[Cadgirl]

This was really a hard challenge. You deserve the “small win” big time.

[Cadgirl]

Good job on playing the blues. Loved the addition of a harmonica.

[Cadgirl]

Thanks @MommaTAC , When the song started and it’s a bunch of banjos, guitars, bells and whistles, I thought you have to be kidding. I went through the course twice and took notes (thank God). But, to hear the transitions was tough. As long as I can get the Key, that’s the main thing. I think I just started getting so frustrated.

[Cadgirl]

Good job on your small win. The pull offs are harder for me than the hammer ons. I was super slow on this.

[Cadgirl]

Hi @bsboggus , Barring chords is hard. Congrats on your small win. The F and Bm are both hard chords to barr. It seems like you just get the chord not to buzz and you have to switch to something else then back again. ugh! Again, Congrats!

[Cadgirl]

Thanks @Bill_Brown , I started using an A shaped chord, that was helpful. I’m going to read through the “How to find the chords by ear” again and then use all the suggestions everyone has given me. I think i’ll do a lot better this time around.

[Cadgirl]

@Jim peterson , I have been pulling my hair out for the past few days over this. I am so glad that I put a comment on this page. I swear….. I think finally get it. Go over the above comments. They are all good. JackM spells it out real simple. Good luck and retake the course. It’s a great course.

[Cadgirl]

Thanks @Maydog , Sometimes saying the same thing but differently is a big help. I’m going to give this a try. I am very happy I took the course. I am learning a lot from it. It was just when I went into the real world questions I started freezing up.

[Cadgirl]

Hey @JackM that sounds like a very good idea. I’ll give it a try. Like I was just telling Michael_D, i’m going to practice on a few songs that I know before going back and tackling the Wizard. Thanks again.

[Cadgirl]

Thanks @Michael_D , I wasn’t going to post because I thought maybe I was the only one who struggled with this. I mean, It was explained so well in the videos that I didn’t think i’d have a problem. The first song wasn’t too bad. I’ll get this, it just will take me some studying (and heavy listening). I am going to pull up some songs that I know and listen to them and try to place the key and chords. In the meantime I’m taking a couple days off from the Wizard before I toss my computer out the window. 🙂

[Cadgirl]

If it was easy, everyone would be doing it. 🙂

[Cadgirl]

Glad to hear i’m not the only one. Once I started tracking how long I actually played I was surprised it was only 1 or 2 hours (throughout the day). I would have swore I was on the guitar a lot longer than that.

[Cadgirl]

@Alfred , no, not a busy schedule at all. I don’t do them all. I just have a line up of songs available. I start with the Daily Challenge and Freight Train, then I start on my list. It’s a waste of time to search for songs when I’m already sitting down to play. Sometimes i’ll start fingerpicking a song and it just isn’t working so I skip to another. I needed a couple of strum songs in my list and finger picking songs. I just added the Open D tuning so I get used to it. My challenge song right now is “Dream a little dream of me”. I finally can pick it but very very slowly. It’s not recognizable its so slow. It way beyond my skill level. But if we don’t push our selves. We won’t get better.

[Cadgirl]

I never get through the full list. Right now i’m concentrating on Freight train and scales. I have been having a heck of a time with “Killing me Softly”. The picking changes and I lose it. I play it over and over and over again trying to make it sink in. and as soon as the picking changes….. I lose my rhythm, then the rest is a wash.

[Cadgirl]

It took a good 5 months to be able to play the song. I didn’t play it great but I could play it. As for the dim chord… I think you are talking about the area of the song where it goes… (F) just a half mile from the (D7/F#) railroad track. The F , you know. The D7/F# is just a D7 chord and your holding down the LO E on the 2nd fret with your thumb. You do a little pick holding down the “b” string on 1st fret then adding a quick 3rd fret pick (you need pinky power). It reminds me of the picks in Freight Train. If you capo down to the 2nd fret it helps. I still screw it up. ha ha ha. I don’t play the full 18 minute song. Just getting the intro & first stanza down was hard enough to memorize. But, it’s pretty much the same throughout the song. This is a great warm up song. Stretches out those fingers. I did have to omit a few picks here and there because my fingers just wouldn’t do it. Now, I think I could, but like I said I use it as a warm up now, so I just play the intro for warm up. My fingers are already trained, if I think too hard when I’m playing I can’t do it???

• This reply was modified 4 years, 11 months ago by  Cadgirl.