Soldato
Today I am mostly: failing to master the lick from 'Jolene'. That is all... Nothing to see here... Move along. #TrippingOverMyFingers
***The Official Guitar Thread***
- Thread starter Nitefly
- Start date
Man of Honour
For the last 51 years I have never been happy with my guitar stands on stage and I've always had an ideal stand in my head but I've never found one.
A couple of weeks ago I decided to get 4 of my countless stands and make the ones I want.
When my drummer/nephew saw them he named them Frankenstands and I'm already making another three for my band members
They look like they are something you could buy but I've never seen one so if anybody knows where these are already made please let me know.
A couple of weeks ago I decided to get 4 of my countless stands and make the ones I want.
When my drummer/nephew saw them he named them Frankenstands and I'm already making another three for my band members
They look like they are something you could buy but I've never seen one so if anybody knows where these are already made please let me know.
I always use the jhs/kinsman style (other brands available). They're meaty but robust and without the silly neck cradle that tends to do fa anyway they're actually more compact than more flimsy stands. I carry mine in a rucksack easy enough.
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Man of Honour
I always use the jhs/kinsman style (other brands available). They're meaty but robust and without the silly neck cradle that tends to do fa anyway they're actually more compact than more flimsy stands. I carry mine in a rucksack easy enough.
I've had them, no likey.
It's a bit similar to the A frame but I want the support for the neck.
Many times I've been in situations at gigs where we've been in tight places and a little knock on the neck can make it go over sidewards.
The ones with the neck support I don't like the frame .
Never had a problem with mine but I guess a strong push sidewards can let the guitar rotate 30 degrees or so in its cradle but the thing is without tipping over or doing any damage as the foam is decent on all contact points. The weight is high enough to keep the thing stable. It's why I like them, plus changing guitars is quick and easy as no faff getting them in and out.
Soldato
That the intro lick? Lovely that, see it labelled as an easy guitar lesson... hah! Nothing like being humbled when it comes to guitar. There was a pitched down version of Jolene going around a long time ago, might help you slow things down.
I'm running through the Justin Gutiar beginner course. I had regular face-to-face lessons a while back and have retained it all, but with COVID and kids and life just being chaotic it's easiest just to grab an hour or two a few days a week to practice and follow the structure. I'm beyond a lot of what I've aready gone through but don't want to miss anything important that I may have missed in my lessons in the past.
Want to play an open mic somewhere before I'm 40 (36 now). Started on my dads guitar which I inherited and intend for it to not be an ornament. Would love to play Davy Graham`s Angi as that's all I ever heard my Dad play
Soldato
Took me decades to be anything other than humbled! I am not a natural learner of anything... notes have to be poked with a very long, wobbly stick through the molasses of my muscle memory into the fetid, decaying swamp that is my memory.
The Jolene lick is one of those which, when slowed down to learning speed, sounds little like the finished product to the untutored ear. That's a big hurdle for me. But I've discovered that my Ultimate Guitar app purchase, ages ago and largely unused, works on the web too, and they have a speedable playback tool of the 'professional' version of the tab which is helping. At full speed though it's definitely one of those 100% muscle memory situations, because it's all happened too quickly for me to have a clue what my fingers are really doing!
And good luck with your open mike ambitions. One of my regrets is that I've only been able to play adequately well since becoming a carer, and I never got chance to take my guitar over to my Dad's on the few occasions I was able to get there before covid got him. He loved his Country & Western and... yes, well. Nice to have your Dad's guitar as inspiration.
Man of Honour
Probably the most useful learning tool ever.
I'm learning 6 new songs for my band and Ultimate Guitar makes it simple.
I just wish they would have a keyboard on it like Guitar Pro so I can see the notes on a keyboard and not just Fretboard..
I finally picked up my unused acoustic guitar from my mums. I've now got time and some drive to pick up and learn.
Complete beginner to any instrument. I've been following some YouTube videos (Justin guitar). D chord is hard. Any advice ongoing for a guitar newb? Ultimately I want to just sit in my living room and be able to play something melodic off the cuff (that's the 10 year aim).
Complete beginner to any instrument. I've been following some YouTube videos (Justin guitar). D chord is hard. Any advice ongoing for a guitar newb? Ultimately I want to just sit in my living room and be able to play something melodic off the cuff (that's the 10 year aim).
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Justin Guitar is brilliant. You find better for free.
Learn to tune your guitar. Either using an app or get a tuner. Learning cowboy chords is the best start. It's tough on your fingers at first but 15 mins a day will help.. Once you have A, C, D, E and G major chords under your fingers you can progress to learning Am, Em. Then you will have the base chords for hundreds of songs.
