petelanger
Forum Replies Created
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Thanks for your message earlier, I tried to give it a good reply but I didn’t even check to see where you are in your guitar journey. I might have answered differently if I had looked knowing the perspective that you are asking from. From the looks of things you are about a year behind me in TAC because I joined at the beginning of July in ’24.
Just take the weeks as they come. Those first 2 intro courses (30 Day & 5 Day) are foundational and build on what has been learned before. Not so with the Daily challenges where can enter anywhere, the weeks don’t build on the previous week, the learning is much more cyclical or circular if you will. You are correct, the difficulty from week to week may vary a great deal. But most weeks are layered where beginners can take the top layer and more advanced players can dig deeper.
It’s great that you have a rhythm background, that will help you a great deal since many of us didn’t have that foundation.
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Hello Lisa,
I am Peter, have been a member for about 14 months and I spend a lot of time on this site, learning guitar and also helping others. Your questions are so basic and most of the answers are all available from the homepage of TAC.
Have you read through the Quickstart Guide?
https://tonypolecastro.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/TAC_User_Guide-v5.pdf
If not I would suggest starting there and then come back and ask more questions, I will look for your reply and give a response without delay.
About the 10 minute thing. Yes it is possible to learn to play with 10 minutes a day. But things will go much faster for you if you can devote a bit more than that. I think 20 to 25 minutes should suffice quite nicely, since there is a video to watch and action to take.
You could break things up, watch 5 minutes of video and then play your guitar for 5 minutes and be done for the day. Pick up again the next day and repeat. It would work but not totally practical.
As you advance through the 30 days and then the 5 Day intro courses, you will develop your own learning schedule. Personally I spend about 20-30 minutes every morning and I usually come back once or twice later in the day and often I’ll take one of my guitars and play it while I’m watching TV
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I’m not sure @BarbaraM . BTW it’s 4 time through for me also. In the beginning the timing was crazy hard for me, but now it’s coming so much easier as I have learned where to place each finger when it’s just standing by waiting for the next move.
My focus has always been more on the percussive plucks than the “slap” which I kind of just did with a lot less thought. For me it just works, I rarely will push the strings down to hit the frets, the noise for me comes mainly from my nails hitting the strings. I don’t think it matters terribly much, the sound of the percussive strike is going to vary based on your instrument. 🙂
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I remember my mom singing Clementine to me as a child!
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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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Yes I’m sure and no it’s not my screen ratio. Ctrl +/- lets you adjust the ratio:
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Yes, using the pinky finger is how I’ve been doing it. I posted a video in the benchmark progress forum.
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I think a Fender thin would be 0.018″, or 0.46 mm.
0.08 is more than 2mm which is like a popsicle stick, lol!
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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!