[Loraine]

Marisa this was very cool and must be very exciting for you. Y’all sounded great together.

[Loraine]

@drbrow Congratulations on your 5 year TACiversary! I’m a lifetime member too, and I still come back nearly every day. This is where I learned all the basics and foundational skills. I think moving onto a more intermediate program is warranted, and it is encouraged as you grow in your abilities, and use your foundational skills here and to add to them as one challenges their growth and playing elsewhere.

[Loraine]

I would never know you were struggling. Well done! It was obvious you were enjoying playing and performing this.

[Loraine]

@-Rick- Damn, that was good!

[Loraine]

I never thought to change the name in YouTube ht are examples onsomehing and how you would change it? S usual, Greg job. I wish I could do a hybrid pick/ strum lik you. I’ve tried fingerpicking, but the tremors in my hand make it nrly impossible.

[Loraine]

Kevin, you are such a joy to watch nd I ten to. You put such emotion into everything you play, and you have such great voice for song ps like his. Thi was a favorite of mine growing up.

[Loraine]

@Philb Sounded great! I would think that’s a tough one. Good for you, taking on this challenge!

[Loraine]

Agree, reach out to Victoria in Support. They should be able tack it on after your 3 months end. Btw, welcome to the TAC community.

[Loraine]

Hi Steve, welcome to the TAC community! You know it just really depends on what your journey looks like to you. When I started, I was brand new to guitar and I focused just on the 30 days to play the next five chords or six chords however, many there are and then I went to the dailies, but I shortly after that started doing the skills courses and you can take them at your own leisure. It’s whatever appeals to you there’s nothing set in stone. I think the first ones I took were the jumpstart to strumming and jumpstart to finger picking and they give you actually some a song under each that you play as you’re learning it and the rest just as you want to don’t forget to take a look at the roadmap and then in the skill section look at I think it’s start here it says, but it covers the essentials like the basics that you should take. It’s very important to take the stretching because you don’t want to have an injury, which could knock you out for several months upwards of a year I for one had a tendinitis and tennis elbow and it took me out of commission for a good almost 6 months of playing so it’s very very important that you stretch and keep an eye on things and if you ever have pain stop immediately if you notice any swelling I said immediately that type of thing, especially when we’re first learning because we don’t realize how much we’re trying to stretch our hands and we just haven’t gotten the dexterity down yet

[Loraine]

You are definitely not alone. Neither the mini or full F come easily at the ger. . I agree with much of the above advice. Positioning the thumb more towards the headstock around the 2nd fret! Angling the fingers as suggested where tou are using more the the firmer side of the index on the high E and B string. The biggest reason you’re muting them all when you barre is because you flatten your fingers when you’re stretching for the 1st fret.

Suggestion is to push your elbow downwards, and slightly outwards (forward), so that your fingers automatically curve and you get added pressure on your fretting hand to help with the barre. I can’t stress enough how important it is to stretch angethe elbow downwards when barring. The added pressure is what will keep Spanish pressure on the barre. Fret the high E and B string as close to the fret, while turning a,ightly towards the headstock. This adds pressure to the fingers. You may your barring finger down. You may have to really move your body to allow for the elbow to push down. I push it out forward slightly, because this adds pressure.

The only other advice is to keep practicing, remove your fingers after every try and replace them. Before removing your fingers, really study your arm and wrist to see where the problems are, such as muted strings. Make corrections next time. When you finally can play each string cleanly, and the barre sound clean, then again stop and study the positioning of your hand and fingers.

For practice with full barre chords, I play 7 Spanish Angels, by Ray Charles and sung by Willie Nelson ,to practice barre chords, but it has more than just the full F, so wait until you learn them.

[Loraine]

Welcome to the TAC family @Shawnee56 . You have some great goals.

Just a means of support, I have major depression too. TAC and the people in the forums literally saved my life. I was a full time caregiver of my mother who had Lewy Body dementia, which is difficult because of sun downing, hallucinations, anger and physical attacks, and constantly listening to the people she was seeing and conversing with. They told her things that caused paranoia, distrust, and more. I had to literally lock us in the house, because she would wander and run away. She’d end up at random strangers homes or having bad falls all the time. I was trapped in the house, and it didn’t help that there was a lockdown from Covid. I found Tony’s advertisement and joined. I was an extremely slow learner. This did not come naturally, but I can play many of those songs and so much more. I’m still not great, but that’s my claim to fame. My dad always told me I had good form, but I wasn’t good at sports, piano, violin etc, so I simply stopped trying.

I decided early on to post the good, the bad, and the ugly. It was a great way to get me to learn and grow. I went to virtual open mics starting in my 1st or 2nd year. That was probably the most rewarding thing I’ve e done, I began playing and singing very simple 2 and 3 chord songs. It helped to have songs whose words simply matched the music, because singing and playing is extremely difficult to learn. I nearly quit at the end of my 2nd year, because I wasn’t as good as my friends.

I supplemented TAC with a private lessons, although I’ve been on hiatus since early October from a bad fall that has resulted in 2 surgeries, with the talk of a 3rd, but Ive shon myself and others my resilience in my life with major depression, dealthsmof most family in the past 8-10 years, wing a single teen parent and persevering and getting an education, and my daughter also. I’ve experienced homelessness, and so much more, but I got through it all. I’m only telling you this, because you have also proven resilience by returning, because this is something you really”y want. It’s a motivator. Depression sucks the life out of us, but we continue to fight back from it.

You seem to re Alize that guitar is not a easy instrument to play, but it’s not impossible. I’m nearing 5 years with TAC, and I know I’ve improved greatly. I’ll never be a great player or performer. But, that okay. I am having a blast learning new songs and trying out different guitars, strings, playing different guitars. I’m still having fun. I play every day, and it’s the highlight of my days.

My suggestion is to do the 30 days to play, the how it works in the skills section, and then jump into the daily challenge;

[Loraine]

Hi @drbrow I purchased it probably 4-5 years ago under the old TAC format. I’m not sure if they still have the option. But I suggest contacting Victoria in Support. Use the button at the bottom left. A chat will open up. Tell her you heard others speak of the lifetime membership and ask if it’s still available. It has more than paid for itself.

[Loraine]

I’m loving learning some of his songs. I’m the queen of lots of lyric songs. Thanks for checking it out. Maybe I’ll eventually just work a cruise ship haha. I can do Piano Man on the guitar and make it sound like a piano carnival tune?

[Loraine]

Totally agree that Elton John is a fav since I was young. His early craziness influenced me – haha Thank you for your kindness – Truly appreciate it.

[Loraine]

Hey Pete, It is very much like you mention. Often times you do have to raise the neck of the guitar in order to push the elbow down and out. I find it helps with the pressure to move my elbow outwards, while you say you pull it in to be by your ribs. If you push outward, away from your body, it force your wrist and hand to curve and gives more leverage to fret the barre. The curve of the hand puts pressure on the barre. Everyone is different, so what works for you may not work for someone else. Also, a clear barre chord doesn’t necessarily take a lot of pressure. If you find the sweet spot where the chord rings out clear, stop Anfang note the position of your hand and fingers. Also, if you think about it, most barres only need to have 2-3 strings fretted. The other strings are covered by