petelanger
Forum Replies Created
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@SplashAndrew in the beginning you will be tempted to go with thin picks like 0.46 mm or 0.71 mm because they feel easier to handle and don’t “catch” on the strings as much. I think that’s fine very early on as you are learning basic mechanics of strumming but don’t stay with the thin ones long. Within a few months you should start training yourself to use a thicker one.
As your strumming improves you just touch the strings with the very tips without digging in which is the proper technique you are typically looking for. I’m using a 0.96 mm pick now but sometimes I’ll go to a 1.2 mm.
The thinner picks are rather noisy (think “playing cards on a bicycle wheel”) so not only do you want to improve your strumming technique, you also want a purer sound without noise from a vibrating pick.
I’m a fairly new player, I’m sure some more experienced players will chime in. There are also different shaped picks and some with alternate gripping features. I’ve been sticking with the traditional “rounded pie shape” and have gotten used to it.
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Sorry this happened to you! I have also lost streaks when I believed I shouldn’t have. I was just coming here to celebrate my win: I finally caught up to my longest streak! Yay!
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Thanks for the tip @Bill1am. I programmed a pomodoro timer a few years back when I was learning Python so I’m familiar with the concept.
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If I remember correctly, the 5 Day Challenge does not become available until you’ve completed the 30 Days to Play. But I do recall being able to go through multiple days of 30 Days to Play in one day. I completed the 30 Days to Play and the 5 Day Challenge in about 25 days.
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Lots of free sources, start with YouTube. I joined Ultimate Guitar, they run specials where it’s $25 annually, don’t pay full price!
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@buzzcarla-cgmail-com I am also a member of Ultimate Guitar, I haven’t used the app, I just login on my laptop. I do have a collection of chord sheets and Tabs downloaded, but playing songs hasn’t really been too much on my radar. I’m trying to get to a point where learning songs would come quickly because I don’t want to spend weeks trying to learn a song and have this be a detriment to my TAC journey.
I use UG to learn riffs that I like and just have fun with playing those. I know full songs will be there when I’m ready. That’s just me, everybody has their own guitar journey. Rock on!
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I don’t know how long you have been playing but from your question it would seem not very long. You will get used to it! One instructor suggested to always carry a pick in your pocket in order to get comfortable with it. I can’t say I heeded his advice, but it definitely feels more natural in my hand after about 18 months of playing than it used to in the beginning.
There are a good many variations in picks and you might try some different kinds to see if something speaks to you.
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So I definitely intend to learn barre chords and have already played (or rather formed) a number of them successfully. But it’s interesting that you always have options on the guitar, in other words, there are workarounds. Andy Summers never played them at all:
“I’ve never played a barre chord in my life. I hate them”
During the interview, Summers touched upon how add9 chords with no major or minor third became one of the staples of his playing style. He said:
“And very purposely so. I mean, a lot of things influence one in life, and you can point it back to where it came from, as I often cite Béla Bartók. I had studied Bartók at college, so it was sort of already in my bag, where you could express chords without using the minor or major third, but instead use the added second or the ninth.”
“And this became very much a part of the style I used in the Police. I’ve never played a barre chord in my life. I hate them. You don’t need more than two or three notes to express a chord.”
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Yeah the G was definitely one of the harder in the group of first 10 chords that I learned. Not as bad as the B7, but harder than the C and the E.
Yes the E chord! It didn’t seem hard while learning to play it, but then months later I discovered I was frequently muting the G string.
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Might look at using a capo as well to help you move further up the neck to the narrower frets.
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ROFL 🙂
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Just discovered this old thread! 4 1/2 years ago, sorry for reviving it but it’s a topic close to my heart.
The platform apparently changed and TAC members weren’t too happy about it. I’ve been trying to find some engagement here since I joined 14 months ago. I like the teaching, the challenges are solid, but I often feel like I’m in a vacuum. I try to post everyday in the forums and I comment in the Challenges practically every day. Sadly it seems to fall mostly on deaf ears. Wish that something could be done to liven things up!
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@Skyman911 while the sound may not be identical to the full barre chord, not using them didn’t stop the Police from selling 75,000,000 records while only recording 5 Studio Albums
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The notebook isn’t my everyday GO TO. It started out that way but I realized that unless I had a proper stand for it, it wasn’t going to work. Two months in I switched to OneNote for daily challenges where I copy and paste the TABs in and type my notes as needed.
I’m not so much an old school guy when it comes to computers, I worked in IT for most of the last 20 years of my work life.