N-lightMike
Forum Replies Created
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Hello @elisabethajgmail-com ;
So, I think @Kitman ‘s response is great and covers much of the subject. Many smaller people adopt the classical position as it is much more ergonomic.
However, as Kit said, pushing the neck forward is another way to relieve that stress on the shoulder of the right arm going around the guitar.
I think Kit’s exercises might be one of the best things you could do because the most important thing is to get rid of all tension.
Finally, it is true that playing with a strap standing up completely changes the whole thing. One of the reasons is that the guitar will tilt and won’t be straight up and down. That doesn’t matter. What matters is that you keep your head tall and don’t look at the fretboard. That way, you will learn to be a better guitar player. And when you are learning something, you only have to bend over and look at the fretboard for a short period of time.
So again, the most important: keep you head up and don’t look at the fretboard.
One last thought: if all else fails, get a smaller guitar. Smaller bodies help, but especially thinner bodied guitars are much easier.
MG 😀
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Hey @Philb ;
That was excellent. I really enjoyed that little instrumental. I felt like you really captured the feeling of “Watching the Rain”.
It’s not that hard to come up with some things that sound cool. The hard thing is to remember what you played so you can play it again. What you’ve got here is truly wonderful. Thanks for posting.
MG 😀
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This really is a break through, @GerryB56 .
So you mentioned the “plateau”. One of the ways we beat the plateaus and keep them from becoming ruts is that we now are aware of the large world of music and have so many ways to keep our journey fresh.
And, of course, this new break through opens doors for you. You can post videos online. That’s a whole nother gigantic rabbit hole.
And then of course, recording yourself helps you to improve in your guitar technique.
Congratulations, Gerry.
MG 😀
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Awesome @1Dean , flat picking is a great skill to have and a great way to spice up any rhythm.
MG 😀
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Yes, @Mrfredsporty , C and D are the major chords in the key of G. The easier way to figure it out is that the major chords in any key are always the 1st, 4th and 5th.
See my comment under the old coach’s small win about playing chords in reverse: Chords – (or in this case – sdrohC)
MG 😀
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No question about it, @Mrfredsporty . It’s simple mechanics. When you have, or even pretend to have, more confidence, you push the air out of your lungs harder. That means you have greater pressure going through your voice box and you can make the note you intend instead of something that’s not quite what you wanted.
MG 😀
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Wow, @jumpinjeff , what a wonderful “small” win. That’s about as good as it gets, but then to do it every month? You have been given a gift of music for sure.
MG 😀
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Wow, @Guitargeezer-Jack , you are really having a stellar guitar journey. You are incorporating your guitar and playing into your active life. That’s so cool.
MG 😀
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That’s great, @stevieblues . Keep up the great work.
MG 😀
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Hey @the-old-coach ;
Here’s my take on practicing chords by group:
1st, you are learning chords for sure, and that’s important. There is a big however here.
However, you may never use all those chords. What’s important is to know all the chords in a song. Now, all the chords in a key are usually not in a single song. And songs can and frequently do, contain chords that are from outside the key.
But here’s the thing that your small win highlights: being able to “make” a chord is partly dependent upon what chord you are coming from. So there is a lot of connections you are making that are arbitrary. Now, this might give you an edge in writing songs with unusual chord progressions. It’s tough to say anything in music is actually wrong, but somethings can be ineffective.
The keys are very simple: Start with any of your major chords and go in order. A, B, C, etc. But play them in the pattern of Major, minor, minor, Major, Major, minor, diminished, Major. That’s it. Now, you can give them names: 1 Major, 2 minor, 3 minor, 4 Major, 5 Major, 6 minor, 7 dim. That way you can put in the 4th note and make 7 chords. The 1 and 4 get a major 7. The rest get a minor 7. This is frequently and incorrectly called a dominant 7 chord. The 5 chord is the dominant chord, whether it is a triad or a 7 chord. So the only “dominant 7” chord is a 5 chord with the 4th note.
Sus chords don’t have the 3rd. So if you add the 2 or 4, or the 9 or 11 (the same notes an octave higher), and it still has the 3rd, it is an add 2 or add 4 or add 9 or add 11.
So, I would advise practicing your chords in keys. However, even then, I wouldn’t go in order. I would play them in what ever order sounds good to you. This is music, not sports. It’s all about the sound.
Here are your keys. There are 12 of them. That’s all. Any other number comes from a misinformed and confused person. There are 15 key signatures because 3 of the keys are enharmonic, that is they have 2 names.
MG 😀
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Oh, you just said the magic words, Jack @Guitargeezer-Jack , less busy. It’s also more pleasant as far as the weather goes. I’m not a fan of hot.
MG 😀
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I’m sure glad we have notifications back, Jack @Guitargeezer-Jack . Yeah, I feel a special closeness to you since we have met in real life. It makes a huge difference. I would like to make it down there again sometime. I know we talked about July, but I think we need to wait till later in the season. Maybe late summer/early fall. Like September?
MG 😀
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Yeah, you gotta love those super low bass voices. It’s crazy how low some of these guys can go. But also, I love the arrangement of these 4 young people. Guitar, banjo, fiddle, acoustic bass. It just sounds so great. An acoustic guitar dream sound.
MG 😀
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This is not a crazy idea, @the-old-coach , rather it is exactly what we are supposed to be doing. We learn slowly at the beginning. That beginning doesn’t have to be very long. Just till our fingers have figured out what they are supposed to do. Then, we move on. We explore, we try different things, we go fast, we go slow, who cares what we do, just as long as we have fun. “Mistakes” help us learn. Apparently, that is part of the unconscious process. Always remember, if you are acting like a kid, you are in the zone. They are the “experts” at learning.
MG 😀