Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
I’m proud of you Vida, that was awesome! You are doing a great job and I continually hear you improving. Btw, bonus points for that practice schedule, very well thought out!
I think some of the areas that you struggled in was due to work around fingerings that you imposed. For example, bar 11 and 12 – it’s much easier if you play out of the full bar chord.
Now this is hard because it requires a lot of finger strength and as you’re playing a larger instrument, that requirement is amplified. If you go back and watch how I play it and teach it, notice how my way has a lot less movement than yours. When we tackle difficult songs like this one, we always want to approach playing in the easiest way possible, or the least amount of work. And this was a tip I learned from watching tutorials from the greats, specifically Joe Pass.
As far as the issue with the pinky finger, the best exercises I can direct you to are found in the lesson for Increasing Left Hand Reach.
Truly great job this month! I’m looking forward to seeing everyone else’s results 🙂
Hi Steve,
Can you post a video of you playing so I can get a feel for where you’re at? That way, I can suggest some songs for you to work on. In the meantime, I’m planning to add more beginner level songs in the next few months which you guys are beginning to see as I added the “Lullaby Medley” last week and tomorrow will be the theme to “The Addams Family” (link will be active on 9/29).
I’ll add your request for “City Of New Orleans” to my list and feel free to email me more requests 🙂
I think it sounds great! I can hear the hoarseness in your voice, but I’m glad you’re feeling better!
Your rhythm hits are on two and four and your timing is fine throughout. Having the hits on two and four keep the rhythm feel flowing. I don’t think you need to change anything.
And I dig the two bar break with the harmonic 🙂 By the way I like the song, I’ve never heard it before, who is it by?
Here is a video to help you out, and btw, great job! Let me know if you have any questions ukuleleloo. And email me about the last thing, if your interested 🙂
That’s awesome and welcome! Glad to have you here 🙂 If you ever need any help on the lessons, don’t hesitate to email me or post on the forums.
For what you played in the video, I would keep it straight. It’s probably reverting to angle as that’s closer to the habits you are used too. Try to be conscious of it this week and let me know how it goes.
Hi Phil, see if can straighten out that thumb, like this:
That should make it much more comfortable. Let me know how that feels/works.
Hi Rickey, thanks for sharing this video. So it looks like you have a lot of movement going on. So when you switch to the 5 – 6, your hand lifts up, then drops down a bit, and then positions into the shape.
If you watch how I do it below (and I’ll start the embedded video at that moment – 0:25), notice how my middle finger shift up to the 6th fret and the index finger comes down on the 5th fret, but my wrist remains straight and my hand does not lift up or move down.
So give that approach a shot and let me know how it goes. Also, let me know if you have any questions.
Give Norwegian Wood a shot. It’s a cool Melody and a fun strumming tune. There’s a stretch in it and it’s going to force you to break the thumb hugging habit in order to reach it. Check out this lesson if you need help on increasing your left hand reach. One helpful tip too, in the B Melody (bar 12) it switches to a Gm7. I wouldn’t play that chord change, instead I would play the regular G minor (seen in bar 11), it’s a lot easier and sounds just as good.
Well that’s impressive! But your analogy is correct and I see it all the time, in that people want to be able to play it up to speed off the bat. One of the best pieces of advice I heard came from a fellow teacher, he said: “I’d rather listen to someone play it slowly and in time, than fast and sloppy”.
I thought it was excellent Phil! The thumb placement is an issue though, because where it’s at currently will limit your mobility. The reason being, is because it perpetuates hugging the neck.
Your guitar teacher was right, what ends up happening (and I’ve seen it a lot as a private lessons instructor) is that bad technique ends up becoming bad habits. But, habits can be broken.
So I talked about thumb placement in this lesson and the video below (3:51 into it). Our thumb is usually placed slightly above the middle of the neck, but depending on what you’re playing, it can poke out on the top of the neck just a bit. So what I would do if I was you, is to go back to the beginning and practice some of your basic chords and simple fingerpicking and be very conscious of your thumb placement. If you’re still taking lessons, you can get feedback directly. And you’re always welcome to post here or email me, and I’d be happy to help track your progress.