[N-lightMike]

That’s way cool, @Guitargeezer-Jack , costume and all. You are really pulling out the stops. 😂

Have fun and travel safe on your trip. Sounds like a great time.

I remember “Wooly Bully” as that was the first music that I “bought”. Mom paid for it, but it was at my request.

MG 😀

[N-lightMike]

Hummmm, this is interesting @speckpgh .

So, I would take this guitar into the shop and tell whoever is at the counter what’s going on. I don’t know about your local shop, but when I have had a confounding problem that was possibly an “easy” fix, someone would start checking it out on the spot. It would go into the luthier only if they couldn’t figure it out. This sounds like you might not have gotten the string into the bridge hole properly and/or the bridge pin isn’t seated correctly… maybe. Or the saddle slipped out? Or maybe the nut moved? I’m stretching here, but it maybe something that can be found without a lot of difficulty for someone with experience.

Anyway, just my random thoughts. I hope you get it fixed. I hope you can find a rental, or one you can borrow, or an appropriate, inexpensive one. Something like that?

MG 😀

[N-lightMike]

Hey @J.Dubs ;

So, the “big picture”. The big picture is so simple that we adults miss it all the time. Think like a kid. Just jamming away, with no thought of how good they are or are not. No thought of comparison with someone else, or how fast they should learn. Nothing. Nothing but jamming away with intense joy.

So, how do you get adults to do that? Well, you spoon feed them some skills exercises and tell them the only rule is to have fun. There is no end goal. The skills courses can help, but they are rather limited. You won’t get where you’re trying to get by working on mastering any technique. In fact, if you’re anything like me, you don’t even know where you’re going. You just want to play guitar.

Everyone who’s been here 2 or 3 months can look back and tell you that somehow, seemingly magically, their guitar skills have improved. Put in the effort and a little bit of time and these dailies will make you a better guitar player. And the less you understand how they can do that the better they seem to work.

So, the “big picture” is to keep doing exactly what you’re doing. What did you say? You’re playing everyday? I guess it’s working. Having fun? That’s enough. Turn the brain off. Go jam on your guitar. If you are playing everyday and having fun, you will get better. That’s all there is to the big picture. And trust me, everyone one of us wondered the same at the beginning. Is this all? Aren’t I supposed to do something… harder, more complicated… shouldn’t I be able to feel my guitar muscles growing by the day? It’s easy to look back and laugh at myself now. Enjoy the journey. It’s a fun ride. I have improved in under 3 years more than I used think was possible for me.

MG 😀

[N-lightMike]

Yeah, right? My YouTube subscriptions are way out of hand. The solution? Clear your history once in a while and bye bye subscriptions. 😮 You gotta start again. Well, you can remember the ones you used a lot. And the ones you didn’t? Well, I guess you didn’t need them, or maybe you’ll rediscover them at some point. 🤔

It all works out. 😊

MG 😀

[N-lightMike]

Oh hello @Mrfredsporty ;

I love it. Someone willing to ask a lot of questions. That’s the best way to make quick advancement. Good for you.

Ok, so I love what @Bill_Brown said about using the meaty part of the index. I have learned to push my index farther up, but after reading what you said, Bill, I have experimented with moving it even farther up. That seems to work really well.

The problem with the B string is that it falls in between the 2 joints of the index and there is a natural depression there for many of us. When I have this problem, I have learned to push my index higher so the middle joint pushes against that string.

That having been said, I am going to start using Bill’s method as that seems more reliable during the experimenting I have been doing.

MG 😀

[N-lightMike]

Yeah, so @Mrfredsporty ;

I’m very glad that @Bill_Brown was able to give you something that you found valuable. But I would like to take a stab at filling out the picture for you.

When I joined, I wanted to do finger style also. In fact, I didn’t want to use a pick at all. I did use a flat pick for the flat pick lessons for a long time. At least a year and a half, if not closer to 2 years. And I really put some effort into some of the beginner finger picking songs. But somehow, I still didn’t feel like I had my direction and goal.

There are so many different ways to finger pick, so many different styles, and all I was learning was a few specific patterns that hardly scratched the surface of the larger picture.

As I sit here thinking about how I can explain this, I am reminded of an intention I had previously. And that is to make a YouTube video about finger picking. Cause, how do I explain in words what can be difficult to demonstrate? I will come back and link to my video, which I will post in the “Show Us Your Routine” section.

But in the meantime, I can make suggestions for the TAC “warmups”, which Tony now calls “Technique”, that will help you develop the skills to play guitar using finger picking like others play using strumming. What I mean is, playing chords, playing rhythm, but no using a specific pattern. But like strumming, your fingers have to start somewhere.

Now these lessons used to have the designation WU for “warm up”. I haven’t saved all these, but I printed them out and have hard copies, so I can give you the name. Before Tony started adding new ones, there were 30 of them. All the odd numbered ones were flat picking (FLP), and all the even numbered ones were finger picking (FP).

The first FP is WU2. That’s a really good exercise to learn alternating thumb.

Then there is WU1, which is for flat pick. However, if you are going to play with your fingers you need to know how to do alternate picking. Tony demonstrates this in “Tax Refund New Guitar Day“. Once you know how to use your thumb and index to alternate pick, then the flat picking exercises can be used for general finger picking skill.

