So, I’ve been on this for about two weeks now. It’s a bear! My question is, when you come across a lesson like this, does one want perfection or an understanding of the concept and some practice with the notion that you can revisit this later on. Sometimes I feel as if I spend way too much time on certain things. Do others have this issue and how do you handle it?
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For me, the point is, to have absorbed the technique, not absolutely perfectly, but reasonably well. A lot of techniques in Grade 3 need some more practice to sink in, so I keep them on the schedule or cycle back from time to time, whilst moving on. I guess, it’s a point of decision about your own direction too. Some skills might be more relevant for your individual development than others. Sooner or later, we all have to set priorities.
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Hi @jujumu ,
Two weeks isn’t long enough to claim there is a problem. I have been at this for about a year and it points right at my primary shortcoming to get resolved.
I tried a few methods to get accuracy in general working, expecting 2-3 weeks to show good progress, but nothing I tried showed substantial success. I finally asked for help and heard a common theme from folks that I am trying now. I see some progress, so maybe I can say I am over the stuck point, but progress is still slower than I like.
Here is a link to my question in case the feedback is useful for you:
When I run across something that is slow to pick up, I just keep it in my practice. Techniques come and go as I get comfortable with them, not because of how much time I have had them in practice. Once there is room in my schedule for something new, I watch the next module video and add that to my practice. This keeps me rolling along with fresh topics until I really need to clean out the tough stuff to make room for new. I then do a fairly dedicated practice to resolve the tough topics until I can call them “learned”.
Great tip! Thank you.
cheers
Nice one - thanks!
Strangely I found this one quite easy although I have been practicing Toby’s @TheMadman_tobyjenner finger picking efficiency exercise quite a bit which has probably helped!
6-5-6-4-6-3-6-2-6-1-6-2-6-3-6-4-6-5 and loop.
5-4-5-3-5-2-5-1-5-2-5-3-5-4 and loop
4-3-4-2-4-1-4-2-4-3 and loop
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I am finding it almost impossible to do the F-chord with the thumb over on the “riff in Am” part around 9:48…any tips?
I suggest using the Barre F chord, where your index finger bars all 6 strings at the 1st fret.
Using the thumb over the top to fret the low E string is something that many people can’t do, and is not a requirement.
Thank you… Jim Cunningham California.
great exercice.
Hello everyone,
I have a question regarding fingerstyle. I read some of you have been practicing this in fingerstyle but how?
For the down strums no problem, but for the up strums, should I use the index? If I do I don’t feel like it’s strumming and I’m missing the point of this training
If I use my thumb, should i use the top of my nail? Sounds awkward and feels like bad technique. The soft part then? Feels impossible to me
I’ve used a pick for this lesson, but I try to focus on fingerstyle to get closer to MK style.
Hope someone can help me clarify.
Cheers
Paul @Livelong
Are you sure you are not getting a few things mixed up. The lesson you mention is all about using a pick not your fingers. Fingerstyle is using your fingers as the name implies is another technique altogether. There is something called hybrid pick which uses a pick and fingers, is this what you are asking about?
Michael
Hey Michael,
I am trying to do this exercise without a pick. I never play with one and probably never will. I’d like to only play with my fingers like Mark Knopfler so I would like to be able to do this exercice with my fingers.
It feels impossible to me to strum with my fingers and pick individual note with my thumb, but reading this topic it seems some people manage to do it
Paul @Livelong
I have not checked in the earlier 50 odd posts what you say that others do. If you are wanting to strum with you fingers then Justin covers various techniques in the Grade 3 Strumming course however it is a paid for course.
Perhaps other can give you specific advice.
Michael
Is this the lesson topic you are referencing to? It’s a different topic than this one…which might explain the confusion about your question.
Like this message from @Jamolay
"I have worked on this module with fingers only. It works fine.
I am not a pick person, but there are some advantages to picks in some style of play.
I also think you can do it all, at least almost, with fingers. It would help to spend time on finger technique. It takes a lot of dedicated practice, but will make everything easier and sound better."
@Tbushell I saw this is the next lesson but I’m really talking about this one, I havent checked the next one yet.
I think @MAT1953 gave me the right direction which is the paid strumming course.
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Hi @Livelong ,
There is a lesson on how to get this sort of sound with thumb and fingers:
This might be what you are looking for. (I just noticed, this is the very next lesson in the module).
It seems the fingerstyle version is more oriented towards acoustic guitar, while the pick version I associate with a clean, jangly electric guitar, like you might hear from R.E.M. or the Byrds, etc. The finger version doesn’t bring to mind Knopfler, to my ears, certainly not his electric playing. (Though, I imagine you’re more familiar with his music than I am, and he may have done tons of songs in this style that I’m not aware of. 
)
I was trying to transcribe the accoustic intro of Where do you think you’re going and it seems that in the intro there is a strong accent on a high note, like if he was picking the thin string as described in this lesson while upstrumming. I could not reproduce this sound so I just left it in the meanwhile. That could be something like this.
Really hard to understand what he really does as he’s pretty fast, he did not release tabs and there’s almost no live for the Communique album. You can see his fingers roadraging the fretboard on the Sultans of Swing lives but there is just the Rockpalast for WDYG which is way easier.
The next lesson might be it. I’ll do this lesson with a pick, can’t hurt me anyway, and I’ll go into the next one and see if it suits.
Thanks much for your answers all
I’ve also heard that “Mark Kopfler does not use a pick”. And I understand that he often does not…but this 2024 interview in Guitar Player magazine implies the story is complicated. Indeed, he states “I didn’t give it [using a plectrum] up until recently.”