[Loraine]

That’s absolutely amazing, isn’t it @kjipaulson74yahoo-com ? Welcome to the TAC community, and congratulations on starting the 30 days to play course and completing your first week. That was such a fun week as I remember it. I knew absolutely nothing about guitars when I started, so I can relate to the enthusiasm I felt at being able to play something so quickly. It was inspiring. Keep us posted as to how your doing, and I hope you enjoy your guitar journey. Remember, you will have some ups and downs during your learning., but for any down or frustrating periods, just remember they’re temporary and you will continue to progress by simply working through everything.

As a note, TAC is a platform of progress over perfection. Give the lessons a good go for at least a minimum of 10 minutes per day, mark them complete. You can still work on them, but don’t get stuck on them if you don’t feel you’ve grasped it completely or have mastered it. Keep moving forwad with the lessons. You can revisit any lessons at a later time. Simply click the heart button to favorite it, and it will be saved in your profile under favorites. You’ll find that this way of approaching learning will be more conducive to actually staying motivated and involved and you will continue to get better simply by trying and practicing to the best of your ability. You’ll be better the next time a lesson roles around. Remember to have fun and find the positive and small wins in everything you do.

[Loraine]

@Sandie You’re not alone when it comes to having smaller hands. Many of us do, including many men, as you’ve seen from Chuck’s reply to you. Small hands can be a challenge, but they can’t be a decrement, because there are small children who can play rather intricate chords and songs on guitars. The difference is that they are flexible and they use a smaller neck and scaled guitar for their size.

There are various stretches you can do to increase the flexibility of your muscles and tendons and allow you to move your fingers and jointers further apart as you move along in your guitar journey. Research differenct options through Google and on YouTube for finger stretches and strengthening. Also, take the TAC stretching course and practice it daily before and after playing.

One way I practice stretching my fingers is start with my index finger on the 8th fret of the high e. Then take the middle finger starting on the 7th fret of the high e and touch it on the 7th then the 6th, then the 7th then the 5th, 7th then the 4th (all while keeping the index finger rooted on the 8th fret of the high d string). Go as far as you comfortably can without lifting the index finger. Then do it with the middle finger 7th fret, 6th fret; 7th fret 5th fret; 7th fret 4th fret; Then do it with the ring finger and again 7th, 6th; 7th 5th, 7th 4th. When you can easily do this exercise without lifting the index finger, then move the index finger up to the 7th fret and plant it. Then start the process over but now go from the 6th & 5th, 5th & 4th, 4th & 3rd, and so on. This will gradually stretch your fingers and hands.

[Loraine]

Hi @BarbaraM Like so many others, the dreaded C chord gave me so many problems until someone pointed out that I could move my index finger up further to allow more room for the middle finger. The reason this works is because the low E string is not part of the C chord and is not played, so you can essentially have your index finger infringe upon the low E string somewhat and have it remain muted.

[Loraine]

Hi @Joyfinder Welcome to the TSPAC community! Sounds like you jumped right in and are off to a great start. As an fyi, I play WAGON wheel with a Bass strum too. It’s a fun song, but it’s always good to learn new skills and ways of doing things.

You have the right attitude. We’re a program of progression, not perfection. Give it a good go (at a minimum 10 minutes per day) and mark a lesson complete. You can still work on it more if you like, but don’t stop moving forward. Move to the next lesson the next day. You will see progress and improvement.

Enjoy your journey. If you haven’t considered it, ai highly recommend the 30 Days To Play course, even if you already have some experience. It’s a great primer, and most find that they still learn something new.

[Loraine]

Hi @jackcc23 What a great opportunity! I’m not to that point yet, and I’ve never accompanied someone or played lead guitar so I can’t necessarily comment on what you’re asking. I would think you could play the verse and chorus line of chords as a solo, or you could try to improvise something. I just wanted to wish you luck. Please keep us posted as to what you ended up doing and how it went. Good luck.

[Loraine]

@dpatton_HockeyGuy The muted string syndrome happens to the best of us, and as @Moose408 so correctly points out, it is micro adjustments that lead to finally finding the sweet spot, and it takes time, and sometimes it takes a lot of time.

Putting too much pressure on the strings is typically not the answer when it comes to fretting. You shouldn’t need to place that much pressure to where your finger tips hurt. I agree, play one string at a time to find out which string is muted, and then make micro adjustments. Arching your fingers more by bringing your wrist down and out as Moose points out should help also, and possibly raising the neck of the guitar or even trying the classical guitar positioning of your guitar, which brings the neck up and closer to the body, and forces your hand arm to arch when playing. It is actually quite comfortable, and more and more western players are switching to holding their guitars like this.

Lastly, the Dm chord gives even many veterans headaches. I know several that still struggle with it, but personally, I can attest that all the chords get easier over time, you will build up muscle memory and be able to play chords clearly. It simply takes extra work on the front side that you have to be willing to put in.

[Loraine]

@DiscostewLA That’s really cool. I know a few people that attended it. Not sure if they’re still current TAC members or not, but it’s too late to pass on the info. I know they met some really awesome people. Out of curiosity, how did you get invited by Martin? I’ll have to have a private word with them! Haha!

[Loraine]

@Linea It doesn’t need to need to be perfect. The fact that you tried and succeeded is a big win! Keep it up!

[Loraine]

👍

[Loraine]

@mikehill53hotmail-com I had never played the guitar before either, and it was scary moving forward. I definitely wasn’t proficient in the skills taught in the 30 days to play when it was suggested I move onto the daily challenges. What both @albert_d and @Moose408 have said is spot on. The name of the game is progress. Progress over perfection. Keep moving forward, and you will improve. You’ll find some daily challenges to be extremely challenging and difficult. Just do the best you can. Other weeks you’ll find the lessons a little less challenging. Tuck those under your belt and keep moving forward. Glad you’re having fun. That should be what it’s about!

[Loraine]

@lollyt Great win! Keep at it.

[Loraine]

@BarbaraM I did mean the ring finger. My apologies for the error. Yes, sometimes fretting a chord higher up the neck may cone easier at the beginning as you train your hands and fingers to become more limber and stronger. You don’t necessarily need to capo to do it. Simply move up the neck and start say at the 5th or 7th fret and when you’re able to get a clean chord (can play each individual string from the A string down, then move up a fret and start the process over. Dont stay at the higher frets once you can play it, because the ultimate goal is to play it at the open chord location. Keep,working at it, and all of a sudden, you’ll realize one day you can do it every time.

[Loraine]

Thank you so much @Camilla ! I spent a lot of time working on strumming. It is not an easy skill, as one would actually think it should be. I also learned early to use a metronome to help with timing.

The song was a favorite of mine from when ai was a kid (Yes, I was a disturbed child – lol). The artist, David Bowie, had a rather large repertoire of music ranging from rock, pop, disco, grunge, folk, etc. He’s was very influential in music of all genres, and was extremely talented. Unfortunately we lost him at a very young age of 69.

[Loraine]

Thanks so much @stevieblues !

[Loraine]

@cwglazemusic I absolutely love playing the 12 string. I can actually play the song better than ai did in the video, but for not having played the song in a while and jumping right onto the,12 string I was happy with it, even with all the flaws. The guitar is so fun to play and sounds so great with certain songs. I think it’s totally worth the investment. I didn’t spend a lot on mine. I’m a fan of Orangewood guitars. They are well made, great set ups and easy to play, great customer service, and the prices are extremely reasonable.