Great topic Jk, I absolutely need to find sometime to read all the replies! Shortly: the loud and quiet dynamics while strumming - that requires to adjust the grip on the pick to change the volume of strumming and this is taking MONTHS! But itās eventually clicking, only itāll require more months to really automate it and apply it to songs in order āto play by feelingāā¦ Playing by feelingā¦there! What does that mean really? I think this is also a good topic to start. On a brighter side: that pesky weak G: Iām really improving butā¦ooops that is takingā¦Years
Arpeggiating chords without lookingā¦I find that the metronome really helps here because it gives me the beat and I donāt have to think of itā¦also the hand needs to be really stable but I find it hard when thumb comes in it often seems to mess all the other fingers, so Iām currently working on thumb on its own as well so that it finds and build a close contact with the strings. That really requires time, but just like anything else with guitar itās all worth it
Just wondering as I am currently working on my picking mechanics as well, but isnāt a pure āup/downā motion actually what you want to achieve? Since changing it to an in/out moting seems like adding adding an extra motion.
For me itās fast down picking. I feel like I am at the edge of being able to play some cool songs but I am kinda stuck at around 150 bpm 8th notes. Also itās probably a timing issue since I am struggling to feel (as lame as that might sound) where the 8th notes belong at this tempo and find myself just missing beats when I push for higher tempi.
Hi Nick - youāre on the edge of a deep rabbit hole here! If you only had 1 string, then pure up/down would be fine. The issue is when you switch strings ā¦ pure up/down leaves you between two strings after a stroke, which means moving to a different string can be inefficient. You can get around this with an in/out motion, so for example if your upstoke is āoutā then you free the pick to move to another string.
This is a fairly new āscienceā and although guitarists have been playing this way a fair time, itās only in the last 10 years or so that itās really been studied.
Check out Troy Grady āCracking the codeā for as much detail as you can handle!!
Thatās a very exciting topic, JK
And lots of interesting posts already.
My own list of hard-for-me-things is quite long ā¦
On top are barre chords, of course. It is nice to know that it seems Iām not the only one and in very good company here
Power chords are a struggle, too.
Not to forget alternate picking.
Besides these more technical things Iām currently struggling with the choice what to practice. Thereās so much great stuff on the website, and I often find it hard to choose.
Currently Iām in Grade 2 and following the suggested practice routine, but in addition to this I also started Practical Music Theory, Strumming, Ear Training and all the clubs and live classes provide so much more great stuff and a vast amount of even more things to learn and practice. I recently dipped one toe into fingerpicking and liked it a lot (but found it quite tricky) ā¦ and what about the upcoming Blues course? Sounds really exciting
And I like to practice a lot more songs, there are so many tutorials on my wish-list
Motivation. I am on the sofa typing this when I should just go and pick up my acoustic guitar! I have just got to the end of Grade 3 and made a long list of the items that I need to work on during consolidation, but of course they are all the bits from the first 3 grades that I find difficult/boring things.
I have sidetracked in the last few months into Classical Guitar and am learning to play from standard notation rather than tabs and really enjoying it, probably because the learning comes quickly and there are musical pieces to play. So I find myself playing Classical instead of practicing Acoustic.
Iām an āexperiencedā Grade 2, having stopped and started guitar a few times, but the most challenging thing that Iām currently working on is changing to the FU barre chord. Itās coming along, and I have made sure that two of the songs Iām working on use that barre, but right now, itās the hard-for-me thing. The FU barre is the gateway to the other barreās, so at least I know there is a bigger picture than that one chord.
Likewise Iām learning 3 different songs with it in, each with a different chord before it, so 3 different transitions. The thing is theyāre all songs I want to learn which is an incentive in itself but as you say, if we shy away from this one then a lot of guitar playing in the future has a big no entry sign in front of it
Only 6 weeks into this (Beginner 1 Mod 5). Dm was tough compared to C. Hard for me to put pressure down with pinky without the ring finger hammering down in front of the index finger and of course chord changes. I know itās only going to get better with practice practice practice.
Among other things, Iāve been focusing heavily on developing my picking technique, based around alt picking, and incorporating economy/sweep picking where needed. Been doing a structured course for about 7 months now.
It can be a hard slog at times, as Iāve now realised its a long game.
Ingraining those string changing techniques in particular can be very frustrating at times, as different licks, runs etc require different motions/techniques, particularly as the speed increases.
I know Iām making progress, but at times, I just want to get to the " automated stage". Gonna be awhile methinks.
Who am I to go against Justin? Nevertheless, I say play it the easiest way you can. When you really need your pinky for something, then you can train it by doing that thing. As somebody around here says, Simples!
wow, coming in late and it hasnāt even been a day yet!
Jokes aside, anything new is always a big deal. I donāt get why that is.
Songs:
remembering the subtle changes in M&O Blues. Been working on this for longer than I like.
Getting mind and fingers to sync with the flourishes on Justinās Sweet Home Chicago lesson
Technique:
basic accuracy on picking individual strings. Whoād think that would still be a problem after a couple years! This one is really frustrating!
grabbing a barre chord with enough speed to make it useful
Improvements
figuring out how to cleanly play after a chord roll. Yeah - kind of weird to be stuck here, but I really dislike the hard stop I hear for a song I otherwise do fairly well.
I had to physically hook my ring finger behind the neck when I first started learning Dm the way Justin teaches it, it was really hard. Now a couple of years later itās pretty easy (so keep at it, youāll get there) but I am having to relearn the fingering for a classical piece I am learning that requires me to keep my little finger free to put down on the 1st string and finding that really hard
ā¦.Iāve got it to 90ā¦
Gonna be awhile methinks.
