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Responses
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Day 3 – ‘A’ Shape Familiarity
Responses
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I found the A shape much easier and I was able to work through this lesson okay.
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This may sound strange but I find it easier to fret those strings with my pinky finger. My ring finger just does not work like that but maybe I need to work on it. I took Kung Fu as a young man and we use to have to do pushups on our finger tips,so I have pretty strong fingers.
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Left hand is getting stronger. Keep squeezing.
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Tough one. Stretching. Good practice, but difficult.
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I can play the staccato line fine but the sustained / second line is problematic. However, I suspect the cause of my issue is lack of ring finger strength and will keep working on it.
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I am trying hard but my small hands are not even close to producing a clear sound. I’ll come back to this challenge regularly and I will hopefully improve over time.
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At first it was a lot of muting strings but as I played along it got better and better!
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I’m cheating pretty much, because I can do it much better with my index finger on the second fret of the A string, middle finger on the fourth fret of the D string, ring finger on the fourth frett of the G string, and pinky on the fourth frett of the B string. My wrist is a bit contorted doing it this way, but the sound is quite good. LIke someone said below, it would be hard to transition to this chord, but it does sound good doing the exercise.
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This one is really difficult one! Especially if you try three lower strings together with 3 fingers, and fourth one with index one!
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I want to give J.T. a shout out for the suggestion to move up a few frets so the reach is much less and the making of the chord much easier. Thank you, J.T.
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This is a killer. So far, I can’t get the B string to ring, And why do we need to use the ring finger and not the pinky. I can’t get the B string to ring either way but I’m wondering about the use of the pinky on what is a difficult stretch for me,
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Same question…I do much better using my pinky! (Does Tony ever answer these questions…I’m pretty new to TAC)
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Working on a clear tone.
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LOL, if I use 4 fingers, I can sort of get this one, but how I would be able to move my fingers from the barred A to some other chord….stay tuned.
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Got it!
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Totally strange – cannot do the E Shape at all. but the A Shape came pretty easy……
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Not my favorite lessons. Fingers just don’t cooperate, at this point, very frustrated right now. Determined to keep trying though.
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ha ha I hear ya! I thought I’d nail these lessons but nope! I have to squeeze as hard as I can… and I might get a buzzy B string instead of a muffled one! But that then kills my wrist muscles in about 3 tries. I’m hoping patience and persistence will prevail… build the muscle strength and stamina THEN try to master the chord clarity. I did better farther up the neck so I’ll work on those and slowly move down to the F.
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I cannot reach this chord. At 62 and just a beginner, my hands do not have the strength of flexibility to reach that distance.
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Dont give up! Try moving the chord up 3 or 4 frets and do the exercise there. And then over time (weeks) you can go lower down the fretboard, making sure the whole time your notes are ringing clear. It will come in time.
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Ooh! Playing the low E with the ‘A’ shaped barre chord has a neat feeling. Not certain I’m supposed to be playing it but it feels like a rich resonating bass rolling under the notes of the rest of the chord.
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Right that this is no fun, but a great exercise as well.
Those B chords. -
Got it, came easy. As I have more playing hours now my finger strength has improved making this a little easier to manage now.
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I couldn’t even get this one by mistake. Failed for an hour. Took a break and came back for another half hour of fail. Practiced our Sunday set for an hour on bass. That always makes me feel better. I’ll be back at it tomorrow.
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Eeeee! I cam get to this cord, but it takes me some time. I guess I’ll just keep at it, sore fingers and all.
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I think my “old” fingers struggle too much to try to reach the right frets, and I can hear the notes that aren’t ringing out. I find I can do the 4th fret barre if I take my index finger off the 2nd fret after hitting the cord. I think I heard Tony say that it’s ok if we have to modify our fretting to get it to work for us.
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Tough week just keep at it
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Tough one, harder than yesterday. A bit painful but I can feel the value it offers. Need to do lots more of this type of chord to get the notes to sound clear.
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This went pretty good. I was surprised. We will see what tomorrow brings.
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I knew going into this week it would push my patience. I was right!! Frustrating that my hand wont spread as far as I need. Positive note, I am better at barre chords today then last Sunday. Very small win!!!!! I will keep at it
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I nailed this one. Had no problems playing it on 1x. For me this one was easier than the E Shape.
