[Carol-3M-Stillhand]

@d2rs congratulations on sticking with the 30 day challenge!! And yes I agree with @Loraine that it’s perfectly OK to take longer than 30 days. It takes whatever you need.

I have small hands as well and there are plenty of kiddo’s and accomplished guitar players with small hands, they give us hope that with good technique, anything is possible!!

One really good tip which Loraine has already wisely suggested, is to use your capo!! Especially when first learning a song or exercise, put your capo on 2nd fret. The frets are that much smaller, making any stretches that much shorter. Once your fingers get a handle on the muscle memory, it’s easier at that time to slowly recede the capo closer back up the neck towards the nut. Also the capo helps lower the action of the strings, making it easier to fret the notes as you are first learning a piece. If you are playing along with a video or a person, then just lower the tuning on your strings by one whole step. (Instead of EADGBE tuning, tune it down to DGCFAD. Then when you put your capo on the 2nd fret you will wind up in regular standard tuning so that you can play along and be in tune) Having your strings all tuned down by one whole step also makes the string tension less, which makes it that much easier to fret your notes as well.

Hope this makes sense and hope it helps a little!! Best wishes and enjoy your guitar time!!! C3M

• This reply was modified 4 years, 4 months ago by  Carol-3M-Stillhand.

[Carol-3M-Stillhand]

@va601m I agree with @jumpinjeff either way is fine if it makes the difference between you playing a song and not being able to play it. Using the pinky to support definately helps your right hand string awareness, so if you want to wean yourself from that, I’d do lots of right hand (picking hand) exercises… But it’s whatever works for you and keeps the fun in it!! There are some purists who say that pinky support is bad technique but I’d say only if it starts messing with your ability to play a song.

(I can’t play Blackbird without my pinky support)😂

[Carol-3M-Stillhand]

Congratulations @Greebosolo that can be quite intimidating! Glad you took the plunge and got your first string change conquered!! You will save alot of money doing it yourself, and you can take the opportunity to give your guitar a nice deep cleaning day at the spa while the strings are off. Big High Five to you (or should it be High Six)

Way to go!!

[Carol-3M-Stillhand]

Hi @JeffM.22!

I’m not sure what song/exercise this particular chord is in, so there may be a good reason they don’t want you to play the 5th string (or 1st string) at all, but the open 5th string being an “A”, makes it a very correct note in the Dmajor chord.

Dmajor is D-F#-A

D/F# is just the first inversion of the Dmajor chord F#-D-A

So the way Hal wants you to play it is 2x023x which is F#-D-A-D

If you play Dmajor the usual way and wrap your thumb around to hit the F# on the low E string 2nd fret, you could strum all 6 strings and you’d have

F#-A-D-A-D-F#

This is still a D/F#, much easier to fret and you can strum all 6 strings, they are all notes in the Dmajor and it’s still a D/F# chord.

Not sure if this is helpful, like I said, I don’t know what song/exercise the example came from. I know context is everything 🙂

[Carol-3M-Stillhand]

Hi @stevieblues, If you’re on a big screen device, you should see a menu list on the left side of the screen. Right after “30 days to play” and before “Guitar Journal”, you should see Fretboard Wizard. Click there to find out more about this course.

I’ve taken it several times and found it to be one of the best courses on fretboard navigation and guitar theory… It’s truly foundational and will help anyone to play their guitar with deeper understanding of the notes, chords, shapes and patterns that occur on that vast frontier we call our fretboard… Very very well worth the investment!!!

[Carol-3M-Stillhand]

@paul0r Congratulations on hitting the 4 digit one thousand practice session mark today!!! And also contrats on your 7th TAC-aversary!! Both are huge milestones and reflect your dedication and persistence in your guitar journey!!

(I am just behind you, hitting 999 today. And my 7th TAC-aversary is next June hehe)

@jumpinjeff give my regards to Mr. Mobius, if you ever find him. I’ve been looking for an eternity

[Carol-3M-Stillhand]

@Guy_H Not an odd question at all. Time is a precious and valuable resource and should be spent wisely when it comes to our guitar geek lives.

There’s a load of really good advice in here already. I will try to add to it without being redundant, hehe.

