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Another Newbie… Boogie Blues Block
Hey gang, I’m new… to both guitar and this forum so forgive me if I am bringing up a common question. I’ve only been playing about a month and joined Tony this week. I’m working on the Boogie Blues and I am really struggling to pick up speed. I either miss the correct fret position or miss the correct string. I find myself focusing on and looking down to either the frets or the right hand picking and invariably I just can’t seem to build up any speed and accuracy, albeit I’m only 4 hours or so into this section. I have lots of free time and I tend to pick the guitar up 15-20 minutes four to five times per day so I’m putting in the effort, but seemingly not getting better. I’m looking for some wise counsel! Thanks, Jeff
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3 Replies
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@jeffswan51gmail-com that’s perfectly normal in the beginning. Your control will improve over time as your fingers eventually catch up to your brain. These movements are very new and you actually have to develop a repertoire of these specialized muscle movements, that are unlike anything you have done for all the years before picking up a guitar.
What you are doing is good, keep your sessions short (10-20 minutes) and repeat as often as it’s still fun. I was a lot like you, semi retired and then almost completely retired so with a lot of time. Now, after nearly 17 months in the TAC program, I am able to do much more than i could in the beginning but there is still a long journey ahead.
Don’t let your struggles discourage you! In those moments is where most of the magic (learning) occurs. When it’s easy, you aren’t really learning much. At some point, possibly sooner than you think, you suddenly will be blown away by what you are able to do! Keep on rockin’, Jeff! Happy Thanksgiving!
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Here’s an exercise that helped me a lot in the beginning: https://youtu.be/2onjflSqHNo
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That has the potential to be very helpful, Pete, but my fingers are shaped like this: (( )), so when I curl them to fret vertically, they don’t reach 4 frets wide. So I tried it at the 7th fret which was better, but wow, separating those fingers in my brain is a challenge!
Something to definitely practice every day!
Barbara M
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