However, my hand needs some strength improvement. -
For the first time in a while, I’d say this is a small win. Not easy at all but definitely progress. I have the most trouble with the B, G and A notes, in that order but if I concentrate on where to apply the pressure, it makes a difference. I recently bought compression gloves, which makes a difference, but after 20 minutes of holding this shape, my fingers ache. Onward.
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This one is challenging- hard not to have a lot of tension in the hand when doing the double barre. But picking each string individually does highlight where improvement is needed. . . A necessary exercise.
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I would say this one is a win. I got it right away. I will say it does get the fingers sore after awhile however I have been working with a finger exerciser which is making my fingers stronger.
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Great exercise! Figured out where my flat notes were coming from. My hand was aching but came back after dinner for another 20 minute session.
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No go for me. My ring finger doesn’t bend that way at the knuckle. Never has, never will. I play the A shape with fingers 2,3,4 while barring the fret with finger 1. It has worked for me
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This one is a bust for me. The ring finger on my left hand has bad arthritis and I can’t flatten it out for a barre, it is too painful. I have no problem with the E shape barre chords and the A minor shape chords but the A shape is something I’ll need to find a workaround for, if I ever need it. I’m dreading the G shape. Fretboard Wizard gave me a preview on that one. But I tried today and so I will mark “Complete” and move on.
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I did this much better than I thought I would be able to do it. My ring finger is pretty tired I have to admit, but it all went pretty well, definitely a small win for me.
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Well—maybe my hands/fingers are smaller than most? This was a real struggle for me. Will keep working on it, but it is very difficult for me.
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Yay!! I can do it, but it was painful on my wrist, hence short particle time.
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No problem with this shape got the notes to ring out,not as tiring as day one or two
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I am lucky. When I started playing guitar, I held down the low and high E with my index finger barre.
This is two strings less to hold down. And it sounds better. I never really got this until now. No pain.
So useful ! -
For some reason this A shape one was easier for me than yesterday’s E shape. Thumb stretching before the exercise also helped. Bottom line is that after these exercises the barre chords feel little bit easier to make compared to earlier.
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ow
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crap this is tricky. no pain, no gain?
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It’s fun trying to go all the way up the neck with these shapes. With A-shape, I can get it up to 17th fret, not so far with the E-shape it starts to break down around the 8th fret, it starts getting very crowded fretting with middle, ring and pinky and so much harder to barre – can’t bring the elbow in any tighter to get the index on its edge.
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I have a hard time with my ring finger because it is double jointed in the last joint and doesn’t want to flatten. will keep working on it and may try the pinky as some have suggested.
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I’m working on the F bar chord because I think that is doable with practice. This one hurts my wrist all the way to the elbow so I am not going to risk it. But I like the practice method.
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Thanks for doing this in the order you did it.
I had a lot of struggles with yesterday. I was even practicing it this morning before I opened this lesson, and I found this one easier.
Imagine getting frustrated with yesterday’s lesson, then not getting half a win today, It would have been one of those, “Am I not good enough” moments.
But for me, yesterday felt like a heavy set back, today felt like “Yeah, I can do this”.
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Also, I was able to do it a lot easier once it clicked, I didn’t have to care about the D string being slightly held down by my index finger (a bit lazy I suppose) because it was behind the barre. Maybe it will help others?
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@ZombieJerky
Never feel like struggling with one challenge or even one week of challenges means “Your not good enough”. If your struggling, all it means is your processing it and the learning is starting. If you could simply watch Tony and do the challenge every day, what would you be learning? Nothing! You would be doing what you already know. It’s good when there is resistance, that means something is happening
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Yesterday was horrible, Much better today
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I found this chord really easy to do for some reason. Got it straight away. I find the F barre chord way harder.
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trying to figure out where my thumb should be… cant seem to hold the barre when index finger is applied ..very frustrating
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Well, yesterday was the pits…I really felt defeated after an hour of grinding away. Today I gave it a go and it was 50% or 60% better which is for me a medium win rather than small. Today I did pretty well with the exercise which was a big boost to my motivation and encouragement. And thanks Tony for giving legal permission to ignore and mute that pesky high E. It made the difference between getting it down pretty good and abject failure.
