Moose408
Forum Replies Created
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They do disappear at the end of each month but Tony has been including a link in his weekly newsletter. However the link in today’s email was incorrect and points to February.
I save every lesson url to a spreadsheet so have them all. I’ll post when I get back to my computer later today.
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As for when to pick up vs down there are a couple rules of thumb.
– down pick on the beat and up pick on the off beat.
If you have 4 quarter notes then it is all down picks, if you have all eighth notes it’s dudududu. When you do the count pick down on the numbers and up on the “ands”
– if doing arpeggios you pick in the direction of the next string. So if you are picking strings 5,4,3,4,5 you would pick DDUU and then either U or D depending on where the next string is after this sequence.
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It is called a tie if it is below the notes, if above the notes it represents a slide.
Tabs don’t really provide rhythm information, you need to use the notes to determine timing.
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If you want .mp3s for TAC classes you can only download the backing track on Wednesdays which happens to be what is learned on Thursday.
To play it back and be able to loop you should look at DAW software. There are dozens available from free to $1000s. I use one called Aducity that came with my Focusrite audio interface. If you are on a Mac, Garage Band might be able to do what you want.
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I completely understand the feeling, I have had it too. But then I try something that requires double stops, palm muting, improv, etc and realize how much I’ve actually learned here at TAC. It’s hard to see day to day improvement but easy to see month to month improvement.
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Yes, they go away at the end of each month. You can save them as favorites so you can refer back to them, but the UI for the favorites isn’t great because you have to remember the name of the challenge.
Each month I just copy the links of each challenge into a spreadsheet so I can refer back.
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I use the tab for fingering and the note notation for timing. Tony’s instruction is often critical to show me which fingers to use and I will often stop, rewind, and restart the video to make sure I have the correct fingering. Trying to figure it out on my own is often an issue and results in problems playing because of using the wrong fingers.
If I print out a tab I enlarge it when printing, it most of the time, I just zoom in on the computer to make it large enough to read.
I’m really surprised that the audio and video aren’t synced for you. Even an old computer should keep them in sync. Do you have a smart phone? Perhaps play the video on that.
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I highly recommend the book. The Laws of Brainjo.
It explains how the brain learns and gives other tips about how to improve both strumming and rhythm.
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The answer to the first question about strumming is to practice strumming in isolation. Mute the strings with the fretting hand and spend 5 mins a day on trying to strum without so much force. Make sure you are just using the tip of the pick and angle it up or down depending on the direction you are strumming. Go slow to start (this is the hardest thing for me).
The 2nd issue is similar. Try isolation by just placing your fingers without strumming, do this slowly for five minutes, then add strumming but keep it slow. Slowly increase your speed over time. I highly recommend using a metronome. If you make mistakes 3 times in a row then slow down the metronome. Once you can go 3 times without mistakes increase the tempo by 5 or maybe 10 bpm. Rinse, repeat. Depending on the challenge you may get up to speed in a single practice session, but more often it will be several days or weeks to get up to speed.
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Tony’s version of the song typically shows up on Thursday, when he does chord progressions.
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Just to clarify what Tony is saying. You don’t have to stop after 10 mins, but that should be your minimum. Feel free to spend more time. But also don’t overdo it. If you aren’t getting something in 10 mins it’s not going to get better by spending an hour on it. Mix up what you are focusing on.
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Counting the rhythm is its own skill and can take time. I spend a significant portion of practice just working on my counting and rhythm using a metronome and it definitely helps. Working on areas in isolation speeds the learning process as you can’t learn multiple things at once. If you are trying to fret the chords, strum the rhythm, and count to the beat all at the same time, your brain will pick one of those to learn and it will be whichever you are giving the most focus. If you practice all 3 separately you will learn all 3 faster and will have better results when putting them all back together.
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“What I think I was trying to ask is, if you don’t read notes, does playing by ear and memorizing slow you down or enhance your learning?”
I don’t know the answer, but I have several thoughts.
When learning something new the brain needs feedback in order to learn. A good example of this is free throw shooter, they can see when the ball goes on the basket. Now if you hid the basket so they could not tell if the ball when it or not they would never get better. For guitar our ears are our feedback, so being able to determine by ear when a wrong note is struck or timing is off is essential.
This works great for songs where you know how they should sound. This issue is when you don’t know the song, you have to rely on the tabs/notes to figure out what it should sound like. Overtime you will learn what it sounds like and your learning with happen at a faster pace because you can rely on your ears, but until that time you will struggle. If trying to play mainly individual notes like we have been doing with Fast Car this week I find being able to read the notes as quicker than the tab.
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Power chords might be out of reach until your fingers can stretch more, so get frustrated if you can’t get it right now. Move on to something else and come back to it after a while, you’ll be surprised by the improvement.