[GraceX]

The word talent is a fallacy – remove it from your vocab and take the weight of that expectation off your shoulders 🙂

Work through the foundational skill courses but have a bash too at the Daily Challenge – I’m a beginner but I know if I keep chipping away I’ll get to *MY* personal best: you will too. Best wishes

[GraceX]

Don’t forget it isn’t just the matter of building calluses but also of developing the strength in all your fingers. Keep plugging away, slow down and give it time 🙂

[GraceX]

Far out! That is commitment! Well done

[GraceX]

That is so awesome Mike58, you really committed to the course and are reaping the rewards. Gives me heart to keep going 🙂

Have a lovely New Year

[GraceX]

Ëxcellent approach.

I’m just staring to work through the foundations of fretboard navigation. Currently, if I have time I can walk through the notes on each string but i want it to be automatic without having to go: ‘this note is here so that fret is xyz note’

[GraceX]

For me, I learn best through playing songs…theory has a place but resonates better with me when I have a real life example to chew over. I have some songs memorised but also have a book where I have them written out and I’ll pop the song on my speakers and bash along 🙂

Find your favourite artist and look through their catalogue – I bet they have a couple of tunes that will be 4, max 5 chords and take it from there. So much fun!

[GraceX]

I’m very sorry about the loss of your brother I can only imagine how hard that was.

Somehow, you stayed the course and I have no doubt focusing on the guitar helped you and was a constant in what sounds like a year of change and challenge.

That guitar has me salivating, it is beautiful and I imagine it sounds like maple syrup given it beautiful colour.

[GraceX]

You absolutely will hit a wall: this would be natural occurrence for ANY skill you’d try to learn as you are not only learning theory but also dealing with muscle memory and, potentially for some, physical limitations,

Don’t doubt the process just stick to your plan and speak gently to yourself as you would a friend or family member who is trying to learn a new skill.

Mix up your practice session times to split them across shorter times during the day if that works for you…for example this morning I drilled moving from D to Bm then practiced D to D7, F#m, G, A and also practised A7, Dsus, Dm, D, Dsus4…I’m about to practice now and expect that for – some of those chord changes – it is going to feel like starting brand new but I also know if I keep chipping away at it I’ll get there.

Don’t worry about your Mrs hearing mistakes but if you really feel self-conscious just try to practice when she is out of the house or go to a spot far enough away to give you some privacy.

Best wishes, persevere and KEEP GOING!

[GraceX]

Great effort Stickmaker. I’m off work for a couple of weeks and am absolutely determined to pick up the guitar a couple of times each day for at least a few minutes ….every little gets us there!

[GraceX]

Excellent idtrouthound. I started off well with TAC in Oct/Nov but then was worn out with work as we tried to meet a lot of end of year goals…now I’m on summer holidays I’m going to try to really test myself on those daily challenges. Good to hear it is working for you as I know it will for me too!

[GraceX]

Billy Bragg – folky with witty & intelligent lyrics that pack a punch both from personal politics side and broader actual politics. Have a listen on the tube, look for Billy Bragg – Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards (1988) and I dare you not to want to play along 🙂

[GraceX]

What an awesome neighbour, clearly he had it all planned – and how wonderful of him to recognise that you just needed that gentle encouragement with no way of backing out 😉 hahaha. Sounds like you had so much fun.

[GraceX]

Genius solution!

[GraceX]

As you know, Billy does loads of foot stamping songs but also some lovely picked chord progressions…so you have a wealth of material to pick from. As a beginner I worked through Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards – easy chords. I suspect The Saturday Boy is relatively easy but haven’t yet launched at that one 🙂 10 mysterious photos that can’t be explained is a great sing along tune. So, so many!

[GraceX]

That is actually a really great idea! For NZ you could look at doing a Crowded House song. Can’t wait to see what you post in the Play for Us section 🙂

A great little tune from Australia is Paul Kelly’s Sleep Australia Sleep which uses some bass note picks and is really great to play along with

• This reply was modified 4 years, 2 months ago by  GraceX.