[BrandonK]

Thanks Joseph for sharing how you are feeling. I am 97 sessions in and I am feeling the same.

The 10 minute daily challenges for me are now at least 1 hour session each time. I have to start and stop the video constantly because Tony is going way to fast for me to even keep up. I have even gone to the point where I am now taking 1:1 private lessons with a guitar instructor because I was not able to keep up or even show any progress with the 10 minute lessons.

The Lesson are interesting just to advance for me at this time. Maybe in another 6 months to a year I will be able to keep up with how fast Tony is teaching and be able to follow along.

• This reply was modified 1 year, 8 months ago by  BrandonK.

[BrandonK]

I am 63 days in and I am feeling the same way while doing through Toni’s Daily challenge. I am hoping it get’s easier as we progress. I also am doing other drills before I do Toni’s video just so I feel I accomplished something for the day.

[BrandonK]

One thing I do when I was learning the G Chord specifically is play one string of the sequence at a time. ie

First finger 2nd Fret, A string. play around with at one finger until you get the sound you are looking for and only play the A string so you can hear if you have it.

Next while keeping your first finger down because you now have that sounds place your middle finger on the 3rd Fret, E string and only play the E string until you have the sound you are looking for. Once you do then go back and forth between the two strings to make sure you have the sound you want.

Now go to the next finger while still holding the first finger and middle finger in place. Which was for me the ring finger. Put that one on the 3rd Fret, B string. Play around with just the ring finger and the B string until you get the sound you want. Once you do now play around with all 3 strings making sure you have nice clear sound.

Last is the Pinky 3rd Fret, high E string. Same routine.

Now once you get it strum for a bit to get the feel. Then here is what I did. I took all my fingers away like Toni showed in one exercise put my left hand which is my fretting hand on my thigh away from my guitar. Then tried to set myself up for the G Chord again. Now I had to do go through the process for a week or so until I started to get the feel of where my fingers needed to be and my wrist position that worked for me. Which I am like you short fingers. Mine are also thinker fingers as well which is another thing I had to learn to work around.

Now it’s just practicing that until you feel you have master the G Chord and can do it without looking at the fret board. Take your time and have fun with it. We all go through this.

[BrandonK]

Thank you so much for the message. I guess I am worried that I am not going to make any progress because I feel like I am just not getting it.

I will stay consistent and just keep trying to do 10 minutes a day.

• This reply was modified 1 year, 10 months ago by  BrandonK.

[BrandonK]

Thanks gentlemen

[BrandonK]

I agree, I found more growth from my 1:1 lessons and Youtube videos I found versus my TAC Daily challenge. The first 30 days and 5 day routine were good. I learned a lot. I just find it went from beginner training and jumped to advance training.

[BrandonK]

I agree, I think Maggie is doing a great job. I just would love to connect with the community more.

[BrandonK]

I wish there were more frequent meetings.

[BrandonK]

Thanks Loraine

[BrandonK]

I agree with you Moose 100%. Just a lot to learn all at once.

[BrandonK]

Thanks Bud for the advise I really appreciate. I understand what you are saying. Trying to do all that and truly stay to 10 minutes a day is not happening for me. following the video, stopping, slowing it down, rewinding it…etc is taking about 30 minutes or more depending if I watch the full video. Then as you guys are mentioning trying to play with the music and/or tabs adds more time. Over the weekend I am trying to do what you guys are recommending and it’s taking me about 1 -1/2 hours to 2 hours. Through the week I just do not have the time to put in 2 hours a day right now.

As true beginner it’s overwhelming. I understand what you are all saying about the 10 minutes practice each day. If I can’t even do one technique that Tony is teaching I feel all I am practicing is watching his videos versus practicing a skill and/or technique at this time. I do understand this is a hard instrument to learn and this is going to take time.

For example this weeks chord hammer Tony is teaching for some reason I am muting my strings when I try to hammer just one string in the C chord. I was trying the skill and did not hear Tony talk about what to do if you are muting the string.

I just currently find the training is too challenging for me as a beginner. To the point I have actually now started to do 1:1 lessons on the side with a guitar instructor which has helped focus the basic repetitive skills, in a progressive manner that I am starting to see progress. I want to be clear, in no way am I saying Tony is not a good Guitar teacher. I am sure if I was doing 1:1’s with Tony I would be having a different experience and he would customize the training for my skill level.

What I would love to see in the training video’s is Tony segment the instruction. First 2 to 4 minutes one basic skill/technique that the student needs to practice for this session. The rest of the video Tony goes into more advance skills/techniques for the rest of the students that are more advance. This way as a beginner I know what exactly to practice until I can follow along with the rest of the video as I get better.

[BrandonK]

I can start doing that. I haven’t been doing that because it appeared to be two advanced.

[BrandonK]

Thanks Terri, I am aware 😉 That goes from 10 minute practice to 1 hours to 1.5 hours because I need to slow down, as well as start and stop the video to try to keep up.

[BrandonK]

Thanks Terry,

I have a 10 to 15 minute routine I do every morning.

1. 5 x spider exercises up (low E to high E then back up is 1 rep)

2. Finger slide exercise that Toni showed in one of his videos

3. Transition between the Chords I am working on G, D, Em, C, Am, A, and E. I do that for about 5 minutes to 10 minutes.

4. Then I do a metronome cord transition/strumming pratice D, DU, UDU to 76 beats while transitioning through the list of chords above.

I do try Toni’s daily challenge video’s, I just find he goes so quickly and I have to keep stopping the video to try to figure out what he is doing. Then I am not able to even do the technique because it is to challenging for me at the moment. So I let the video play and mark it as complete. I feel bad doing that because I do not feel like I am accomplishing anything.

[BrandonK]

Hi Joy,

Thank you for your message. That’s awesome your son’s name is Brandon as well. Must be an amazing guy!

“Brandon is a masculine name of British, Welsh, and Norse origins with plenty of medieval vibes. It is an Anglicized version of the Old Irish name Bréanainn, which itself is said to be derived from the Old Welsh word breenhin, translating to “prince.” Brandon also has roots in Old English, where it means “broom- or gorse-covered hill,” stemming from the word brōm, meaning “broom” or “gorse,” and dun which means “hill.” Brooms and gorses are common wildflowers in Ireland and Scotland, and their lush, bright yellow petals add a sunny tone to the moniker. Brandon may also come from the Old Norse name brant and Old English brand, meaning “fire” and “swordsmith.” Brandon is a classic name with a sharp edge and range of interpretations, making it the perfect choice with a fitting meaning for baby.”

Now back to TAC, I am not saying Tony’s teaching is not helping. It’s just difficult as a beginner to transfer these skills to now playing TAB music with a 2 to 3 chord song for example. I find that I am trying to teach myself chords and how to play songs outside of TAC which is challenging. To the point I signed up for 1:1 private lessons with a guitar teacher starting this week.

This is not about speed, this is about progress. For example the last 2 weeks I have been practicing chords daily 10 reps per. Playing G, D, Em, E, and C. I am slowly getting comfortable transitioning from one to the other. That is a routine I am trying for myself which I was hoping TAC would have had for us. I know we covered G, D and C in the 30 Day challenge, it just went by so fast it was hard to master.

Does that make sense?