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Hitting the correct string consistently does take some practice at the beginning. It does take a while for the muscle memory to develop and you become more accurate at hitting the correct string. Yes, bracing will help, so I encourage you to do that, even though it may feel a bit awkward for you at the beginning. Giving your hand this point of reference will help develop the necessary muscle memory and motor skill control. Also, repetition, will help solidify the muscle movements. Play through the exercises over and over again. Go back through the old exercises and play them again and again. All of the repetition at these earlier stages is important for building consistent finger movements. Practicing exercises that require jumping between strings is particularly helpful. Also, at these early stages, I think it is fine and helpful to look at your hands to get a reference point. So, if you feel the need to take a quick glance then that is perfectly fine. But, after a few weeks you need to quickly wean yourself off of looking and force yourself to start to pick the strings by feel. Because I have seen the harmless "beginners" glance turn into a real handicap to your progress in a month or so when you are starting to play at a quicker speed but constantly slowed down by the continual glancing. So, I encourage you to... - Keep up with the bracing. - Go back through the old exercises often. - Look if you need to. (But after you get your reference point and have played the exercise a couple of times, then try to play it without looking.) This time of "mis-firing" is frustrating but the good news is is that it is usually pretty short-lived and in a few weeks you probably aren't going to be wrestling with this too much any more. Keep Learning & Growing! - Steve Krenz P.S. regarding reference points for the fretting hand. Your fretting hand, as you know, will struggle with finding it's bearings and reference points as well. My advice to you is to keep doing the finger exercises outlined in the first session. Let them be just your warm-up before you move on to other things. These will help solidify the fretting hand fingers in their open "spread" position. As with the picking hand problems, this does take a while to get used to. But let me encourage both of you. These are very common frustrations that happen as you are just starting out on this guitar learning journey. Almost everyone goes through this awkward phase of mis-fires and plucking while fretting the proper strings. I have walked thousands of players through the stage that you are both in now. While it is truly frustrating, please realize that this is truly a short phase and that within a few weeks this will not be as large of a problem as it appears now. In a few weeks you will have other playing concerns and this mis-firing or fretting problem will have worked itself out. On Barre Chords and Hand Pain http://community.leg...opic.php?t=2060

From my perspective, here are the major milestones in the course... End of Session 4 - You have learned how to read music, and learned all of the notes in the first position. And, even more importantly, you have shown your perseverance in sticking with it. End of Session 6 - A smaller milestone but an important one of learning all of the important open chords. End of Session 8 - Major Milestone. By here, you have earned the right to call yourself a guitar player. You know music reading, notes, scales, chords and barre chords. You are a Certified Guitar Player by this point. You have gained the ability to sit in and play with other musicians. You are no longer a "beginner". You now have the skills that most guitar players have. End of Session 10 - Major Milestone. If you have made it through session 10 then you have officially added fingerstyle technique into your bag of tricks. This is a very useful technique. End of Session 11 - Major Milestone - Pentatonic Scales. The world of soloing and understanding of the neck are becoming clearer to you. You're going from being just rhythm guitar player to someone who can play lead guitar. End of Session 13 - Major Musical Understanding Milestone - Triads. You now are understanding what music is made up of. You are doing college level music theory. If you can come out of Session 13 with the ability to spell any triad by memory, then the rest of musical understanding will fall into place for you. End of Session 16 - Major Technique Milestone - 16th Note Strumming. End of Session 17 - Really Major Technique Milestone - Three Note on a String Scales. Major Musical Understanding Milestone - Seventh Chords. This is a huge session with probably the culmination of all the musical elements in becoming a great guitar player, technically and in musical understanding. End of Session 20 - Major Milestone in completing the course but also in gaining some of the most practical aspects of real guitar playing in learning chords and chord substitutions. If you reach the end of the course there is not much that will stump you in any guitar learning that you might come across that you are not adequately prepared for in some form or other through the course.

