[jumpinjeff]

Hi @rdeputy : I remember not long ago being in a similar place as you describe. I was so deep in the forest I could not see the trees. The chord shape IS the basic building block of the pentatonic scale which becomes the building block for the octave scale. All of these are built on a single root tone. This is the time I started to idendify the individual names of the the three notes in the chord and figuring out how they relate to each other in order. After the academic exercise of thinking it through on paper take the time to feel it and hear it on the guitar as you play. The more this is practiced the less need there is for writing it out. My experience was they were interconnected: I could not do one without the other but as I felt and heard, paired with the understanding….CLARITY abounded. Chord degrees (triads)…that may be your next frontier?! If you have that down, we can figure out where your focus will yield the best progress.

[jumpinjeff]

@dszmakgmail-com : I liked the question about making chord transitions faster. My solution is counter intuitive but I have had great success. To get faster you must slow down. Slowing down is the first step. Next, relax! Managing tension takes half my mental energy while I play. Start expererimenting with how lightly you can press the strings to get the sound you want. You can not chase speed but you can sneak up on it. When you get good and relaxed mentally and physically with your slow changes between two chords, add a third, then play the whole progression when three chords settles in, get out that metronome and play slow enough you think it is silly while focusing on removing all the tenision in mind and arm, then crank up the speed 3 beats a minute and repeat the process, then add another 3 bpms to the metronome and so on, etc. Lemme know if that tracks with you!

[jumpinjeff]

I have a suggestion: It is a whopper but it will save your neck shoulders and back. Learn to play by feel not by sight. My posture problems (discs pushing on nerves in neck and back) went by the bye when is stopped looking at my fingers. This would allow you to move the guitar body (playing with a strap) under your right arm pit pushing the fret board and neck to the centerline of you body. Learning guitar is difficult. Finding the way to spend hours and hours in one position even tougher…take many breaks. Even standing and stretching is helpful 3,4 times and hour. The last suggestion I have is start working you finger flexibility. This includes wrist, elbow, and shoulder as they all relate to your hand. Your wrist break angle can be greatly reduced in that extended position you mentioned, by changing the break angle in your fingers. Ideally you would be able to touch the pads of your fretting fingers to that first joint between the finger and the hand. This will put you on the tips of your fingers, to be sure. There is a work around for everything. Keep us posted on what you find!

[jumpinjeff]

I get it as well. Not every time but when I either log out or time out.

[jumpinjeff]

One of the happiest of unexpected results of learning how to play guitar on TAC rather than learning how to play songs is, in time, the need to see the music for the songs others have written diminishes. For most things I don’t need to see a chord chart or a song sheet. This is a deliberate part of the TAC program, often missunderstood and overlooked. This did take time for me to grasp which I want to point out. It was not an overnight transition rather a multi-year effort of daily exposure to the challenges and FretBoard Wizard. I used Chordie because there are no sales pitches, no commercials, no interruptions, no membership fee. Now I go there to see words and how the words meet the chord changes, not always successfull as very few of the songwriting artists are contributors. One of the stand out contributors is James Taylor who was tired of seeing/hearing his music being played “Close but no cigar”.

[jumpinjeff]

I love those types of wins @lecassandra ! So glad you were able to oberserve it, congratulations to you for being able to do that!

[jumpinjeff]

Hi There Jim, My advice is, “Don’t be fooled by what initially appears complex!” Jump into that daily with the curiousity of a five year old. Listen, watch carefully, Tony is a master of sneeking in the least complex way to face a challenge sqaure on, if only to get the first note in every measure or just the first measure by itself. This is an necessary part of learning guitar. If you ever need help simpliftying: Put it out there on the chat of the given day’s challenge and if that doesn’t help D/M me and we can work out a way for you to find success. We are burning daylight get on those challenges!

[jumpinjeff]

If you guys get any better I am going to have to start paying for your music. Super fun to for me, the listener! Standing O. Who was that first voice. Lovely. : )

[jumpinjeff]

I think I get what you are saying @BarbaraM , the fleshy part of your fretting hand right? Here is how I take care of that issue: when you need that fleshy part go away flatten your palm while keeping the thumb hooked with your thumb feeling the back of the neck hooking lightly, then roll your hand so only your hand pad connected to the pointer digit (that fleshy part of your hand) is touching and then roll back so all your hand pads are again touching on the bottom but with a flattened hand and thumb hooked. You can almost roll your hand away onto the side of your fretting hands index and back. Let me know if that is what you meant.

[jumpinjeff]

Too many cooks in the kitchen spoiled my experience. Tony was the chef I paid and my direction of interest seemed to stall my progress, so I got out of the kitchen. It was almost too easy.

[jumpinjeff]

@mezzok : check out the splash page Loraine is showing. At the top you will see the search bar function. I just searched “benchmark” and found many choices. I see it so regularly I almost forget the search bar is there.

[jumpinjeff]

I wish we were neighbors Heidi and we could go hours and hours about how to get you all synched up mindwize. How are you with your CAGED practice? Nashville number system knowledge plus CAGED knowledge is when thinking about it takes a backseat to knowing it by feel. I wish I had a quick easy answer for you to take away and put into successful practice. Have you done FretWiz? I cant remember if you did.

[jumpinjeff]

Love to you and Happy happy congratulations. It has been an epic journey and I am beyond grateful to shared the road with you. I am lucky.

[jumpinjeff]

spot on @petelanger !!

[jumpinjeff]

Perfect! Now….when you get that Middle Finger over to the low E, that is when that hook made with your thumb gains importance. Let the fleshy part move away from the neck while keeping your thumb still hooked at the top so now nothing is touching the neck on the high E side leaving a small 1/2 inch gap between your fleshy part and the neck, this should give you enough finger length to get to the low E with your middle arched highly enough so it does not mute the A or D string or the High E for that matter. There should be only two things touching the neck here, Your thumb and the middle finger on the Low E string. If not keep moving the hooked thumb lower. This moves your hand away further making you fingers seemingly longer.