Yggdrasilium

There's nothing wrong in following your own advice. At least then you know the advice is good, right? 😉 Please let us know if the crash course is a good one, Neil!

I think you're absolutely right about that, John. It's a good feeling when you realize you're actually looking forward to getting back to practicing. A break can cause that to happen. I have also noticed that I'm more likely to relax my fingers when I've taken a break. Doesn't have to be a long break. A good night's sleep is often all it takes. When my fingers are relaxed, I'm playing better, more controlled. Tense finger muscles is not a good thing when you're playing guitar.

Thanks for all the great tips, guys, and sorry for falling off the radar. I really appreciate you taking the time to answer my question. Reading about music theory is a great tip. The topic of scales is a bit beyond my current level, I'm afraid, but I'm going to keep that in mind when I - hopefully - make some more progress with the course. The idea of a travelling guitar came as a surprise to me; I didn't even know they existed. It's so practical, as it's so small and easy to fit inside a decently sized suitcase. Did you pay much for it? I got back from my vacation about three weeks ago, and have been enjoying some alone-time with my guitar now and then. 🙂 Today I thought I'd fire up the old DVD and go through Steve's lesson 4 videos again, and see if I am having any difficulty playing that stuff. I took a break from the course a few months ago, and have been using the book "Hal Leonard Easy Pop Melodies" since I find it a good companion source material for practicing the notes on the first five frets. Steve has recommended buying those books, after all. I now see why he did so. The break from the course has done me good, I believe. It has been refreshing, which I needed after spending many months in session 4. My hope is that I will feel ready to move on to session 5 shortly. 🙂

So here I am sunk deep down into my beach chair in Italy. The sun is roasting anything or anyone not smart enough to hide under a parasol or dip their bodies in the wonderful, cool sea. I'm one of the smart ones. So I know how lucky I am to be able to get away from the usual stress and the everyday bustle and shuffle. How come I'm missing playing my guitar while my toes are digging in the sand and the sound of washing waves fill my ears? I am trying to figure out what I can do to develop my skill and knowledge of music in times when I don't have an instrument at hand. I thought of bringing books along with me, but decided against it. They're too heavy and not practical to bring with me to the beach. One thing I have been using, and which has helped open my eyes, is the cell phone app called Justin Guitar Note Trainer. It shows you the first 12 frets of the guitar and asks you to identify the notes on the various frets and strings. I'm currently getting towards the end of session 4 of the Learn And Master Guitar course, so these types of exercises are very useful for me right now. I've had a few aha-moments too, and I've gotten a few glimpses of patterns and relationships between strings that I haven't seen before, and that the course hasn't taught me yet. So, what do you guys do to practise while travelling? Am I missing out on some cool apps or tools that could further my skills and knowledge of music and the guitar in particular?

Congratulations, @CliffMcCartney! You're doing great! I started session 4 on January 24 this year, but do not feel ready to move on yet. That's 7 weeks so far, although I haven't been practicing every day. Hopefully, I'll follow you to session 5 in the not-too-distant future. Keep up the good work! 👍

@Sharont It's always nice to hear from other beginners. Know that you're not alone. I started working on the LMG course before Christmas 2018. I wish you good luck on your path! ?

Thanks for the information, Diane! I purchased the Fretboard Workout bundle in today's Flash sale. Five courses at a very good price! I am currently working on L&M session 4, and have been for about three weeks now, I suppose. I predict that I'm going to be spending the next three in this session as well. ? I'll take the Speed and Agility course for a spin soon. From what Steve had to say about it, I expect to be challenged. It will offer a break from the monotony of the exercises in L&M session four. I'm not saying that session 4 is boring, but... ah, you probably know what I mean. ?

Which live lesson video are you referring you, @Jusca? The link unfortunately no longer works. I hope that it has been uploaded to the Guitar Gathering YouTube page.

Don't worry about that. If playing at 65 bpm feels more comfortable - or natural - to you than 60, I say: good for you! I certainly wouldn't categorize it as a "problem". I encourage you to just keep practicing regularly. I'm sure that what may seem strange to you at this stage, will seem natural later on. I'm currently working my way through session 4, but it hasn't been that long since I was doing the exercises in session 2, where you are now. I remember how tricky it was to learn the first three to six notes. Now, my fingers react instinctively when I play the notes on the first four strings. I need some more repetitions before I can say the same thing about the notes on the fifth and sixth string, but I'm confident that these notes will feel as natural to play as the notes on the first four strings if I just keep at it. It's really true what they say: practice does the trick. Good luck with your endeavours! ?

Looking forward to chapter two, Sandy. ?

That gives hope to us all! ?

That was moving, Diane. Beautifully written. Now, make that cordoba sing...

I bought myself a metronome (Cherub WSM-240 is the brand and model name) some days ago and I've been working on those tricky exercises in the bonus workshop for session 3 (the ones with the headline of "Ties, dots and rests"). I mentioned earlier that I was having some difficulty keeping the rhythm when quarter and eight rests appears, often in combination with dotted notes. Well, I have to say that with the metronome I finally got it right! It's strange, but for some reason I was making the note ring for a shorter duration instead of longer in some cases, if that makes sense. It really threw me off, because I felt that I wasn't playing to the correct rhythm, but couldn't figure out exactly what I was doing wrong. Alright, I learned something new today as well. ? Thanks for the recommendation!

It's inspiring to hear about your journey. I'm in session 4 at the moment, so at the very beginning, really. Having a lot of fun, but of course, no results come without some sweat, frustration and effort (practice). I think it's a big accomplishment to get through all 20 sessions in two and a half years. I hope that I am able to do the same. Congratulations. I like what you said about this feeling like a beginning for you. Yes, there's always more to learn. ?

I started working on session 4 today, and after having glanced at the content in the book, and watched the first part of Steve's video, I can now say that I understand what all the fuss is about. This one's going to make me break a sweat, I think. ? But, you know what? I'm in this thing for the long haul. Even though the challenge is greater than in previous sessions, I'm having a lot of fun. I struggled for a while with sessions 2 and 3, but now they're fairly easy. Like someone else mentioned, the rests are still causing a bit of confusion with regards to the rhythm, but I'm not letting that hold me back. I'll get hold of a metronome and see if that helps. Currently I'm rocking a bit back and forth while I play, to "feel" the beat.