Lots of songwriters can come up with the melody but need someone to help them with the chords. ( I live in Nashville. I wish I had a nickel every time I was asked to help a singer figure out the chords to their song. Or, instead of the nickel, maybe credit in the songwriting credits. But alas, I digress. ) While there are limitless possibilities of combinations that chords can take. The truth is that most songs follow along pretty predictable paths. On pg. 83 in the Learn & Master Guitar Lesson book there is a section on the Harmonized Major Scale. Take a minute to read that and try to understand the concept. In every key, the pattern of major and minor chords is the same. Here are the four chords that you need to know (in roman numerals)... The I (one) chord - This is going to be your home base - the tonal center of your song. Generally this is the chord that will be the first chord and the last chord of a song. The IV (four) chord - This is going to be a secondary home base. It even shares some of the chord tones as the I chord. The V (five) chord - This is an important chord that usually preceeds or resolves to the I chord. Chances are if there is a I chord, then there is a V chord right before it--especially at the end of a song. The vi (six) chord - This is the only one of these four chords that is minor. It works along with the IV chord as another option to go to. If you know these four chords in a few keys then you probably could play most songs you hear on the radio. These four chords probably represent 80% of the chords in any contemporary song. If we were in C, these chords would be C (I), F (IV), G (V), Am (vi). Common progressions you see all the time are... I-vi-IV-V I-V-vi-IV I-IV-vi-V So, back to your original question about putting chords to your song. As you are singing through your song, figure out what key you are in. Chances are you will begin and end on the I chord. When you come across a part where the chord changes in your mind, then go through the 4 main chords and see if one of them fits what's in your mind's ear. This should get you most of the chords in your song. But if you still have a few blanks left to be filled in, then try some of the other chords outlined on page 83 that fit into that key. Here are a couple of rules... V chords want to resolve to I chords. You probably aren't going to want to leave a V chord without resolving it. ii (two minor) chords like to be paired with a V to resolve to a I. i.e. ii-V-I. Anyway, I hope this helps. If you still can't figure out the chords, then make friends with a guitar or piano player, and offer to feed him if he spends a few minutes working on your song. The old food bribe works everytime with toddlers and musicians. Just a trick of the trade. Let me know how it turns out.

On Important Secrets to Guitar Learning I have had this on my heart to talk about for a while so here we go. Let me tell you one of the true factors of whether you truly improve. As often as I have said that there are no secrets of the pros, here is a true secret of the pros. This is one thing that all real guitar players have that guys who just wish they could play do not have. It's not a special cable or strings or a particular amp or style of guitar and yet it will make or break your chances of success. It is... PERSEVERANCE. Dogged, unyielding perseverance. It's the voice inside of you that says "I will conquer this thing. It may not be right now as I am practicing it or tomorrow or the next day but rest assured I will wrestle with it until I master this." It doesn't matter whether it is music reading or barre chords or soloing or playing in front of people or whatever. Winston Churchill still speaks to us even to this day in our guitar learning world when he says "Never Give Up. Never Give In. Never. NEVER. NEVER." Weak players give up. Wannabe's give up. Dreamers give up. Real guitar players keep wrestling with the new skill until it is conquered. The real factor that will determine your success in guitar playing or anything else for that matter, is not found in a guitar store or a guitar magazine. It is in your heart. I have explained how to do barre chords more times than I can count. I have explained it every way I can think of, every angle imaginable. I have used every analogy that I can think of. But, truly, information can only get you so far in guitar learning. And if I have been negligent, it has been in not emphasizing the vitalness of perseverance enough through the course and on the discussion board. The factor that will propel you through the difficult aspects of playing guitar is perseverance. One step at a time, One exercise at a time, One practice session at a time you must relentlessly, ruthlessly keep chipping away at the skill until you master it. If there is a voice inside of your heart, no matter how small, that says "I don't care how long it takes me, I WILL play barre chords." Then I have no doubt you'll get there. But if you do not have that voice inside your heart saying that, then there is hardly a technique or skill that I can teach you that will push you over the edge into success. Learning something does not just involve accumulation of information. It must involve perseverance or you won't have the backbone enough to make it through the tough learning times. Perseverance is a true secret of the pros.

On Playing Left or Right Handed My thoughts are... if you have already been playing right-handed and feel comfortable doing so and you have reached a level of competency on it, then keep on playing right-handed. Ultimately, I don't think re-learning left-handed will help you and the musical plateau you are on. After teaching many, many left handed students and guiding them through this left handed vs. right handed dilemma, here is my professional opinion. I think you have already found your "handed" dominance with your right hand. If you can play at a reasonable level right-handed then I'd say you are probably using the correct hand to play. A truly dominantly left-handed player would not be able to play very well at all right handed. The motor skill facility would simply not be there. You would still be wrestling with getting your fingers to hit the correct strings and forming a chord would be extremely difficult but strumming along with a chord progression across many chords would be near impossible. I assume that you are already beyond this capability so I think probably right-handed is the way to go for you. So then the problem becomes breaking through in your ability to the next level. And that is something that is very possible with some good information, a little inspiration, and some work. I hope this helps.

