[Loraine]

Welcome to TAC! I think there are several people that use classical guitars for very similar reasons and I think that you’ll fit in very well here using one. I have a classical and I use it for different songs only because it is easier. It has a comfortable wider neck too and easier to fret I would actually recommend it to anyone struggling with playing because they’re smaller stature. It’s more comfortable to hold it at an angle in order to fret.

[Loraine]

@KnottyJim I have to agree that angling it more as a classical guitar is held and played should be much more comfortable and will bring your arm in and will be closer to your body over all.

[Loraine]

@pbisharkgmail-com Welcome to the TAC community!! You sound like you’re having fun and doing well. None of the lessons are meant to be perfected. It is all about progressing and continuous movement forward. You will get better just by doing a minimum 10 minutes a day on a regular schedule.

I love hearing the stories of others that are just starting their guitar journey in their older years (not elder). You can do it. It is a process, and it takes time. Keep having fun, and don’t be a stranger in the forums.

[Loraine]

@DrewBeckett It is a matter of what works for you. Typically a thinner pick is used for beginners, because they tend to death grip and strum to hard, but as your strumming becomes more fluid and you’re able to play a more quickly, you need a lighter grip and just brushing the strings. At this point, many go to the thicker, more rigid picks. It gives a more tonal sound and yiu don’t hear the slap of the pick, and you get more vibrato from the strings from a heavier one.

As for latpicking, I tend to agree with @Moose408 that the thicker, heavier ones are better. It’s easier to go faster, for accuracy, and to really get the sharp, vibrant sound from the individual strings.

When I first started playing, I bought so many varieties of makes and thicknesses. I still have most, untouched. I used the lighter

Picked for a bit, and I gradually moved up. I used <.50 for quite a while. I then hung out at around .50- .60, and at 4 years went up to around .80 – 1.00. I like a slight flex still in the pick.

[Loraine]

Lecassamdra, you do have a beautiful voice. I’m like a truck driver, and you’re a sweet songbird. I understand that raw emotion of the song, because I’ve had to deal with a lot of loss of some very special people to me. The grieving and the love bolster the beauty and emotion of a song like this. I began playing during Covid, in order to save my life and to deal with the isolation of being a caregiver to my mother with Lewy Body dementia. It was the saddest thing I’ve ever witnessed and experienced. It was the loneliest I think I’ve ever been. I had to buy keyed locks for the inside of the doors. I wore the key around my neck , so my mother couldn’t get out and get lost, fall and get disoriented. It was for her safety. She sundowned, and I had to be up all night to make sure she didn’t get hurt, and then I was up all day working, and being a full time caregiver. I became so depressed and I picked up guitar as a means of survival, and because music brought me to my happy place.

• This reply was modified 11 months, 2 weeks ago by  Loraine.

[Loraine]

@rah714hotmail-com In the beginning, it is a catch 22. You want to play so badly, and you’re having a blast, and then bam! You slice a finger, or your fingers become so tender that you can’t play. We all build our calluses the same way, and that is by playing; and yes it does hurt in the beginning, but don’t give up. Within a month, you should be on your way. It may still be slightly painful, but even those veteran players can get sore fingers if they play too long. Take it slow. Play 10-15 minutes for a day or two, then increase the time by a few minutes. And just keep at it. Just remember, the pain is temporary, and you will realize in short time that it wasn’t so bad.

They sell some type of finger covers. I think they’re rubber or acrylic. They can be worn occasionally if the fingers are that tender, or if you have a cut. I wouldn’t become too dependent on them. We need to feel the touch of the strings, in my opinion.

[Loraine]

I haven’t heard this song in quite a while. Probably since high school. Brought back memories of my mom playing it on the 8 track player or phonograph haha – can’t remember which.

[Loraine]

Hi Ron

if I’m understanding your question correctly, I believe you’re referring to the Pentatonic scale shape that’s taught. The shape or pattern of the scale is the same. It is just the placement of fingers in relation to the Key note that is different. .

It is the same shape, but your hand position, in relation to the Key note. The major scale begins with the pinky on the Key note, so your fingers are going up towards the headstock. You begin the scale with your index finger. 3 notes from the Key note. The Key note will be played with your pinky in this instance.

The minor scale uses the same Key, but you place your index finger on the key, and the rest of your fingers travel down the neck, towards the body. You begin the scale with your index also, with the first note of the scale being the Key note. .

I hope this answered your question. If not, hopefully someone else will pipe in.

