[jumpinjeff]

Hi @Strangeoldgal , I have found no better exercises to strengthen my fingers than our very own Daily Challenges. If these seem too much, take the first section only and drill that for 10 focused minutes. Finger strength is like money: you think you can’t have too much until you do and then you realize you never needed that much to begin with.

[jumpinjeff]

Space and time… So deep… And it is here we agree to meet. I could yammer on for hours about this. : ) It is the basis for my tone-versation philosophy. Congrats on the milestone. The feeling begins to overtake the importance of the number.

[jumpinjeff]

One of the hardest things to do is to attempt something challenging for the first time and returning after not noticing progress. One of the ways to get around this is breaking challenges into components. Did you have any success making the staccato notes with the index bar across all strings? If not, that is the place to play around, goof off, find success. When that is nailed down, move on to adding the E shape with the rest of the fingers. Philb nails it with, “chip away, over time, at the tough stuff”. I will add one thing to that…chip away methodically. Hit what you are unable to do so far for a minute or two and go back to what you like to do…,repeat. Do it again tomorrow, or in an hour: whatever works for your effort allotment.

[jumpinjeff]

I am the Neighbor you need. Time to move, problem solved. Nicely played SWR!

[jumpinjeff]

This is a really useful question! I was an over presser for years. Figuring this out is set me on the path for corrective measures. I invented my own drills to fix this issue. It involves seeing how lightly I can press the string to make the sound I want to hear. I found there is a minuscule amount of pressure between clear notes and muted notes. Once there I mess around with the varying degrees of muting vs. clear ringing out tone. There is a proviso here: the harder the tips of your finger are the less energy it takes to make a clear sound. Finger tip texture matters. There is only one way I know to get those tips rock like, many many many hours in the saddle. When you think you have callouses, keep going they get tougher. When I get the tension out of mind and arm/hand/fingers my precision and accuracy improve. Controlling speed is key here. Slow enough to play without tension and getting the sound you desire. Final analysis: play more, develop finger texture; target tension as the governor for speed.

[jumpinjeff]

get your hand/fingers/wrist sorted first and foremost. Now is not the time to worry about the money part. Let’s get your hand healthy. The cost will sort out later. There is even ways to have med costs covered through sponsored care. GET YOUR HAND EVALUATED for post op condition. I am no big proponent of the Med system but this is the stuff good docs can nail down. ER or Urgent Care, either one, as long as you go NOW! I say this with friendship and love and concern.

[jumpinjeff]

oh man did I struggle with this @PickinmyPocket , That swing feel can be diagrammed and explained but it was easier for me to mess around with and get it by feel. Clear your mind of all thoughts and focus on that feel. Can you hum the beat. Even finger tapping on a table becomes a useful endeavor. Many of my favorite songs use this triplet variation to get the cool sound I love. As frustrating as it it…it is worth working through.

[jumpinjeff]

hang in there Loraine. Thoughts are with you!!! You will get through this. It is a mindset at this point. You will never be what you were but you do have a shot at being better! I like what your Teacher advised. Put the guitar in your lap. It is gonna be challenging at times but you can do it. I know you can. He is right about your tremor and the repetitions.

I have nearly lost the top joints on my thumb and middle finger of my fretting hand. Both finger tips were numb for years. And then Bam! they woke up. Nerve tissue is odd stuff. Have faith. If you find that lacking, we can bolster it with the stories of success of others who have had similar experience.

My thumb was almost shot off by a nail gun and my middle finger was almost popped off when a candy vending machine landed on it. Don’t ask. I was in college.

[jumpinjeff]

Ahhhhww Geeeezzz @Loraine ! I am so sorry. I deduced based on the number of bones: it is your hand?

Take good care. Don’t worry. Everything you need to keep going is here. More importantly you know how it works. Sending you healing G chord vibes!!!

[jumpinjeff]

Best of All Moose as long as you get in your playing time you will advance. Don’t even have to think about how. Just log on and do the thing. Way more to it when we break down the intricacies of the string/note relationships. But It is at its core basic. Do you recall your first session vs Yesterdays?

[jumpinjeff]

Hi SeaGypsy. no nerve necessary. What we share here is not finished product but rather how/what we learn, all missed notes, unintended muffle of strings, total brain hiccups, all part of the process. This is the working area. We are the only ones (we, meaning the others also working) who see it. It is the very best of places to explore progress on video. I get past reluctance because the reward is soooo great. it is not the reward of outcome, it is the reward of effort. The effort reward goes a long way.

[jumpinjeff]

Hi Barbara @BarbaraM , I saw this about your middle finger not being able to curl tightly enough and wanted to offer what I learned the hard way. There is more to bending a finger than just bending the finger. I had to get control of a little muscle in my forearm (I kinda start the flex in my elbow, right at the point) to lever my hand ever so slighty backwards to pop my hand bones out thus giving my finger the space to squeeze down. I have arthritis so any extra space I can provide to those tendons to move is relieving. It has taken 5ish years or so to get my muscles and brain all connected. I put the time element out there only to demonstrate it was not a week and done proposition. Even now after 9 years, stretching with the purpose of awakening kinesthetic awareness is about 1/4 of my sessions. Working the flexibility in these tiny tendons and muscles is a delicate practice. The stretching method is different than any I previously used (before becoming a guitar geek). I call it the silly putty method. Stretching barley feeling the tension and waiting until you no longer barely feel the tension, then increase…barely…repeat. When I do it slowly enough I feel a tingling relaxing of the tendons. Stretch slowly and the tissue is elastic…too fast and it starts to resist instead of relax, tightening up if you will…just release tension to where you don’t feel any and reapply less (barely feel and wait) and more slowly. It is a two steps forward one step back process. Give it a try.

Stick with it. It has beneficial carry over into other pursuits requiring digital dexterity.

[jumpinjeff]

if ever a question, the answer remains the same: play more.

[jumpinjeff]

Another fantastic tool Stillhand! MFP! On it, or should I say….off it. : )

[jumpinjeff]

That is it Mark!

I played along and still play along. Keeping engaged and motivated is one of the biggest challenges. It is an super useful tool! Recognizing its value even more powerful!