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It’s a pretty good stretch…much better as you move up to the 5th and 7th frets. My advice would be to get your index finger as close as possible to the fret, and to press as lightly as you can to still have the 2 strings ring out ( we all tend to press way too hard when we “barre” more than one string ). Practice on the higher frets where they aren’t so far apart and then move back to the 3rd fret gradually. Good luck !
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I haven’t done Fretboard Wizard, so I also don’t know how Tony teaches it. It is easy to figure out where all the notes are on the fretboard, but like Coach said, you don’t need to memorize them. There are, however, some patterns to find out notes a bit quicker than just counting up from the open string. For instance, the fifth fret of each string is the open note of the next string ( except when we get to that darn B string, in which the fourth fret of the G string is the same note ). Also, moving toward the body of the guitar, the octave ( 8th note ) is 2 strings and 2 frets higher than the note you are fretting ( once again, this changes due to the B string ). It may help to have a landmark, with many choosing the 7th fret since the notes ( from low to high ) spell B-E-A-D…. then F# and back to B. I’m new to all this fretboard stuff and the theory, but I figure I may want to learn it at some point.
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Same…and we seem to use it a lot lately.
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Can you form the chords easily from when you take your hand completely off the fretboard ? ( Tony starts his hand on his knee ) Almost impossible to do transitions if you can’t form the chord quickly “from scratch”.
One exercise I’ve seen is to form the chord, then keep your hand on the neck and “bounce “your fingers off and on the chord shape. Do it for each of the 3 chords, making sure your fingers go back to the right strings each time. Then slowly move on to transitions. It takes time to get them smooth…often months. Go slow…repetition is the key.
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There is a theme every week and this week’s theme is Hotel California. As was noted in the 5 Day Challenge, every day has a different “skill” that we work on. You are not expected to master each skill…. this same challenge will come around again and again, and you measure your progress by how much you improve each time this challenge comes around. This particular challenge is a “Benchmark” week, meaning the challenge will come around more often, and you are supposed to take notes on what you could and could not accomplish, and then go back over those notes the next time it comes around. Better yet, take a video of yourself and compare it each time the benchmark comes around. Spend at least 10 minutes a day on each daily challenge, and then move on.
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Yeah….mine had that message for about 6 weeks after I finished the 30 Day Challenge. I always just went to the daily challenge anyway. Even now, my “Welcome ” page doesn’t reflect exactly what I’ve done.
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Another thing you could do is a variation of the F maj7 chord. Try 1st finger on 1st fret of the B string ( C ), 2nd finger on 2nd fret of the G string ( A ), and 3rd finger on 3rd fret of the D string ( F ). Play the high E open. The sound is similar, but no need to barre anything, OR use your pinky. I learned that trying to play Night Moves by Bob Seger with that quick F chord between the G and C chord.
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Cool version… a bit more up tempo with a pretty cool groove to it. Love your chord changes …. smooth as butter. The Hip were a constant for me in the 90’s , along with a lot of other 90’s bands. The 80’s seems a bit of a void for me after all the great 60’s and 70’s music I grew up with.
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Download the tab to see what he’s playing. I actually print it off. If I’m not sure how he’s playing something, I may go back to the video. But the “Play” video ( below the challenge video ) shows what he’s doing, and it’s on a loop. My advice would be to start on a Monday since the week kinda builds every day. Thursday is the chord challenge, so it’s always a fun one. Every day is actually a challenge, but that’s what it’s supposed to be.
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Start the Daily challenges. If you can play a few chords, then you can “do” the daily challenges. There will be lots of new skills taught almost every day, but trying new things keeps things interesting AND the dexterity you learn helps you with getting control of your fingers. Just remember that you don’t have to perfect something before you move to the next day’s challenge. Do 10 minutes and mark it complete.
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Sit up straight and don’t try to see the whole fretboard…that’s what the dots are for ! LOL
Also, try to find a very small box or block of wood to put under your right foot ( if you play right handed. It tucks your guitar body in nice and tight and keeps it from moving around, especially when you have tricky fretting going on ( like anything with a barre ).
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It’ll come quicker than that ! To work on chord transitions, what you need to do is fret the chord with your fingers, then remove your fingers just a 1/4″ above the strings and re-fret the chord. Continue bouncing on and off the chord until you come down on the strings in the proper position. Then practice taking your hand completely of the neck of the guitar, and reform the chord again. Close your eyes when you have the chord fretted…pay attention to how it feels. Pay attention to where your thumb is on the back of the neck. Visualize the chord shape. Once you have “mastered” a chord, move on to another. Allow yourself to hit some clunkers along the way…we all do that. At some point, it just gets smoother. Good luck !
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It sort of depends on where you are on your journey and how much time you have. Seems to me that you are trying to perfect each lesson, which isn’t really the goal, unless you already have really good guitar skills. Because each day of the week focuses on a different skill, I can do some very quickly and others take me a long time to even get close to completing. ( and I don’t mean perfecting, but able to do the whole tab….mistakes and all ). So today is the chord day, and I already know all the chords, so the transitions aren’t a big problem. However, the strumming pattern is a challenge, as is throwing in the cross-picking. I’ll try both of these, but certainly don’t think I’ll get either one under my fingers today. You have to be OK with NOT getting it first time !
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It seems I still have some communication with the outside world, but I’m still stuck in some of the nooks and crannies down here. I swear I just saw the Cheshire Cat….
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I went down that rabbit hole about 3 weeks ago…