[jorgemac]

I don’t use metal finger pcks a lot. For some reason my finger tips don’t get sore and I don’t develop large calluses from holding down the strings. I do use mostly the padded part of my finger when finger picking but do use my short finger nails when I dig in for more sound. I do coat my right handed finger nails with fiber glass tap and nail glue on about 3/4th of the 2 fingers I use in finger picking and have to redo it every month.

James Taylor did a video on u tube regarding finger style guitar nail care that is very helpful.

[jorgemac]

When you bend/shape the 1st pick, please play a few notes with out a finger pick to see how and what part of your finger strikes the strings. The part of your finger that actually strikes the string is the part of the metal finger pick you want to strike the string first.

If you look at your hand with the palm facing up, on the right hand the thumb is on the right and the pinky is on the left. So, if you pick a note with your index finger, like I do, mostly no finger nail just the side of my finger and maybe a little nail, sometimes, the right hand side of the finger strikes the string very close to where the finger nail joins the right side of the index finger. That is where I want to make sure the metal pick strikes at a clean angle to produce a good string tone.

Put on a 1st or 2nd finger pick and pick for awhile so you can see where you have to bend and shape the metal pick. Because the picks I currently use are the metal open faced design they can be bent very easily. They usually are purchased in sets of three picks and I only use 2 finger picks and a Black Mountain thumb pick, so i have an extra finger pick that I can experiment with and learn how to make the pick bends I need when playing. As you grow used to using picks you can always make micro adjusts to your finger picks. you will learn what part of the metal pick you will need to bend to make the adjustments you want to make. Some times to get the right adjustment you may need to adjust a lower part of the metal pick to actually get the correct angle on the top side of your pick.

Pete you have worked with materials enough to know that every action you take is going to affect other parts, so keep that in mind.

If I don’t use metal finger picks for awhile I always have to make adjustments to my picks cause my string striking style might have changed slightly. l’ve had the same set for almost 3 years and they show not sign of wearing out.

[jorgemac]

Actually I appreciated your humor.

While your problem will be unique to you, it is a problem that most of us had to endure to begin to call ourselves guitar players, even if we paused and then said I’m not very good. I have finally progressed to the level that I don’t have to pause and say that any longer. I now say “oh, I play a littlebit” with a modest smile then proceed to show off a little. You will get there also, just not today….

You can do both, on the weekends I usually revisit the skills section and take something again maybe bass patterns or chords or Hybrid picking or finger style lessons. Every day seems to be a learning day for me in y guitar journey.

The TAC style of learning is great and you can progress and become a better guitar picker using it but it does not hurt to hone your skills by playing as much as you are comfortable with. If you are brand new it will take you a lot of practice in each skill to say Oh, I can play a little bit. When you do get there, Don’t forget the modest smile…

Chicks dig, it even when you are 79 years old.

[jorgemac]

Coach is right. If you develop what I call “Guide” finger as the first finger you fret in chord changes ,after a few G to C to D and back to C will become easier.

Almost all chord changes are done in pairs, ie, learn G to C backwards and forwards, then move on C to D, Then D to C and finally C back to G. Don’t forget C to F, then F to C.

[jorgemac]

I mess around with my dobro and also Pedal steel. I have always used metal finger picks. You can use needle nose pliers to shape them however you like. I currently am using Stainless steel open design finger picks that I purchased on Amazon in2023. Just checked and they are still selling them. I bought the large size. Most old timers use national finger picks.

You can shape the plastic ones by putting them in heated water until they are pliable and then u can shape them.

Trim your finger nails fairly close to your finger and shape them to arch around the shape of you finger tips. you can probably find to some your tube instruction if you want to explore more. The way I use them is called claw hammer finger picking style. Your fingers are curled in toward your palm. It is very easy to use muting with this style of finger picking.

[jorgemac]

In H.C. you are going from and C chord to the Dm

C , for me is index , middle and ring fingers with the pinky just hanging out and doing nothing, but ready to make a C7 chord by . Switching to Dm from C –

Drop the pinky onto the B/3 D note, middle finger drops down 1 string to the G/2 while the index finger drops down 1 string to cover both the E and B Strings on the 1st fret, especially the E/1 F note.

