Finding this so difficult. After long sessions on the Fender my fingers are unused to the wider neck of an acoustic and I am constantly fretting and picking the wrong strings. Anybody else finding the transition between electric and acoustic a problem?
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Golly. i’ve only just gotten over “wish you were here”. and now this "dragon of a song ".
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yup. I’m mostly on my accoustic. when i occasionaly jump on my mustang it feels so narrow im fretting two strings per finger. just a case of getting used to it i guess. we should probably have bought an electric and an accoustic with rougly the same dimmensions. (gibsons/epiphone for eg)
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Having read through the earlier posts i am glad I am not the only one finding it difficult. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised as it is the first time I have had to really coordinate what individual fingers are doing on each hand. I learn a block and then add it what I know, sounds good but I find I have forgotten some of what I thought I had learned, getting there slowly.
Michael
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I am unable to save the Guitar Pro file that is in the resources tab. I’m not sure if that is intentional or if I’m missing something.
Thanks
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@roskin22, you click on the download link and save as. It will save as a GP file that can then be opened if you have the Guitar Pro software.
This is now fixed. Thanks. 
If anyone’s finding this really difficult, just know that it’s been 2 months since I spent dozens of hours struggling through this song, then a few dozen more on REM’s Everybody Hurts, I’m now able to play-along to Blackbird (one of my dreamer songs) imperfectly.
I would have never thought it’d be possible for me to do so especially after how I initially struggled through this. If you think you don’t have the motor skills but love fingerstyle - you’ll be able to do it as long as you put in the hours. Justin’s recommended progression practically guarantees it.
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Ber @Pronewbie
I am finding the same as you I can play each short section but putting them together from memory is not really happening.
With the tab in front of me I can play it, but I think Justin wants us to play it from memory.
Have given up on it once and come back to it I think I am at the point of giving it up again and moving on.
Michael 
@MAT1953 Well it’s amazing enough that you can play it with the tab in front of you. I recall having a somewhat similar problem as you.
My solution was to break it down. First I looked up the single notes of a basic happy birthday (G G A G C B), mapped them to the fretboard and played through the single notes by memory. Once I had that down, it became much easier to memorise the additional notes by a mix of muscle and note memory.
It requires some basic music theory which I believe Justin had already asked us to start doing by that point (with the C Major Scale) and committing the 1st 3 frets to memory. It’s all part of the progression in my humble opinion.
That said, if you’ve already spent dozens of hours on it and no longer find this enjoyable I’d suggest you move on before you get too frustrated or completely lose interest. As a fellow beginner, I’ve been there.
Ber @Pronewbie
I think the issue for me is that I am using fingers on both hands and I can’t seem to commit to memory what is happening to both sets of fingers without the tab. Hope it is not an age thing.
I can play songs using a pick following written chord sheets and I do not need to look at either hand, even when I am playing a country type song which is bass note followed by strum(s).
I have done the suggestions of learning in chunks, starting at the beginning and adding each section which sort of works on the day, but come the next day I don’t remember the sequence very well.
Will keep at it I am sure I will succeed eventually.
PS glad I am not learning classical guitar
Michael
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Can I also use my middle finger to fingerstyle or do I have to do like Justin who only uses his index finger?
At this stage you can use index or middle finger, it doesn’t matter. It will matter later if you decide to explore fingerstyle more.
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Whats up Mat,
Its not an age thing. It literally took me about a day (5-10 mins on just this song during practice sessions) to learn each section and then another 2 days to piece them together. 5 days total. Its a real pain in the nuts. I honestly think Nothin Else Matters might be easier.
This is also a lesson on “sticking to it”. I think sometimes as an adult, we tend to forget the learning process and the time it takes to commit stuff to memory. Let me know when you got it!
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Alfred @simplyalf1
Sad to say I have given up for a second time and put away my classical guitar which I was learning it on. Wife and daughters birthdays have been and gone so the imperative has gone. I need to concentrating on learning to play nine songs in the next three weeks for the guitar club summer concert.
Also working on complicated riffs for another song which actually going well so I agree not an age thing I hope.
Will get back to it a month or so.
By the way welcome to the community. 
Michael
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@MAT1953 Hi Matt, no it’s not an age thing I believe. My advice would be to spend only 5 minutes a day to play only the melody line by ear, can you do that? If you can’t it’s very unlikely you’ll be able to play the chord melody without the tabs…mussel memory can be misleading, you need to have your ears telling you where to put your fingers. Well if you can’t you’re just like me…just re-work the melody out everyday, even if it’s only a few notes and you’ll get there eventually. Here’s a link to my first chord melody learning process, I’m afraid the video is a bit long, but it gives you the idea of what I mean…and a final clip with me being able to play the chord melody after many small and big victories and frustrations.
Just don’t ask why I decided to start off with such a complex thing 
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Silvia @Silvia80
Thanks for you input, had a look at your video, not the easiest of songs to work on, well done the final version sounds great.
You asked, can I play the melody by ear – I think the answer to that is probably no.
I know I am not tone deaf, my singing teacher agrees, and I can match a single note pretty well but that is not the same as following the melody notes. However interestingly over recent weeks the teacher says I am getting better with the pitches to match a song, so might be it is coming slowly.
I can play all the parts of HB and can also play it slowly by looking at the tab, but not really from memory with any accuracy, the next day. It was getting better but over the next few weeks I have other guitar prioritises need to concentrate, nine songs we are going to do at the Guitar Club Summer concert.
I think the issue for me is that I am using fingers for both hands and getting them to work together. I have just learned quite a complicated riff for a song which extends over 8 bars involving strings 3 to 6, picking and strumming, slides and if I could do it hammer ons (can get away with just pick the string). The difference is that I am using a pick. I suppose in a way you do learn the movement from a tab but I did get to a point where I knew the melody, if that is the right word, so could see where I was going and if I got it wrong.
I will get back to Happy Birthday and I am sure with practice I will get it done.
Michael
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You know how they say…Rome wasn’t built in one day! Skills need time to develop…So good you’re taking part of a Guitar Club which keeps you fully engaged!
Cheers,
Silvia.
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Why is this so hard? OK, only 5 measures, I’ve got the first 2, 3 more to go,… 
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Think it this way…once you nail it it’ll be with you forever 
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