[punder]

I tried to re-install a broken bridge, and it was a complete catastrophe—SPROINGGGGG! And my day job is “mechanical designer.” How humiliating. I salute you, Cadgirl.

[punder]

I am 6-1 with medium sized hands. Just started playing again (and watching the forums) after months off with a rotor cuff injury. I have a fat Tele, a cheap LP knock-off, and a cheap Taylor Mini knock-off (among others that are gathering dust on the String Swings). I’ve really gravitated to the shorter scale lengths, and in fact the little travel acoustic is the most comfortable guitar I own. But I can’t imagine there is any way to predict this—everyone is built differently and you’ll just have to try them out. So my advice is… a wash. NEVERMIND. 🙂 Short answer: buy many guitars! 🙂 You’re going to anyway, you know. It’s impossible not to.

• This reply was modified 4 years, 3 months ago by  punder.

[punder]

If you’d like to try a GS Mini knockoff at a fraction of the price, look at the Harley Benton GS-Travel Mahogany. I had to have mine set up (the “Colorado Hump”) and the very experienced luthier was impressed with it. Easy and fun to play, and cheap enough that you won’t feel bad if you accidentally drop it into the campfire. 🙂

[punder]

Hi Claudia,

I took four months off from guitar last year because I was so discouraged with my progress. It’s an understandable reaction. But it doesn’t help. Guitar is HARD, there is no way around that fact.

Fortunately there are ways to deal with it!

First, go ahead and do each daily exercise… but slow down. I mean WAY down. Way slower than Tony’s minimum speed. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Don’t even consider perfecting the exercise. Put in some time and move on.

Second, find a few finger exercises you can repeat each day. Do them slowly for a few days or weeks until you can do them reliably, then (and only then) start building speed with a metronome.

Third, search YouTube for “three chord songs” and, again, go slow. When you find a chord transition difficult, focus for a few minutes every day on that single transition between the two chords.

This stuff IS difficult. But difficult problems can be overcome with regular, consistent practice. Sad but true. (Gratuitous Metallica reference)

[punder]

Seems utterly obvious, but it surprised me when it actually happened… if you practice the same thing every day (for me right now, it’s mostly Forked Deer), you WILL get faster. Guaranteed. It is MAGIC.

Yeah, I can be slow on the uptake. You can “know” something intellectually, and still not get it until reality thumps you on the forehead.

[punder]

Gord001, if you are a pilot, you’ve had to learn, remember, and act on a lot of difficult things, many of which depend on simple boring memorization. I suggest approaching the guitar with the same mindset you used to get and maintain your ppl.

Seriously, if you learned to decode an old-school metar, you most definitely can learn the fretboard. 😆

Take the Fretboard Wizard course. Other than the daily drill, it is the flagship product of this site, imho. Also, look at Ricky Comiskey on YouTube. He has some excellent shortcuts for learning the notes.

[punder]

I tried practicing with a cup of coffee but decided it was just too difficult, and went back to a regular flat pick.

[punder]

Great win!

I think this is a perfect place to link this video comparing a cheap rig with one that costs 30 times as much. It’s electric but the point still stands.

Gear is fun. But music isn’t about gear, it’s about expression!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6K61yBRFMk

[punder]

Way to go Loraine!!

[punder]

Hey Mark,

I’ve been forced to stand because of some back and arm pain. It wasn’t nearly as hard as I remember it being! I have no idea why.

[punder]

Hi Luke,

I think the main value of the daily challenges are that they

-help you build a practice habit (I can’t go a day now without picking up the guitar and at least laughing at the impossibility of doing today’s challenge; you sound farther along so probably don’t have that problem!)

-expose you to playing aspects that might lie outside your comfort zone or current focus

-provide a “spiral development path” to gradual improvement, in that each challenge will come around again, and you’ll be better at it next time.

[punder]

Cool! Good luck!

Also want to add, progress DOES happen—it’s inevitable—and when you realize it, it’s magical. I took a few days off (ongoing arm/back trouble) and when I picked up again, my transition to the full F chord had improved dramatically. It’s like your muscles and nerves can figure things out by themselves, if you just keep giving them a little direction. Magic!

[punder]

Here is another good one, ignore the clickbaity title. Simple and straightforward, I’m going to try it. (But I have a feeling it will take multiple methods to finally nail the notes.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppM7UaSJ_JQ&list=PL9woy2mDmsBl0Vmnrg8F0pZFDVwi44ZcZ&index=8

If the link doesn’t work, YouTube samjamguitar, <b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;”><yt-formatted-string force-default-style=”” enable-empty-style-class=””>Memorize The Guitar Fretboard In 5 Minutes</yt-formatted-string>

Also, for the open strings, I just remember “eed gah-bee” (EADGBE), it’s shorter!

[punder]

I learned to fly at KAPA! And to keep this on track… I feel flying and guitar require similar sorts of commitment! Although the penalty for failure is a lot smaller for guitar. 😃

[punder]

Mark, consider yourself lucky. We once had a neighbor who fired up a chainsaw at 2am and walked up and down the street daring people to come out and turn it off for him.

He also howled at the moon—literally—on a regular basis.

Poor guy.

We moved…