CCR Who'll Stop the Rain by mbleier

mbleier
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Wed Jul 04, 2012 8:39 am

Coclimber - Thanks for the vote of confidence. I can't wait to see more of what you are going to post as well.

Brad - This is such a great song and I love learning the CCR stuff. I am hoping to give a go getting Lodi up in the next week or so. Another easy song that I hope will show that I can loosten up the wrist now that I know it is an issue.

Marc - Thank you so much for the kind words as I would love to get to your level of playing. I think I had gotten it backwards in my head and thought you wanted it more from the elbow instead of the wrist :silly: Well, it wouldn't be the first time I got something backwards. I have started focusing on that and think I am doing better. As I said I hope to have an example up soon showing that I can strum more from the wrist.

Ness - Thanks for the comment on the pic and the video. Relaxed is what I am always shooting for and guitar usually helps me get there. I like trying to work on some pieces that require more individual note picking or finger picking, but sometimes it is just fun to play a nice simple strumming tune.

Thanks all,

Mike


BigBear
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Fri Jul 06, 2012 5:29 pm

Mike- good job on this classic tune! I agree with Dennis that it would help considerably to loosen up your right wrist.

You are catching every note on every strum and it's just too much music! Your first order of business is to catch the right bass note. Always.

For example, if you are playing a D chord (D, F#, A, 1-3-5)) and hit the low E it will sound awful because there is no E in a D chord. If the correct bass note for a particular chord is on the low E string you almost always skip the A string. This means there are only a maximum of 4 strings left to strum (a D chord has only 4 notes total). Sometimes hit all four, other times 3 or even 2. Use a much lighter touch and you will have more control over the volume and the "feel" of the song.

As you do vocals remember the guitar is there to support your singing, not the other way around. If you are heavy with the guitar, you will drown out your voice. New guitarists do this frequently because they are afraid to really sing. I speak with some experience here.

Maybe try strumming the song lightly, and picking out the lead notes and humming the vocals while you play. Humming is a great way to get comfortable with singing and playing at the same time.

All the best and keep it up, you are doing great! And thanks for sharing your video.

Happy playing! :cheer:


AndyT
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Fri Jul 06, 2012 5:56 pm

Yep. You really need to loosen the wrist. But I would also add that you need to change chords a hair sooner and not worry so much about getting there on time. This will give it a more 'relaxed' feel and I think you'll be much happier with the result.

Other than that, you've out sung me already, so keep going man! You're on our way to wowing them at the next open mic!


jayswett
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Sat Jul 07, 2012 7:25 am

Well done. Not sure how I missed this last week, but a nice find for me this morning. I enjoyed that very much, not unlike your other videos. Keep it up.


mbleier
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Sun Jul 08, 2012 11:36 am

Big Bear - Thanks for the tips, they are very helpful. I have been working to loosten that wrist and it is already much better. I know when I get strumming I can get a little careless with my accuracy, so I will make sure I am a little more focused on catching the correct base note. As far as the singing goes you are spot on that I really don't think I can sing and would rather have the guitar be the focus than my singing. Thanks for the confidence and the note about having the focus more on my singing must mean you aren't cringing or rolling your eyes at my singing attempt :blush:

Andy - Thanks for the insight. I don't feel like I am rushing but that doesn't mean that I am not making it look like I am. A more relaxed feel is something I would like to achieve so I will put some effort into making the change a little earlier. Thanks for the kind words but the only mic I will be singing into is the one on my camera in my living room ;)

Jay - Thank you so much for the nice comment. It has been really enjoyable getting back into playing.


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