Try this guitar challenge
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Responses
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Walk This Way
Responses
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Reptation and playing consistently, that’s the secret.
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Really liked this one! Where do I go to next?
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This took two days shut in a snowstorm and probably an hour or two of practice but finally got it about 90% down at speed 1. Fun and an accomplishment for me to combine strumming and long bass walks. I need more time to really get this stuff down so I’m now concentrating on what I really want to learn. Love being able to go back!
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Finally!
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I didn’t finish Thursday and Fridays until today but loved both.
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Good advice here! I’ve mixed this in with several other exercises I do on a daily basis and I see a difference since I started on Friday. Only deviation from the Rx: instead of picking one fret to perform the 20 reps on I’ve been moving up and down the board between 1 & 10. As the finger, wrist, etc. angels change depending on where you are on the fret board, I felt this important. First two days had my hand cramping toward the end; third day, no cramping and (almost) all strings ringing clearly. Thanks!
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worked thru the weeks sessions again, better.
-
This was yet another tool to add when changing chords. Seems like now i have a lot of choice when it comes to how i choose to play songs. Funny how some songs never go away in terms of their impact and meaning. At a time when there seems to be a lot of conflict in the world, I came across the Yongbloods recording and anthem entitled “Come Together” and found myself singing and inccooporated a simple bass line and strumming pattern I learned here with TAC. … It gave me great satisfaction.
Peace to all TAC members from BC Canada.
-
Excluding kitten interference on keyboard today, I actually really liked this one and felt slow but fairly good playing it. Mu biggest challenge was staying on the right string, changing frets but other than that my bom-chikka improved a bit as well.
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Yes, to return to full agility in fingers for changing cords is not easy, but I have to try! And we have great exercises! Still need some time. 🙁
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Another busy day! And I’m getting to TAC just before dinner. Hopefully, the 2 measure base walks will go smoothly. Looking forward to the next months challenges! Hope everyone enjoyed playing guitar over the weekend!
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Each day this weekend, my product got better. Still a ways to go, but it’s better now.
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I favorited all of these Learning to work walk ups and walk downs into my regular playing is an on going goal.
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first day back after a couple weeks a away, spent about an hour in this today, not great but good to be back playing
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Finger placement while picking the walk, I found is critical while going to the next cord. Great lesson for being able to set up the next cord effectively with the least amount of effort. Getting better every day.
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Not as much fun as learning a song but probably more useful. A great week for developing technique.
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better with repeated practice. keeps the fingers moving thank you
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Ron-A:
I also have struggles with the F chord, but is becoming more and more reliable after some focused development and practice. At the end of the day, it seems the secret is to angle your index finger so the side (next to your thumb) instead of the pad of your index finger, pressed fairly firmly (which requires a certain level of strength) on B and E. It is always better to be pushing the string down right next to the fret or as close as you can. Sounds simple, but no it is not, here is how I figured out where exactly I had position my fingers.
Try building the cord note by note to reinforce what it takes for success: hold your index (side) on E and B , strum the two checking for clarity of both notes, see how little pressure it takes. Now add middle finger to G, check E, B, G for clarity, if needed adjust index to get suitable angle and pressure until you have a good sound, note your positioning. Now for the hardest step, once you are getting clarity with just E, B, G add the ring finger to D trying not to move your other fingers. Check for clarity, rock fingers, add pressure to get clarity on all. If you are not getting, lift ring finger and get the other three clear again, or start over. Also try building 1 at a time from the other direction D-G-B-E.When you are getting it consistently and have an idea of the feel of what is working try placing all fingers at once, correcting , repeat, repeat, repeat. If needed start from beginning one string at a time. Take a break if your hand/ fingers are tired, it won’t easily work when tired and will be frustrating. This approach has also helped me with bar chords.
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thanks Don. I will continue to work on it.
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Much better today!
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Wow, @Blu-2! Did you miss your calling as a motivational teacher?! Thanks for taking the time to share your wealth of knowledge, resources, and instruction with me and others in the TAC community! Appreciate it very much!
