[jorgemac]

Thanks Ben64, good tip.

[jorgemac]

Pete I’ve only been using the 4 finger G chord fingering since I joined this site. Before I always use the folk fingering for the G chords. But it seems to be an easier chord change from G to D and back to g with the 4 finger G. The ring finger is on the B/3 position and the pinky on the E/3, so when I transfer to the D chord fingering I leave the middle finger on B/3( 0r D note) and just reposition the index and the middle finger to G/2 and E/2. This leaves the pinky available to hits the bass note F# on the D string 4th fret. for a fuller sounding D chord. So if I got back to the G chord that ring finger is still on B/3 and makes it easy to reposition the other fingers to complete the G chord position.

For C to D the ring finger is always on the root note and can move up or down from A/3(C chord root) to the D chord root on B/3 down 3 strings. that again makes the C to D an easy transistion. Those are guide finger positions for me.

[jorgemac]

Bill is being modest as he can play a mean guitar and has great guitar chops. I’m sure he has paid his dues and has accumulated many, many practice hours to reach his picking level. But most of us OG’s do feel we should be better than we are and continue to enjoy the journey needed to improve out chops.

[jorgemac]

All of us have this problem when learning to hammer on and get a clean tone. The finger you are using to hammer on with needs to strike the new fret position at a 90 degree angle, the finger tip right below the finger nail should be firmly pressing the string down to the fret board and it is landing very close to the new fret. Not the middle of the fret. Practice on the open G, B or treble E. Pick the open string note and with your index finger press quickly and firmly down on the 2nd fret board. When that becomes comfortable Move the index finger to the 2nd fret of the G string and Pick and hammer on using the middle finer on the 4th fret of the G string. Practice that position until you are comfortable and achieving a clean tone. a lot of folk and country pickers hammer on the open D string to the 2nd fret E note when playing an C chord. If you learn to hammer on to that note while fingering a C chord you are well on the way to learning hammer on’s.

[jorgemac]

I’ve picked guitar for a long time and it took me forever to learn to “shape my fingers as Bill suggested in his reply. That simple, yet hard, at times to accomplish fingering will help you play much cleaner. As Bill suggested you may need to adjust your wrist angle and move the palm of your hand, up or down or closer to the neck. The thumb may need to be firmly repositioned also.

My finger tips are almost at a 90 degree angle to the fretboard when I am playing really clean chords tones. I do not use the fatty part of my finger but the actual tip close to my finger nail when I am chording correctly.

When playing electric guitar you can learn sloppy habits that do not transfer well to the thicker necks of acoustic guitars. The angle of the guitar neck from horizontal to more of an upward angle can also change your finger positions. Classical guitarist learned long ago that a steep neck angle helps hand and finger positions. There are some chords that I need to almost use the “classical” angle on to achieve a cleaner tone. Hope this helps you.

[jorgemac]

I have way too many guitars and the next i buy will be the last one I’ll ever buy… maybe. I built 10 acoustic and 10 electrics and sold them back in the mid 90’s, just got tired of the hassle with people always trying to get something for nothing , got discussed and stopped building guitars. i do all of my own simple repairs- changing strings, nut saddles , neck adjustments, replace, and try to repair acoustic pickup systems, repair cracks,etc, etc. I do have a Ernie Ball rechargeable tuner peg tool that helps to make string changes very easy. I buy guitar strings in bulk and cut the cost of strings almost in half. Since I am now retired I’m always looking for things to improve on my guitars. It keeps me off the streets and out of trouble …

[jorgemac]

Thanks Mark, sometimes, as you stated, mistakes can be… wait a minute, that is so wrong but sounds so right. I have found s few “passing along style chords” that way leading to the next chord in your progression. The other day I was trying to find a way, in C chord progression by adding a Bb major 7th chord as a passing chord to an A minor chord and worked and worked on it and couldn’t make it work, for some reason I tried an Bb arpeggio instead of strumming, but keeping the same rhythm beat as the strumming pattern and it worked beautifully. That all came about from a strumming mistake as the pick caught on the B/3 instead of completing and upstroke strum. sometimes your sooo bad that your are good.

[jorgemac]

Pete, I may be more advanced that most of the pickers we share information with but my main advantage is I know the fretboard. Fingering positions come through practice but knowing where all of the different notes are on the fretboard and how to use that information to form chords in different areas of the fretboard is strength of mine. If you know how many E notes are on the fretboard between an open neck and the 5th fret, or A notes or D notes or G notes is a good way to start to becoming a better guitar player. 10 minutes a day transferring a progression like C, F, G and A minor to a 5th fret starting position on the fret board taught me a heck of a lot about how to play. Take your favorite progressions and start them above the 5th fret for a few minutes a day. It will teach you a heck of a lot of valuable guitar info. think of the Hotel California Monday exercise and starting with an A minor shape on the 10th fret using only the Treble E, B and G strings of your guitar. A perfect learning exercise for utilizing the upper frets for chord shapes. You can do that exercise using those 3 strings and if you transfer the D minor and the E 7th above the 5th fret you all of those chords on the treble strings and learn a lot of guitar info especially if you callout each note of the chord strings you are picking. I didn’t take any course, just studied a couple of books and practiced that info a lot. I preach it all the time, learn the fret board and it does open up a lot of different ways to play.

[jorgemac]

Also the E to B7 to the A chord is an easy transition. E minor is open Bass E string, A/2, D/2 to B7 – A/2, D/1, G/2, then slide those 3 string positions down toward the floor to D/2, G/2 and B/2. I try to keep my chord shapes as uncomplicated as I can, in 1st or farmer chords positions.

[jorgemac]

Sometimes you can take that stationary finger and slide it up or down the string a fret or two and still use it as the anchor finger on a new chord shape. I use that on the D to A chord change- ring finger or the F to A minor and C- index finger.

[jorgemac]

Pete, that is close to how I started to doing this exercise back when dirt was small pebbles. Thanks for the input.

[jorgemac]

Toying with the idea of hollowing out a portion of my home made foot stool and placing a acoustic style pick up inside and run to an amp for a tapping tone/sound. Idea is in the early stages… I do find the classical position is more comfortable sometimes and do use it when I have a finger stretch that is a little beyond my normal range.

[jorgemac]

Hey KW, what brand amp did you buy. I’m always up for new gadgets.

[jorgemac]

I am a long way away from being called computer literate. At nearly 80 I picked up the some computer skills just to keep up at work. I don’t know the ends and outs of any other computer skills so all of this is very interesting and also very foreign to my skills and my brain. I like the pedal idea and will follow that thread with ya’ll. I will also have to check out the PDF file thingy. I definitely do have way to many binders full of guitar info and am always switching from one binder to another throughout the practice day.

[jorgemac]

Thanks for the reply. What you said about performers going through the mental then physical acts needed to remember how to put a song together makes sense. I hadn’t thought about the procedures you mentally go through when prepping to play a song. Again I just barge in and begin picking, make some mistakes and then start again until I am organized enough to put the tune together. that’s probably tied into the fact that i pick most of my tunes by myself, at home and don’t have to be organized. I definitely would not call myself a performing guitarist. I would like to get to that level so those are things to think about and work out before hand. I am definitely weak in the organization department of practice or just noodling around trying to find new progressions to develop.