[JohnV]

Hi Stevie. If you have an assortment of picks, try the thinnest one first (.5mm – .7mm). It will be the most forgiving and provide a smoother glide over the strings. Once you get the hang of strumming, you can move up to a thicker pick. Why move up if you get the hang of a thin pick? Well, does a painter only use one color to create a portrait? A thicker pick will product a different tone. In general, thin picks produce bright clicky tones. Thicker picks produce mellower tones. But that is for further down your journey. Enjoy!

[JohnV]

If you miss a month, it will come back as these lessons are repeated once or twice each year.

[JohnV]

Most of us past and current members were only aware of those members who posted regularly on the forums. We forget about the thousands of members who for the first time in their life are picking up a guitar and wanting to learn how to play. This is where I think the redesign of the website was being driven from. They may have felt being left behind. And if they are the majority of subscribers, I think it is in Tony’s business interest to make sure he does not leave them behind.

But, I too have a lot of trouble connecting the daily challenges to real world use. I love the Song Vault but I do have a complaint about it. As good as the teaching and simplicity of some the songs are, I can hardly find another version on youtube that is the arraignment Tony presents. But then again, many of those on youtube are lightyears beyond my ability. The good thing is with Tony’s arraignments I can at least learn a complete song even if it is different than what everyone else may be playing.

So, my conclusion, TAC is not for everyone and does not serve everyone’s needs. I suspect it does serve the silent majority very well.

John

[JohnV]

What kind of guitar do you have? Is the string action low or high (is it hard to fret strings because it may need a professional setup)? What kind and gauge of strings do you have (a coated string or lighter gauge string may be a short term help)?

Bill_Brown is right, sometimes it just hurts. I still get pain in my fingers after years of playing.

[JohnV]

The key to using a capo is to use one with an adjustable clamp. You should only use enough force to allow the strings to ring clearly. The spring loaded capos often apply too much pressure pulling the strings sharp. This is made worse when you have high string action.

• This reply was modified 4 years, 9 months ago by  JohnV.

[JohnV]

Try sanding the pick to give your fingers something to grab on too.

[JohnV]

Alisa has a good point. If you have a relatively inexpensive guitar or an old one and you are having difficulty fretting notes, it might not be a bad idea to have it set up by a reputable luthier. If the guitar does not need major neck surgery, a good professional set up should improve playability dramatically.

[JohnV]

Contact Godin and see if they have any recommendations.

[JohnV]

I would just continue with the current lessons. The ones missed will cycle around again in the next few months. I don’t know if there is still a “guitar giveaway” for completing every lesson during a month. That was my motivation in the past but I never won.

John

[JohnV]

Excellent!

[JohnV]

Get a budget ukulele and learn that for the next few weeks. It’s a lot easier on the hands.

[JohnV]

that was fantastic!

[JohnV]

Hi Amanda. I would say, unless there is specific reason to use a particular finger, then I say use the one that is most comfortable for you to use.

There are times when in the course of a chord progression that uses melody lines you may need to use a certain fingering to move to the next note in the melody.

The thing I struggle with is consistency. So I tend to confuse myself when muscle memory has not fully engaged.

[JohnV]

Did you remove the saddle and put it back in reversed? Most saddles are compensated where the b string goes across. If the compensation is where the a string is, then it’s reveresed. Loosen your strings almost to the point of fIling off so you can remove and re-insert the saddle in the correct position.

• This reply was modified 4 years, 10 months ago by  JohnV.

[JohnV]

I love my 2013 314ce.