Rachel Coles - Learning Log

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81

Hello Rachel,

Great to see you tackling this timeless masterpiece. It will teach you alot if you stick with it. This very song really taught me how to bend, with some finer control.

A couple of blunt points if I may, wholly in the spirit of trying to be helpful.

  1. You are putting alot of time and effort into these pieces. I have followed them all.
    But, getting the basic mechanics/ approaches right will give you much more progress. Playing more tunes with the wrong mechanics/ approach will stagnate progress.

  2. You are still controlling your bending very much with your fingers/ hand. As such, all your bends are off-pitch.
    You will never gain any real consistent precision or control this way. Never. You need to begin controlling your bends from the wrist.

I would suggest doing daily, dedicated bending exercises, as per Justins instruction, with particular attention on the wrist mechanics first.

  1. Rhythm. Try to really listen to a backing track, to the pulse of a tune. This is not an optional step; its essential.
    Listen to Peter Greens original in this instance, then hum it over the backing track, without any guitar. If its not in your mind itā€™ll never be in your fingers.
    This is similar to what I said earlier about improvising; humming/ tapping/ singing etc over a backing track is a crucial part of it all. Its gives you the feel, the pulse.
    Justin has some great rhythm lessons. Moreover, his Strumming SOS course is a brilliant instruction in rhythm. Highly recomnend it.
    (The course really is a full-on Rhythm course, so very much centred on lead playing too)

  2. Are you critically listening to your playing? While sometimes jarring, this is pretty much an essential part of seeing and hearing where youā€™re at, from your perspective.
    Iā€™ve certainly had to face some unpleasant truths at times, as have many others, Iā€™m sure.

I hope you accept that Iā€™m writing this out of a simple desire to helpful. Thereā€™s no criticism here; and Im no expert, just a fellow traveller.
I just feel bad seeing people waste valuable and time effort reinforcing unhelpful methods.
Youā€™ve certainly got the will and determination, which is 90%. Concentrate on the other 10%, and I guarantee youā€™ll see your progress skyrocket.

All the best

Cheers, Shane

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82

Hi Shane,

Thank you for the critique and advice

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83

Update:

Iā€™m away on holiday for a week, so time to relax and not think about anythingā€¦

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