[ScottM]

I’m not sure why some scales are easier to find than others. But I made a graphic for myself of the ones Tony shows in that challenge that I’m happy to share.

[ScottM]

I second the idea about trying the Skills Courses too. Sometimes after a frustrating Daily Challenge lesson when I feel like I got nowhere, I go to the Skill Courses and do one or a few of those. At least then when I’m done I feel like I made some progress learning something.

[ScottM]

Absolutely feel the same way! In fact I just commented about that in a forum post yesterday. I don’t have experience with either of the guitars you mentioned, but I have an acoustic and an electric guitar, and I often practice with the electric unplugged just to try to be quieter. My wife says she’d love to hear me play some songs for her someday, but I cringe at the idea that she’s hearing the noise I’m making while I’m practicing to someday get good enough to do it. I envy those who have a secluded studio or soundproof practice area! I often drop my pick because I’m holding it so lightly while I’m strumming to try to not be too loud, and I think that’s probably a bad habit to get into. It’s easy to say “get over it”, but harder to do.

I guess my response isn’t really helpful, but you’re definitely not alone!

[ScottM]

Someone else here can probably answer this better than me, but I’ll give it a shot. A “hammer-on” is basically hitting the fretboard hard enough with the tip of a finger on your fretting hand so that the string rings out, as if you had plucked it with the pick or your finger of your strumming hand. If you try doing it with just one strong finger by itself, you should see what I mean. The more solid the hit, the more the note rings out.

When trying it on this week’s Daily Challenge with my pinky though, it’s basically inaudible. My pinky is still too weak to make it ring out while I’m fretting other notes with the other fingers.

The first time I ever did it at all was on the high E string with an open D chord, where the fingers are bunched together, so you can focus the energy on the string and the other fingers kind of help pull against the one you’re trying to hammer on. For that chord, try hammering the pinky onto the 3rd fret to add a higher note, or pull off and then hammer on the middle finger on the 2nd fret to try a finger with a little more strength.

Hope that helps. It seems to be an often-used technique that’s worth getting good at.

[ScottM]

Very cool, and congrats on the win! Sounds like a great idea, and good motivation. I hate practicing when my wife is home, and I’d never even consider going outside where the neighbors could hear the noise I’m making right now. 😜 Maybe going on the back porch next year for International Play on the Porch Day would help motivate me to get better!

[ScottM]

Also, after the initial “30 Day Challenge”, do the “5-Day Challenge” next. This is the introductory set of the regular “Daily Challenge” courses, and will explain how those regular challenges work.

I did that 30-day Challenge, then the 5-day, then the Fretboard Wizard before I started the Daily Challenges. You should periodically repeat the Fretboard Wizard every few months to help the lessons sink in, the things discussed in there will relate to things in the Daily Challenges, and will help it all make sense. Personally, I enjoyed the Fretboard Wizard the most of everything so far. I think understanding those concepts will help make everything else fit together better in my head.

[ScottM]

They’re all there on the right side under the videos. The icon next to the heart/favorite icon. Wednesday also has the backing track there for download.

[ScottM]

Matthew,

I’m also new here, having started with TAC at the end of June. Plenty of good responses here already, I’ll just add my beginner’s perspective. From what I can tell, the 30-day Challenge you did is step one, but then you should follow up with the “5-Day Routine” challenge. It’s located in the navigation area on the left, and is a separate course from the regular weekly 5-day challenges. I don’t know if it would help you now, but it seems like from your post that maybe you skipped that. It’s an introduction into how the regular weekly 5-day challenges work, and how best to use them.

I think each of the regular 5-day challenges are in a constant rotation, with no particular “start” other than the beginning of each week. If you miss a week, that course will eventually make the rotation and come around again. So I would just pick up at the current week and go from there. For me, I’ve been working on them each day as they come, moving on to the next one everyday (even if I don’t feel I fully got it that day…) Then on the weekend I try to go back over them again quicker as a refresher. As others have pointed out, the goal of the TAC method is ongoing momentum, not daily mastery. You keep going on the lessons, and when a given 5-day course comes around again, you should have a better understanding of the concepts, and hopefully be a little more proficient at the skills, so you can get more out of the lessons.

Best of luck on your journey!

[ScottM]

I’m still in the beginner stage, but yes, I believe that’s another way to play a G chord. If you watch a live performance of the Eagles playing “Lyin’ Eyes”, that’s how Glenn Frey plays it. I’ve also heard that referred to as a “Bluegrass” version, since you’re not fretting the B string at all, and it makes the chord sound a little twangy. It’s also the way to play it across the neck in the CAGED system, so I don’t think it’s a bad idea to be familiar with playing it that way. Personally, it’s crazy awkward when I try to play it like that, but I think a lot of it is just muscle memory and how you get used to doing it.

[ScottM]

I agree. The jump from the 30-day and 5-day routines to the regular Daily Challenges seems like a bigger step than what there should be for a beginner. I did the Fretboard Wizard before starting the Daily Challenges, and while the concepts of FW went well in my head, the Daily Challenges have been much more frustrating as far as execution on the guitar. I’m still new here, but I think doing the TAC program, along with something else more toward learning specific songs at the same time, would help with overall motivation. Tony stresses “small wins”, but the reward of perfecting a technique that you’re “going to use again someday” is a different feeling than the reward of playing a familiar song through.

[ScottM]

On Thursday’s lesson, just below the video on the right side, is an icon to download the TAB pdf file. It’s at https://tonypolecastro.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Take-A-Look-At-My-Life.pdf

[ScottM]

I was hoping to hear I’m not the only one doing it this way, but you’re right, I should probably at least keep trying it both ways. Thanks for the reply.

[ScottM]

Thanks Pete. I try to focus on the bigger picture, but don’t want to get into the habit of something if it’s “wrong”. It sounds like this might just be a personal preference thing, but I’ll try to do it his way sometimes too. Maybe it will become more comfortable. I appreciate the response, and how active you seem to be around here.