Because the ring finger is available it can also fret G/3, the Bb note in a C7 chord, or fret the D/3 F note in a Dm chord as an accent note or a fuller sounding Dm chord.

[jorgemac]

A very rewarding challenge. There are online courses but you will find out that you are going to need some tools that you currently don’t probably have. I shaped all of my own necks, made all of my own fretboards, slotted and installed all of the frets, routed and installed all the truss rods, Routed the neck joint pockets and set all of the necks. Mounted of the top X bracing and shaped the braces. Routed and installed all of the bindings and the sound hole purfling. Back then you could use wood lacquer for finishing, On and On and on. If you have the right tools it is fun. if you don’t it can be very challenging. I still have that 1st acoustic guitar build and was so proud after finishing it. It does have a great tone but i look at the quality of the work and cring.

Each build did get better in quality and performance but dealing with customers was not my strong point so I stopped building. If you do it right the amount of hours needed to build a guitar will shock you.

It is a wonderful challenge and I encourage you to approach it with your eyes open and know that there is a heck of a lot of work involved , especially if you build from scratch. Kits are much easier but they still require a great deal of patience.

[jorgemac]

Actually think it is fun. My guide is the Dan Erlewine Guitar player repair book copy of 1994 in my copy. there is a heck of a lot of information on your tube now. There wasn’t much info back then so I learned through my mistakes on my own instruments. I’ve hand built 20 guitars, 10 electric, 10 acoustic so that taught me a heck of a lot. There were only about 3 online places to buy tools and they all were overpriced as most were made by special order as there were not that many of us customers interested in specialty guitar building tools. They are still way over priced, I think. I think the 1st set of nut files were good quality but were over $50 even back then. I still have them and they are still great tools. Even learning to sharpen chisels was a learning experience. No teachers and no online instructions.

[jorgemac]

I thought about doing guitar set ups, but just helped friend out. Now that i am retired i think about starting to do it a couple of days a week but it is just a thought currently. I would have organize my garage which looks like Noah’s Ark after the flood, or organize my spare extra room which looks like the ruminants of the land after the flood. …

It is kind of nice to wake up each morning and not have my day all planned out for me like when I worked for a living.

[jorgemac]

For the E7 chord you do need to add a finger to the G string 1st fret. What I described in the last post is a Em7 chord which can be used here also.

[jorgemac]

Just thought of this. The way I make my E7 chord shape from Dm to E7 is

1st string E – open

B string 3rd fret D note’- you don’t need to move this finger from it’s Dm fingering, I make my Dm with the pinky on this string/fret and just leave it right there for the E7 chord.

Open G string- G

2nd fret D string -E

Basically just those 4 strings make up this fingering of the E7 chord.

[jorgemac]

Pete, just read your post regarding getting hooked on guitar repairs. just a warning for you.

I have a 5 foot tall, 15 drawer, Costco tool chest that has almost nothing but but guitar stuff in it, Tools, pickups, guitar necks and electric bodies, fret wire, guitar tuners, bone nuts, saddles acoustic and electric bridges, fret wire and tools to install them, abalone marker dots , neck head plates of assorted woods, pick guards. Plus 4 smaller tool boxes with more guitar tools. Of course it has taken me 30 years to accumulate this stuff and I just hope all of it finds a decent home when I’ve turned into dust in the wind…

[jorgemac]

Good luck with your mom.

I moved back from Hawaii to spend 3 enjoyable years with my mother before she left us at 95 years old. I wouldn’t change a thing of those last years, much laughter, love and simply enjoying each other.

[jorgemac]

So Cool, You will be a complete guitar junky soon. There is no cure for it…

[jorgemac]

Hey Pete, the thing about the chord shapes is that they can be walked up and down the neck.

Am – 3rd fret is Bm, 5th fret is c#m, 6th fret Dm, etc

D shape walk down 2 fret to E, 1 more fret F, 2 more frets is G, etc.

The same with the A chord shape and the E chord shape and the C7 shape.