[petelanger]

@BarbaraM I do think the comments are skewed a bit toward those who have gotten over the hump already. Personally I don’t usually post while I’m in the midst of my struggles and I had some struggles with this lick. I have the luxury of being able to do multiple sessions each day, so I divide and conquer the lick in chunks. Remember while you are struggling, you learn a lot more than while you breeze through things.

Here’s how I broke it up:

This morning I watched the first 4 minutes or so and played only the first measure. When I came back later on I added the slide. Then I realized that you go 0 – 3, then slide 3 to 5 and then 3 – 0 all on the B string. This is very symmetrical, just like the reflection in the Snow Covered Hills the [land] slide is a mirror: 0 – 3 <=> 3 – 0. So I had 2 the first 2 and a half measures memorized quickly because the first 2 beats of measure one are repeated from yesterday. Just have to add that hammer on the “3 And”.

Then, my next session I saw that in measures 4 and 5 you actually have 4 repeated “open to fret 2 hammers” on the D string. Just have a little bit in between to learn and that base walk at the end (open A – 2 – 3)

Not that I have memorized everything, but I’ve familiarized myself with the contents of the lick. Now I don’t have to keep my focus on the TAB that much while playing.

Hope that helps

[petelanger]

Tony has been playing for decades, for him it is quite effortless. For us newbs it takes a little more doing. Your pinky will get stronger and increase in dexterity if you show up regularly and play the daily challenges. I have noticed huge strides in controlling the pinky (among a host of other skills) after a year of TAC.

[petelanger]

I’m probably not your best option to explain this, since I’m a beginner myself. But I’m fully bought in to this teaching method, it works for me and there are quite a few players here who have been with TAC for 5 or more years, some over 10 years.

The daily challenge is not going to be the same for all players. Your approach will change as your skill level increases. Every day of the week addresses a different area of guitar playing:

Monday – Technique
Tuesday – Guitar Lick
Wednesday – Improvisation
Thursday – Rhythm Guitar
Friday – Chord Transition

As the lesson progresses and to some degree as the week progresses things get more difficult. But you are correct, Tony doesn’t teach you how to play complete songs If you can already play a lot of songs, much of what he teaches will allow you to “spice up” any song that you already know. Do you already know how to play all those songs you mentioned in different ways? He will give you some ideas on how to mix it up and make it more interesting.

You can take something he teaches you in almost any lesson and apply it to something completely different. He makes you an overall better player.

[petelanger]

I know there are folks with writing chops on TAC, I’m too much of a newb but I would like to follow what’s going on here.

[petelanger]

@alajg5yahoo-com yes, that is completely normal to panic the first time trying a daily challenge. Not all of them have the same degree of difficulty, but some of them are can be very difficult. They are meant to challenge players at any level. Beginners can’t possibly be good at playing the same thing experienced players are interested in doing. When I first started, often times all I could do was a single measure.

Relax, you are poking your nose down the black diamond trail in Jackson Hole Wyoming. You may want to slide down on your butt without skis the first time.

[petelanger]

There are a lot of us old guys (and girls) on here, I’m 66 and started TAC a year ago, started guitar about 18 months ago. I’m still a beginner but I’m amazed at the things I’m capable of now. Guitar is a hard instrument to learn, it just doesn’t come quickly. Just like you’re not going to knock a Nolan Ryan fastball out of the park if you had never played baseball. You would be fortunate not to get injured and it would be miraculous if you made contact with the ball in your first month of trying.

Everybody is at their own level and will learn at their own pace, no two are the same. Try to be a slightly better you tomorrow than you are today, that is the only thing you should compare yourself to.

[petelanger]

I had a big long answer typed up for you, but then I thought to myself I have no experience in teaching that lends me authority to recommend what I prescribed. They were just drills that I thought of, And you mentioned that there was no point in doing drills if you’re doing them with mistakes.

We have to learn to trust our picking hand to go where it’s supposed to go, that can only come by doing. The more regularly we can do a thing, the more frequently we can do it without error.

[petelanger]

@just-tim what @Philb said, just do what you can. Understand the Challenges are designed for players at multiple levels so naturally newer players will need to approach them on a more basic levels while the advanced folks can work on nuances way above our skill levels. Most of the Challenges will have a progression in them, the easier stuff is at the beginning of the lesson. That may be all you can do sometimes is play a single measure or only a few notes in this measure or that one. It tends to get more technical and/or just plain harder throughout the week.

I always try to find some small gain, I call them nuggets: a little portion of the challenge that I was able to do in the end that I couldn’t in the beginning. It will amaze you as you watch Tony introduce the challenge and you might think to yourself: “No way, that’s so far out of my wheelhouse!” and then 5 minutes later you are starting to get it under your fingers! Once I have had a little light bulb moment like that I have my takeaway. Always mark complete, you don’t have to play all the way through to call it complete!

[petelanger]

Welcome to TAC! Have you found the intro courses? I’m not exactly sure where you are at. Have you completed the 30 Days:
Here: https://tonypolecastro.com/courses/30-days-to-play/

After that you go to https://tonypolecastro.com/courses/5-day-guitar-routine-challenge/

If this is too elementary for you perhaps you want to jump into the Skill courses
https://tonypolecastro.com/skills/

After 30 days you will get invited into the Daily Challenges

[petelanger]

Congrats on your milestone! Sweet consistency!

[petelanger]

Beautiful!

[petelanger]

So my comment above is kind of off topic so here’s my follow up. Tony often asks for input from students to reply with examples where the technique or skill being taught is used. It would be nice if those replies would actually be read by someone and feedback given.

@J.T.

I support the idea that you suggested. That would be the next best thing to actually having an interactive site with communication between the instructor and the student. Tony could remain absent from TAC and would only have to record a dozen or so new videos with the content mentioned above.

I would also suggest that J.T. change his username because it can’t be referenced. The system cuts off after the first dot and doesn’t see the rest of the username. It references @J. which is a different user who is no longer active.

[petelanger]

Where the biggest struggle is in the guitar challenge (the part you keep flubbing over and over, just can’t seem to get it under your fingers = dislike for most players), there lies the biggest opportunity for growth. And it happens without you needing to perfect the challenge. Just give it a solid try and do the parts that you can.

[petelanger]

Also, keep in mind that you can convert to lifetime anytime during the first year of membership. I did this after about 10 months. You have to buy the lifetime, And then they (Victoria) will refund you the cost of the annual immediately. So it effectively costs you $100 to go from annual to lifetime. I realize it’s annoying that you can’t enter the daily challenges immediately, but a couple of weeks up or down will not be of any consequence in the long term.

[petelanger]

I know what you mean. The videos themselves are often more than 10 minutes. I saw that my sessions were going 30 – 45 minutes. So I’ve kind of tweaked my routine that way so as not to be on it for so long at one time. I don’t waste time pulling my guitar out, my mini sits on a stand next to me at arms reach in my office. Soon I’ll have it hanging on the wall behind me along with it’s friends Mr. Electric, Mrs. Fullsize Acoustic and baby Mandolin.

I’ll spend 5 minutes or so just watching the main part of the LEARN video (this is usually at the beginning. I might skip over parts where he’s chit-chatting or explaining TAC which I already understand. I might not even grab my guitar and if I do I might noodle on it for a few minutes on a small section of today’s challenge or something from the past and then set it aside. I’ll come back later in the day to actually tackle today’s Challenge.

If I have opportunity I will repeat the second session once or twice during the day while watching more of the learn video. In the evening while watching a show I might grab one of the guitars and go over parts or all of the weeks Challenges.