Then there is WU4, which is a great exercise to learn one of the best 4/4 time alternate thumb finger picking patterns.

The only other thing I would suggest here is to use all three fingers. Tony has the WU12, Ring Finger Roll, and the WU26, Ring Finger Roundup, that help to get the ring finger involved.

The final thing I will say here is to do all the flat picking lessons with your fingers. Figure out how to do everything others do with a flat pick with your fingers.

I hope this helps.

MG 😀

[N-lightMike]

Hey @BobbyJ

I know your question has already been answered, and with conviction. But, when I saw @Bill_Brown ‘s answer, I was reminded of some of the specifics of Fretboard Wizard. I had already gained quite a bit of knowledge about music theory. First, it was still a lot of separate pieces. Second, that knowledge never touched the guitar. It was like whatever knowledge I had of music theory and whatever knowledge I had of the fretboard were 2 different things. The FW course put everything together for me and my understanding just took off. I started watching tons of YouTube videos and actually understanding them completely and able to plug in the new tidbits into this wholistic picture Tony had given me through this course.

Anyway, I just wanted to say that.

MG 😀

[N-lightMike]

I hate that I can’t give you a like. What a cool song. You really have a gift for song writing. And I love that you have found a different sound. This is amazing and so relatable. I just can’t say enough about how much I like your this song and all your songs. Thanks for posting.

MG 😀

[N-lightMike]

Hello @Joemama ;

The problem with all the numbers you mention is that different luthiers have different numbers. You would have to get your numbers from Martin specifically for that guitar in order to be able to trust them. “Proper” set up is very different for different types of guitars. Setting up a guitar is one of those things that’s more of an art than a science. Your saddle should be above the bridge more than “barely”.

However, for now, what you have works. You will have difficulty in the future and eventually have to get another saddle. As the guitar ages and as the weather changes, you may not have enough clearance to keep the strings from buzzing. If you were to decide you wanted to try lighter strings, you’d have a problem. Until any of these things (or other problems I haven’t thought of) occur, you are all good. Have fun.

MG 😀

[N-lightMike]

Amen, @Mrfredsporty , Amen. 🤣

MG 😀

[N-lightMike]

Hey @Bill_Brown ;

We all have slight variations in our anatomy, including our hands. And, we have differences in preferences. So, we all end up doing things a little bit different when it comes to guitar. What works for one person, may also work for you, or it may not. I am like you in this instance. I never got good at getting my index barre in exactly the right position to mute the 6 string, partly because I had to make it go higher. So I learned to pick the correct string. I didn’t used to be very accurate when strumming, but I find I am much more accurate now without even trying. But I have been focusing on finger picking since I started with TAC. Now, I even do the flat picking lessons without a pick. My choice. And I strum without a pick. But, (yeah, there’s always a but, isn’t there?) but, I find I don’t get the same jingle jangle from my 12 string without a pick, so I have gone back to using a pick when I play my 12. And, I usually strum the 12, at least for now. I can finger pick it, but it’s more challenging. And I can make barre chords on the 12, but again, it’s more challenging. So I have decided to keep it simple when I use my 12. Simple songs, simple strumming, but I get the “special sauce” from the jingle jangle.

Anyway, I am going to be doing a “routine” video here pretty soon. It’ll probably be my TACiversary by the time I get around to it. It’s only a month away.

MG 😀

[N-lightMike]

Hey @Mrfredsporty , I’m glad you found my comment useful.

Playing melody is something I have done with songs I have learned by rote, like the songs in the Song Vault. As far as just picking out the melody as you play without learning a song by rote, I am a long way from that. What I do know is that the farther down the finger picking road I have gone, the more independent and natural my picking has become. My fingers and thumb seem to be able to do their own thing without having to synchronize.

And “Travis” style, as far as I can tell, is a very broad range that basically means “alternating thumb”. There are a number of different categories within alternating thumb. That’s one of the things I will cover in my video when I get around to doing it.

MG 😀

[N-lightMike]

Thank you @Loraine . I absolutely love the new lessons Tony releases each month. So glad I was willing to stick with TAC to see where it was going. 😁

MG 😀

[N-lightMike]

I use my guitar to figure out what notes I am singing. It was a very slow and tedious process at the beginning, but now, I pretty much know where to start. I tend to sing somewhere in the range of a D, open 4th string, to and A, 2nd fret, 3rd string. Of course, my range is much larger than that, but if I don’t purposely come up with a more interesting melody, that’s where I tend to sing. Now that I live in North Carolina where the allergies are off the charts, I can only count on singing from B3, 2nd fret, 5th string, to E4, open 1st string, which is an octave plus a perfect 4th. Sometimes I can go down to the A and up to the F#. Other times, the B and E are pushing it.

Anyway, congrats on working on improving all aspects of your craft. You definitely qualify to be called a singer/songwriter. Keep cranking out those amazing songs and lyrics.

MG 😀

[N-lightMike]

You, yourself, Darren, right from the start, became one of the ones that help others. It’s a wonderful thing to be able to give back. It’s what makes this community so special and helpful. Thanks.

MG 😀