Morning practice done and all is OK. My OMCs gave me 46 decent transitions so that’s going fairly well. The A chord is definitely still the sticking point but it’ll get there. When I do the focused chord practice it’s fine so I just need to up my game on the faster transitions.
Joking aside, the finger soreness is a real thing isn’t it?! I’m almost leveraging it as a reason to invest in an electric guitar too in the hope that it’ll be a bit less aggressive on the fingers, but I guess this is an inevitable consequence of dragging my fingers up and down some lengths of metal; they aren’t used to that.
But: to satisfy my curiosity - are electrics as a generalised rule “easier” to play? In many ways I guess the acoustic if it is harder to play makes the transition to electric easier in the long run, but I just don’t want to clip the wings on this early practice by developing fingertip blisters. They’re not at that stage by any means, but they certainly know they’re doing something new.
Hi Charlie. Sounds like you are making excellent progress.
Are electrics easier to play? Here’s my view: From the perspective of amount of string pressure required, electrics are easier assuming that both are setup appropriately. The action on an electric is typically lower and you can use lighter gauge strings. E.g. I use 12-53s on my acoustic and 10- 46s on my electric (and have used 9s, too).
Though it very much depends on what I’m playing, I can typically play the acoustic for 1-2 hours before the finger effect kicks in. I can play the electric much longer. Keep in mind I’ve been playing 6 days a week for over 2 years. I switch between the two, often in the same day. I typically use the electric for learning new things because I can spend more time in one session.
I’d say yes, electric are generally easier on the finger-tips for the reasons Dave shared.
That said, persevere and your finger-tips will toughen up fairly quickly. The first couple of weeks can be tough but soon you’ll develop the callouses and be fine. You can think of it as a rite of passage.
You should also take some time to make sure that you are not pressing down with too much pressure. It is often the case that people adopt a vice-like grip, thinking it is necessary. So try playing some chords and see how little pressure is needed to get the note ringing out clear. Also make sure that your finger tips are up close to the fret wire.
Lastly if your acoustic has not been setup properly then your string action may be higher than is ideal which will add to the level of pain and could make the F barre chord later near impossible to play.
I’ve found a highly-regarded local luthier online who’s just down the road from me so I’m going to ask him to cast his expert eye over the setup of my guitar to iron out any issues. Then once he has worked his magic I will “know” whether the action is optimised or not.
I’ve been doing some experiments with pressure to see if I’m pressing too hard or not and I don’t think I am, but I’ll see if the luthier makes things even more playable. In reality I think I’m probably being a bit soft, but it’d be good to know either way!
Second practice of the day is done and dusted so I’m sticking to my planned schedule. I think I’ll probably only spend a day or two more on Module 1. I’ve cheekily peeked ahead and I know all the chords in Grade 1 already so that’s handy, but I want to be careful not to take shortcuts.
A solid start to day 4. I’ve mixed my routines up a bit so I’ve ditched the Song Practice as while it was fun, it didn’t feel that beneficial. So I’ve instead swapped in a couple of the Finger Gym / Finger Stretching routines to try to build some strength and dexterity. I’m hoping that getting a bit ahead of the curve on that now will help me in the modules to come and actually moving sequentially up and down the fret boards is strangely fun for me at this stage
Really good progress with the A chord this morning - repetition and practice works! Who could’ve guessed? The Chord Practice really has helped with my finger placement and it knocks on into the OMCs, which I managed 58 of just now.
I can see already how I’ll extend these routines. I’ll add in extra chords and practice finger placement, transitions and OMCs with more and more chords which will lengthen the practice routines and hopefully be in sync with my fingers toughening up a bit.
EDIT: Second session of the day done and there’s definite progress with the A chord and again the OMCs were in the high 50s AND they’re probably 90%+ “good” now as well, so I’m really pleased with this.
Guitar is booked in with the luthier tomorrow lunchtime so I’ll stick in a couple of morning practices as I’ve no idea how long a luthier takes to luth. Or ier.
EDIT 2: Did a 3rd run through just for fun. OMCs still in the 50s and generally all OK. Over an hour of practice today. Will see what this guitar chap manages to do tomorrow and then I’ll maybe have another day of practice before moving to Module 2.
Hi Charlie, It sounds like you’re making great progress. Don’t knock the song practice, though; it may not seem beneficial the now, but it helps with getting that foot tapping and strumming the chord right on the beat. Keep up the good work mate.
As others have said, electric can be a little easier on the fingertips because of lighter strings and lower action. On the other hand, the strings are a little closer together so if your fingers feel crowded on the A now, it is slightly more difficult on the electric. At least it is for me.
Fifth day done as I’ve just dropped my guitar off with the luthier - it’ll be gone for 4-5 days(!)
On the plus side I guess my fingers get a break, but I was enjoying myself
Fine again today. Added back in some Song Practice (I swear I hum ‘Dance The Night Away’ in my sleep now) and dropped some Hammer Down Finger Gym stuff.
Fairly happy with the shape of my fingers now but it’s still a very conscious and deliberate process to arch my fingers and come down on the fretboard from above, rather than just lazily sliding in from the side like I used to.
I found a link online to some good finger stretching and warm-up exercises. They’re a minor extension on some chromatic stuff I found on here but have a little more movement down the strings as well as along the fretboard. May or may not be of interest to people.
I’ve found a GASsy solution to the issue of my acoustic being out of action for a few days.
Something new is arriving on Friday. Actually a few separate things were needed to get this new acquisition fully functional.
The plan was always to have an acoustic and an electric option. I’ve just condensed the timeline somewhat. A Yamaha Pacifica 311H is on the way along with a neat little Blackstar Fly 3 practice amp.
If you’re going to get a new hobby, go all in, that’s what I say!
Happy NGD for tomorrow. Look forward to seeing some pictures.
Enjoyed reading your progress and things are certainly going well. As others have said take your time and enjoy the journey.
I’m nervous that the NGD might be delayed by the breezy forecast over here. We Brits are shocking at dealing with anything remotely unusual so a bit of wind is likely to delay deliveries
It’s a slightly funny range of colour options with this model as the scratch guard is the same across the colour options and really you’d only choose this or the vintage white because the red and black versions look a bit odd.
Still waiting on the amp but I’ve done practice one for the day and it has a lovely smooth neck and I’m sure it’s just a “shiny new thing” effect but it seems less harsh on my fingertips than the acoustic (maybe due to the lower action? Perhaps because of the lower gauge strings?) and as it’s full scale it’s easier to place my fingers too.
Will see how things feel after more time on it. Most of all, I want to hear it amplified now!
we can find to buy new gear.