Soldato
Get your guitar setup by someone who knows what they are doing and ask them to put 11’s on it! I spent ages learning at home on a badly setup guitar with 12’s it was horrible especially as I progressed to the dreaded barre chords. A setup and some lighter strings later and suddenly what seemed impossible was actually achievable.
Did anyone else have difficulty when first starting with their middle and ring finger wanting to go towards each other when fretting? With the D chord, I'm finding that I can get two out of the three fingers on without issue, but my third and fourth finger claw towards each other making it hard to play the chord. The Mrs doesn't have that problem and I can see how it would be much easier for her to play the D chord.
I can't do the 'live long and prosper' Stark Trek thing with my fingers either, so I guess I'm just a bit cack-handed as it stands.
Will the needed finger dexterity come with time? Any good exercises people can recommend?
About a week in now and enjoying it. Progress is slow, but there is noticeable progress which is good to hear.
I can't do the 'live long and prosper' Stark Trek thing with my fingers either, so I guess I'm just a bit cack-handed as it stands.
Will the needed finger dexterity come with time? Any good exercises people can recommend?
About a week in now and enjoying it. Progress is slow, but there is noticeable progress which is good to hear.
Soldato
I've had difficulty since I first got an almost unplayable guitar from Grattan's catalogue in 1981! But flexibility and muscle memory does come... it just comes slower for some folk. And if I'm honest, I still struggle to play a clean A chord on a steel strung guitar... classical guitars are what I made most initial progress on, because there's more room for clumsy fingers to squeeze in for the basics. But you do improve, your fingers do develop abilities you never expect them to be able to. Takes time though, and some fingers are probably better designed for the task than others.
The only other thing I'll say, is the hardest thing about learning anything new for me is play... ing... it... very... very... slow... ly. The urge is to make it sound as good as possible as quickly as possible. But slowly, accurate playing teaches you very good habits. Rushing and stumbling but being 'happy enough' is just teaching you to play in a stumbly fashion. Which is exactly how I still play unless the stars align. What's the saying? Amateurs practice until they can play something right. Pro's play until they can't get it wrong!
Soldato
- Joined
- 14 Mar 2011
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Yes it will. There are lots of points exactly like this and if you just persevere and keep practicing you will get through them - other common ones are being able to squeeze your fingers together to fret an open A chord... angling your fingers for certain chords in a way that doesn't mute the strings below them... and of course the infamous barre that you will have to make with the side of your pointer finger for F-shape chords
Although re-reading what you wrote... If you're talking about an open D chord just want to check that your 4th finger isn't actually involved in the chord, it's just getting in the way of your 3rd finger which is, right? As a D would be played with your first 3 fingers doing the fretting (ordered 1 3 2 from the lowest pitched string to the highest)
Although re-reading what you wrote... If you're talking about an open D chord just want to check that your 4th finger isn't actually involved in the chord, it's just getting in the way of your 3rd finger which is, right? As a D would be played with your first 3 fingers doing the fretting (ordered 1 3 2 from the lowest pitched string to the highest)
Thanks. I think when I said fourth finger, I meant ring finger, which is the third finger is guitar term, right? So what I meant was my second and third (guitar) fingers claw towards each other. I know where my fingers need to go, but I don't yet have the dexterity to get my third finger in the correct position easily.
Sorry for the confusion
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Soldato
- Joined
- 14 Mar 2011
- Posts
- 5,421
Sorry for the confusion
No worries
I see; counting including the thumb would make it the 4th! But correct that in guitar speak the thumb doesn't get a look in (well, eventually you might get into fretting like Hendrix where you wrap your thumb around the neck to fret the low string, and that's another of those things that feels totally impossible to do when you first start but eventually you get it)
Soldato
I went through a spell of doing loads of finger exercises to get my fingers working independently. You can do them without a guitar which is useful especially in the era of the pointless teams meeting! An hood basic exercise is to put your hand on the table fingers curled with tips on the table and then practice lifting them Individually and in varying pairs etc all the time keeping the other fingers pushed to the table. I found this sort of thing helped me make significant progress with minimal effort.Thanks. I think when I said fourth finger, I meant ring finger, which is the third finger is guitar term, right? So what I meant was my second and third (guitar) fingers claw towards each other. I know where my fingers need to go, but I don't yet have the dexterity to get my third finger in the correct position easily.
Sorry for the confusion
Thanks, will start giving this a go. I wouldn't be surprised if my fingers go that way due to excessive PlayStation playing as a youngster
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