[Marquita]

@DavidScroggins – Nice fingerpicking! You have a light touch which makes the sound so sweet. Thanks for sharing this Lullaby.

[Marquita]

@Daniel_Morin – all you ‘gotta’ do is act naturally! Love those runs. Great job!

[Marquita]

@Daniel_Morin, it’s always a pleasure listening to you play and sing. This song is one I recall from my younger years… thanks for stirring my memory!

[Marquita]

I love this! You have improved in confidence for certain! As to your comments of appearing to be snoozing ~~ I have to say this:
Boy, if you were “snoozing” then we like your snoring! haha! This is a guy who sings and plays guitar in his sleep.
Great Job Alfred! Please Keep posting!

[Marquita]

Hi @andy_e,

It was hard for me to skip lessons everyday because of sore fingertips, so I listened, watched and marked the lesson as a “favorite”, knowing that I needed to try at a later time. I would placed my fingers on the frets but didn’t apply pressure. After a couple of days or even a week, I could go back to the lesson, listen to it and played along with the lesson at the lowest speed. Because I had focused my attention on listening and watching, I understood the lesson better. After a month, I didn’t give it a second thought. I hope all ideas put together will give you something that works well for you.

• This reply was modified 4 years, 9 months ago by  Marquita.

[Marquita]

@robertlambe302@gmail.com, I read where you want to play like Billy Strings. I looked up his Biography and found that he was born in 1992. His father and uncle were both a great influence as they were accomplished musicians and surrounded him with acoustic music practically from birth. When he was 4, Billy asked for a guitar, his wise dad bought him one that cost a mere $25 which he learned to play. When he turned 6 years, he joined his dad at bluegrass picking parties. He got the nickname Billy Strings from his aunt. He was playing an electric guitar in middle school in a heavy metal band, but realized it was leading him down the wrong road. He’s only 28 now and if my math is right he’s been around playing for 22 years. Most people want to play well right away. Have faith. My recommendations are
1) take heart stay determined… don’t let your expectations defeat your desire.
2) Stay on the path. Lessons that don’t seem logical to a beginner will turn out to be treasured as you progress in understanding.
3) Enjoy each day of playing. Find something little that you did differently than the day before and keep a journal.
4) Each lesson, listen attentively to instructions re: fretting hand as well as the picking hand. I make notations under the music that I print out and practice them one measure at a time. It may not seem at the moment that it applies to me, but just followed the good guidance and encouragement others give… Then suddenly, the magic happens.
I noticed how my playing has improved and how I can recognize chords I couldn’t imagine even 9 months ago. This is because of TAC. Do take advantage of the skills that are offered. And find simple songs at first to use what you are learning. I hear so many different levels of achievement at the VOMs… and so many different styles of playing and songs.
By the way, we’ve all gone through slumps… Falling into that hole wasn’t fun, but climbing back out, was the best thing I’ve ever done.

[Marquita]

@Daniel_Morin, Lovely as usual! I would have loved to been there Sunday, so thanks for posting this!!!

[Marquita]

Sounds good, as usual, @Daniel_Morin!

I love how your timing and the chording is spot on. I know there are words to that song and it must be delightful! Thank you again for posting! It’s always a pleasure to hear you play!

[Marquita]

I hadn’t thought of that… I use mine for larger muscle groups but at a lower velocity should be able to work on forearms and maybe thenar muscle at the base of the thumb. I’ll surely give it a try. Thanks!

[Marquita]

I couldn’t find lyrics under this spelling or sound. Is this an original?

[Marquita]

No, I think I’m too old to be frustrated about almost anything…BUT: I remembered how this started: opening a jug of juice over a week ago. I didn’t put 2 and 2 together until I tried to open a jar of Spaghetti sauce tonight and the light bulb went off. The pain was in the same places I’ve noted when playing. I’ll keep working at it @Loraine! I hope to sit in at least for the FNL. We’ll see how it goes. Maybe with a little more rest and stretches, things will calm down enough to play soon.

[Marquita]

Ah, @Loraine, Unfortunately I am on the injured list at the moment. Yes, I am trying to play but have to learn to make chords without using the middle finger of my fretting hand until I get clearance from my doctor. I can’t get an appointment for a while and a phone visit will simply not do for this situation. I’m not going to give up.
I just can’t spend the time I was, to work through a song to present. I can only do what I can do without causing more damage. My practice plan has been altered by this but not stopped. I cannot change chords quickly or if it’s a scale – my middle finger gets overused. I have to be patient – I aware I’m older, and Arthritis is a part of life – but it won’t define me. I just have to do my due diligence and be mindful of how I use my upper body down to my fingers. It’s so true that it all connects and impacts other parts. I try to keep maintain good posture and body mechanics to avoid flareups – it’s worth the outcome.🤗 The stretching helps a ton! Take care and hope to see you at the VOMs.

[Marquita]

I agree. Mine has 5 heads and the smallest, softest head helps more. I think I’m about 60% better after using it. I plan to heal fast with the twice daily stretch routine plus my thera-gun to loosen tighter biceps/triceps. and the smaller, soft head to loosen the smaller muscles around the wrist and hand. Even helped on the medial and lateral sides of my fingers… I am so grateful, @jumpinjeff, that you took the time to mention it to me… it’s working…🤗🖐

[Marquita]

I agree. Mine has 5 heads and the smallest, softest head helps more. I think I’m about 60% better after using it. I plan to heal fast with the twice daily stretch routine plus my thera-gun to loosen tighter biceps/triceps. and the smaller, soft head to loosen the smaller muscles around the wrist and hand. Even helped on the medial and lateral sides of my fingers… I am so grateful, @jumpinjeff, that you took the time to mention it to me… it’s working…🤗🖐

[Marquita]

Thank you so much, @Jumpin’ Jeff~ my hands 🙌and forearms are screaming mad at me… I need to give them some TLC…so I can play comfortably…🎸