On why musicians practice I recently came across this article regarding the motivation for practicing and becoming a better musician. This article has been adapted but was originally on musicianshome.com and the only author given is Kevin. I couldn't agree more with everything that is said. Here it is... A Musician who does not practice cannot really call themselves a musician. Anyone who loves their instrument and wants to make it part of their life should crave time to further master their art. Sometimes, musicians go through a period of non-practice for a number of reasons, but in general, they have passion and look forward to any opportunity to play music. A musician can always rehearse, prepare, repeat, refine, sharpen and improve constantly towards further precision and ease, aiming for a flawless and faultless performance every time. They should be able to play their instrument as effortlessly as they can blink or breath and constant, regular practice is the only way to achieve this. Just because you know how to read music and can work out how to play songs with ease does not mean you do not have to put in time and effort. If you are serious about wanting music to be a part of your life, you will have to learn all you can and continue to improve indefinitely. Musicians who refuse to practice seem arrogant and conceited and often fall behind everyone else in ability and technique. Lack of discipline is a very unattractive quality in a musician and other professionals only give credit to those who work at developing their talent. Part of practicing is usually being creative and coming up with new material. If you don't give yourself the time to practice and perfect your instrument, you will never be inspired to master a new tune or write more lyrics. If you are part of a band for example, you don't want to be the only one who never writes new material or contributes to the group. And you want other band members to see noticeable improvements in your abilities so they will respect and trust you. It also isn't enough to write music, you need to practice and perfect it so every time you perform you are faultless. Many people are blessed with natural musical abilities. This does not mean there still isn't more to be learned about technique and training that has been developed through the ages. Singing is a great example of this and is a musical art form that has been fine-tuned by many exceptional singers from history. Techniques to train the voice and extend the abilities of the vocal chords have been tried and tested and if you don't know them, you are going to be less than you could be. Singing lessons go further into teaching you tongue techniques, pronunciation practices and posture positions that can improve your sound and success to no end. Those who believe there natural ability is enough to get by in life more often than not fail and look back with regret. Someone who really wants to make a career out of music could succeed through their actions, not their words. Talking about music and even listening to it all the time is not going to get you anywhere. You have to practice, practice, practice and then practice some more! If you aren't doing this, you aren't serious. You need to seek out anyone who can give you advice or lessons to further your knowledge and add to your technique. Do not fall into the trap of thinking you know everything just because you have had a few compliments over the years. To truly make it in any part of the music industry, you have to learn from the professionals. Don't be stubborn and be willing to let go of old habits and learn some new and better ones. It could be something as simple as your posture. You may play guitar so intently, you have never even realized that some of the positions you hold your body in are making things harder for you. A professional can point this out and give you homework you can practice to change your old habits. Singers especially need to know all about posture and how to hold their neck, jaw and tongue. Breathing is very important and practice and warm-ups are vital to success. If you love your instrument, but are finding it difficult to practice, there are some things you can do about it. You may be lacking motivation or have possibly reached the peak of what you are able to do by yourself. You should look at getting together with others who play appropriate instruments and have jam sessions. This is a free for all group music practice where you play anything and everything, resulting in inspiration and a fresh lease on your musical life. If you have reached a point where you are uninspired, go and get lessons. You will be bound to learn many new things you can practice and introduce into your writing. If none of these things seem to work for you, then you need to look at whether you really have a love and passion for the instrument you have learned. It could be time to consider trying something new. Musicians practice for many reasons, but if you don't have a natural desire to spend the time doing it, there is no point in dreaming. If you are a musician but you spend little or no time going over what you know, learning new things and writing new songs, you should look seriously at whether the instrument is right for you. If it is just a case of going through a motivation drought, take some steps to get the spark back and have faith it will pass. Be patient on your musical pathway and know that, if you put in the hard work and stay positive, you will be rewarded. I am not saying that everyone should give every waking moment to practicing. Learning new skills on your guitar should take its place in the overall list of lifes responsibilities and endeavors. This article is merely pointing out a simple and profound fact that I heartily agree with - that skill is not cheap. Dreamers and Do-ers are two completely different roads that are available for you to choose as a musician. And the do-er who quietly goes into the practice room faithfully out of a love for music and a passion to play to do the hard work of learning how to play is the only one that will get the reward.

On Simplified Chords Hello all, The reason I put the simplified chords in the bonus resources book is for the people that may struggle with the full version of the chords at these early stages. Neither one of them is more "correct" than any other. A chord is just a collection of notes. A three note C chord on a guitar is just as much a C chord as if a whole orchestra plays it. So the difference comes down to the "sound" you are going for. Sometimes when I am in the studio, it is amazing at how just the simplest combinations of tones will fit so nicely into a track. I suggest not getting too confused by it all. If you are on Session 2 or 3 then just focus in on learning the single notes for now and the chords will become a lot clearer by the time you get to Session 5 when chords are officially introduced.

