"If You Could Read My Mind"..A continuting TwoCat effort.......

Feel free to get outside the box here.
bouncy
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Fri Dec 30, 2011 10:45 pm

Well, I said I would and here it is.......

I hate assigning blame, but I will say that I'll have a better camera by February 1st. I could not get the whole guitar in the picture, so I showed the left hand. The audio is poor. Sorry. Use headphones.

Just watching this misery, I saw I'm bending strings. I had no idea I was doing this.

I welcome any and all help/criticism.

Sam



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neverfoundthetime
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Fri Dec 30, 2011 11:31 pm

Sam, great that you are working on my very favourite song... and it sounds like it is shaping up pretty well, no need to be frustrated (your sigh at the end). As you work on this the notes will become clearer and you will apply less pressure so the bending will cease. Keep on trucking! I'm sure better qualified comments will follow.
Chris


tombo1230
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Fri Dec 30, 2011 11:39 pm

Firstly Sam well done for setting your goal and carrying out the first part of it.

I can't hear the sound too well so I'm not sure about the rythme of your playing, but you kept going so I will asume that it was in the ballpark for now.
One thing you need to work on that is pretty obvious watching the video is your fretting. Too many notes were dead and that is something you can't get away with when finger picking. You will probably get away with it when strumming but it is obvious when fingerpicking. So get those fretting fingers close to the frets. If you work on this you will improve this tune 100%. Your thumb is very high, Neil calls this the baseball bat position, bring your thumb down a bit and you will create a gap between your hand and the guitar this will make things cleaner when playing.

That's it for now. Keep up the good work. I look forward to your next video! :)

Tom N.


haoli25
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Sat Dec 31, 2011 1:15 am

Sam, thanks for posting your video. You are much closer to having this down than you think.

I have a couple of suggestions that have helped me in the past.

Move your thumb to the middle of the back of the neck and try to keep it there most of the time. Try lowering your wrist too. That will help you strike the strings with a better angle. If your wrist is too far back, you tend to hit the strings at a sharp angle that causes muted notes and 'bends' on the strings.

Get out the metronome!!! :) :) That is still the easiest way for me to learn new songs. I slow down the tempo a LOT and work on just hitting the notes and chords cleanly. I slowly increase the tempo with each practice session and before I know it, I am playing the song a little faster than the original tempo. From there its easy to slow it down a little to the original tempo. I hope at least some of this works for you too.

take care my friend,

Bill


buddy
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Sat Dec 31, 2011 1:18 am

Sam, I loved the deep breath at the end of this video. You should be very encouraged with how far you have brought this song along. It is a lot more challenging than it first appears. I think you got some good advice about lowering your thumb and bringing your hand under the neck of the guitar more. I found that this really helped me when I was learning this tune.

Keep up all your hard work because it is really paying off for you.

Bud


willem
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Sat Dec 31, 2011 4:57 am

Hi Sam that quicker then I thought and I recognized the sound/song,,you really have all the advice you need to go futher with this song,,that is ,,

slow it down,,lower the wrist and the thumb at the back,,try fretting exactly behind the fret..all this in a relaxing mood...and nobody around..

Maybe I can add one more thing not that I do it every time,,that is,, sit comfortable and maybe your right foot something under it and try to lift the fretboard/headstock more to the sealing,,this will help you with ease'r lower the wrist and fret placements and remember the placements/fingers in order you need them or have a leading finger from chord to chord,,also I try to set my guitar tight against my body,,I want to feel it in the beginning when sitting down,,like a babe..

A baut the video sound,,experiment a bit with adjustments, most of the time it is lowering volume on the computer(before recording) or look at adjustments in your recording program..

Love it a...


dsmarion
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Sat Dec 31, 2011 5:00 am

Sam,

Congrats on taking on a challenge and seeing it through. I think you are doing well and if you work on the things that the others have suggested you will certainly see improvement by the next posting. I thought your tempo was very steady which is good because it means the right hand is having little problem keeping up with the picking. The left hand needs the most work and the previous suggestions are solid - slow the tempo down and really focus on good left hand position, try and relax the hand a bit (no death grip needed), get the thumb in better position and most importantly make sure each finger is right next to the fret (too many times I see a finger in the wrong part of the fret). A better camera angle will help a lot for us to really see more of your position.

Great start to the new year! Keep going and you'll continue to improve!

Scott


ffsooo3
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Sat Dec 31, 2011 6:22 am

Well Sam, for what it's worth, I'm really proud of you....!

I think the greatest thing that you have accomplished here is the fingerpicking-pattern. I obviously couldn't see the right hand, but I could definitely hear that you got that down very well! And that is actually the part that Neil really focusses on in the lesson on that song.

Left hand, one suggestion I'd like to make is, try to minimize the motions of your fingers when going from one chord to another. For example, the first two chords, the G(add9) to Dm6/F, if you indeed lower the wrist, thumb down, there is no need for any movement at all. I know you have been watching my video quite often (yes, I'm still flattered! :cheer: ), you can see it right there. The fretting will become easier then as well.

Way to go Sam, really enjoyed watching you tackling this song, it's súch a beautiful one, i still very much like to play it and sing it!

Ness


AndyT
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Sat Dec 31, 2011 6:57 am

Sam,
Nice job on this. I have the same problem from time to time. Like has been said here already, you really need to work on your left hand position. It makes a world of difference.

Go so slow that you make zero mistakes, no matter how slow that is and work it up from there with a metronome. You'll beat this one faster than you think.


hesser
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Sat Dec 31, 2011 7:15 am

Hi

Thanks for all the constructive criticism. I will go back and study the video and look for the hand position and finger problems.

I am going to dig out the ol' Karaoke player and set it up so I can amplify my guitar and back away from the camera and still be heard. If I have to, I'll buy a better camera. Mine cost about twenty bucks, American! My next video will be technically better, for sure.

Ah, that sigh at the end gave me away! Anyone ever heard of "The Bridge of Sighs?" At least I'm not going into the dungeon for life!

Now, just becuase I answered doesn't mean I don't want more advice. If you have it, let 'er rip!

A Happy New Year to all of you. I wish you prosperity and health. I know some on this forum need both.

TwoCat


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