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can anyone help me with making a clean F chord? The string under my middle finger (B string) buzzes.
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See my note to you above, I hit the wrong reply button first time.
No wonder the F chord is hard for me… haha.
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My bar chords sound better after just a couple of days. It is most rewarding. Finger strength and muscle memory are very real.
-
Well, I am still a real newbie to guitar but today was the easiest lesson of the week- I think because I was able to see patterns. Of course, I am still having to look up how to play some of the chords and many sound pretty dead- but having the patterns in my head really helps. AND playing soooo slowly that it sounds like a funeral march! But I am here, showing up every day and getting just a teeny bit better the day before!
-
@SharonSings
LOL, I bet they could. Just FYI, standard notation (reading notes on a musical staff) isn’t a part of Fretboard Wizard since Tony uses the easier to learn/understand TAB notation. 🙂If you are interested, there are plenty of resources for learning how to read the music on the upper (standard notation) staff in Tony’s lessons. This staff contains really useful information that TAB just can’t provide like time signatures, note duration, rests, ties, etc.
For learning to read standard notation for guitar, the book I found most useful is “Guitarist’s Guide to Music Reading” by Chris Buonu. It provides all the tools to understand the language of music as specifically related to guitar.
A Little extra credit….
As an aid to understanding, there are five elements involved in reading music for guitar:
1. the MUSICAL ALPHABET (what notes are available to play, for ALL music)
2. the relationship of the MUSICAL ALPHABET (notes) with the GUITAR FRETBOARD (where are each of these available notes played on the GUITAR FRETBOARD?)
3. the arrangement of music notes and other info on the MUSIC STAFF (tells you everything you need to know to play this piece of music by providing information about pitch and rhythm, the two building blocks of all music.)
4. the relationship of the notes of the MUSICAL ALPHABET to their location on the MUSIC STAFF, (where are the notes D, G#, Bb, etc. located on the MUSIC STAFF?) and
5. the relation of the notes of the MUSIC STAFF to the GUITAR FRETBOARD (where is the note at the bottom of the MUSIC STAFF (D) played on the GUITAR FRETBOARD?).You can play TAB if you understand 1 and 2 (plus an understanding of how to read TAB), but to read music on guitar, you also need 3, 4, and 5.
Reading music just gives you the opportunity to be much better at understanding guitar and expands what you can learn to play. Music theory gives you a deeper understanding of guitar and music, PLUS the opportunity to be able to work with other musicians more easily.
If, you don’t understand what, “this number is in 3/4 time, Key of E” means, good luck with the jam session. 🙂
FYI, the book I mentioned in an earlier comment is probably better for overall music theory on guitar, but it does not cover standard music notation because you CAN play guitar without knowing how to read music. -
Okay, a good close of the week. I was able to do this one and really liked it. This is one that I will lay in bed with tonight and just play with it. Good week–except for Thursday and the barre chords that I cannot do. Thanks about Tony!
-
i SHOWED UP Did better need to do alot of practice to make it smooth.. My fingering is improving
-
This was a fun diddy. I count my small win as showing up. And a new take on my guitar journey… I have played for over 30 years. I’d have thought I would be much better and I’m probably better than I imagine. However 🙂 I struggle with some basic theory and picking accuracy that gets me down almost every time I play. So instead of thinking of myself as a 30 plus year guitarist, I am now a newbie everyday! New skills to learn, some to unlearn. Be grateful to the TACsters and my fellow musicians. No more being hard on myself. Wishing you all an epic day of guitar playing. Peace and love to y’all
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Hey Blu-2! Thank you kindly for the thoughtful response. I will look for those resources you recommended. And yes, I decided to look at myself as a beginner and embrace the heck out of it. It’s been an enduring problem of mine to be a perfectionist and need to be the best which didn’t serve me all the well. What’s terrific about TAC is this…. other players reaching out and giving kind words of encouragement and advice. Thank you very much and make it an epic day! Cheers,
DG
p -
ps
I have fretboard wizard too. I just keep getting tripped up around day 8. I’m a goof HA!