Hope this answers your question.

[Loraine]

@Fletch @JulieI Beautiful. We don’t get to hear Julie sing often, at least not in the forefront. Very refreshing. Did @stevep cringe and run when he heard it was a love song?! Haha. Anyway, I don’t recall making that comment Fletch, but it’s highly likely that I did. You did a beautiful job with this. I’ve been on an Elton John, John Hyatt and John Fogelberg kick, so if an artists name begins with John, I’ve probably given their songs a go. Have you met Julie and Steve in person? That would be so cool. If not, tell me when and where, and I’ll meet up with ya. 🙂 Great to hear from you. It’s been a while.

I met Krozz & his wife Lorraine, from Nova Scotia, a couple of weeks ago. They were visiting another TAC member’s home, and it was so cool to tak to them in person and listen to some stories. They were headed to some type of song writing camp in WV. Cathy B was going to be there too.

[Loraine]

Hey @mikemelr1966gmail-com Welcome to TAC and the forums.

The so try to determine how much time and effort it will require for you to go through fretboard wizard and understand the material. So, the answer to you question is, it depends. Every person is on their own personal guitar journey. However it’s important, in my opinion, to still play your guitar on a daily basis for at least the minimum 10 minutes a day that is suggested may not seem like if those 10 minutes are going to help you continued on a forward momentum in your journey I didn’t do the daily challenges when I took fretboard wizard but I did take some individual skill courses I felt it was less pressure and stress to take them I think I took the jumpstart courses for strumming and finger picking and who is one other I can’t remember but to me they weren’t overly difficult to wear it with interfering with me also taking prep wizard and I wouldn’t spend that much time and I’d go through one lesson and practice and I might take a couple of days for that one lesson but that’s only because I wasn’t putting in a lot of time practicing it at the time

The first time I went through FBW, I was a very new player I had never played guitar before and I was not prepared for it and I did rush through the course, and I simply wanted to play the guitar at the time. I think it was a disservice to myself to 1) take it too soon, and 2. to rush through it, just for the sake of completing it. You own it for life, so what’s the rush? If I could focus (have a lot of stress in my life right now) I would definitely go back through the fretboard wizard and take my time and really try to absorb the material and the theory, etc. But I would also still pick up the guitar every day and do something just to continue that momentum I mentioned. Now, to be fair, I did learn a lot, as I’ve moved forward in my journey a lot of it clicked into place just through my lessons here attack and out in a real world playing and it’s just all of a sudden you have that moment of clarity and understand something that was taught. I do believe that fretboard wizard is something that you don’t complete. It is meant to be taken again and again, and everyone says they pick up something new every time they go through it. Many people go back to it annually I’ve been back to it one time since I still have issues focusing so I just figured it wasn’t time for me to really dive into it when I did. I was taking guitar lessons for a while, and we did some theory, which I loved.

[Loraine]

I was so pleased I watched and listened. Stew, this was the best performance of yours to date. I’m so impressed with your fingerstyle. It was so fluid, and clear. Your vocals were the strongest I’ve ever heard. And the inflection and you were feeling the music and let the lyrics guide your emotions. Absolutely loved it!!

What did you use for instruction? Was it another website, book etc? If it was another site, can you message it to me (not courteous to Tony to mention competitor sites in the forums). Or if you have the printed tab or chord sheet, can you share it with me? What was your pick pattern?

[Loraine]

Hey Ian! Where the heck have you been – hanging in the shadows, huh? Still miss seeing your torso and hearing your voice! Lol. I have a whole slew of songs to still record.

Saw the Tiana’s and even met Jim and Lorraine Crosby (I think that’s his last name) from Nova Scotia. He was passing through the area.

[Loraine]

Thank you Phil! I’ve been strumming well, but I really struggled through this, because of the pick turning, and that was even with gorilla snot. Haha

[Loraine]

Thank you! I am fighting through it actually. I have to have a 3rd surgery in the fall. I have severe nerve pain, and a bone is displaced and sitting up, and that is painful. The hand is permanently deformed.. it’s concave like a big bowl was laid on the back of my hand to the displaced bone. There is probably nothing to be done about the scar tissue. It’s tight, so a use a snake venom extractor tool to suction the skin up and I move it around to loosen it and make it bearable.

[Loraine]

Thanks so much Mark. It is long, but I absolutely love the verses in this song, and it’s fun to play. Thanks for listening and commenting. I really appreciate that.