Let me touch on the chord naming confusion. Are chords named loosely? No. Generally, if they are notated with care, then they are accurately represented. If they say a Cmaj9 then they are very specifically wanting a Cmaj9, not a Cmaj7. But sometimes, chord notes are so strongly implied that they will not be spelled out exactly. For example, if I am in Dm and I see a common chord progression of Emin7(b5) to an Aaug. It is very strongly implied that the Aaug is actually an Aaug7 with the added G. Because it is so customary in this scenario that the Aaug is functioning as the dominant which would include the seventh note (G) in the chord. This is just one example of a little bit of ambiguity that is built into the system. Now, a similar problem occurs with Diminished chords. When you see a diminished chord it is almost always OK to include the Seventh step (actually the double-flatted seventh step) to the chord. For example, If I see a Dbdim chord, then I almost instictively would be expected to include the Cbb (or enharmonically Bb) into the chord. Even though, technically the chord name is only telling us that the chord is a triad. That's why a Bb sounds good in a Db dim chord. But if they didn't want the Bb in there and wanted the Cb or B instead then they would have to tell you to play a Db half-dim 7. But if it is just a Db dim or any diminished chord then it is strongly implied (unless you are playing some Bach classical music piece or something from that time) that you are going to include the 7th step to the triad (actually the double-flatted seventh step. Sorry for the confusion, but that's the way it is. If the music says that they want an Fmaj13, then you have to play an Fmaj13. But if it says to play an Fdim, then you can play an Fdim but you can play an Fdim7 and be just as correct. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Slug and Jsignal, Can any note of the dimished chord (1-b3-b5) or the fully diminished seventh chord (1-b3-b5-bb7) be the root? The answer is Yes. Any note of a Diminished chord can serve as the chords root. Because you have stumbled upon a musical repeating number. Think of it like this. Let's look at a D diminished chord. The notes in the chord are D-F-Ab-Cb (or (1-b3-b5-bb7) So this chord is a D diminished but it is also a B diminished... and a D diminished... and an F diminished... and an Ab diminished. You see, a diminished chord is actually a collection of intervals - all minor 3rd intervals. So, if I switch the notes around I get B-D-F-Ab. Since all of these notes are the identical interval from each other, they have an unusual relationship to each other. Think of it like a repeating number in math. So this chord is just as much a D diminished as it is an Ab diminished. It's wierd but that is the wonderful magic of diminished chords. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Slug, as far as your initial question about how to use diminished chords. Here are the main ways that diminished chords are used in chord progressions. 1) As a transition chord. Diminished chords are a great way to approach any chord. Diminished chords are so unstable harmonically you would rarely ever want to just land on a diminished chord and hold it. Usually they are used as stepping stones to get to another chord. And usually the resolution chord is a half-step up from the diminished chord's root. For example, If I want to get from a C to a Dm, I could slip a C#dim in between them for a smooth, jazzy transition to the Dm chord like this... C - C#dim - Dm. It also works for major chords as well. For example I could go from an F to a G by squeezing in an F#dim between them creating F - F#dim - G. Diminished chords can function as an approaching chord for any chord, major or minor. Just go one half-step down from the chord you are going to and play the diminished chord. This works as a simple, effective, jazzy transition to any chord. 2) Diminished chords can also serve as a substitute for a Dominant seventh chord with a flatted ninth. OK, hang on to your theory hats. Lets say my progression is Dm - G7(b9) - C. Well, the notes in a G7 (b9) are G-B-D-F-Ab (1-3-5-b7-b9). If you take out the G of this chord, the notes left are B-D-F-Ab which are the exact notes of a B diminished chord. So, if I'm soloing with my jazz quartet and I come across the progression Dm - G7 - C then I would probably turn the Dm into a Dm7, then turn the G7 into a G7(b9) and then play B diminished licks and chords everywhere on my way to the C. It's just a real effective jazz soloing trick. Anyway, sorry about the long post. But I hope this helps.