Firstly, the term skill means different things to different people. Also what makes for a “good (or better) guitar player? These are pretty subjective terms. My best advice for you is to write down your reasons for playing guitar, then write down your specific guitar goals, both long term and short term. Once you have all that in writing, it’s easier to make a weekly or monthly list of practice objectives and Bingo, you are on your way to becoming a “better” guitar player. Tony has a most excellent 3 month guitar plan in here that is great to print out and fill in your personal guitar journey and goals. (Then you can share your progress at the 3 month guitar parties)

So, if your goal is to be able to sing and play (which also makes you a better player) then that belongs on your goal list. Make it your own, because you are the best at being you!!!

[Carol-3M-Stillhand]

Awww woweeee thanks for all the great comments here you guys!!! And thx for taking the time to watch my video, I need to rescue this song from the rust bucket now, I suppose 🤪

[Carol-3M-Stillhand]

Wow that was awesome, Eric the Generic!!! Happy New Guitar Day!!

The first thing I did when I got a 12 string (after spending a day tuning it, hehe) was to go get a flatpick because you really can’t get the full 12 string sound without one…

I’ve since sold my 12 string but still have my custom 9 string Taylor (double strings on the D, G and B). Still afraid to re-string it as it’s a bit intimidating.

Keep posting more 12 string stuff, you sound great!!!!

[Carol-3M-Stillhand]

Hi Lori.MT!

So glad to hear that you were able to share your guitar playing journey with some friends!! It sounds like you all had fun, and that’s the important thing!!

Everyone I know gets a bit of “stage nerves” whenever playing in front of an audience, or a camera… It’s just a part of being a musician I guess. You can play it cold at home with just the dog listening, but as soon as someone is watching or recording, you lose your place and forget how the song goes. The best cure for these stage nerves that we all get, is…. you guessed it, practice. Play in front of people more often, go to open mic’s and/or video yourself. The more you do that, the more you will get used to how your mind and guitar fingers react under the stress of the spotlight. After a while you get used to it and it’s easier!!

If you go to the “Play for Us” section of the community here, there is a link to several virtual (zoom) open mics that are hosted by many of your fellow TAC members here. Best wishes, and have fun!!

Carol 3M Stillhand

[Carol-3M-Stillhand]

@Loraine That was super awesome!! Your strumming is rock solid, down, down, up, up, down, up, like a metronome!! And your chord transitions on your right hand are smooth too! I found myself singing along as this is one of my fav songs (my parents used to listen to this stuff when I was a kiddo). Extra credit due to playing live at open mic, which we all know is tons more difficult than without an audience!!

This will continue to improve as you keep playing it, until it becomes autopilot and then you will be able to sing along as you play 🙂

Until then I will keep playing your video and singing along to it, hehe. Keep up the good work!!!

[Carol-3M-Stillhand]

@Ted_D wow tough break with the tendonitis!! I suffered thru a bad bout of left thumb/wrist tendonitis in 2018, and boy it is frustrating. It’s usually from repetitive motion injury like playing the same (difficult) song over and over, or perhaps maybe from gardening?? The only thing that helps is resting from whatever caused/aggravates it, gentle stretching, and ice/heat packs. It’s so tempting to pick up your guitar and try to grit thru it but that just slows down the healing process. Use the down time to learn some music theory, or maybe throw your guitar into an open tuning and work on your right hand picking skills… patience and time will get you back on track!!!

[Carol-3M-Stillhand]

@Michelle-PSL I wanted to add my congratulations to you for reaching your 100 day project finish line!! I so admire your dedication and committment, and have very much enjoyed seeing your videos over the last few months. You are a talented performer and bring much energy and joy to this community. Although I haven’t been able to keep up with watching every video I hope to go back and watch the many that I missed.

❤Bravo, and Standing Ovation!!!

Carol 3M

[Carol-3M-Stillhand]

Hi JumpinJeff!! It’s awesome to chat with you!!! I think we need to do some applied research on the fifth hypothesis that you have just come forth with…

We’d need a control group of course. Any volunteers? 😂

[Carol-3M-Stillhand]

Hehe Jack I just got the play on words- may the forth be with you as well, LOL!!

It’s funny because when you study ear training, they tell you to think of common songs to help you identify different intervals by ear. I think the first 2 notes of the Star Wars theme is a fourth???? Or maybe that was a fifth, not sure. But it would be so funny if it was a fourth.

Q: What did young Luke’s mother always say at the dinner table??

A: Use the fork, Luke!!!

🤪🥳🤣