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Fun?
I am new to this TAC stuff and in the Web video used to sell it Tony says that you should always have fun when you are playing. Well today I did the first challenge called “Finger Pairs” and I have to say it was not fun and felt like work. What should I do to insure that playing these daily challenges are fun for me?
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5 Replies
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Hi Sidney sorry you didn’t enjoy it. I think I’m a bit of a masochist as I really enjoy the finger exercises/warm ups. Each day they are different Monday is warm up which this was. I enjoy trying to get them down to the metronome and upto speed I will set a timer and do them most days for ten minutes as a warm up with a goal to get them to 120 bpm that’s how I make them a challenge and the progress is visable and measurable which is where I get my kick. In 3 months I’ve gone from barely been able to play them to getting most of them up to 100bpm in the week and this has translated to my playing. I get this might not be for everyone but just sharing my experience. The rest of the week cycles between licks/scales improv and rhythm which I look forward to. So if you didn’t enjoy today’s challenge you might get on more with the licks or if rhythms your thing. They also rotate between finger picking and flat picking skills. Good luck hope you can get something out of it
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Hi @Sidney S,
Try playing the challenges waaaaayyyyy slower than in the videos, and that will help. When a particular challenge cycles back around again, you will be much better at it by that time.
Also, the Monday warmups are imho the most difficult ones!
If you are really new to playing, don’t put too much emphasis on the daily challenges. Try them every day to get in the habit, but don’t be bummed if you can’t handle them yet. Concentrate on 30 Days to Play.
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Give it time. And remember, this is not about mastery but about development. do your 10 minutes and move on. Come back when you are ready and look at the week’s lessons / exercises as a whole.
Relax, breathe.
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Hey Sidney here are some more thoughts.
I want to really emphasize the speed thing. If a challenge is “too” challenging, not only is trying to do it at the recommended speed unnecessary, it is downright detrimental. You aren’t obligated in any way to even approach pro guitar teacher Tony’s slowest speed. Seriously.
It’s much more important to just get the basic motions, no matter how long it takes. Then repeat. Over and over and over. Resisting the temptation to go faster than you can handle today. It is this repetition at a manageable speed that will bring progress. Tomorrow, or next week, you will be a little better and faster, guaranteed.
Also, if an exercise is really tough, I suggest making it a favorite and adding it to your daily routine. You will feel great pride and accomplishment when you suddenly realize you’re “getting it”! And everything else will be a little easier because you trained yourself to do something you couldn’t do before.
There’s no way to avoid feeling discouraged now and then. (Ask me how I know…) Just don’t let a bad day cause you to put down the guitar. As someone who has succumbed to that temptation, believe me, that’s the worst possible decision. Maybe I’m reading too much into your post but had to say it.
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Learning a new skill is not always fun… Remember the point of the daily lesson is for you to give it your best 10 minutes of attempts. After that, if it was fun and you want to keep working at it go for it. If there is something else from say the skills area or another tutorial online for something that interest you, tackle that. TAC is a place to teach you skills so you can have fun once those skills kick in.
John V
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