[gmhendersonme-com]

For any type of barre ( mini or full ), place your fingers on the strings and pick each string individually, then adjust your pressure and curve of your fingers until they all ring out. As Albert said, you may have to adjust your thumb. If you struggle with applying enough pressure with the barre, you can also take your strumming arm ( around the elbow / forearm ) and squeeze the guitar body into your chest. This acts like a lever and pushes the fretboard outwards into your fingers. Once you have the notes ringing out, try to release the pressure and then reapply it to get the notes ringing out again. After that, take your fingers completely off the fretboard by about 1/4″ and re-fret the barre chord. Try to have all your fingers land at once rather that reforming the chord one finger at a time. That is, form the chord in the air and then land on the strings. I find I still use a “lead finger” to be the basis of my chord shape in the air ( my ring finger ). Others use the middle or even the index, but that technique really helped me, although I doubt everyone uses it. Good luck !

[gmhendersonme-com]

If you noticed in this week’s challenge, we played an G chord and a A chord by moving the mini F chord up 2 frets and 4 frets. We even left out the high E string. So, there are many ways to form chords rather than what we know as the “Open Chords”. Other variations will often include doing a 7 chord if you can’t jam all 3 fingers together for certain open shapes. There’s no doubt that forming a lot of the chords is difficult, even when you’re not dealing with physical limitations. It certainly helps if you start young, but if that is not the situation, then you have to work slowly and methodically to develop the muscle memory. If it just isn’t in the cards, then modify the chord.

[gmhendersonme-com]

In the skills courses, there is a 5 Day Pinkie Challenge. I haven’t done it, but perhaps going through that may help. The pinkie is definitely the black sheep of the fretting fingers !!

[gmhendersonme-com]

You can really only do the daily challenge once it has been “released”. Every week has 5 different challenges based on a certain “theme” or song. If you did today’s challenge and you found it pretty easy, you can’t go and do tomorrow’s challenge until tomorrow !. However, if you go back to the main page and expand the left side panel ( click at the top of it ), you will find other parts of the website that you can access. The Daily Challenge and Fretboard Wizard are at the top under Routine, and then there are resources underneath. The Skill Courses are free and there are many there to chose from if you wish to push yourself a bit further. Good luck !

[gmhendersonme-com]

I use them to find the notes on the fretboard. It’s a lot easier to memorize 5 patterns than about 100 notes ! In time, you will utilize this knowledge in other things.

[gmhendersonme-com]

Breaking strings was the reason he said he didn’t want to use Open E tuning. And he did mention putting a capo on the 2nd fret to play along with the recording.

[gmhendersonme-com]

I’m wondering if any 2 note pattern is a double stop, whether you play them simultaneously or one right after another. I’m not entirely clear with how Tony has explained it, since we play some 2 note patterns both ways in the exercise. Given how we used the pattern yesterday, I would think even David Gilmour’s 2 note pattern in “Shine On You Crazy Diamond” would qualify as using a double stop. ( A#, F , G, E ), even though the notes are not played simultaneously.

[gmhendersonme-com]

Keith Urban does a fantastic live version of the BeeGees “To Love Somebody ” at the CMT awards maybe 10 years ago. First half stripped down to just triads before backing vocals and accompanying band kicks in. Interesting take on the song. Lots of great takes on Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah”, but Jeff Buckley’s or kd lang’s really stand out to me.

[gmhendersonme-com]

“Ain’t No Sunshine ” looks like it comes up again next week, so you should be good to go !

[gmhendersonme-com]

The patterns are just to be able to find a particular note on the fretboard. An example would be going from any note on the low E string, go 2 strings up and 2 frets toward the guitar body and you have the same note.

[gmhendersonme-com]

My son was doing responsive web design a decade ago when he programmed my last website, and every company he’s worked for since then works on both computers and mobile seamlessly. I’m lucky that I haven’t had to deal with any slowness or loading issues, but this means it will take twice as long to go through Fretboard Wizard since I’m only home for maybe 3 1/2 days a week.

[gmhendersonme-com]

My wife blasts that in the house most days… and she doesn’t really like heavy rock music that much.

[gmhendersonme-com]

One of my best friends ( who unfortunately moved to the other side of the country ) was a professional musician …. has a guitar room full of stuff. I need a 2nd guitar to keep up at my cottage for the next 5 months so I can keep up my guitar playing. I asked him what his favourite guitars are. He said he owns an expensive Taylor that sounds really nice, but he also has a cheap Washburn that is a close 2nd ! Perhaps it’s less about the ax and more about the lumberjack ! LOL

[gmhendersonme-com]

Not confusing at all !! Right now I have a lot of tools and techniques, but I’m really not putting any of it to use. It’s like I’ve practiced making dovetails, but I still join 2 pieces of wood together with nails !! I need to go back and get some of the songs I USED to play, and add the embellishments in there to spice them up a bit. Hopefully as I progress, these small techniques will become a bit more 2nd nature to me.

[gmhendersonme-com]

Thanks !! I will.