-
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First time counting helped with this weeks challenges. I usually go along on just feel and unable to count. Felt like a big win.
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Thanks! I’m going to try this.
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I really enjoyed this week with the bass walks. Yesterday’s lesson was a challenge – I think barre chords are a bit much for me right now, but I will keep trying to get them under my fingers. I think this week has been my favorite week so far!
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Today is better than yesterday! Definitely enjoying the learning and challenges.
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This is doable at my level but parts are difficult. I haven’t used an F Chord yet other than an “easy F” that a previous instructor showed using the index on only the B string not the high E as well. That’s gonna take some practice. I had a lot of trouble with yesterdays lesson because of the barre chord. I have scheduled myself to miss a week of TAC and instead try the 5 day barre chord challenge. I’m sure that will help. I keep reminding myself, the more hard lessons I take, the more I learn.
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A little easier today, enjoyed it.
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had to think about timing
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I like todays lesson I played for hours now my fingers hurt.
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@mackharroldcomcast-net
Welcome to the Sore Fingers Club! It gets less painful the more you play. You may find that icing the fingertips can help.
In my early days, in order to not lose a day I put Super Glue on my fretting hand fingertips. You might wear it off playing, but it can get you through a session. 🙂-
ok thank you for your help…
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This week was fun! Four note was my favorite. Today seemed a little convoluted but all of it was valuable.
-
jccnky, Don’t give up!! There is no way I could have played this if I just finished the 30 days to play and the 5 day challenge. Just keep trying. -Print out the tab & draw out the chord diagram above each chord change. It will help a lot if you can see the chord diagram.
-
Harder than it looks but easier than Thursday’s bar cords. Both require practice over the weekend.
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Through the weekend.
-
What a downer today. Thinking maybe i’m not a guitar player. First week of the TAC daily challenges, completed the 30 days to play and then the 5 day challenge. What is this small f chord? Who knows, but I can’t seem to play it. no chord diagram, no go here for help with this. kinda hard to hard to feel good about the lesson when it seems it is all over my head. Maybe I’ll feel better about it tomorrow or maybe I look for a more basic guitar course.
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look at 2nd line of tabs. F is 3211 on DGBE. Bar your index finger on the first fret of B and E string. The notes you are playing are F, A, C, and F. (1, 3, 5, 1 of F major key). All the best, too early to give up.
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Don’t give up. I think we have all felt like you at some stage – and still do at times. The thing to do is just get out of each lesson what you can. Even if you just master a new chord or play a couple of bars, it is all progress. It took me 6 months to master a mini F chord – let alone the full F. Give it time and hang on in there
-
JC, This is the course you want, believe me. I’ve purchased the other “basic” courses. they show you some chords, give you some exercises and tell you that once you get to a certain point, you can move to the next level. I learned a handful of chords and strums and that’s all I practiced on. I didn’t progress, same stuff every practice… IT got boring. I had a lot of trouble with this 5 day challenge but I know if it was easy, I wouldn’t have learned anything. Todays lesson told me that I need to learn barre chords so I’m going to do a 5 day challenge on barre chords. I guarantee you are learning something and developing skill with every lesson, whether its easy or hard. The only way you can lose, is if you quit. Stick with it, you’ll thank yourself later.
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@jccnky, I understand how you feel. We have all been there, and you are not alone. Just hang in there, and all will happen, I promise. We are here to support you and offer encouragement, and the TAC community will get you home.
-
jccnky, there is a lesson where you focus on individual chords available. Go to the home page and look on the left side for a musical note. Select that and look for Your Next 6 Chords. The mini F is in the lessons. This one kicks my butt too. I seem to get it, then it sounds bad. Just need to keep working on it bit by bit. Stick with it and you will see improvement.
-
@jccnky
I suggest going back to the SKILL COURSES where you found the 30 Day Challenge. Look for a course called “Your Next Six Chords”. After that, consider doing some of the other courses in there as interest and time permit.
