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Hi Guys been workin on this on and off but i really have trouble with pinky Dm to Em7 transition really struggling with flexibilty with pinky they dont seem to bend the way i want them to. I am on a week off so I post videos lol sorry bout that but just learn heaps of you girls/guys so cant help myself

Hey Brad. There's a Big Bear coming for you mate! (plus a few others with the knowledge you need)

I will anticipate a bit, because I've learned my lesson well. You REALLY need to keep the right hand moving in this tune to keep the timing. It has a bouncy feel to it and if you don't keep that hand going your timing suffers.

Also, the individual notes need to ring out over the strum, so the strum needs to be lighter than is the case at the moment.

You play it much better than I did initially so you are starting out in a better place than I was...I needed a lot of help to get this one right. I'm sure you will get the help you need as well.

It will be work, but the result will be worth it. Cheers.

tovo wrote:

Hey Brad. There's a Big Bear coming for you mate! (plus a few others with the knowledge you need)

I will anticipate a bit, because I've learned my lesson well. You REALLY need to keep the right hand moving in this tune to keep the timing. It has a bouncy feel to it and if you don't keep that hand going your timing suffers.

Also, the individual notes need to ring out over the strum, so the strum needs to be lighter than is the case at the moment.

You play it much better than I did initially so you are starting out in a better place than I was...I needed a lot of help to get this one right. I'm sure you will get the help you need as well.

It will be work, but the result will be worth it. Cheers.

Tony- you were listening!! Good on you mate and great advice! LOL!

Brad, you are well on your toward mastering this great song. One thing I'll add to Tony's advice is remember that the melody is part of the chord not in addition to them. What I mean is you can't play a few chords and then stop and start playing the melody. This is what Tony means by "keep your right hand moving". The strumming needs to be constant and the melody notes just get accentuated as you strum.

Another minor suggestion is don't try to sing this song yet. You have a very nice voice so that's no problem but singing and playing takes about 10X the overhead and you will end up doing neither one very well. Get the song down pat before you add vocals. You should be able to play the song without thinking about it before you sing. Then all you have to do is focus on the vocals.

And I can't stress enough using a lighter touch as Tony also mentioned. If you are playing that hard your fingers, hands and shoulders are tense and your smoothness will suffer. The guitar will make plenty of sound so you don't need to pound it! It will be almost impossible to play this song correctly with such a heavy touch. I'll bet you a beer that Tony will agree with me on that one!

You're doing great Brad, just stay at it. Maybe slow this song way down until you have absolute accuracy. Then gradually increase speed. We all have a tendency to play these songs at the speed we remember them at in our heads. But it's no crime to play them at half speed, or less, until we master them!

Thanks for sharing this video and I can't wait for version 2!!

Cheers! :cheer:

Hi Brad

Its so cool to see people improving
You have inspired me to have another go at this one
keep at it

RicksPick

Hey Brad,week off he,great,,hope you get on your practice,,you have al ready great advice,,only you!! can make it your own(with that advice then),,just slow it a bit down in speed,,i would suggest when you do a v2 sing only in your head,,i saw and heard a very big improving,,,to strum a bit lighter,,maybe think on that you touch your love ones...lol



ps,,,try capo up on the second,,sometimes it's gonna be easerrrrrrrrrr

Brad,
Try giving yourself a good hand massage before you start playing. I know it helps me.

Hi guys thanks for replies

Dont get me wrong i am just a little confused :unsure:

I have just been playing along with neils "play it slowly" vid on his lesson and have been doing it exactly like that???? over and over again

so a bit unsure where to go with this!

please take a look at that as neil picks out the melody notes then strums

Brad

Hi Brad

I think it is just time and practice
Check out two good uploads
Tovo then BigBear and Songman52(a song for Tony)
tell you what will bump them to top of list

RicksPick

If you want to see a version close to yours
check mine out,
I got the same advice as you

RicksPick

rapsidy wrote:

Hi guys thanks for replies

Dont get me wrong i am just a little confused :unsure:

I have just been playing along with neils "play it slowly" vid on his lesson and have been doing it exactly like that???? over and over again

so a bit unsure where to go with this!

please take a look at that as neil picks out the melody notes then strums

Brad

Brad- yes, but Neil never stops his hand. You are strumming, then picking notes, then strumming again. It doesn't work that way.

Neil has an excellent new lesson under Acoustic Genius on melody and chord soloing. He very clearly explains how to pick out the melody without disrupting the flow and tempo.

I highly recommend taking an approach like Rick did. That is a perfect way to learn this song. When Tony struggled with this song he had the same problem you do of stopping his right hand when he picked out the melody. When he stopped and let his hand keep flowing he nailed the song almost immediately. Although knowing Tony, he practiced hard because he wanted this song!

Maybe another approach is to just play the chords and strum the song until it's perfect. Then gradually pick out a note or two but never changing the strum. Keep picking up another note or two until you have the full melody. Finally, when it's down pat, throw in the adornments like the hammer-ons.

You'll get it, just be patient! For such a simple little tune it's surprisingly challenging isn't it?

Good luck buddy! :cheer: