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How are you after 4 days compared to day 1. A+ for determination. Sometimes determination is all that I have.

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I like the Santa Cruz strings. They have a different albeit pleasing feel on both hands. What I really don’t like is their price. I don’t like them enough to overcome my dislike of the price and buy them on a regular basis but if family asks what I want for b-days or Christmas: Santa Cruz strings. I buy my D’Addario Ej-16 in bulk so my string cost is between 3 and 4 per set. This make Santa Cruz strings 5X more expensive. I am also kinda miffed they don’t sell in bulk at a discount. But hey good for Santa Cruz, more power to them. They make more money off their strings than they do on making guitars.

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I was just having a conversation with an old time player yesterday about how +or- 1/64 matters in guitar setups. It is literally the difference between heaven and hell. Glad you got yours sorted out!

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Congratulations on 2 yrs @Ted_D , you control your destiny. Carve out your time if you can or recognize how your time is being better spent elsewhere and revel in the value of your effort whether here or elsewhere. As you rightly noted focus is the all important component. Focus playing>Forums=progress. Both important but for progressing as a player one carries more weight. Norwegian Wood, what a great song. Pitter Patter, lets get at ‘er.

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Well SWR gang another lovely evocative tune. Fletchie, you comand those lyrics like you have been on a boat or two.

I must say this song leaves me nostalgically crabby

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Hi @SciencePete , Tony recommended “Edly’s Musical Theory For Practical People” by Ed Rosemann. Great overview easy to understand. If you don’t mind a used copy 5.00 is about right…dunno though with inflation being what it is maybe 7.00? This would not be my only one but it would be my choice for first one.

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@Al.E , Happy TACiversary! I love when you talked about overcoming your self limiting beliefs. They held me down longer than my first year, I don’t think I fully believed I could do anything on guitar until well past my 3rd TACiversary. Focusing on the fun of the process is such an amazing an powerful tool. It really is a short cut to faster progress. Thanks for reminding me of the things I sometimes overlook these days. They are the roots and the core of my guitar playing practices.

TAC guitar diet. Very Old School : ) Congrats.

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Thanks @albert_d , purposeful living. I like that. Yes, lets go with that! Birds of a feather me thinks.

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@Loraine , yes give it another whirl! maybe start with just one aspect. I remember one of the first things which I was able to have that physical awakening was with my fingers themselves. I remember experimenting with how lightly I could fret a string and still get the tone I was intending to make. I was really surprised at how little effort it took and how much excess energy I was using in over pressuring the strings. I learned how to target the strings I wanted to play. It was a watershed light bulb moment when I realized the Bar used on the F chord was really only touching three strings. I learned to arch that index Finger so the pressure was applied to the Low E string and the B and high E strings while letting the pressure of the bar off of the strings that were covered by the other fingers. It was amazing how little pressure it took to do this. Same when playing single strings: if placed in the right spot it takes very little pressure to get the string to ring out. Once the string starts ringing the guitar body can take over allowing for even less pressure. Play around with the sound of a mute and add as little pressure as possible to make a ring. Maybe this is a case of precision over brute force. Give it a go and see what results you come up with.

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Thanks @Loraine , great question too. It comes down to awareness and speed control. I go through my mental checklist over and over while playing. Loose fingers-check, loose shoulders-check, loose neck-check, loose shoulders-check, good posture-check, loose hands-check. Practicing this check list has become second nature. I almost don’t have to think about doing it any more. If I find any mental tension or physical tension that keeps returning at close intervals I will slow down my playing speed until the both mental and physical tension dissipates and remains at bay. My mental tension comes in the form of panic as I can’t remember where to put my fingers next and the train jumps of the tracks. I am better today at recovering from this on the fly but I remember a time not to long ago where I would have to start everything over from the beginning. The only thing I can say contributed to being able to mess up and carry on is many hours in the saddle. After recognition of precision and accuracy over a satisfying period I will then start adding speed and start the process over adjusting, relaxing, focusing. I try to stop every 30min to stretch but will take a moment to stretch and refocus if mental tension begins providing the foothold for frustration to creep in. I continue until I have adjusted and achieved that tension free bliss. I used to stop when frustrated but that did not get me results I was looking for. I really considered what it meant to make a practice of stopping at a high point (Tony P.’s suggestion)tried it and while it was tough at first the benefit was exponential. I have seen video of myself when I am in the groove, tension gone, and my head sort of rolls around in weird guitar playing way but oh well I will take that over tension. One of the best things about repetition in lessons/exercises: I get super focused on the process. It is why I have come to recognize how important repetition is for my progress. It used to drive me nuts but now I focus on the results of the effort and appreciate how it allows me to progress. There are sessions when elapsed time seems to become meaningless: the magic of effortless perfect repetitions are all that is happening. I hope that answers your question.

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Likewise @Marty69 , I still have hat envy over your steampunk topper. It has been fun progressing together. One of these day we will get to play together IRL. Putting it out there on my vision board. Thanks for making the ride fascinating and fun.

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Thanks @Bill_Brown , my philosophy was learned and honed right here in these forums with your help and the help of others who participate in the community. Thank you for your contributions. Makes me a better player and the community is richer for it.

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Thanks Mrfredsporty.

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Time matters not. What matters is you kicked open the door and you are walking through….Winning, winning, winning.

To be fair I catch myself thinking the same thing except my time is 7years but I have learned to extinguish that little brush fire before it starts. The previously thought impossible has become not only possible but an intuitive reality by letting go of time and focusing on what, not when. You have this. It is all about how with think.

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Fantastic strategy @Cadgirl ! If I can hum it I can play it. Sometimes I will only use three notes, for example the first 3 notes of the scale. I will try combinations using only those three notes and seeing if I can make little phrases that make sense and starting each phrase on a different one of those 3 notes to start the phrase. Great win. So darn cool you are finding your way.