petelanger
Forum Replies Created
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It will all make a bit more sense after you’ve done it for a few weeks. This is the simplest program there is because all you do is show up and do the daily lesson, Mark it complete once you have tried for at least 10 minutes, then do whatever you want. Please don’t put high expectations on yourself! These are designed for players at all levels from beginner to expert. There has to be a degree of difficulty to aspire to. I couldn’t do more than a few measures at first, and very poorly at that. This is normal!
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Update: it has taken me a while to attack the guitar nut and the high frets because my Mom (who is 93) has had a lot of health issues and I’ve been shuttling her around to various appointments.
The nut fabrication worked out quite well. I didn’t buy the premium nut files so it was a slow process with the cheap ones but it’s very functional and I learned the process so that’s a win. I was able to correct a lot of the anomalies due to the 2 high frets with a fret hammer, but fixing this completely is going to require removing some metal off the 16th fret and I’m still not equipped to do this properly and safely.
Mostly I’m pleased that I’m overcoming my reluctance to work on my guitar at this level. Glad that I have sort of a beater to use as my guinea pig.
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Check out the warmup exercise in the skills section:
https://tonypolecastro.com/courses/guitar-players-daily-stretch-guide/And the 5 Day Barre Chord challenge (will come around in Oct every year):
https://tonypolecastro.com/lessons/day-1-limbering-up-3/
https://tonypolecastro.com/exercise/e-shape-familiarity/
https://tonypolecastro.com/exercise/a-shape-familiarity/
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@richard-hedgesgmail-com yeah I remember having the same thing when I started, but I thought it was because I finished the 30 Days in 20 days and confused the system. Eventually it stopped and I just got the Daily Challenge screen.
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@martyepp I’m with @jumpinjeff to go ahead and do whatever works for you right now. As you move on you will find yourself attempting different ways to approach your playing and the things that seemed hard and didn’t make sense are suddenly doable and make more sense. I will always attempt to do what Tony suggests and then make my own decision. Sometimes I’ll stick with his method, other times I choose another way
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I just remembered that when I switched from the thinner picks (0.46mm and 0.71mm) to the medium (0.96mm and 1.2mm it took a bit of adjustment. I was uncomfortable with them for a few days, but then I started preferring the feel. They’re easier to hang on to and give you better control with a clearer and stronger tone.
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@Bayvu2
I’m about 2 years in to playing guitar, my 2 year TACiversary is July 3rd. Early on I favored thin picks, but after a while I realized that you have less control and they produce a bit of noise due to the bending of the pick. My favorite now is about a 1mm (0.96).Players will change to thin or thick picks depending on the style of playing and the sound they are wanting to create. Generally for more accuracy you will need a stiffer pick. They are also more durable, but if you are only playing 10 minutes daily that probably won’t be a factor for you
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@JILLC please don’t worry about the F-ing mini F! Just leave out the low E string entirely for now. It sounds very similar, especially if you manage to not strum that string or position your index finger just lightly over the E-string so it’s muted).
Every player struggles with that chord and with several of the barre chord shapes along with a few other open shapes as well. You must try to find some enjoyment in the journey! We don’t have a Scotty to beam us into the universe where we’re excellent players.
Don’t forget that you ARE LEARNING when you struggle! And conversely, if you’re not struggling, you’re probably not learning very much (quite possibly nothing at all)!
The most important thing is that you come to play your minimum 10 minutes every day. Do your best on the challenge, mark it complete! You should only “practice” beyond that if it’s enjoyable, so probably don’t go to the mini F all of time or at least not for an entire practice session. Do something enjoyable that you learned in a Challenge recently or whatever pleases you!
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I had the same feeling with the pic when I started 2 years ago. Fortunately I didn’t know how to fingerpick or strum with just my natural extensions so I struggled through. Over time you just get more comfortable with the pic. In the beginning I used a thin (o.46 mm) as this helped me to not scrape the strings so much. You might find it useful too, but don’t get hooked on them. You really need to move to stronger pics to play properly, the sooner you transition the easier it is. 1.2 mm is good but I’ll use the 0.96 mm most of the time.
When I’m doing the daily challenges I make a point of looking away from my picking hand as much as possible. Sure I’ll have to look to start off but I don’t let my gaze linger. You have to train your hand to find the strings without looking. The same goes for fingerpicking, the more you do it, the less mistakes you’ll make.
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Well done, Braden! Lovin’ your rhythm, that really flowed right there!
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This whole week is a palm muting extravaganza! Guess you didn’t see that coming!
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Lots of people plow through those because they aren’t total beginners. See if this link works for you: https://tonypolecastro.com/lessons/pot-of-gold-2-2-2-2/
You should get an email invite next Monday.
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Do what you gotta do to make it work. Always try the stretch, lifting the neck of the guitar can help get better hand position. Also try moving the exercise up the neck where the frets are closer together.
Some might tune their guitars down 2 half steps and slap on a Capo on the second fret, now you’re still playing the same notes if you move up.
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Just jump in where everyone else is, we start Hotel California benchmark week tomorrow. TAC isn’t a linear program, it’s cyclical. You’ll be fine starting at any time in the program because it’s made that way. Some weeks are tougher than others, but they aren’t organized from easy to hard. Just do your best!
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You don’t have to do anything different. TAC is the simplest program, ever. (Not easy, there’s a difference between simple and easy). Just show up every week day and the goal is set for the day. This holds true for benchmark weeks and all other weeks.
Every month a benchmark song will come into the rotation of the TAC daily challenges. Next week we’ll start Hotel Calif (known here as 5* Hotel-BM3). The following month it will be Old Man-BM4, then Ain’t No Sunshine-BM1 and finally Wagon Wheel-BM2. These four BM weeks repeat over and over throughout the year, since there are 4, you’ll see each one 3 times per year.