[That_Guy]

I was quite impressed with myself by how much noise I was able to make only using 2 chords, a thumb, and one finger.

For anyone wondering the song is from 1984 so it’s probably about Ronald Reagan

[That_Guy]

Hot dang! reminds me of the time I bought a ball and chain that came with the free wife!

• This reply was modified 2 years, 11 months ago by  That_Guy.

[That_Guy]

Thx guys. I wasn’t planning on posting this specific recording but it came out pretty good on the first shot so I guess this will be my before video. I usually try to play it with a pick. This was actually the first time I just used my fingers instead. I basically used alternating bass note country style boom Chicka strumming. Some chords are root to fifth but others sounded better root to the third to get the right tone of the song. I was struggling with the vocals because I forgot to put the capo on

Just some background: I’ve heard it described as a modal song. Not sure which mode or key though. Seems to be centered around a D minor shape chord which would of course change based on where you put the capo.

The real version definitely has a medieval tone to it. The song is believed to be from at least the 1600’s in one form or another. You can tell from Doc Watson’s version it was a fiddle tune adapted to guitar in the bluegrass style as well at one point.

The song is usually performed anywhere from no capo up to capo’d at the third fret from what I see on youtube. Most seem to play it as Dm-C-Dm-C

I played it as Dm-C-Dm-F-C-Am-Dm to walk down the bass note sometimes skipping the F chord based on how the specific lyrics are enunciated in the verse.

[That_Guy]

I’ve always barred them with two fingers the way you play five string bar chords except move it to the 6th string. Just try not to hit the high 3 strings. With power chords its all about those bass strings.

If you’re playing plugged in or an electric turn the overdrive to 11 and the mid range off

[That_Guy]

I would swear Tony did that topic for acoustic Tuesday show a year or two ago. I don’t remember what the answer was but I would go through the old shows and see if you can find it

[That_Guy]

The real song doesn’t supposed to have any Barre chords in it. It’s one of the few songs that G&R plays that are acoustic. I actually prefer the open chords because they have more bass and you can never have too much bass.

Sometimes I just mess around and see if I can play the Barchords on the fly and switch back and forth because none of the songs I ever play seem to have any Barchords in them so I never get to use them.

[That_Guy]

Ok. Now do it in alternate tunings :p😜

[That_Guy]

The number one selling string type for acoustic guitar is phosphor bronze in light gauge. Start here unless you were looking for some specific type of sound from specialty strings.

You can’t go wrong with Martin, elixir, or Daddario. Buy the more expensive coated version. They sound the same and last way longer before corroding

I have been using Martin PB light on my rosewood lately and Martin “specialty” nickel “monel type” on my mahogany because it has a more thumpy old school country sound with less brightness.

• This reply was modified 2 years, 11 months ago by  That_Guy.

[That_Guy]

Nothing like a good old fashion love song

[That_Guy]

When I first started trying to learn rhythm I was completely clueless trying to hear it. Now I can pretty much here it instantly. It just took a long time of listening and trying to hear it. Maybe six months to a year of trying before I started to be able to play songs from chord charts without having to search or ask for the strumming pattern anymore. I even downloaded a couple free rhythm training apps in the beginning that seemed to help. It kind of drilled the common rhythms into my head so I knew what I was supposed to be looking for.

Usually one of your feet will start bouncing along with the song and this is usually the pulse of the 1234 beats which will lead you to the rhythm. Once you can figure out where the 1234 is just listen for which beats have something in between them. In my experience it’s almost always 123&4& lol

• This reply was modified 2 years, 12 months ago by  That_Guy.

[That_Guy]

Last year I completed as many of them as I could and gave up on the ones that were “at the moment impossible”.

I have recently been going back through the ones I never completed and now only about half of those left are currently “impossible”. If it’s the blues one that I’m thinking of where you need to stretch across about 5 frets it’s just gonna take time. Your hands have to slowly change over time.

you say the more you try it the worse it gets. Usually if I take two or three days off from playing guitar and helps to reset and I come back better than where I left off. I think my hands and forearms get really tired but I don’t notice and the rest helps bring back my coordination. Sometimes less is more. And more is worse.

• This reply was modified 2 years, 12 months ago by  That_Guy.

[That_Guy]

Really nice production. Sounds professional

[That_Guy]

Lol ok nm I didnt realize the youtube title was going to be on the image

[That_Guy]

Thanks. These were the first three chords and the first strumming pattern I ever learned but for some reason it’s always tripped me up when I’ve tried to add the lyrics even though I can add lyrics to every other song while playing.

I usually record about 10,000 takes over the next 10 days until I finally find one I’m satisfied with but this time I decided to just go with the first take because that usually ends up being the best one anyway.

[That_Guy]

I have heard of it but I thought it was just a legend. I didn’t know the invisible ink font was real!

• This reply was modified 3 years ago by  That_Guy.
• This reply was modified 3 years ago by  That_Guy.