[jorgemac]

On the home page for todays challenge you can bring up previous lessons by using the previous lessons calendar located below the start of today’s lesson.

[jorgemac]

Pete, the Taylor 214ce-N Nylon-string Acoustic-electric Guitar is supposed to be a good choice for a starter Nylon string guitar . The new ones are $900, take your time and Look for a used one.

[jorgemac]

That was just…special. Ol John P is smiling somewhere and laughing and enjoying your take on his song. Thanks

[jorgemac]

The number refers to the String thickness or string gauge. The higher the numbers the heaver gauge the strings are. Since you usually play with smaller bodied guitars you might think of using a lighter gauge. 11/53 or even 10/48. I usually play with 12/53 or 12.5/53 and change my strings probably once a month. That gauge is still considered light gauge by some guitar string manufacturer’s . The lighter gauge strings, 10/48 or 11/53 Don’t have as strong of a tone as the 12/53’s and do sound OK on the smaller bodied guitars.

The smaller gauge string can be easier on fingering positions for people with hand issues. If you have a guitar tuner you might just take the strings down a note to Treble to Bass string tuning position D, A, F, C, G, D tuning . The strings will not have as much string tension so this will be easier to finger. See if it helps you be more comfortable when practicing using your 12/53 strings. As you basically play guitar for and by yourself you can use the same chord fingers you always use but will not have as much tension on the chord fingering positions.

The coated strings last longer and do not lose tone as fast as regular strings, but do cost more. I have one parlor and also a mini Taylor that I play quite often but I do have them strung up to 12/53. I just like the tone better with the heavier gauge and don’t have arthritis or any other hand issues. As I have said on other threads I do exercise regularly with the therapeutic squeeze ball and the Chinese steel balls that Loraine suggested to me. She says they have helped here with co-ordination and strength. It was a struggle to get used to the Steel ball exercises but I do use them regularly.

[jorgemac]

Hey Pete, first just address me as Mac, that is what family and friends call me. Whatever floats your boat is the way for you to finger strings. If it works for you it is perfect.

When finger picking or using Hybrid picking I Do finger differently than when using a pick. When making the G chord I us my thumb on the bass E 3rd fret and it hangs over the Bass E enough to lightly touch the A string so it doesn’t ring out. I picked this up from some finger picking books and From Tony as he doesn’t always use the A string in his G chords.

My ring finger is on B/3 and the pinky is on E/3. For texture on the G chord i do release the ring finger and play the B string open and sometimes the the ring finger is up on D/3 for dominant 7th or D/4 for major 7th. When Transitioning to the D chord my ring finger is my anchor finger and does not move during the chord move to D. The middle finger is moved to E/2 and the index finger goes to G/2. Most of the time The thumb has moved down 1 fret, closer to the nut, to F# and becomes the bass note for the D chord.

It’s very easy to slide the ring finger down 1 fret to B/2 and for me, to move the middle finger to D/2 and the index to G/2 or leave the G string open for a A7. I practice so much that the 1st position chords are pretty natural to my hands and fingers now. If I stop picking every day it is weird how fast the muscle memory goes away, but it does return fairly quickly.

[jorgemac]

I use chinese steel balls and a theraputic squeeze ball to help strengthen and work the fingers. When I used to watch TV I had a guitar in my hands and formed different major and minor chords over and over and over in different keys.

[jorgemac]

Thanks Pete for the specifics.

[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.