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181

Honestly, this looks and sounds more difficult than it is. There’s not much movement in the fretting hand. I found a great tutorial that broke it down - if I hadn’t, I think I would’ve given up on the tab, but in the breakdown the guy showed that it was based on three chord shapes, basically.

I made the decision to try it out way earlier than I would’ve thought I was able, because I saw a video from Lindy Official where she recommended it as a beginner fingerstyle song. You should try it! It’s very relaxing just to play the melody. It’s such a pretty tune.

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182

That was an enjoyable listen, Constance, you’ve come a along way with your finger picking. Didn’t you write above you had a longer break from playing? When this is what happens after having a break, I should take one too :wink:. Your voice is beautiful, as always. Beautiful song choice as well. May I ask you which was the tutorial you followed?

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183

Just a question , do you still follow Justin’s lessons ?
or do you just follow tutos on YT ?

I’m cuious since you always pick difficult songs ^^

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184

@GrumpyMac I still use the app and song tutorials on the website, I just haven’t done much other than chord changes and the fingerpicking in the last few months. I had pretty bad insomnia and summer was really hot, and when it cooled down I was in a bit of a slump for a while. The only tutorial I’ve used that wasn’t on Justin Guitar was the one for Cherry Wine.

@Helen0609 The tutorial I followed was this one. (I also used the tabs on Songsterr, which has a nice layout and wraps the tabs when you zoom in.) I did have a longer break from guitar, but when I did play, which was at least once a week for most of the time, I was only playing this song and doing my Silent Night fingerstyle. It was maybe ten minutes all-up, just to make sure I didn’t lose my callouses, and to feel like I’d managed to do something when I really had no creativity in me. Since I already loved the song it was enjoyable to make the melody.

Based on just this experience I would recommend this guy’s tutorials, as it was very easy to follow. It was handy having the tabs shown and followed on-screen, and as someone who had never done fingerstyle, just having it shown that it was based on chord shapes opened my eyes to how I might figure out fingerstyle from tabs alone one day.

It also seems like it’s really difficult/complex, but it isn’t at all. The timing comes together pretty easily on its own, and it’s very forgiving because of the lyrical quality of the song when it comes to tempo.

**

You know, I’m thinking about it, and I think fingerstyle helps soothe the part of me that wants to make music already. With chords and strumming, I need to know the fretboard, more chord shapes, and theory, much better than I do. I need to already have some repertoire of that in order to follow ideas in my head and make them come out of the guitar. So while I’m stuck learning a few chords at a time, and playing songs that are just a few chords, even a simple fingerstyle song allows me to make a more complex melody than a simple chord progression does. It scratches that itch of impatience, which means I don’t get so frustrated being hampered by being a beginner still.

Edit: also, Andrea thank you for the kind words. :blush:

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185

Hi Constance,
That was already nice and great that to see :smiling_face_with_sunglasses: and 100% great you didn’t post this in this stage… such a shame actually that I keep thinking to myself… ‘tomorrow I’ll do a first recording’ too and see the process beter and also just for fun and to learn for others etc …
and then continue with good courage… well maybe soon :grin:

I am inspired to try this one someday (after an incredible mountain of songs that are still on the list) … I have already made a bookmark …

Thanks and greetings

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186

thats what I fear for our coming summer :confused:
not being able to play because its too hot and having a hard time coming back
Im glad you re back on tracks and play again ^^

[quote="ConstanceClaire, post:184, topic:284407”]
With chords and strumming, I need to know the fretboard, more chord shapes, and theory, much better than I do.
[/quote]

ooooh you re not gonna love the blues then :confused:

187

I dunno about learning them, but I have a love-hate relationship with the blues as a genre anyway. I either love the sound or I wish the person singing/playing would get on with it / quit whining XD.

Mum used to play a Ray Charles CD a lot when I was a kid, and this specific song I’m Going Down to the River (which is what I based my lyrics on when I mucked around with the flu song on your LL) used to get to me so bad that when I was having a sad day I’d ask her to skip it because it made me sadder…

I do want to learn the fretboard, and I am, and I’m learning theory, but I’ve not touched it much for a few months. Except for learning the where the notes are on the fretboard. Next goal, if I can remember to do it, is to learn the chords in each major key so I can muck around more.

I hope your summer is better than mine was!

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188

hey country music is whinning !

my girl left me , my dog is sick , my truck is broke and my bottle of whisky is empty ! :rofl:

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189

Yeah, but the above sound like blues titles to me :slight_smile:

Got the same love-hate relationship with the Blues.
I know there’s quite alot of artists and songs and performances I find fascinating, but it was never so much my type of music in general.
Trying to approach it more via the BLIM course at the moment.

Edit: Looked at that tutorial. I like that teacher too and learned a few songs from him.
While I prefer the more in depth (slow) tutorials of the same person, There’s also the same channel without “Express” with Cherry Wine too. https://youtu.be/_QMRToOW98w?feature=shared
(I guess you, Constance, chose the simple version deliberately, but Andrea or possibly someone else might want to look at the version with all the finger positions showed.
Me, I find it quite tricky with all the hammer-ons and flick-offs. But it’s so beautiful that I’ll definitely revisit it later!

Great! I think it’s important to learn theory and scales and that broad range of stuff that Justin teaches. But I also only did it as much so it didn’t spoil the fun and have to admit I mainly concentrated on those things that were fun for me or I had a strong motivation to get better at.
But then lots of things come together after a while and theory and chords and scales and fretboard knowledge will help you with your fingerpicking too - or already do. Saying this I become aware again that I have so much to learn still and life is so short :slight_smile:

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190

HI Constance, thank you so much for the link, I know that guy from other tutorials. I’m always interested in some beautiful fingerstyle songs, I bookmarked this one, seems a nice one to learn.

