[Skyman911]

The curling finger is pretty typical for new players. Mine still curls a bit, but not nearly as bad as when I first started. I’m 5 years in. The one big thing that helped me, was a shorter scale guitar. Most are 25.5 inches. I’ve been playing Martin short scale guitars for a couple of years now. All mine are 24.9 inches. It doesn’t seem like much, but it makes a huge difference. Also, practice will still be your best bet. Your fingers will eventually change.

[Skyman911]

I’m not into classical guitar, however I prefer to play fingerstyle. I have a love hate relationship with picks. Mostly hate. However as not to limit myself while still in the beginner/intermediate stage, I decided to be more diligent using a pick. I usually start out my playing using a pick, and end with fingerstyle tunes. I’m trying to get 30% to 40% of my playing using the pick. I’ve been doing this for about a year now. I’m improving…Slowly. Now that opens up a whole new Pandora’s box. What pick to use. They all vary in tone and playability.

[Skyman911]

Looks like you were having fun. Thanks for sharing.

[Skyman911]

One of my teachers was all about comfort, and wanted me to play in a comfortable way for me. Everyone has a different shape, different arm lengths, fingers, etc.. He was a classical guy, so he really wanted me to hold the classical way with the guitar on my left knee, and the guitar pointing almost straight up, legs spread. That wasn’t working for me, and that was just fine with him. My only suggestion is not to fall into the mindset that there is one way to hold a guitar. Try some different positions. It certainly won’t hurt. For me personally, I use a strap almost exclusively, mostly to stop bending forward and hunching while playing. Keeping the strap close to tight keeps me in a good posture. I also like to stand and play sometimes, and I’m surprised how much more difficult it is.

[Skyman911]

My warmups are pretty simple, and mostly involve doing various scales to loosen my fingers up. I do stretch before playing as well. Tony’s warmup routine has some great stretching exercises. That’s pretty much enough to get me playing.

[Skyman911]

You’re lucky to have the best therapy ever. Your guitar. It’s inspiring to see you persevere.

[Skyman911]

My only advice is, don’t force it. Last thing you need is an injury. Just keep trying the best you can. You could always throw a capo on and move up the fretboard where the frets are a bit closer together. Practice there for a bit and then remove the capo. My pinky also curves towards my ring finger as well.

• This reply was modified 1 year, 1 month ago by  Skyman911.

[Skyman911]

Tricky song. Nice job with it. I turned 64 this year!

[Skyman911]

I think your small win is the fact that you can recognize this, and still keep guitar in your mind. Next week WILL be better. Just keep showing up. Life can get crazy busy sometimes and this is probably a big reason a lot of people quit. I think most people can realistically find 10 minutes to play. Even if it’s not doing one of the daily challenges. Just picking up the guitar and playing a few notes or chords is all really. Getting in the habit of trying to play everyday is the key.

[Skyman911]

Well regarding the arm pain, yes and no. You shouldn’t get pain while playing. Fatigue yes. Pain suggests something else possibly. The first thing I would look at is your guitar. Does it fit you well? Many factors can come into play. Neck shape, thickness, scale, body size and shape. When I first started I thought most guitars were the same. Started out with a large dreadnought with a chunky neck. It was hard to play, and did cause pain in my lower forearm. Fast forward to today, and I’ve found what neck shapes and sizes work for me. Apologies if you’ve already been down this road.

[Skyman911]

After your accident, you were back playing much faster than I expected. Knowing you, I’m sure you’ll recover even quicker this time. Life can sure get hard sometimes. So glad the guitar can keep you grounded, and you have a happy place to escape to. May the guitar gods watch over you.

[Skyman911]

Big win in my book. Goes to show the power of consistency, and your brain subconsciously knowing the tone of the high E after thousands of tuning sessions. Gotta love that feeling.

[Skyman911]

The great thing about this course is, you don’t need to “fret” about missing a daily challenge. They come back around throughout the year. New content is slowly introduced. TAC was a great platform to get me in the habit of committing to play everyday. Even if it is only 10 minutes. Today, I play everyday for at least an hour, more if I don’t have the family distractions. I don’t always to the daily challenges, and that’s OK. I don’t ever feel like I’m behind, or not caught up because the purpose of TAC is constant progress. @petelanger nailed it with his description. I do have Fretboard Wizard, and have gone through it twice now. Will probably go through it quite a few more times, as every time something else clicks. There’s actually a pretty big correlation between Fretboard Wizard and TAC. After you’ve gone through Fretboard Wizard a couple of times, you’ll notice on the next daily challenge you do. Play Happy!

• This reply was modified 1 year, 1 month ago by  Skyman911.

[Skyman911]

You must be retired. 🙂

[Skyman911]

@petelanger, well, you’ve got more guts than me. I’m still too hesitant to post anything of me playing.