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-
It falls outside my experience of chord progression, which reinforces that there are multiple paths to another point. That’s good!
Congratulations, !
Challenge complete
Come back tomorrow for your next challenge
Reptation and playing consistently, that’s the secret.
Really liked this one! Where do I go to next?
This took two days shut in a snowstorm and probably an hour or two of practice but finally got it about 90% down at speed 1. Fun and an accomplishment for me to combine strumming and long bass walks. I need more time to really get this stuff down so I’m now concentrating on what I really want to learn. Love being able to go back!
Finally!
I didn’t finish Thursday and Fridays until today but loved both.
Good advice here! I’ve mixed this in with several other exercises I do on a daily basis and I see a difference since I started on Friday. Only deviation from the Rx: instead of picking one fret to perform the 20 reps on I’ve been moving up and down the board between 1 & 10. As the finger, wrist, etc. angels change depending on where you are on the fret board, I felt this important. First two days had my hand cramping toward the end; third day, no cramping and (almost) all strings ringing clearly. Thanks!
worked thru the weeks sessions again, better.
This was yet another tool to add when changing chords. Seems like now i have a lot of choice when it comes to how i choose to play songs. Funny how some songs never go away in terms of their impact and meaning. At a time when there seems to be a lot of conflict in the world, I came across the Yongbloods recording and anthem entitled “Come Together” and found myself singing and inccooporated a simple bass line and strumming pattern I learned here with TAC. … It gave me great satisfaction.
Peace to all TAC members from BC Canada.
Excluding kitten interference on keyboard today, I actually really liked this one and felt slow but fairly good playing it. Mu biggest challenge was staying on the right string, changing frets but other than that my bom-chikka improved a bit as well.
Yes, to return to full agility in fingers for changing cords is not easy, but I have to try! And we have great exercises! Still need some time. 🙁
Another busy day! And I’m getting to TAC just before dinner. Hopefully, the 2 measure base walks will go smoothly. Looking forward to the next months challenges! Hope everyone enjoyed playing guitar over the weekend!
Each day this weekend, my product got better. Still a ways to go, but it’s better now.
I favorited all of these Learning to work walk ups and walk downs into my regular playing is an on going goal.
first day back after a couple weeks a away, spent about an hour in this today, not great but good to be back playing
Finger placement while picking the walk, I found is critical while going to the next cord. Great lesson for being able to set up the next cord effectively with the least amount of effort. Getting better every day.
Not as much fun as learning a song but probably more useful. A great week for developing technique.
better with repeated practice. keeps the fingers moving thank you
Ron-A:
I also have struggles with the F chord, but is becoming more and more reliable after some focused development and practice. At the end of the day, it seems the secret is to angle your index finger so the side (next to your thumb) instead of the pad of your index finger, pressed fairly firmly (which requires a certain level of strength) on B and E. It is always better to be pushing the string down right next to the fret or as close as you can. Sounds simple, but no it is not, here is how I figured out where exactly I had position my fingers.
Try building the cord note by note to reinforce what it takes for success: hold your index (side) on E and B , strum the two checking for clarity of both notes, see how little pressure it takes. Now add middle finger to G, check E, B, G for clarity, if needed adjust index to get suitable angle and pressure until you have a good sound, note your positioning. Now for the hardest step, once you are getting clarity with just E, B, G add the ring finger to D trying not to move your other fingers. Check for clarity, rock fingers, add pressure to get clarity on all. If you are not getting, lift ring finger and get the other three clear again, or start over. Also try building 1 at a time from the other direction D-G-B-E.
When you are getting it consistently and have an idea of the feel of what is working try placing all fingers at once, correcting , repeat, repeat, repeat. If needed start from beginning one string at a time. Take a break if your hand/ fingers are tired, it won’t easily work when tired and will be frustrating. This approach has also helped me with bar chords.
thanks Don. I will continue to work on it.
Much better today!
Wow, @Blu-2! Did you miss your calling as a motivational teacher?! Thanks for taking the time to share your wealth of knowledge, resources, and instruction with me and others in the TAC community! Appreciate it very much!
can anyone help me with making a clean F chord? The string under my middle finger (B string) buzzes.
