A tricky move (at least for me)

fjeanmur
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Sun Oct 12, 2014 4:33 pm

Hi gang!

I hope everyone is having a great Sunday! I am looking for some suggestions with something that has been giving me a bit of difficulty. It's being able to have your fourth finger maybe on the high A and then reaching the third finger over to get perhaps the low G like in the fourth measure of Rosa May and a similar move in the first measure of Fishing Blues. I abandoned Fishing Blues because of this about a year ago, but I thought the fist page of Rosa May was coming along pretty well until a watched Sandy's video and noticed she was using a completely different fingering in that fourth measure and it looked so much easier then what I was doing. That's when I realized I had changed the fingering without even knowing it because I wouldn't have been able to play that measure any other way.

I was so bummed, I never moved on to the second page.

But today I have a little time on my hands, so I thought I would ask anyone with some suggestions to weigh in. I know that Neil mentioned somewhere that this is a tricky move for beginners. But I am definitely an intermediate player and I just don't see this finger moving like this any time soon. I have worked on a number of instrumental/fingerpicking pieces and have managed all sorts of things, but nope . . . not this one.

So is there any of you that might have some suggestions???

Jean
Sent from my iPad


sandysue
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Sun Oct 12, 2014 6:11 pm

Hi Jean

My fingers are not nearly as long as Neil's so I have had to really work at making those stretches and transitions. Neil allowed me to cheat in a few spots, where I just had let go of one note before I could get to the next one, even though transitioning perfectly would be more ideal. Don't get discouraged or give up because you think that you can't make those stretches. In the past few months I have actually gotten better on my timing and stretches just from practice.

I put up a video on the site a while back of me playing Rosa May. Neil taught me those fingerings, so just copy what i'm doing and you will be able to play that song too. Just keep in mind that I made plenty of mistakes too, so it would be best to cross reference it with Neil's video lesson as well. It just takes practice. I still practice that song 3 or 4 times a week so that i can hopefully keep improving. I hope that helps Jean, let me know. :)

Sandy


fjeanmur
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Sun Oct 12, 2014 6:43 pm

sandysue wrote:
Hi Jean

My fingers are not nearly as long as Neil's so I have had to really work at making those stretches and transitions. Neil allowed me to cheat in a few spots, where I just had let go of one note before I could get to the next one, even though transitioning perfectly would be more ideal. Don't get discouraged or give up because you think that you can't make those stretches. In the past few months I have actually gotten better on my timing and stretches just from practice.

I put up a video on the site a while back of me playing Rosa May. Neil taught me those fingerings, so just copy what i'm doing and you will be able to play that song too. Just keep in mind that I made plenty of mistakes too, so it would be best to cross reference it with Neil's video lesson as well. It just takes practice. I still practice that song 3 or 4 times a week so that i can hopefully keep improving. I hope that helps Jean, let me know. :)

Sandy
Hey Sandy!

Thanks for the advice. But it's not the stretches that are giving me a problem. No, it's the simple put the fourth finger on the A and move the third finger to the G, one fret apart. That's the problem. and I watched your finger move so easily there, and I might as well be trying to lift a Mack truck!

Well, I didn't exactly "give up" because I'm working on some other things with the intent to come back to it, but I was really so ready to move right through the piece, then not so much. Some times there are gains through retreats, but I had been planning to post the question for a while.

Loved your video though. If I only had the nerve!

Jean


sandysue
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Sun Oct 12, 2014 8:33 pm

Hi Jean

I'm proud of you for giving this song a go. It's not an easy piece to tackle. I just know that if I can do it, that you can too. I'm really just an intermediate guitar player at best but I think the only way to get better is to keep pushing the envelope so keep up the good work. I want to see you post your video when you learn this song. It doesn't have to be perfect. Just don't tell Neil I said that. :P :P


TGNesh
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Mon Oct 13, 2014 1:06 am

Hi Jean!

I'm not sure which measure you mean, measure 4 is where that Dm is being repeated in the intro. I don't think you're talking about that one. So which one do you exactly mean?

Ness


fjeanmur
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Mon Oct 13, 2014 4:34 am

TGVanessa wrote:
Hi Jean!

I'm not sure which measure you mean, measure 4 is where that Dm is being repeated in the intro. I don't think you're talking about that one. So which one do you exactly mean?

Ness

Hi Vanessa!

Oh, my bad. It's not measure 4, it's 5-6. I've tried to paste the measure into the text, but that's not working. It's the high A with the first finger going to the G with the fourth finger and then reaching to the low G with the third. This move has been bugging me for a while and considering I can get through most other things with a fair amount of discipline and practice, maybe it might be one of those things that will always mean an alternate fingering. (What I was doing without realizing it was grabbing the high A with the fourth to the high G with the first and then in a very clunky way, grabbing the low G with third finger and getting back on track. Otherwise, my third finger will just not move. Actually, I was pretty pleased with how the first page was turning out, and then I just got mad. :angry:

Any ideas? Exercises? Calisthenics?? Super vitamins??? :side:


Jean


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daryl
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Mon Oct 13, 2014 5:22 am

Hi Jean, Can you play a G chord without using your 1st finger? Pinky on the 1st string 3rd fret, middle finger on the 5th string 2nd fret, and 3rd finger on the 6th string 3rd fret. Practice playing the G chord that way for a while. If you find that difficult, start with playing a C chord with your first 3 fingers and then add your pinky on the 1st string 3rd fret. Once you're comfortable with the that C chord, try moving your 2nd and 3rd fingers over one string (to the 5th and 6th strings).


fjeanmur
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Mon Oct 13, 2014 6:26 am

daryl wrote:
Hi Jean, Can you play a G chord without using your 1st finger? Pinky on the 1st string 3rd fret, middle finger on the 5th string 2nd fret, and 3rd finger on the 6th string 3rd fret. Practice playing the G chord that way for a while. If you find that difficult, start with playing a C chord with your first 3 fingers and then add your pinky on the 1st string 3rd fret. Once you're comfortable with the that C chord, try moving your 2nd and 3rd fingers over one string (to the 5th and 6th strings).
Morning Dayrl,

Yes, I can, but that may be part of the problem. I only started to use that fingering about a year ago. I had been taught the G chord the other way and so resisted the change for a while. I am definitely more comfortable with the new fingering, but old habits die hard and sometimes I just grab the chord the old way without realizing it. So I think you're right that this fingering consistently may help. :cheer:


TGNesh
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Mon Oct 13, 2014 6:40 am



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neverfoundthetime
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Mon Oct 13, 2014 7:19 am

That's a great reply Ness!
Now I want to see Neil say "bitch" in a video response too! :woohoo:


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