Congratulations, !
Challenge complete
Come back tomorrow for your next challenge
I found the A shape much easier and I was able to work through this lesson okay.
This may sound strange but I find it easier to fret those strings with my pinky finger. My ring finger just does not work like that but maybe I need to work on it. I took Kung Fu as a young man and we use to have to do pushups on our finger tips,so I have pretty strong fingers.
Left hand is getting stronger. Keep squeezing.
Tough one. Stretching. Good practice, but difficult.
I can play the staccato line fine but the sustained / second line is problematic. However, I suspect the cause of my issue is lack of ring finger strength and will keep working on it.
I am trying hard but my small hands are not even close to producing a clear sound. I’ll come back to this challenge regularly and I will hopefully improve over time.
At first it was a lot of muting strings but as I played along it got better and better!
I’m cheating pretty much, because I can do it much better with my index finger on the second fret of the A string, middle finger on the fourth fret of the D string, ring finger on the fourth frett of the G string, and pinky on the fourth frett of the B string. My wrist is a bit contorted doing it this way, but the sound is quite good. LIke someone said below, it would be hard to transition to this chord, but it does sound good doing the exercise.
This one is really difficult one! Especially if you try three lower strings together with 3 fingers, and fourth one with index one!
I want to give J.T. a shout out for the suggestion to move up a few frets so the reach is much less and the making of the chord much easier. Thank you, J.T.
This is a killer. So far, I can’t get the B string to ring, And why do we need to use the ring finger and not the pinky. I can’t get the B string to ring either way but I’m wondering about the use of the pinky on what is a difficult stretch for me,
Same question…I do much better using my pinky! (Does Tony ever answer these questions…I’m pretty new to TAC)
Working on a clear tone.
LOL, if I use 4 fingers, I can sort of get this one, but how I would be able to move my fingers from the barred A to some other chord….stay tuned.
Got it!
Totally strange – cannot do the E Shape at all. but the A Shape came pretty easy……
Not my favorite lessons. Fingers just don’t cooperate, at this point, very frustrated right now. Determined to keep trying though.
ha ha I hear ya! I thought I’d nail these lessons but nope! I have to squeeze as hard as I can… and I might get a buzzy B string instead of a muffled one! But that then kills my wrist muscles in about 3 tries. I’m hoping patience and persistence will prevail… build the muscle strength and stamina THEN try to master the chord clarity. I did better farther up the neck so I’ll work on those and slowly move down to the F.
I cannot reach this chord. At 62 and just a beginner, my hands do not have the strength of flexibility to reach that distance.
Dont give up! Try moving the chord up 3 or 4 frets and do the exercise there. And then over time (weeks) you can go lower down the fretboard, making sure the whole time your notes are ringing clear. It will come in time.
Ooh! Playing the low E with the ‘A’ shaped barre chord has a neat feeling. Not certain I’m supposed to be playing it but it feels like a rich resonating bass rolling under the notes of the rest of the chord.
Right that this is no fun, but a great exercise as well.
Those B chords.
Got it, came easy. As I have more playing hours now my finger strength has improved making this a little easier to manage now.
I couldn’t even get this one by mistake. Failed for an hour. Took a break and came back for another half hour of fail. Practiced our Sunday set for an hour on bass. That always makes me feel better. I’ll be back at it tomorrow.
Eeeee! I cam get to this cord, but it takes me some time. I guess I’ll just keep at it, sore fingers and all.
I think my “old” fingers struggle too much to try to reach the right frets, and I can hear the notes that aren’t ringing out. I find I can do the 4th fret barre if I take my index finger off the 2nd fret after hitting the cord. I think I heard Tony say that it’s ok if we have to modify our fretting to get it to work for us.
Tough week just keep at it
Tough one, harder than yesterday. A bit painful but I can feel the value it offers. Need to do lots more of this type of chord to get the notes to sound clear.
This went pretty good. I was surprised. We will see what tomorrow brings.
I knew going into this week it would push my patience. I was right!! Frustrating that my hand wont spread as far as I need. Positive note, I am better at barre chords today then last Sunday. Very small win!!!!! I will keep at it
I nailed this one. Had no problems playing it on 1x. For me this one was easier than the E Shape.