See my note to you above, I hit the wrong reply button first time.
No wonder the F chord is hard for me… haha.
My bar chords sound better after just a couple of days. It is most rewarding. Finger strength and muscle memory are very real.
Well, I am still a real newbie to guitar but today was the easiest lesson of the week- I think because I was able to see patterns. Of course, I am still having to look up how to play some of the chords and many sound pretty dead- but having the patterns in my head really helps. AND playing soooo slowly that it sounds like a funeral march! But I am here, showing up every day and getting just a teeny bit better the day before!
@SharonSings
LOL, I bet they could. Just FYI, standard notation (reading notes on a musical staff) isn’t a part of Fretboard Wizard since Tony uses the easier to learn/understand TAB notation. 🙂
If you are interested, there are plenty of resources for learning how to read the music on the upper (standard notation) staff in Tony’s lessons. This staff contains really useful information that TAB just can’t provide like time signatures, note duration, rests, ties, etc.
For learning to read standard notation for guitar, the book I found most useful is “Guitarist’s Guide to Music Reading” by Chris Buonu. It provides all the tools to understand the language of music as specifically related to guitar.
A Little extra credit….
As an aid to understanding, there are five elements involved in reading music for guitar:
1. the MUSICAL ALPHABET (what notes are available to play, for ALL music)
2. the relationship of the MUSICAL ALPHABET (notes) with the GUITAR FRETBOARD (where are each of these available notes played on the GUITAR FRETBOARD?)
3. the arrangement of music notes and other info on the MUSIC STAFF (tells you everything you need to know to play this piece of music by providing information about pitch and rhythm, the two building blocks of all music.)
4. the relationship of the notes of the MUSICAL ALPHABET to their location on the MUSIC STAFF, (where are the notes D, G#, Bb, etc. located on the MUSIC STAFF?) and
5. the relation of the notes of the MUSIC STAFF to the GUITAR FRETBOARD (where is the note at the bottom of the MUSIC STAFF (D) played on the GUITAR FRETBOARD?).
You can play TAB if you understand 1 and 2 (plus an understanding of how to read TAB), but to read music on guitar, you also need 3, 4, and 5.
Reading music just gives you the opportunity to be much better at understanding guitar and expands what you can learn to play. Music theory gives you a deeper understanding of guitar and music, PLUS the opportunity to be able to work with other musicians more easily.
If, you don’t understand what, “this number is in 3/4 time, Key of E” means, good luck with the jam session. 🙂
FYI, the book I mentioned in an earlier comment is probably better for overall music theory on guitar, but it does not cover standard music notation because you CAN play guitar without knowing how to read music.
Okay, a good close of the week. I was able to do this one and really liked it. This is one that I will lay in bed with tonight and just play with it. Good week–except for Thursday and the barre chords that I cannot do. Thanks about Tony!
i SHOWED UP Did better need to do alot of practice to make it smooth.. My fingering is improving
This was a fun diddy. I count my small win as showing up. And a new take on my guitar journey… I have played for over 30 years. I’d have thought I would be much better and I’m probably better than I imagine. However 🙂 I struggle with some basic theory and picking accuracy that gets me down almost every time I play. So instead of thinking of myself as a 30 plus year guitarist, I am now a newbie everyday! New skills to learn, some to unlearn. Be grateful to the TACsters and my fellow musicians. No more being hard on myself. Wishing you all an epic day of guitar playing. Peace and love to y’all
Hey Blu-2! Thank you kindly for the thoughtful response. I will look for those resources you recommended. And yes, I decided to look at myself as a beginner and embrace the heck out of it. It’s been an enduring problem of mine to be a perfectionist and need to be the best which didn’t serve me all the well. What’s terrific about TAC is this…. other players reaching out and giving kind words of encouragement and advice. Thank you very much and make it an epic day! Cheers,
DG
p
ps
I have fretboard wizard too. I just keep getting tripped up around day 8. I’m a goof HA!
