TAC Family Forums

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  • Loraine

    Member
    July 16, 2024 at 12:36 pm

    @Rob503 I feel for ya! I’m A rhythm player, because I can’t fingerpick because of tremors in hands. Even with tremors, strumming is hard, transitioning between. Chords is difficult, and speed is another issue. They are 3 separate issues to be dealt with individually and eventually pit together.

    For chord transitions, there are a lot of things you can do to get better. Most aren’t a ton of fun to do, but they’re necessary in order to build muscle memory.

    I agree with the others, slow it way down and use a metronome. 4:4 Strum a chord on beat one. Use beats 2,3,4 to change to the next chord; Again strum on the one neat, and keep repeating. When you’re able to transition at a low speed (and many times it is a very low speed), increase it in increments of 5 beats and begin again. And it goes on. You will learn to transition faster and smoother with this exercise..

    For finger placement on chords, practice hovering fingers over the correct strings and bringing them down on the correct strings at the same time. You’ll again start with a very slow beat on the metronome 4:4 and increase as you become proficient at that speed. If you currently place one finger at a time, you’re creating muscle memory to place one finger at a time. To break the muscle memory, use the opposite pattern of placement , and then switch up to placing the 2nd finger first and then alternate between 2 other notes in chord. Then practice placing 2 fingers at the same time, and then 2 different fingers. Do all combinations, and then practice hovering over the strings without touching them, and then placing them at same time on their respective strings. notes, then switch of the 2 fingers and use a different combination

    Strumming is difficult, which surprises a lot of people. It simply takes a helluvalot of time and practice. Have you taken the Jumpstart to strumming yet? This is another to practice with a metronome. There are a lot of strum patterns out there. Stick to 1-2 for now until you get better. I still struggle sometimes with strumming, because I’m tight and stiff from fibromyalgia, and I have the tremors, and my hand jumps, and I can’t hit the strings. I simply keep at it.

    Sorry for length. Got a little carried away. :). Feel free to ask questions.