My daughter was home from school this summer, so I didn't have much time to practice guitar. Near the beginning of the summer, Neil posted the lesson for this song. It was a song I had never heard before, though I am a fan of the Doobie Brothers, and I knew right away that it was just what I'd been looking for. I wanted a fingerpicking song that stood on its own (not as an accompaniment to singing) but wasn't crazy hard to play (my video for Windy and Warm will be a long time coming!). At a level 5, this song seemed do-able to me.
However, in many ways I found this song more challenging than other level 5 or even level 6 songs that I've played. It's filled with hammer-ons (hammers-on?) and pull-offs, has a barre chord that you need to pick cleanly, and is supposed to be played in swing time. Plus, ideally, it's played fast. Well, mine is not played fast and it's far from perfect, but at this point I feel like I've plateaud a bit with my progress. Any feedback you have for me, on how to improve, would be greatly appreciated.
Oh, and one other adversity I faced while trying to record this song was the distractions posed by my frisky cat, who decided that it was the perfect time to start attacking a wooden dowel that had been lying on the couch.
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suziko learning to play The Ivory Salamander acoustic guitar
Hey Suzi,
A new video from you has been a while in the making, and it's good to see. I don't know this tune at all, but you are playing it pretty well in my opinion. There were a couple of spots where it didn't flow quite as well and it did overall, and my impression is that you just need to let go a little. I think you are perhaps too concerned about making an error? (I feel it because I do it myself). I feel that if you loosened up and just let your muscle memory take over it could help your playing to flow a bit better. It's very good right now, but could be great.
Thanks for identifying the cat. I knew there was an intruder in the video, but wasn't sure what kind.
A new video from you has been a while in the making, and it's good to see. I don't know this tune at all, but you are playing it pretty well in my opinion. There were a couple of spots where it didn't flow quite as well and it did overall, and my impression is that you just need to let go a little. I think you are perhaps too concerned about making an error? (I feel it because I do it myself). I feel that if you loosened up and just let your muscle memory take over it could help your playing to flow a bit better. It's very good right now, but could be great.
Thanks for identifying the cat. I knew there was an intruder in the video, but wasn't sure what kind.
Thanks, Tony- good suggestions. You're completely right that there are points where it doesn't flow. Some of that is nerves, some distraction and some just that this song is a challenge for me. Sometimes I tried playing it wicked fast (Neil has suggested doing that, then slowing it way down, too) just to take my brain out of the equation and let my fingers do the job. And sometimes it worked amazingly well. But I knew if I tried that for this upload I'd get lots of "slow it down a bit!" comments, so I tried to play it a bit slower.
Thanks, Kevin- Yes, we moved to a new house in June, so I had to find a new place for making videos. Not sure about this room, though, because the lighting isn't great. Next time, I might have to lock the cat out of the room.
Thanks, Kevin- Yes, we moved to a new house in June, so I had to find a new place for making videos. Not sure about this room, though, because the lighting isn't great. Next time, I might have to lock the cat out of the room.
Hi Suzi, you played the song quite well. I noticed that you gave the Look to the cat 4-5 times and you were still able to continue, so the song is almost there.
Regarding the areas that you said were more difficult like that bar chord, I would suggest that you do not play the complete song for a week. Only practice the difficult sections. Just play a bar before and after and do it many times. This way there is no pressure to achieve the difficult parts as they are not part of the song. When you will go back to the complete song the anxiety if missing the tougher section will fade away. Works for me anyway.
Like you, I am a Doobies fan (working on China Grove, Listen to the music and Long train running)and did not know about the song until Neil introduced it to us.. You have boosted my curiosity to learn it, thanks
Glad you posted a new video in your nice new room.
Marc
Regarding the areas that you said were more difficult like that bar chord, I would suggest that you do not play the complete song for a week. Only practice the difficult sections. Just play a bar before and after and do it many times. This way there is no pressure to achieve the difficult parts as they are not part of the song. When you will go back to the complete song the anxiety if missing the tougher section will fade away. Works for me anyway.
Like you, I am a Doobies fan (working on China Grove, Listen to the music and Long train running)and did not know about the song until Neil introduced it to us.. You have boosted my curiosity to learn it, thanks
Glad you posted a new video in your nice new room.
Marc
Marc,
I think my whole family is well-acquainted with "the Look." It doesn't seem to have much of an effect on my cat, unfortunately.
Thanks for the suggestion regarding playing specific measures in isolation. I think that would help a lot with the last 4 measures (with the Bm). I've tried doing that sort of thing, but never for a long period of time. I think I probably jump back into playing the song in its entirety too quickly. I'll give your suggestion a try. Thank you!
As for the Doobies, I admit that I partly wanted to put this behind me because I really want to tackle Black Water!
I think my whole family is well-acquainted with "the Look." It doesn't seem to have much of an effect on my cat, unfortunately.
Thanks for the suggestion regarding playing specific measures in isolation. I think that would help a lot with the last 4 measures (with the Bm). I've tried doing that sort of thing, but never for a long period of time. I think I probably jump back into playing the song in its entirety too quickly. I'll give your suggestion a try. Thank you!
As for the Doobies, I admit that I partly wanted to put this behind me because I really want to tackle Black Water!
I think that's coming along for ya. I wouldn't get down opn yourself too much if this one doesn't sound perfect just yet. I think this might be one of those "transitional" -type pieces for a lot of people. (Like you described, there are a lot of "firsts" in a song like this. Sometimes you just tackle something that is vastly different: feel, interesting voicings , awkward stretches/difficult fingerings...etc. (and when you put all that together you've got a tune that is way different than anything you are used to.)
I believe these are the kinds of songs that allow you to get exponentially better.
You'll have it down pat in no time...
I believe these are the kinds of songs that allow you to get exponentially better.
You'll have it down pat in no time...
Hi Suzi
Nice to see you again, very nice posture and hand positions looks so natural
You got that sitting down part nailed now- no risk of missing :laugh:
Finger picking can be so hard to get new patterns ingrained so don't be hard on yourself
Its getting close.
Liked the interloper, made you smile.
RicksPick
Nice to see you again, very nice posture and hand positions looks so natural
You got that sitting down part nailed now- no risk of missing :laugh:
Finger picking can be so hard to get new patterns ingrained so don't be hard on yourself
Its getting close.
Liked the interloper, made you smile.
RicksPick