Aservire
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This reply was modified 5 days, 14 hours ago by Aservire.
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This reply was modified 5 days, 14 hours ago by
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Thanks everyone for the great advice and encouraging words! Very nice community here which I greatly value and cherish!
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Hi… I also have tiny hands and feet… if I do a hand measure about 95% of people have larger hands than me and longer fingers. I definitely still struggle with some chords and have to compensate sometimes but with the guitar set up correctly (as mentioned above), persistence and practice I can hold my own. The key is being consistent and practicing at least a little every day. Your hand will definitely fight you at first but little hands can actually be an advantage on some chords like A where you have to put three fingers side by side on one fret. My friends with bigger hands complain about that sometimes. Better fretting skills will come with time and that is the main thing you need to develop. Follow Tony’s technique suggestions and the folks on this forum and you’ll get there!
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This was a little confusing for me also. If you ever click on the “Home” button or “Collapse” the sidebar, you can get something that looks like the first image below. To get back to something that looks like the 3rd image below, that gives you a sidebar with the last few weeks of daily challenges, you need to expand the sidebar using the Collapse button and then click on “Start Challenge” even if it isn’t the exact challenge you want. This will expand the sidebar and give you the navigation you want as in the 3rd image. Just be aware that if you click on the Collapse or Home links shown, you’ll have to do this again to get the daily challenge navigation sidebar. Hope this helps!
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I did a similar thing… I started AC about 2 and a half years ago and I really did not make a good start. I’d played for years so I figured I’d just get straight to the challenges… well, that didn’t work out. So I recently returned (about 2 months ago now I reckon) and I followed the formula that Tony lays out in Pete’s link to the Quick Start Guide. The 30 Days to Mastery and the 5 Day Routine Challenge are essential! Take the time to do those as written. I’ve played on and off for around 35 years and I made more progress in those 35 days than the rest of the time combined. It really helps! Enjoy your journey!
PS – for some reason Pete’s link is not working for me so I’ll try this… https://tonypolecastro.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/TAC_User_Guide-v5.pdf
If that doesn’t work, a link to the guide should be on the left side under Downloads: Quick Start Guide. Refer to it often whenever you are not sure how to proceed.
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This reply was modified 2 weeks, 4 days ago by Aservire.
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This reply was modified 2 weeks, 4 days ago by
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Lots of good replies here and I have little more to add… the main thing to remember above all is consistency. Try to play every day for at least 10 minutes but that doesn’t have to be a speed limit… you can go longer but only if you are feeling it.
It has been a long time since I first started playing and for some reason I got a 12 string guitar to start which was not a good idea. But I remember the same frustration. Definitely dial back the speed or even just play the chords on your own. That coordination only comes with time and repetition as your muscle memory kicks in as you transition from every chord to every chord.
I really like the advice here about moving on and not requiring mastery of yourself before you continue. My practice routine pre-AC was to work on a technique/song/new chord kind of randomly but I’d keep adding things and never mastering the earlier things… though I’d keep them in my routine until I felt I’d mastered them. The result? A VERY long routine with a whole bunch of things I couldn’t do. Moving away from something before mastery I know is difficult… it really bothered me a first but now I find, working on other seemingly unrelated techniques impact everything and when I return to things I did not master, I’m a lot better at them even without having practiced them for weeks! It isn’t magic, it’s just that fundamental techniques develop over time with the method that can be applied to lots of different styles, exercises and songs. It really works! Be patient with yourself and understanding of what seems like slow progress. It will come with time and perseverance.
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My thoughts exactly!!! I really appreciate all of the insights and inspiration here from those of you a little further down the path…I’ve modified my overall goals to learning 2 or 3 songs. Part of that will be recording a performance and posting here if I feel confident enough. I’m definitely getting close on a song or two. The other part will be if I can figure out a way to do it technically with my current equipment so that it sounds halfway decent. No promises in the near term but it is a goal I’ll eventually achieve!
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Some great zen there… how to think is as important as concentrated learning. Mental state is definitely an important aspect. Thanks!
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Excellent! Thank you!
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One more question @Albertd. You mentioned working on the rhythm then the chord progression. What do you mean by rhythm without chords? Are you just strumming/picking with right-hand technique only while just resting left hand (assumes you strum right-handed)?
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Wow this is a great approach! I’m adding this to my notes… Thanks Albert!
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Nice! Thanks for sharing!
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Hi Braden! Thanks for the long and thoughtful response. I really like the idea of breaking the elements of a song apart and work on each section independently. It makes me think of one in particular that has some tricky rhythms where I can’t totally figure out where to put my chord changes and integrate them with the strumming pattern. I spent some time breaking a couple of the phrases out and working on them individually and this became the “learning” vs “practicing” object lesson.
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Man, I can relate to #3 totally!
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Thanks Pete! Some great food for thought there… certainly getting the basic techniques down are a big key.