On Most common Keys Yes, you can use an Am pentatonic scale over the key of A Major (3 sharps). And you will get... a Bluesy kind of sound. Minor pentatonic scales used in their corresponding Major keys will give you a Bluesy sort of sound. Because you are emphasizing the flatted 3rd and flatted seventh of the key. (I cover this in more detail in the Blues Session on the DVD's) So, when you are in a major key like A Major (3 sharps) you are faced with a choice... 1) If you want to sound Major then play an A Major pentatonic (also called the F#minor pentatonic) 2) If you want to put a little "stank" on your playing and sound bluesy, then use the A Minor pentatonic scale (also called the C Major pentatonic). As far as your initial question about what keys are the most common. Here are some observations from what I have experienced in my professional playing career. 1) You as a real musician need to be prepared to play in any key at any time. One of my greatest advantages I think I have over the average guitar player is because I never learned to favor open guitar keys like E, A, D or G. Nor did I learn to fear more heavily accented keys like Db or F#. I think it must have been because I was taught by a jazz guitarist and we quite routinely did things in all sorts of keys. And in my early playing I did a lot of duo work with various other instruments (Guitar & Sax) (Guitar & Violin) so you just played in whatever key that goes good for them. 2) Overall, you are going to see more songs in C than probably in any other key. Next it would be the key of F or G. 3) Different instruments prefer various keys because they just land better on the instrument. 4) Good Open Guitar Keys are ones that open chords work well in like the keys of G, D, A, or E. Most Country songs tend to be in these keys. 5) Most Jazz Songs tend to favor Flat Keys like F, Bb, or Eb. 6) In Gospel music, very flat keys are quite common like Db, Gb, or Ab. (But I have played with Gospel organ players who can just rip brilliantly when the song is in Db, but when the next song comes up in a good sharp key like B, they just fumble around and eventually put their hands down.) 7) Lots of recent Rock songs are in B or F#. I think this is because it is quite common to tune their guitars down a half a step to get a more jangly and raw sound. The key is to eventually know your barre chords and other moveable forms so well that it is not that big of deal to change to non-guitar friendly keys at the drop of a hat. A CLASSIC STORY Here is a classic story I have about that. I was playing a big event one time in an arena (I think in Dallas). It was my first time playing for this group but I was recommended in by my friend who was their normal keyboard player. We get driven to the arena mid afternoon to sound check with the 1000 voice mass choir and the main singers. The music director who is perched 30 yards from me at the very front of the stage is conducting us all and taking us through the songs for the night. After numerous songs that I didn't know and inadequate charts to read music from, he finally called up a familiar song that I had played before. I thought "Great, the song starts in Em and the piano has the intro. At last something easy." Just before he counts off the song, the music director's voice echoes throughout the arena and he looks at me and says "OK, let's take this one down a half step and have the guitar play the intro. Here we go. One, Two, Three..." And that was it. That was all the warning I got to fumble through the intro in Eb minor in front of everyone. This was the big leagues and that was my introduction to it. Well, I did the best I could and by show time I was ready. The ability to switch between keys is a great advantage that you can have as a guitar player. Keep Learning and Growing!

On Chords and Single notes in same song Question 1 - Pg.15 Jingle Bells Chords - How long is each chord in effect? You are correct in your assumption about when to change the chords. A chord written above the music stays in effect until another chord written above the music replaces it. So a chord may be good for just a few beats or for many measures of music. So, in Jingle Bells on pg. 15 the initial C chord in the first measure stays in effect for 4 entire measures until it is replaced with the G7 chord in the 5th measure. Then the G7th chord is good for just 4 beats (1 measure) and then it is replaced by the C chord and so on. Question 2 - Pg. 21 When The Saints Go Marchin In - Pickup Notes & When to Change Chords When the Saints Go Marchin in starts with 3 pickup notes in the first measure. These pickup notes are in the melody part. The accompaniment chord part starts on the G in the second measure. So for those first three notes in the melody line, there is nothing happening in the accompaniment. The chordal accompaniment doesn't start until after those three notes are played and we get to the second measure and then the accompaniment part plays the G chord and goes from there. Once you get to the second measure and the chordal accompaniment starts with the G then normal chord change rules apply. In other words, keep playing the G chord until it gets replaced by the D7 in the second line. Think of it like this. There are two things going on - the melody and the chords. Up until this point in the course, these two elements are in effect at the same time. But occasionally you might have a situation like we found in When The Saints Go Marchin In, where the melody plays a few pickup notes with no chords going on. You can also have the opposite situation, where the chordal accompaniment plays for a while before the melody comes in. Like when you have someone playing an intro for a few measures before a singer comes in sing the melody. I hope this clears things up a bit for you. Chords and melodies and how they work together are pretty easy to understand once you understand how the two partners dance together. They mostly dance together, but occasionally one can dance without the other. Chords and melodies are pretty easy. Figuring out the occasional frustrating problems with our friendly discussion board is a little more complicated. I sincerely apologize on behalf of "all that should work like it is supposed to" about your problems with our discussion board. I actually was told several days ago of one particular account that had such mysterious problems that the computer programmer guys had to be called in to sort it all out. It's nice to meet you through this thread. Of all of the recent problems that we have had with the boards, yours has been the worst - through no fault of your own. All of our normal fixes didn't work on your account when we tried to link the information properly. I sincerely apologize and I am glad that you had the patience and perseverance to keep trying to be a part. (To the rest of you who might be reading this, Lupe has been through a several week long and frustrating process trying to get here to this board - such tenacity to learn will surely help anyone get the results they desire on guitar.) Now that you're here I hope you find this place to be a very encouraging and supportive place with some of the best people I have found in this sometimes frustrating cyber world. On the ends of this all of these computer screens and servers are really a guitar player with a heart for teaching and a learner wanting to learn. I'm glad that we've connected. Maybe someday we can figure out why some server somewhere insists that you joined in 1969. Until then, thanks for letting me be a part of your learning process.

