you imagine your life would be like today?

I am more than glad I toom this career. Words cannot describe the feeling. If It wasn't for music , I would probably be playing league of legends all day lol

Wow okay I know you're already really awesome, but the fact that you play League just makes you even MORE awesome! Would you add me? Haha

Yup ! Comment your user (:

Omg I watched you when I was in middle school and now I've graduated college. Best wishes for even greater success!

2 questions:

1) Your playing started attracting attention when you were quite young. When did you become aware of the concept of "fame" and views?

2) Did you or your parents/teachers have more control over things such as media appearances, concert scheduling etc as you became more well known?

1. I became aware when my views started to increase a lot! It motivated me to continue to play !

2.My parents supported me 100%. Arranged my concerts, Helped me set up my equipment when i first started. So they did have control but in a positive way :)

WOW its you! I have only one question. What made you pick up a guitar for the first time?

Parents bought me it when I was bored at home! I enjoyed playing it from the start

First off- Big Fan from India! My Fav is She will be loved - Maroon 5. Do you have any plan to release tutorial videos for your cover? may be you can collab with some youtubers/trainers to do that for you.

Any plans to come to India yet?

Also, how was it like to play with Eric Clapton? Keep Rocking!

Thanks! I plan on relasing some tutorials but i feel like it would take a few months(Due to being occupied with composing songs/concerts) . I also might collab with Gareth Evans sometime in the future.

Im also planning to book flights to India to perform . Im estimating around August if I can! :)

Eric Clapton is a really friendly guy . I enjoyed the experience!