I can so much relate to this! Suffering from Insomnia and bad nights too, I sometimes simply don’t have the energy to work on something new. Then I start with some fingerpicking or Greensleeves and I feel, it’s so calming, relaxing and it puts me into a good mood. And often it is the “opener” to do my practice session, even if I’m tired. And I love it how gentle the guitar sounds when fingerpicking.

Thanks for the link @domi7 Dominique!

Thanks for the flowers, but you definitely overestimate my fingerstyle skillset :rofl:. I would be happy, if I could learn the basic version… :flushed_face:, but it’s good to know there is a more advanced one to, so this song could be a grower. I haven’t done the more advanced lessons of the intermediate course yet. I’m still on a very basic level so far :wink:.

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191

Andrea, it’s rather the other way around. The first link was a playthrough and showed the TABs, (so more advanced I’d think) and the tutorial I posted (same teacher) is very slow and the guy shows you what happens in detail. It’s the same song, same version.
But if you’re comfortable with TABs, you can of course slow the first link down or repeat often. But there won’t be someone telling you how to put your fingers and doing a pull-off or so…

192

I got you wrong then :joy:. I had a quick look on both meanwhile :wink:. You’re right. But still challenging with the pull/flick offs and hammer ons. But I guess, it’s great expertise.

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193

I actually didn’t realise I’d posted a link to an express version! I used the full version that you posted. I guess when I went searching for the link to share here, the thumbnail looked the same so I assumed it was the right video. I definitely learned from the breakdown one that you linked.

I will add, if you do learn this, the tutorial does skip some pull-offs in the actual song, although it’s pretty flexible anyway in terms of adding flourishes if you feel like it. If you accidentally hit a note half the time it works anyway.

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194

I had to think of this statement - and thought I’d like to say the following:
While I am rather a lazy guy, I went ok with learning the guitar (I like to think this at least :slight_smile: ) I often tried to combine useful things and spend my time with either fun or really useful stuff and Justin sounds the same in his lessons. While he says he was crazy practicing scales and hard excercises in younger years and it was kind of fun for him, so ok, he wouldn’t give this as a recommendation.

So, I’d rather recommend learning the more important, or say more often used keys (well, I mean the chords in those keys) than ALL of them. Or at least start there. Like certainly, C, G, and then… D, A, or E? I’m not sure, but I think a good way would be to attach that to a song you like and you learn anyway at the moment. See the key it’s in, which Chords are used and think where in the key these chords are. Like Cherry Wine (when ignoring the Capo) using a G (I chord) then C (IV), then Em (vi) for example. And explore the other chords in the key that the songwriter left out.
Concerning chords and their function/relation, I liked this video : Video about Chord functions and relationships
,
Sorry for talking so much on your learning log! I hope there’s some bit that makes sense somehow :slight_smile:

Ah, yes, this reminded me why I was never so much a fan of blues in general (with lots of exceptions! - we talked about it before) … I think oftentimes it somehow sounds similar to what Brian posted here in the comedy thread Just a couple of Music related funnies! - #521 by brianlarsen

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195

Eh, chat away, the more the merrier!

I’ll focus on more common keys first, then, that’s a good idea. I can work the chords out using the major scale anyway, I just wanna know it rather than sit down and work it out. Thanks for the links! I’ll check 'em out when I’m feeling like doing theory again. :slight_smile:

196

Video log today! So my waffling is not an essay of words, but a conversation between me and my computer lol.

The first seven minutes or so are me talking and the last few are the attempts at the new song. Also it turns out I was practicing for like an hour and a half, but y’know, time flies.
And here is the song performed live.

Hozier never sings it anymore, and I don’t know if that’s because he’s outgrown it or if it’s too demanding with all the high notes, since his setlists have a lot of powerful singing in them, it might be hard to keep the throat good enough for this sort of song.

And this is the tutorial I’m following. Same guy I followed for Cherry Wine.

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197

Nice song! At the start reminds me of irish folk music.
I think I should tackle some difficult (long term) song project too.
While at the moment I concentrate on the more simple songs I started to learn, but never really did well, because finding them “too simple” always jumped on the next one soon.
That strategy worked well and kept up fun and motivation, but in the long run I miss a repertoire!
It’s great you’re comfortable tackling these more difficult songs!

Was diverting… I mainly decided to answer here, because you mentioned open tuning and there will be a club with Richard on open tunings today - but possibly not at a nice time for you down under! :slight_smile:

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198

These things are usually at like three a.m. for me! One day, when I’m like intermediate or advanced intermediate, I might look more into other tunings. I think I would need a better grasp of theory etc to make music with a very different tuning, although just learning an already made song is a different story.

Hozier is Irish, so there is a bit of Irish folk influence in his music.

I’m also working on Joelene and Country Roads and should probably work on First Cut is the Deepest again, so hopefully having the fingerstyle songs will make me more able to spend time on those other songs, which I love but don’t scratch the same itch.

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199

I felt like this too until today - I saw the announcement of Richard’s lesson and then right afterwards read about you tackling this song in open C. So you made me feel that it was about time for me to at least take a peek into it. :slight_smile:

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200

It’s been like four days since I’ve picked up my guitar, and I’m feeling a little guilty. I think about it, but the drive isn’t super there. I’m still trying to see if I’m going to pick it up now. I’m unsure.

When I reach the evening and I’m tired, instead of playing guitar, I find myself playing Stardew Valley.

Not particularly efficiently, either!

With a guitar I can make music, but with Stardew Valley I can farm without hurting my back and own and renovate my home which I definitely won’t be doing in real life.

And when will guitar ever see me making thousands of gold selling mayonnaise?

Never.

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