[punder]

@Bill_S I second the theory idea. Also, you might work on learning the fretboard. I’ve found it helps to search out and practice all the BCDs and EFGs, eventually it helps you find your way around more easily no matter what other method you use.

Good luck with the shoulder, I was looking at that for a while too.

[punder]

@Ping also, the main thing you want to concentrate on at this point isn’t how clean you can play the chord, or how well you mute the unplayed strings, but just getting your fingers on the right spots. Buzzy chords are part of the territory for beginners—it’s frustrating, but there it is…

I might be wrong, a more experienced player might advise you to get those chords ringing clearly ASAP. But it seems to me that will come naturally with repetition. Guitar requires vast (sometimes seemingly infinite) amounts of patience! 😵

[punder]

Something that’s helped me lately is to pick a few chords that really give me trouble, and just hammer on them (no pun intended) in progressions for several minutes every day. Seems like other, easier chords get a little better as a side benefit.

The problem chords I picked are the full four-finger G, Dm, and Bm (the one with index on high E fret 2). I still can’t get the ring/pinky combo down reliably, but it’s getting better. I do D-G-E-E-G-A-A-G-E (“runnin down a dream”, try it!) and then do G-Dm and G-Bm, over… and over… and over. It’s tough but I do see almost daily improvement, both in these chords and the easier ones that get less work.

[punder]

@Loraine I’m paid up here and will continue to use the site for awhile, but… something important went away from the place. The old free-wheeling forum was a serious motivator. This new straightjacket of a forum isn’t.

Of course not everyone feels this way, good for them. And you know, an online guitar instruction site isn’t the hill I care to die on 🙂 but, yeah, just not feeling the fellowship, or the motivation, that used to exist here. And I’ve certainly tried to plug back in since starting to play again. I get your frustration.

[punder]

Thanks all!

[punder]

Thanks y’all. Confirmed, my doctor now thinks I had myalgia caused by rosuvastatin (Crestor) and has agreed I should stay off cholesterol meds for the next few months to see what happens, and if my cholesterol shoots up, I should go on a much lower dose of a different drug. So NOT a conspiracy theory. 😃 I’m playing again and feeling better every day.

[punder]

We’re cat people but we adopted a Boxer a few years ago and that damn dog (Ted) was the smartest, sweetest, most beautiful animal ever. Despite being perfectly capable of ripping my arm out of the socket and taking the leash with it. My heart is still broken.

[punder]

@the-old-coach Hey Mark, the runnin-down-a-dream thing is an awful lot of fun too. Just sounds really cool, almost like it was written by somebody who knew what he was doing 😃 So it’s very satisfying when you can start speeding it up.

My whole thing lately has been serious back to basics. So easy to get caught up in the “must move ahead” mindset, which I’ve done, and I realized I needed to bang on some fundamentals for a while. @Ping you might try something similar to see if it works for you.

[punder]

Thanks man!

Can you imagine, in the Year of Our Lord 2022, an Internet forum WITHOUT A LIKE BUTTON? Yeah. No, neither can I.

[punder]

Thanks Mark! Yeah, good to hear from you dude.

After so long off I decided to go seriously back to fundamentals, doing only two things each day: working through “Guitar Chords and Accompaniment” by Yoichi Arakawa, a verrrry basic but methodical, old-school book; and learning the notes on the fretboard using a repetitive technique I saw on YT. After several days of repeating the same exercise over and over, I’m seeing definite improvement getting to that dang open B7, always a weak point for me. Fretboard… well, it’s a process! 😆 Planning on starting back with the daily challenges on Monday. Baby steps, but absolutely necessary.

Still have pain but it’s manageable. I also have “winged scapula” on the same side as my hurty shoulder, so my PT has started concentrating on that. Still… it’s a serious win to play again, even if I have to break it up into 5-minute bites. You know, I hardly know anyone my age who isn’t “broken” in some way. That’s life!

Good luck to your wife! Rotator cuff? Who designed the darn thing, anyway? I’d like to have a word. 🤨

[punder]

Hi Moonhare (awesome moniker by the way), I have a cousin who’s played country guitar professionally since the 70s, and he started lap steel a few years ago—said it was quite a challenge. But it probably wouldn’t be any more challenging than “normal” guitar for me at this point. 🙂

Reminds me of a funny saying I heard recently. I’m more of a rock guy but it really cracked me up. “He plays both kinds of music—Country AND Western.”

Those Fender Acoustasonics look and sound awesome. A bit out of my budget at the moment but I would sure would love to have one someday.

[punder]

Thanks Mark—Yep my arm gets sore at night—no way around it. Starting a new round of PT on Dec 21, looking forward to it. Fingers crossed… just like when I play, ha! Good to hear from ya!

[punder]

Geordie, my little cheapie strat knock-off is my go-too at the moment. Amazing how small and thin it is. Does seem to be helping. Good luck with the tendinitis!

[punder]

Thanks stevieblues. Hangin in!

[punder]

Thanks Loraine! We had a work department lunch a few weeks ago and all eight of us had some sort of musculoskeletal problem—my mountain-biking boss just had back surgery! So, definitely not alone. Thanks for the good wishes!