jumpinjeff
Forum Replies Created
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I may get some boos here but my advise is to listen more…..think about it but then listen, really listen. The note thing is a matter of time. I think it helps some people to actively pusue identification and location but for me…I am an ear player…..everything is relative….the 1st degree, aka tonic tone and the progressions changes compared to everything around it. I rarely am lost today and when and if I do it is two notes to get back on track or only one when I am focused. Trust me when I say I used to hate when people would tell me to listen and feel it….but it did happen when I put it into practice…..Perhaps approaching FW with a new perspective focus…is the note higher or lower…may yeild for you some surprising results. I wish we were closer in real life. I see a tremendous advantage for working this out with another guitar player in person if you can find that.
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The thing that worked for me was repetition on the strings: pushing past boredom for the reward of strength and flexibility on the other side. What I did not expect, practicing this, I was also training my ear without knowing it. This also meant that I would have to stop and stretch (silly putty stretching). My fingers were always strong enough it was precision and accuracy that allowed me to learn to play with barely touching a string to get the desired sound. Precision is key. Even in bar chords, once I became precise about applied pressure bar chords became easy. Most bar chords involve the bar on only three strings. Your other fingers hold down the three others. That realization came through repetition.
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release pressure on the strings but keep contact. He uses the middle finger to contact the open strings otherwize not in contact with the fingers making the chords.
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I can relate to the “old fingers too fat to play”! I fixed it by changing to: everytime I play my fingers get slimmer and more flexible. Once I got that cemented I played all the time.
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Chordie is an app that has tens of thousands of songs with chords and lyrics. It is free, no commercials. No need to duplicate that here. I saw it pointed out but it bears repeating: TAC uses songs to teach guitar but does not teach how to perform any given song. It essentially gives you the recipe and ingredients but you have to prep and cook. The focus is on the specific skills within a single song that are tranferable to any song. If you are brand new I totally get how the concept seems like it doesn’t serve you but it is the shortest road to playing skillfully with confidence on any song including songs you have never heard before. The between the lines is understanding “song forms” allow you to play all the songs, And I get how that seems confusing but it is as real as “not being able to play the wrong note”, or knowing the next chord or note without thinking about what or where your fingers should be. TAC is the opposite of sites that teach finger choreography,
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dont forget that your top is braced so you have to turn it upside down an lift a hitch as you shake. this allows the pick to get over the top braces as it exists the hole. You can almost get a feel for where the pick is as you lift and shake thereby angling the guitar to guide the pick toward the hole. Method #2: If your hands are small you can loosen your strings and reach inside or find a kid with small hands.
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I don’t specifically remember the patterns but I would venture to guess they are related to chord shapes. Take a look at it through that lens and see if it becomes clear. I like the topic: patterns. It is an exercise in fractiles. Patterns of patterns of patterns. It is another way to understand. Keep going and you may get your questions answered along the way. I found Tony to be clever in how questions are raised and then answered. It was motivating tactic for me.
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I am so sorry Terry! I think you found the perfect solution to a whacked situation….work on the mental. Dive in deep on the Fret Whiz. Keep your routine if possible but change the practice from physical to mental. Sending healing vibes your way! I wish there were something more I could do! You could start a thread…healing with theory. Now that would be cool….when you are feeling better.
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@Scott_NB : Great question regarding position. I have given this about 11 years of thought. The answer is both. Yes push through and adjust the guitar as needed. The perfect way to hold if I am going for both comfort and sound is a 2or3 inches from my hip resting on my leg with the guitar leaning forward 12 degrees or so making the guitar point slight toward the floor as oppossed to the way most new players play tilting the guitar toward the ceiling. The reason most new players use this uncomfortable position is because they want to see the strings and the fingers. Tilting the guitar down gives your fingers relief from the acute angles opening them up for an obtuse angle interaction. 25 degrees may not seem like much, try it out, pay attention to that high E string, see if that corrects it….the down side?….cant see what your fingers are doing. Eventually this will not matter but I relied heavily on what I could see early on in my journey so I understand its importance for learning. My son had a teacher who told him to play looking in a mirror in order to see what his fingers were doing while correcting posture. I never did it but it made sense. The next part is the tough part to say only because when I was early in the process I hated hearing it….focused time in the saddle is the only way to make it happen. Getting myself into shape for playing the guitar was like doing the Splits. Too fast or too much and get hurt. It does not happen in one day and it is more of a change in practice on a daily basis that allowed the gain in flexibility so I could make the sound I want to make. Stretching properly is as important now to me as learning theory or a new skill! This is where understanding pain vs discomfort comes into play. My tips hurt like heck when they were soft….”discomfort” (no lasting effects beyond the experience and likely necessary to advance). My shoulder, elbow, wrists, neck, back, aches past when I stop playing…Pain (leading to tendonitis). Remedy: stretching. Slow stretching where you barely feel it. This is unlike athletic stretching for sore muscles. Think silly putty…slow stretch you can barely feel and it stretches forever….too fast and it snaps. This is how I learned how to turn my arm seemingly inside out in order to play the guitar. Tension is the enemy. Playing the guitar is the practice of reducing tension while under load. As my accuracy and precsion improved my effort necessary to make the desired sound was also reduced. All effort becomes directed to sound production and there is no wasted tension. Magic! not a trick but a practice.
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There is five day challenge here that targets what you are seeking.
https://tonypolecastro.com/courses/finger-stretch-5-day-challenge/
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Hi Barbara! I read you post! There was definitely something different and then I read @Loraine ‘s post and she saw it clear as day and then I did as well. You have transformed yourself into a player….a can do player…. majorly inspiring! Take a moment, and if I were there I would pat you on the back. I recognize you BarbaraM….you may have just crossed the biggest hurdle I found in my path. Congratulations and many many thanks for sharing your journey which leads me to being a better player myself!!!
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wanna be pickers keep their guitars in their cases. Tac is a communty of Daily players of varying skills, not wanna be players. Learning yes, wanna be no. Wanna be players don’t last long with the TAC method. The two mindsets are antithetical.
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I think we are tilting on two different axis. The only way I can see more strain on the wrist if you tilted the headstock lower to the floor. I can see that would be problematic. I am talking about the flat plain of the guitar. Keep the head stock elevated to a comfortable position then tilt the guitar so that the sound hole is no longer pointing out perpendicularly but so that it is actually pointing down a little. The top of the guitar body tilts away from your body while the bottom remains in place. You will feel contact with the front edge of the guitar corner resting on you leg, the trailing edge (the one closest to the body does not touch your leg.) The extreme 90 degree shift would put the guitar face down with the strings in you lap and you woud be looking at the flat back. In this position you need zero wrist flexion! You would not hear anything obviously due to the muted strings. Some where in between the two you might find the place that you feel good about how the wrist is flexing.
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You earned it the old fashioned way Barbabara! I am just so tickled I was able to observe in darn near real time, the birth of a “Can Do Player”. Thank goodness I will never be done progressing….that would be the moment true boredom would begin its creep. I would be creeping up on speed and boredom would be creeping up on me… : )
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Hi I couldn’t tag you in the response above. I think this will give you the alert for a reply.