Day 6
Practise yesterday despite bad hands!! went through my practise routine and did some fast changes but had to give up there.
Today feeling a bit better if not colder, did routines and chord changes.
I wanted to learn guitar, not to play any one song, but to play a lot of songs!! So ive been finding it difficult to pick a song that not only speaks to me, but to my abilities.
I found that in Chasing cars by Snow Patrol. 3 chords and fastish changes, I think ive found my practise song!! If it improves beyond embarrassment, i may video it.
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Hi Eric,
Making a video and asking for improvement is never an embarrassing video,…well done and keep it up, 
Greetings,Rogier
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Hi Eric,
I can guarantee almost to a certainty that everyone who has posted an AVOYP here has felt the same way at some point. There have been many references over the years to “Red light fever” (when the record light is turned). Urban Dictionary: Red Light Fever Trust me, having suffered through it, it’s real.
So take a deep breath, do the video and know that pretty much everyone in your audience has experienced the same thing and will understand what you are going through.
Oh, and BTW, know that RLF can happen on your first, your twentieth, or your two-hundredth recording.
Glen
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Update day…no idea!!
Still doing my practising using practise routines, very beneficial.
I’ve got A, D and E down to a point i don’t have to look at finger placement any more.
Chasing cars practise, well its coming along and if I have the video playing with volume up I almost sound in time if not in tune!!
Its going to take a fair bit more practise to get it to a stage that I feel confident enough for criticism!
And despite popular belief, Catholics DON’T have natural rhythm!
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Update part 2…
Now, im soooo frustrated.
My short fat stumpy fingers let me down again.
Iv managed to play A E and D almost the way it should be but, as my fingers are so fat, i can only fit 2 fingers in fret 2 for A. so my index finger presses G and B strings and my middle finger presses D. switching from A to D or E is relatively easy by applying ring finger to A string or little finger to B, 3rd fret.
Now along comes minor chords. It is a physically impossibility to form the shape using suggested fingers for Am. As much as I really want to progress, im hampered by physical deformity.
So, options?
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Hi Eric, what is it about the A minor chord that you find impossible?
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I have fat finger pads and whenever I try to put my ring finger down i always end up muting strings!
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Eric, it should be possible. Position your hand so that your fingers are perpendicular to the fretboard, not laying flat across the strings. It doesn’t matter if your 3rd finger is touching the 4th string because you are fretting that with 2nd finger. Don’t let 3rd finger touch 2nd string though because you fret that with 1st finger, 1st fret.
Your best source of advice is Justin’s Aminor lesson on the website and his Chord Perfect lesson.
Good luck
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Post xmas update…
I passed frustration junction and took the next exit to enthusiasm!!
Ive managed a fe work arounds with my playing and now have caged down, i think!!
I need to keep on my perfect chords including Am, Dm. Em i got!!
Even over xmas I managed to keep up my 30 minute practise sessions and its slowly paying off.
The wife got me a finger strengthener from Amazon for xmas
which has actually helped with my weak pinkie.
As part of my warming up, Ive learnt pentatonic E scale, which has also helped with finger placement and speed.
Now onto module 4 practise.
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Happy New Year all!!
For the past 2 days ive been a bit too busy to hold my guitar, as hands were preoccupied with a glass of something or other!
So today begins a new guitar year for me and a resolution to make a video at some point showing what progress (if any!) Ive made
Ive found this community to be a real source of encouragement and with Justins course, I hope to be able to play songs that are recognisable ( and not just noise!) before too long.
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Hi Eric.
You’re all set.
Your friend has done you a good turn sourcing that gear - it will be all you need for a while.
Module 0 done.
Module 1 underway.
Good luck and do what you can, when you can, fingers and hands allowing.
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Quick update
Despite trying to practise daily, I had to put that on hold for a few days as I couldnt move the fingers on my left hand due to swelling from my condition.
Im back on schedule again and doing my chords, but im having major issues with C chord.
No matter what i try, my ring finger will not stretch far enough over to allow the A string to ring out clearly and trying a quick change to C sounds downright awful!!
It seems apt to me that Ive got AGED down perfectly though!!!
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Hi Eric, just find what is the optimum practice and rest combination that works for you. With practice you’ll find which arm, wrist, hand and fingers position provide the best grip for the C chord with less effort and strain. Try twisting a little the position while doing the perfect chords exercise and find which position adjustment works best.
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Eric, Don’t get too discouraged with the slow progress with the C chord. Justin mentions in his C chord video that he had a few problem in the beginning of learning the C chord. I know I did. Justin also shows a different way to position your fingers by rotating your hand slightly counter clockwise. If you still have muting of strings, you could try to slide your thumb to the middle of the back of the neck of your guitar. Keep practicing with slow changes and you will eventually get better.
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Thanks for the words of encouragement guys, very much appreciated.
Ive been practising C chord and my fingers are slowly stretching to where i can get it without too much strain, im sure ill have it down pat fairly soon then I’ll have to try fast changes…!!!
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January Update
Its been a busy month and with hand injury Ive had a few days without practising. But, ive managed to comfortably make c chord and can do caged without too many issues.
Ive also (almost) got Horse with no name down to where the wife can tell which song it is (bonus!!) and have been practising Copperhead road, which wife (had never heard!) though sounded “quite good”!!!
More updates to follow as things progress. I will also at some point sort camera out for a video as suggested.
Thank you all for encouraging comments, I wouldnt be where I am without them.
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Mid Feb update
Ive been so busy of late, ive not had chance to poste an update, so heres a brief one!
I bought a cheap acoustic
to help my finger stretching as its got a wider neck and found its also making my fingers stronger as it requires more pressure to fret correctly. It feels so much easier when i switch from acoustic to electric and find i need no pressure to fret strings.
I also bought a cheap looper pedal,
which I’ve been having lots of fun with and decided to cannibalize the acoustic as an experiment so i can plug that into the pedal and by jove, it works!!
As a by product of this, my acoustic coming out the amp sounds really good too!!
Still practising chord perfection (getting there slowly) and fast changes (getting there even slower with my poor fingers) but im having a load of fun on the way!!!
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March update
Callouses developing nicely!!!
Im still practising daily and doing all exercises as and when im able to.
After the purchase of the acoustic in January, im converted to the versatility of it. So I went and got a Yamaha F310 to make learning easier.
If nothing else, im gathering a nice collection of wall art!!
With the F310, I replaced the nut and bridge, lowered the action on bridge end and fitted new strings with Ernie Ball Earthwood 80/20 Bronze Alloy Extra Light Acoustic Guitar Strings.
It plays really well for me and sounds lovely.
Now i need to teach my hands to communicate with each other and I’ll be in business!!
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That is a very nice collection. I found myself looking at guitars this morning on Sweetwater. Showed one to the hubby, he requested I wait awhile. Yeah, I can do that. For now.
So being unfamiliar with most guitars, which acoustic is which?
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The acoustic on the left is a really nasty, cheap guitar I found on facebook. Made by Falcon and it truly is cheap!!! But as an experiment I added a pickup and controls to it and thru my fly amp it doesnt sound too bad.The action is seriously high which is only useful for building up the calouses on my fingertips as I have to press so hard. I tried lowering the action but, cause its so cheap, the bridge is glued in!!
The one on the right is Yamaha F310 which I also picked up fairly cheap and found out it had never been played since being bought brand new. First thing i did was check the action. It was still quite high (factory set) so i trawled youtube and found a really helpful video from Gibsons Luthier on lowering the action and after changing strings for lighter ones and following the video, I got a nice sounding acoustic for under £70.
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