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Progress (or lack thereof)
I’m a newbie, and currently on the first week of the 30 Days To Play. I’ve done (marked complete) the Blues Shuffle and the Blues Baseline, printed out the tabulature and understand it. In my daily practice, however, I can’t seem to get beyond the “hunt and peck” aspect of placing my fingers on the strings, especially as I have to hunch over the guitar to see which strings I’m supposed to be fretting or picking. And I’m using a smaller instrument! I almost want to color code the strings! I am also practicing calling the strings by their note names as Tony does in the videos.
But, how long is reasonable to keep playing the same material before I can progress to the next? Even though I can’t yet play it cleanly, I’m starting to get bored with the Shuffle, and the Baseline is going to take some time before the muscle memory of where the strings are kicks in, if ever. It’s like my typing–I have to look at the keyboard so I don’t get shifted over, or type v-e-r-y slow. Should I just move on and just keep practicing the earlier stuff?
At least the short practice sessions are letting my fingers toughen up without pain!
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1 Reply
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First congratulations for entering the “guitar playing arena”! it is full of fun but also dusty and full of both joy and frustration ! For me I tackle a new skill, work on it for a bit and I will move on before I master it. I have found that when I do that my frustration ebbs, and sometimes the next lesson is actually easier for me. As I kept moving forward I found that when I went back to the lessons I struggled with they had become a bit more easy than when I left them behind. There is something to be said for a steady pace through the entire lesson block, and then repeat the entire block – several times. It goes from “what is this ?” to “this is hard” to “oh that one again” to “that wasn’t so bad” and finally “holly cow I can play this “. 😆 Just keep moving forward and enjoy the journey!
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