Knockin on Heaven’s Door from a Grade 2 guy

Sure your getting tired of this. I need to get back to practice! Two requests fulfilled: 1) no tuner on the headstock 2) no competing audio sources just me and the PRS.

The good news working on Vincent from the Songs App but that will be awhile. I’m sure your ears and eyes will be grateful for the respite. Really appreciate the welcome here…… Rod

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Really nice work Rod. Steady timing and a vocal that touches my heart.

I suspect others have commented on the position of your wrist and index finger when you play the G chord?

Many thanks. Just a 2 fingered G like Justin taught me in module 6! However, he is not as sloppy with the cupped wrist as I clearly am so thanks for that, I need to clean that up. I’ve been working on Vincent with a Gsus4 in it and have to get that index finger on the b string in the first fret and that is such a stretch I may have just let my wrist hang out toward the headstock more than I should or I’ve just gotten sloppy. I’ll keep an eye on it, thanks again…….Rod

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Let the fingers that aren’t fretting relax as much as possible Rod. In this case, the index. Check you entire body, you may be surprise to find all sorts of tension that isn’t helping you at all. It’s called competitive tension and it’s not your friend.

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Oh, the things that we nit about. Sounded good sir. hold the guitar and fret those chords any way that is comfortable for you. Over half the world doesn’t even know what a guitar is let alone play one. Knock-knock-knockin’ on those cowboy chords baby. Dig it.

I did my own twist on the words and chords (in drop D) a while ago: Knockin’ on heaven’s door

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Rocking Rod rolls on

Enjoyed the tone you’ve dialed in, steady rhythm with a pickup in energy in the chorus and easy going vocal (guess that’s some southern drawl coming through which is sounding good to these South African ears).

Keep on keeping on

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Keep em comin sir!!

Your voice is far better than Dylans. And your playin is thight!!

Headstock looked way better without the tuner :rofl:

Keep rockin :metal:

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Very good cover Rod, I really liked the simplicity of it; nowhere to hide!
You’re doing really great, keep them coming! :+1:

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Great cover. My only suggestion would be to work on the dynamics of the strumming/singing. A little quieter in the verses and a little louder in the chorus. Its something I’ve always struggled with.

Keith

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You knocked that door down Rod, well done. A very competent version of the Dylan classic. Well played and sung. I’m always envious of you guys with American accents. You’re halfway there before your start. :smiley:

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Great cover, Rod. Nice steady strumming, and I quite liked the way you picked up the strumming pattern towards the end of the song, and also the slow down for the ending. Nicely played (and sung!)

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Thanks much, wow your way down the neck on that one version. You made it your own for sure. I’m in simple land for now but it’s piling on layer by layer! …Rod

Strum was different in the chorus and in my head i was thinking give the vocal more energy in the chorus but if that didn’t come through then I need to go bigger there! Thanks for the feedback…… Rod

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Thanks! I’m always at the beginner level with at least some part of the things I do. In this case it was my first time in drop D (tune the low E string to D), which opened up a really full D chord plus a new position and nice note additions on the G chord.

I know dynamics were mentioned previously and I noticed the strumming difference in the chorus. Dynamics are hard, and being aware of them is half the battle. More important to my ear, would be the addition of some single notes. That could be bass notes, melody lines, hammer ons-pull offs, strum just bass notes and or just treble notes. A chord is just three notes, we don’t have to strum all the strings to achieve the same purpose. :slight_smile:

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I’m enjoying your song choices. You are learning quickly. Like I’ve said before, great setup and presentation.

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That was great another fine performance, you are on fire! :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

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Very nicely done Rod. Lovely strumming and singing. I was just waiting for the Slash solo. :wink:

With regards to the G, these day’s I’m all about the weak fingered G, as Justin calls it, so that’s ring and pinky. I find it so much easier but then again I did learn the three fingered G before I came across Justin’s site.

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Solos are later for me for sure! I think the G grip comment was about my pointed index finger being tense. That’s what videos do, show things that you don’t really think about or realize. I get less tension is a good thing. I’ve looked at different videos and it’s not something i consistently do so not sure if a bad habit is forming or not. Regardless, the less force to fret a note or chord you can get away with is more optimal. Having said that, I did notice if i point that index i can really increase pressure for both ring and pinky on the strings. Since this was just me and the guitar maybe i needed that😀…. Rod