On Playing 3notes on a string

Giving up on Yourself This has been stirring in me for a while so I thought I would get some thoughts down. Here are things that I hear daily... "I've got short and stubby fingers, I guess I'll never be able to play chords real well." "My hand is too small and I can't get my fingers to stretch where they need to be, I guess I'll just have to live with my limited motion and adjust my guitar learning aspirations accordingly." "I tried barre chords for a whole day and I just can't get them, I guess I'm just not cut out for the guitar." And within the first few days of trying to learn guitar, many reason themselves out of a bright and productive future playing guitar. Johnny Hiland has the shortest, stubbiest fingers I have ever seen yet he plays with a grace and facility like I have never seen. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYkv5mcqevw Phil Keaggy is missing a finger on his picking hand and yet he plays Fingerstyle brilliantly. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3iSiij98VY Django Reinhardt was badly burned and lost use of his 3rd & 4th finger on his fretting hand. He used only 2 fingers to solo with, and could only use the others for some limited chord work. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iJ7bs4mTUY Tony Melendez has no arms at all and still plays. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuIkrsdrJLY My point with all of this is that we give up on ourselves way too easily. You can do more than you think you currently think you can. At the first point of difficulty, we make the mistake of rationalizing in our mind that "I guess I'm just one of the unlucky ones who won't be able to play well." If you want to play, you will find a way to play. Your fingers will limber up but it's going to take some time. Sure it's not going to work right now, just keep working at it. Trust the process. And in a few weeks of some faithful exercises and you'll start to get some more mobility. Your fingers may seem too fat and stubby to fit in between the strings, but give it a little time and they will start to find the sweet spot and soon you'll be playing great. Barre chords are difficult for everyone and sometimes they take weeks or months to blossom. It takes time to develop the hand muscles needed to play. But you'll get there. These are not just ramblings from a rampant encourager. These are the real-world observations of a guitar instructor who has walked thousands of people through the difficulties that you now face. Don't give up too soon. Many people give up a couple of weeks too soon, not realizing that clear sounding barre chords are just a week or two away. Stop measuring yourself by instant results. Real learning takes time. Be patient. Don't over-analyze things. Just trust the process. Many people wrestled with the same things that you are currently struggling with and have made it to the other side. You can too. Your fanatically encouraging teacher

1) The Importance of Guitar Setup. - Yes, Yes, Yes. When learning barre chords the first stop is the local music shop to get your guitar and its action properly adjusted and a set of light strings put on. Once barre chords are learned you can go to whatever guage of strings you like. 2) Holding the Guitar with your body leaving the fingers to do the actual playing. - Yes, Yes, Yes. This is good advice for any guitarist. When standing let your strap hold the guitar. When sitting let your lap hold the guitar and your right arm and elbow cradle it into a stable position. Your fingers have enough to worry about apart from holding the guitar. Also, avoid hanging your left hand thumb over the top of the neck like a hook. This also will impede your playing and is a lazy man's way of playing. 3) Where the Strength for Barre Chords comes from. OK, he lost me a little bit here but I think overall its a valid point. We both are describing the muscles to be used and not used when playing barre chords - his perspective (relax your back, keep your first finger straight, pull the barring finger) and my perspective ( keep your first finger straight as an arrow, lower your wrist, the strength is coming from your first finger not the squeezing muscles between the thumb and index finger). I think both of these perspectives are really looking at the same thing from different angles. For me, I don't really think of it so much as a back issue as much as a finger strength issue but I see where he is coming from and I don't really disagree with his observations. Muscle movements are very difficult things to easily describe in words. This is one of those times that a picture, or video would be a whole lot clearer than trying to put descriptions of muscle movements into words. His description does tend to make it sound a bit more complex than I personally think it needs to be. Sometimes when you have to think about a dozen things to get a movement it has an unintended negative consequence of tensing up all of your muscles as you perform the motion because you are just having to concentrate on so many things. However, I don't really think of it as "pulling" the barring finger back onto the neck using the arm muscles (the force coming from the arm). I think of it more as pushing the barring finger agains the fretboard (the force coming from the barring finger). 4) The Advantages of not using the squeezing muscles. I heartily agree with his observations here. When your hand is busy "sqeezing" to get the power needed for a barre chord it tenses up all of the muscles as well as the fingers and this tension will impede your playing. 5) Using the wrist when picking. Yes and No. "Yes", you do use the wrist but "no" it is not the only motion in the mix. From his perspective as a non-pick using guitarist, I see where he is coming from when he says that all of the motion needed for good strumming comes only from the wrist - this is, of course when coming from a classical perspective, how he would see it. But I think that when using a pick and strumming aggressively that the up and down arm motion is used in conjunction with the twisting motion of a relaxed wrist. If I had an evening's worth of hard strumming ahead of me on a steel string acoustic and I was told I couldn't move my arm, my wrist would tense up, work hard and eventually die after about an hour or so. The strumming motion is a fluid motion combining several elements. I bet Tiger Woods's golf swing is not 100% arm motion with no flexibility in the wrists. I would think it would be a melding of many smaller motions, joints, and flexibilities to create an overall highly productive larger motion. Let me also say that some of the posts about rolling your barring finger slightly to the side when playing a barre chord is exactly what I do. My finger remains straight but I roll it slightly off center to get a more even barring surface. When I come straight on the fretboard, the natural ridges in my finger because of the joints seem to come right where the strings need the pressure so rolling my finger ever so slightly off center helps make a more even barre. Wow, that's more technical information than anyone should have to think about when trying to have fun playing guitar. Technique is very important but it is not everything. Guys who get so deep into technique often don't end up making good music. To keep these technique issues in proper perspectice let me finish with a story. When I was in college and classical guitar was my pricipal instrument, I remember a particular player who was so obsessed with the physicalities of his technique. He could tell you in excruciating detail about all of the things you needed to do in order to play "the right way". There was only one problem. At the end of his 100 things to make the proper hand position and the endless repetition and analysis of his finger, wrist and arm movements was a confusing tangle of ideas and rules that only led to frustration and very little musical fruit. He was one of the best players in my world at that time but also one of the most joyless and I would venture to say he probably is not playing his guitar today. Playing barre chords is not complicated. It involves developing your hand and finger strength enough to push the six strings of a guitar about an eighth of an inch to the fretboard and holding them in place so that they make solid contact with the fret when strummed. It involves developing the flexibility in your hand to be able to contort into various positions while still applying the proper amount of finger pressure against the frets. I have taught many people how to play barre chords and, almost without exception, it takes time and effort - more time and effort than most people realize. But the ability to play barre chords will most assuredly come if you keep at it and don't give up when it sounds bad at the beginning. No secret techniques. No hidden secrets of the pros. Just sitting with your guitar in your lap trying to play them day after day, week after week until you get them. I have found that the real test for the learner when trying to learn barre chords is not the physical game of playing the guitar as much as it is the mental game of learning the guitar in patience and perseverance. Keep Learning and Growing.