First time counting helped with this weeks challenges. I usually go along on just feel and unable to count. Felt like a big win.
Thanks! I’m going to try this.
I really enjoyed this week with the bass walks. Yesterday’s lesson was a challenge – I think barre chords are a bit much for me right now, but I will keep trying to get them under my fingers. I think this week has been my favorite week so far!
Today is better than yesterday! Definitely enjoying the learning and challenges.
This is doable at my level but parts are difficult. I haven’t used an F Chord yet other than an “easy F” that a previous instructor showed using the index on only the B string not the high E as well. That’s gonna take some practice. I had a lot of trouble with yesterdays lesson because of the barre chord. I have scheduled myself to miss a week of TAC and instead try the 5 day barre chord challenge. I’m sure that will help. I keep reminding myself, the more hard lessons I take, the more I learn.
A little easier today, enjoyed it.
had to think about timing
I like todays lesson I played for hours now my fingers hurt.
@mackharroldcomcast-net
Welcome to the Sore Fingers Club! It gets less painful the more you play. You may find that icing the fingertips can help.
In my early days, in order to not lose a day I put Super Glue on my fretting hand fingertips. You might wear it off playing, but it can get you through a session. 🙂
ok thank you for your help…
This week was fun! Four note was my favorite. Today seemed a little convoluted but all of it was valuable.
jccnky, Don’t give up!! There is no way I could have played this if I just finished the 30 days to play and the 5 day challenge. Just keep trying. -Print out the tab & draw out the chord diagram above each chord change. It will help a lot if you can see the chord diagram.
Harder than it looks but easier than Thursday’s bar cords. Both require practice over the weekend.
Through the weekend.
What a downer today. Thinking maybe i’m not a guitar player. First week of the TAC daily challenges, completed the 30 days to play and then the 5 day challenge. What is this small f chord? Who knows, but I can’t seem to play it. no chord diagram, no go here for help with this. kinda hard to hard to feel good about the lesson when it seems it is all over my head. Maybe I’ll feel better about it tomorrow or maybe I look for a more basic guitar course.
look at 2nd line of tabs. F is 3211 on DGBE. Bar your index finger on the first fret of B and E string. The notes you are playing are F, A, C, and F. (1, 3, 5, 1 of F major key). All the best, too early to give up.
Don’t give up. I think we have all felt like you at some stage – and still do at times. The thing to do is just get out of each lesson what you can. Even if you just master a new chord or play a couple of bars, it is all progress. It took me 6 months to master a mini F chord – let alone the full F. Give it time and hang on in there
JC, This is the course you want, believe me. I’ve purchased the other “basic” courses. they show you some chords, give you some exercises and tell you that once you get to a certain point, you can move to the next level. I learned a handful of chords and strums and that’s all I practiced on. I didn’t progress, same stuff every practice… IT got boring. I had a lot of trouble with this 5 day challenge but I know if it was easy, I wouldn’t have learned anything. Todays lesson told me that I need to learn barre chords so I’m going to do a 5 day challenge on barre chords. I guarantee you are learning something and developing skill with every lesson, whether its easy or hard. The only way you can lose, is if you quit. Stick with it, you’ll thank yourself later.
@jccnky, I understand how you feel. We have all been there, and you are not alone. Just hang in there, and all will happen, I promise. We are here to support you and offer encouragement, and the TAC community will get you home.
jccnky, there is a lesson where you focus on individual chords available. Go to the home page and look on the left side for a musical note. Select that and look for Your Next 6 Chords. The mini F is in the lessons. This one kicks my butt too. I seem to get it, then it sounds bad. Just need to keep working on it bit by bit. Stick with it and you will see improvement.
@jccnky
I suggest going back to the SKILL COURSES where you found the 30 Day Challenge. Look for a course called “Your Next Six Chords”. After that, consider doing some of the other courses in there as interest and time permit.
It falls outside my experience of chord progression, which reinforces that there are multiple paths to another point. That’s good!