-
Epic Win – Update
There is a difference between figuring something out and getting it to work on the fretboard.
I have spent multiple sessions yesterday and today, an hour or more each time, working on this lick. I had to play it some many times before I could duplicate my hand position coming into the second measure. Then, I was able to start from the beginning of the second measure and get to the triplet faster. For the longest time, I couldn’t find the position where I was able to do the pull off with my pinky no matter how slow I went. I had to start again placing my pinky and finding that position and do the pull off and try to memorize the position of my hand and then come into it again. And again, I wouldn’t be able to find the position. This went on and on till my hand got tired and I’d have to quit.
Finally today, I figured out how to rotate my hand while my middle finger was planted on the 3rd fret, B string for the 1st 1/4 note, so that my pinky could come down on the 5th fret G string in the correct position. Then I could play the second 1/4 note and bring down my ring and index to be ready for the triplet.
Even after I got that down, it seemed like forever before I could play everything correctly while playing along with the video on .5x speed. Getting that rotation on the 1st 1/4 note was key, but then I had to get the other 2 fingers down after hitting the second 1/4 note. And then remembering the final 1/4 note and not rushing because I was so anxious to actually play all the way through.
But finally, I played along with the video at .5x speed… then .75x speed… and then, amazing, the pay off, I played along with the video at 1x speed, flawlessly. Wow. Just tonight I was wondering if I could ever actually get my “Epic Win” to work on the fretboard.
MG 😀
P.S. My hand is so exhausted it feels limp.
-
19 Replies
-
Mike-
Great job. Gluing that middle finger down on the 3rd fret of the B string seemed to work a little better for me also— seems to kind-of keep it “out of the way”.
I still am not even close to get thru that lesson with ANY smoothness or consistency, but I’m gonna give it about 2 more short efforts to see if there’s any improvement, then move on.
Mark J
-
Thanks Mark ( @mkjohnsons ); this is a difficult lick. It doesn’t seem that difficult, but I have been hear 2 1/2 years and have seen this at least 3 times and have improved remarkably on most of the lessons. This is one of those that just didn’t seem to budge… till now.
Keeping a finger pulled up and out of the way is one of those “skills” that seems to come with time. But make sure you put specific effort into control any finger that wants to “fly away” on you. Look at it, bend it to your will, as you try to do the lesson. In time, the fingers will obey you more and more.
MG 😀
-
Thanks Mike-
For me, I gave it another 10-minute shot yesterday. Ugh. If anything, it was worse.
The rest of the lesson seems to go fine.
Mooovin’ on.
Have a good weekend- MJ
-
-
-
Glad to hear that you got through your pinky problems. It sounds like you really worked hard on this one. Congratulations on a great win! 👍
-
I did work hard on this @stevieblues , probably as hard as I’ve ever worked on any lesson. This one was worth it as it opens doors to a whole world of embellishments.
MG 😀
-
-
Sometimes @MikeGaurnier it’s worth staying up all night (if need be) to work something out. Glad you got this!
-
Thank you @Cadgirl . BTW, how your guitar repair?
MG😀
-
Guitar is glued together looks good @MikeGaurnier . I have the strings on, but haven’t tightened them up yet to tune it (i’m afraid). My brother told me the guitar (First Act) is about 18 years old. Not a bad life span for a $20 kids guitar. Thanks for asking.
-
Oh, come on, @Cadgirl , I’m dying to know. Tune that little baby up. Have faith in what you did, because you did your best. If it doesn’t hold, it wasn’t your fault. But my guess is that the original glue dried out and gave way and now it’ll function just fine. Oh, and by the way, that Gorilla Glue won’t dry out. 18 years from now that thing will still be making beautiful music.
MG 😀
-
Tuned it up last night and the bridge still holds. It’s a fun little guitar to set on a stand. No one is afraid to pick it up to play a lick. We are having my sis-in-law & bro-in-law over for the holidays, both own guitars and never learned how to play. I’ve been trying to get them re-interested. They are in the “oh, it’s too hard” stage of their life. I guess they thought if they bought a guitar they would magically know how to play it. ha ha ha.
-
-
-
I had a hard time with this too. thanks for sharing your story. Going to keep working on it just like you did, maybe not all in one day😁 but this month. Thanks for the inspiration!
-
I’m glad I was able to inspire you @markvguitar . I know you can do it.
I have been doing TAC lessons for 2 1/2 years and that led up to my being able to gain this win. Also, I have done a lot of warm up exercises, including ones focusing on the pinky. Just doing what we can with the daily lessons leads to improvement. Slowly but surely our guitar skills get better and one day we find ourselves doing something we couldn’t do before.
Thanks for coming by and commenting. My post inspires you, and your comment inspires me. We both just keep putting in the time, having fun, and improving. What more could we ask? 😎
MG 😀
-
Awesome!!!!
-
-
-
Congratulations on your accomplishment Mike! Proves perseverance prevails.
-
Thank you so much Jack @Guitargeezer-Jack . This is a really new thing to me, to interact with someone on the forums that I actually know in real life. 😁
I am moving forward with my playing. I think I will have more to share the next time we can get together. And I think I will be more prepared to play along with another guitarist.
MG 😀
-
Glad to hear you are making progress Mike. I have been working on Christmas songs and that is getting me into the holiday spirit. Also, just participated in my church choir’s cantata presentation this past Sunday. It went well. The link for the first service presentation is Facebook Live | Facebook for Rehobeth UMC, Terrell, NC. Sound quality and sectional mix not great. Cantata starts at the 30:30-minute mark. I’m back row left in the tenor section, next to the young Santa-looking guy – LOL.
Let’s get together to play early in 2022.
Season’s Greetings to you Mike and all in TAC Land.
-
Sounds good Jack @Guitargeezer-Jack
You’ve gotten so good I’m gonna be a little intimidated playing with you. But hey, I’ll never be any better than I am at the time. 😅
MG 😀
-
-
-
And when you work with it long enough to figure it out…it sticks. Good job.
-
Thank you @albert_d . 😊
-
Log in to reply.