[BarbaraM]

I used to be there, and sort of figured palm muting just wasn’t my cup of tea. But then I decided I would try anything Tony threw at us. So the next time it came up in a lesson, I worked out the best position for my hand up against the bridge. It might mean shifting your hand slightly during the stroke in order to affect all the strings. It is a bit awkward at first to keep the palm on the strings while holding the pick, let alone move it up and down, but it is a skill you can learn.

As far as the pick getting “stuck” on up-strums, what I found is to slant the pick in such a way that it doesn’t “catch” on the strings. That means changing the slant on each down- and up-strum. You have to do this consciously for a while until it becomes a habit.

Hope this helps!

[BarbaraM]

I would like to learn to fingerpick better, and learn the fretboard well enough to play a melody line. And play with others. Some of you mentioned Meetup.com; I’ll give that a try.

[BarbaraM]

Wow, I just checked out meetup.com for RI and there is nothing guitar-related less than 50 miles away! I think there are at least a couple of members here who are in RI; wanna get together?

[BarbaraM]

So, Old Man. This is the second time through for me, and while I’ve gotten much better at the chords and rhythm, I still have a hard time going from one chord to another. Last time I noted I could do the first two versions of the lick but not the third with the single notes. Still can’t. I have a heck of a time (a) locating the note, until I can see a pattern, and (b) switching from a chord shape/strum to a single note/pick. I get all uncoordinated. And I can normally do hammer-ons ok, but that hammer-on in the D doesn’t sound at all.

But I muddle through, then reward myself by playing something I know well. So It’s all good.

[BarbaraM]

Yeah, I miss being able to make comments, and I don’t want to post videos. If I want to record myself, it’s for my edification only.

[BarbaraM]

Thanks, Moose! That’s kind of what I started thinking after I posted my question. But I still lose my place a little, and I don’t feel that I’ve changed tempo but that the metronome has (of course it hasn’t). So yeah, practice! This should help me with play-alongs and backing tracks as well. Tony says it’s an important skill, so I need to work on this.

[BarbaraM]

Wow, their terms go against everything I ever knew about intellectual property and copyright such as art and music. (I was a graphic designer at one point.) Yet they still claim you still have ownership of your content. Bulla Sheets.

[BarbaraM]

You’re right, Loraine. With a guitar with 14 frets to the body I wouldn’t really need a cutaway, and since I would need a smaller guitar, I don’t want to take away from the tone. Compared to my Zager Parlor (12 frets), the Baby Taylor (14 frets) sounds cheap. I don’t as a rule play way up there, but like I said, some of Tony’s lessons require it. I guess I don’t really need to go there just for the sake of learning a scale or two.

I did see a nice little Martin on Marketplace, maybe I’ll check that one out.

[BarbaraM]

Yeah, when Tony says “this is so much fun to play” I tend to take it under advisement! But most of the time they are.

What I enjoy about guitar is learning in general, the sweet sound of an acoustic, learning different techniques that sound good to me, being able to”pick up” a melody after hearing it, playing songs I like and getting fluent in them. I’m more of a strummer than a single note picker, as I can get away with a tad less accuracy, but I want to get better at single notes like arpeggios.

[BarbaraM]

Yes, I do attempt the technique, more than once, so I have an idea if I *can* do it, and if I like the effect. Some things I have gotten after persevering, things I never thought I’d be able to do.

[BarbaraM]

Yes I try to do that. Make an attempt then move on. And yes I always play a few songs I *can* play fairly well that I enjoy, at the end of a practice session. But barre chords…

I did persevere on hammer-ons and pull-offs, bends, and tremolo/vibrato (which is it, are they the same?), and got them fairly well. And I can do the C chord and the mini-F (most of the time) when I never thought I could. So it’s not out of the question that I will eventually get dead strums and palm muting, if I keep trying it. But I cannot do certain things that are waaaayyy beyond any stretching ability I may have or hope to have. But if a 5-fret power chord is integral to a song, like the recent Rock n Roll Hoochie Coo, then I can’t play the song (not that I want to, I don’t really like it). I can just avoid palm muting if I want, but not changing actual notes.

[BarbaraM]

Thanks, Loraine, that worked!

[BarbaraM]

I’ll try that, thanks.

[BarbaraM]

Thank you for your insight into your experience, but that isn’t the same as my issue. My tendons are quite flexible, in fact I’ve noticed a significantly better spread to my fretting fingers as compared to my other hand. (I know, I should stretch both hands, but this way I can see actual improvement.) My issue is the joint itself, the ‘hinge’ won’t close all the way as it hits the bony excess on the other side of the joint. Short of surgery, there is no way around that. The other weird thing is my pinky; if I extend it forward, it “sticks” when I try to flex it, so instead it kind of snaps back to a flexed position. That *may* be a tendon issue, but it doesn’t seem to interfere with my playing.

[BarbaraM]

Thanks for your suggestions, Moose. I can’t afford private lessons right now, but I will try moving my arm/thumb/fingers around till I find what works best.