Thought I’d share a fun little snippet of the journey we all go through. A new song to learn for my consolidation including new barre chords and percussive hits (which I’m still getting to grips with)…we all know the pain right?
Plus the realisation when you listen to the original that the tempo is about 20x faster than this 
I’m tempted to say this is my favourite of your shares to date, Mark.
No, not because of your proficiency nor the song, but because you appear to have taken a giant step in becoming comfortable to share where you are up to, as well as feeling relaxed enough to smile during and after the performance.
How cool is that? 
Vibes 
Certainly not too much proficiency there Brian!!
But yes you’re absolutely right, not because I’m being told to smile more but because you know what?, I am enjoying not just the playing when it’s time to record an AVOYP, but the process above all.
Also Maggie’s @batwoman ‘s story of the little rocker at the OM she attended served as a great reminder to just keep on having fun regardless 
Mark, I think we have all been , and are there a lot of the time. Imagine if that was the first song you ever had to learn, you wouldn’t have been able to start.
That bend in your little finger is crazy, and highlights that how we all approach learning this challenging instrument is modified by our different anatomy.
Great job and thanks for sharing.
Do you go to the country?
It isn’t very far
There’s people there that’ll hurt you
Because of who you are
Did I get it right?
Totally agree with Phil on your little finger, are you double jointed? 
Yep spot on with the song @jkahn , actually suggested by my partner originally as it sits quite well with my vocal depth / range. Plus it’s a terrific song imo anyway. The videos pretty odd too if you’ve never seen it
I’m not quite double jointed but my hands / fingers are very bendy, enough to make a lot of people wince at how far I can bend my fingers back 
You’re right @philsmith , if I’d been shown this video of me 18 months ago I’d have laughed at it thinking “nah, couldn’t be me, that’d take years surely”. Really is a journey isn’t it, but a fun one!
Great smile at the end.
That is some weird chord progression.
Kudos for being able to play A-shape major barre chords with both 3rd and 4th fingers as the upper barre. A great ability to have.
Thanks Richard! I actually find it much easier to do the upper barre (hadn’t heard that term before, every day is a school day!) with my little finger both for the stretch and because that top joint is a bit freaky as the others have pointed out so it lays nicely without muting the high E!
I hadn’t considered it a weird chord progression just because I know the song so well but yeah I guess so, Coffee & TV by Blur btw if you’re interested.
Thanks for sharing Notter, it made me smile 
So relatable 
Hi Mark,
What a lovely musical mess you’ve made 
,…that little finger ,…but great that you shared it, 
…and I don’t think it will take you too long to make this sound good,…I saw a lot of good 
Greetings,…
Thanks for sharing!
Your strumming was nice and relaxed, even relaxed with the percussive strum. So even, I am jealous, I mean, impressed! My percussive are more erratic in tone and strength.
Interesting about bendy fingers. Mine are decidedly not bendy, and I wish they were a little more so. Single finger cordings, like A maj and barres, like Justin’s two finger A shape barre are pretty impossible for me. I simply can’t fret two or three strings with one finger, unless they are the b and e…
Nice percussive strumming. Looked real smooth to me. And Wow! The way you bend that pinky. Wish I could do that.
Another FBMV on the forum!
In future I’ll only listen to your videos. Just too crazy envious of the flexibility of your fingers to watch! Just kidding, but not about the envy. Coming along nicely, Mark. And obviously enjoying it. That’s the main thing.
Great share. It looks like you’re having lots of fun learning that one. I look forward to seeing the end result.
I’m one of them 
Best not look at my fretting hand then as we move on then James!! Thinking this will be one of the last ones I end up finishing through G2. I’ve not properly started it yet, this was having spend 20 minutes or so after printing out the tab. I’m kind of doing 2 x songs at a time along with a bit of scale work as practice routines at the moment.
Just give me a prewarning like they do on American TV for shows like Scooby Doo.
that will come in real handy when you start your blues consolidation
That was great Mark. I have only been on here a couple of months and have been following the videos you post and the improvement over that time is really noticeable. Love the percussive hits , and this is something I am also working on. One day I nail it and the next it’s like I am doing it for the first time 
. Keep ‘em coming!
Aw, thanks Eddie, appreciate that!!
I find the same with percussive hits too at the moment, don’t be fooled by one video, and it’s hardly like they’re perfect in this anyway (which was kind of the point!!).
I get the same with the hits, and barres too, some days they work, others not. And always in the first 10 minutes of practice they don’t!!
Well done Mark, I think your percussive element is coming together nicely, once you have technique sorted out (and you are like 98% there) you can switch it to autopilot and focus on learning some nice songs using the backbeat a good one although a bit tricky at first is Fast Car by Tracy Chapman if that’s something from your corner of the room! all the best Mark! And don’t worry too much about your fretting hand, as long as it rings out and is not causing you any pain it’s fine.
Cheers Adi
I don’t think I’ve played Fast Car since grade 1, I need to listen to it again as I can’t recall hearing percussives in that! I’ve always had it in mind for finger work however at some point but can’t say it’s high up my list nowadays.
It’s not me worrying about my fretting hand, I think it’s going to make some feel a little queasy though