ACHIEVING GREAT SKILL WITHOUT EFFORT Now, having said all of that let me say that there are no shortcuts for understanding the fretboard. Sure there are some helpful relationships like the one I just mentioned that occasionally allow you to play a bit farther ahead than you may currently understand. But, I play for a living and haven’t found any secret tip that can be explained in a few minutes on a video that will transform you from a beginner to a guitar god before lunch. Real learning takes time and effort – the two things that we humans avoid at all cost. My course is by no means “the only way” to learn guitar. There are many wonderful instructors out there with great materials that I heartily recommend. But unfortunately there are a lot of guys trying to make money off of our natural tendency to want to believe that there may be a “secret” to playing guitar… or getting in shape… or losing weight or a host of other things. Sorry to let my thoughts ramble for a bit. I just hate to see sincere people wanting to learn how to do something get fleeced by opportunistic people promising the world and delivering little. I am glad that the course is going well for you. Keep up the great work with it and thanks for letting me be a small part of it with you. I would write more but I have to go watch my “Become an Olympic power weight lifter in one easy lesson” DVD that I just got. Keep Learning and Growing!

GUITAR POSITIONS & FIRST POSITION In the first session, I spoke about where to put your fingers that went something like this ”the first finger goes on the first fret, the second finger covers the anything that comes on the second fret, third finger for the third fret, and fourth finger (pinky) covers anything that happens on the fourth or the fifth frets”. This relationship of four fingers covering a specific five fret range can be thought of as a unit that can be moved around on the fretboard and is called a POSITION. So, if your first finger is on the first fret (as it is for much of the first half of the course) you are said to be in FIRST POSITION relating to the fret position of your first finger. If we took the whole picture and shifted everything up one fret so that your first finger would be on the 2nd fret, second finger on the 3rd fret, third finger on the 4th fret, and pinky covering the 5th and 6th frets then you would be in SECOND POSITION. Let’s do one more. If you moved your first finger up to the fifth fret and put the rest of your fingers in their respective positions then you would be in the FIFTH POSITION. Technically you could play anywhere on the neck so you could have as many positions as you have places to put your first finger and form the others effectively. But, generally guitar playing tends to happen, at least for me, in either the first, fifth, seventh, or 12th position with most of my day to day playing occurring around between the fifth and seventh positions. FRETBOARD RELATIONSHIPS Many “Learn the fretboard instantly with my secret tips” courses seem to focus on a unique relationship of the strings on a guitar. (I know I touch on this concept somewhere in the bonus workshops but I have searched for the last hour and I can’t find it. I suspect I touch on it in perhaps Session 17 or 19 bonus workshops somewhere in the middle of two points.) Anyway here is the quick version of a helpful tool for building longer melodic lines on guitar without having to really think about all the notes involved by just taking a simple line and playing it in octaves all over the fretboard with the same fingering. You are just shifting positions and string sets on the guitar. OK, here we go. I want you to think about the 6 strings on the guitar as three sets of 2 adjacent strings. The groupings would be [6th & 5th ] and [4th & 3rd ] and [2nd & 1st ]. Now, notice the relationships of these strings to each other. Each of these pairs of strings shares the distance of a 4th between the two strings. For example the 5th string A is a fourth above the 6th string E. The 3rd string G is a fourth above the 4th string D. The 1st string E is a fourth above the 2nd string B. This identical fourth relationship between these strings allows us to do some neat things on a guitar. For example I can play a simple melodic idea using both strings in a pair let’s