However, my hand needs some strength improvement.
For the first time in a while, I’d say this is a small win. Not easy at all but definitely progress. I have the most trouble with the B, G and A notes, in that order but if I concentrate on where to apply the pressure, it makes a difference. I recently bought compression gloves, which makes a difference, but after 20 minutes of holding this shape, my fingers ache. Onward.
This one is challenging- hard not to have a lot of tension in the hand when doing the double barre. But picking each string individually does highlight where improvement is needed. . . A necessary exercise.
I would say this one is a win. I got it right away. I will say it does get the fingers sore after awhile however I have been working with a finger exerciser which is making my fingers stronger.
Great exercise! Figured out where my flat notes were coming from. My hand was aching but came back after dinner for another 20 minute session.
No go for me. My ring finger doesn’t bend that way at the knuckle. Never has, never will. I play the A shape with fingers 2,3,4 while barring the fret with finger 1. It has worked for me
This one is a bust for me. The ring finger on my left hand has bad arthritis and I can’t flatten it out for a barre, it is too painful. I have no problem with the E shape barre chords and the A minor shape chords but the A shape is something I’ll need to find a workaround for, if I ever need it. I’m dreading the G shape. Fretboard Wizard gave me a preview on that one. But I tried today and so I will mark “Complete” and move on.
I did this much better than I thought I would be able to do it. My ring finger is pretty tired I have to admit, but it all went pretty well, definitely a small win for me.
Well—maybe my hands/fingers are smaller than most? This was a real struggle for me. Will keep working on it, but it is very difficult for me.
Yay!! I can do it, but it was painful on my wrist, hence short particle time.
No problem with this shape got the notes to ring out,not as tiring as day one or two
I am lucky. When I started playing guitar, I held down the low and high E with my index finger barre.
This is two strings less to hold down. And it sounds better. I never really got this until now. No pain.
So useful !
For some reason this A shape one was easier for me than yesterday’s E shape. Thumb stretching before the exercise also helped. Bottom line is that after these exercises the barre chords feel little bit easier to make compared to earlier.
ow
crap this is tricky. no pain, no gain?
It’s fun trying to go all the way up the neck with these shapes. With A-shape, I can get it up to 17th fret, not so far with the E-shape it starts to break down around the 8th fret, it starts getting very crowded fretting with middle, ring and pinky and so much harder to barre – can’t bring the elbow in any tighter to get the index on its edge.
I have a hard time with my ring finger because it is double jointed in the last joint and doesn’t want to flatten. will keep working on it and may try the pinky as some have suggested.
I’m working on the F bar chord because I think that is doable with practice. This one hurts my wrist all the way to the elbow so I am not going to risk it. But I like the practice method.
Thanks for doing this in the order you did it.
I had a lot of struggles with yesterday. I was even practicing it this morning before I opened this lesson, and I found this one easier.
Imagine getting frustrated with yesterday’s lesson, then not getting half a win today, It would have been one of those, “Am I not good enough” moments.
But for me, yesterday felt like a heavy set back, today felt like “Yeah, I can do this”.
Also, I was able to do it a lot easier once it clicked, I didn’t have to care about the D string being slightly held down by my index finger (a bit lazy I suppose) because it was behind the barre. Maybe it will help others?
@ZombieJerky
Never feel like struggling with one challenge or even one week of challenges means “Your not good enough”. If your struggling, all it means is your processing it and the learning is starting. If you could simply watch Tony and do the challenge every day, what would you be learning? Nothing! You would be doing what you already know. It’s good when there is resistance, that means something is happening
Yesterday was horrible, Much better today
I found this chord really easy to do for some reason. Got it straight away. I find the F barre chord way harder.
trying to figure out where my thumb should be… cant seem to hold the barre when index finger is applied ..very frustrating
Well, yesterday was the pits…I really felt defeated after an hour of grinding away. Today I gave it a go and it was 50% or 60% better which is for me a medium win rather than small. Today I did pretty well with the exercise which was a big boost to my motivation and encouragement. And thanks Tony for giving legal permission to ignore and mute that pesky high E. It made the difference between getting it down pretty good and abject failure.