say I wanted to play a G triad (G-B-D) on the first pair of strings. I would use my second finger on the 6th string third fret G. Then move to the B on the 2nd fret fifth string with my 1st finger. Then I would play the D on the 5th string fifth fret with my fourth finger. So my finger combination would be G – 2nd finger, B-1st finger, and D – 4th finger. Now, lets move to the 2nd pair of strings, the D and G strings. If I play exactly the same fingering and start at the G on the 4th string 5th fret I end up with the same triad one octave up. Now, let’s move to the 3rd pair of strings, the B and E strings. Again, if I play exactly the same fingering and start at the G on the 2nd string eighth fret I end up with the same triad one more octave up. This helpful relationship between these strings allows you to play one phrase in three different octaves by just shifting positions and using the same fingering. Often the “learn the fretboard instantly” courses are based on this fretboard relationship. ACHIEVING GREAT SKILL WITHOUT EFFORT Now, having said all of that let me say that there are no shortcuts for understanding the fretboard. Sure there are some helpful relationships like the one I just mentioned that occasionally allow you to play a bit farther ahead than you may currently understand. But, I play for a living and haven’t found any secret tip that can be explained in a few minutes on a video that will transform you from a beginner to a guitar god before lunch. Real learning takes time and effort – the two things that we humans avoid at all cost. My course is by no means “the only way” to learn guitar. There are many wonderful instructors out there with great materials that I heartily recommend. But unfortunately there are a lot of guys trying to make money off of our natural tendency to want to believe that there may be a “secret” to playing guitar… or getting in shape… or losing weight or a host of other things. Sorry to let my thoughts ramble for a bit. I just hate to see sincere people wanting to learn how to do something get fleeced by opportunistic people promising the world and delivering little. I am glad that the course is going well for you. Keep up the great work with it and thanks for letting me be a small part of it with you. I would write more but I have to go watch my “Become an Olympic power weight lifter in one easy lesson” DVD that I just got. Keep Learning and Growing!

well NeilES335 will be very happy with tonight's subject.

The original 1955 Les Paul Custom was all mahogany body . Then they added a maple cap to brighten the sound a bit and the "famous" flame tops for 1959 I love Led Paul. Take a tip from Joe Bonamassa.. set volume and tones 5-6 then set up the amp volume and tone . That way you can "dial" from the guitar Enjoy

The Art and Lutherie are the "lowest" model line of Godin guitars. Very nice beginner guitars

My wife thinks I don' play enough to warrant another guitar. She's partially right.. but I still have a eye for at least 3 guitars right now. Enjoy the new guitar smell

Never could get the hang of Dunlop Jazz picks I like Dava Jazz Control www.davapick.com/picks/jazz_grip I use it from strumming to picking. My 2nd type is Dunlop Cat's Tongue picks

Raising them will make them sound hotter. Lowering them will make them a little cleaner. Mini-humbucker are not a very fat sounding pickup

oh I wish my Pretty Woman was ready.. but it's currently Pretty awful

I often find that the /note is a hard reach for my pinky finger so I usually give up on the bass note. one of the main songs I play every week has a Am/G.. I can't grab the G without muting something.. so I usually let the G side. you may find that with some of the inverted chords (You can't always get the low note anways)

For chords I don' know. I go here https://jguitar.com/chordsearch

Jay.. I started a few years a go in the van while the wife is shopping and ramped it up 3yrs a go when I first started with the choir I'm in. To see my car rig. In the first section of the forum there's a post called test post. I posted pictures of my car rig. I'm not going to post my single note melody and singing recording. That's rough singing and playing (Work in progress) Although I've had a thought I should email my daughter's vocal teacher for vocal lessons ...