Music Junkie learning to play Rivendell acoustic guitar

[Music Junkie]

Hey all: I finally had a few quiet moments at home to shoot a video. Too many mistakes to count, but I wanted to upload it anyway. I really want to get over my fear of posting videos... :laugh:

I would love to get a better clip of this song up and have someone sing the lyrics. My voice does not go well with Geddy Lee songs....

Any constructive criticism is greatly welcomed.

J


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[buddy]

I had never heard this song before so thanks for introducing it. You are progressing well on it and you look a lot more relaxed than you think you are in the video. I can tell you are getting ready for the mountains with that goatee !!!

Happy trails,

Bud

[Lavallee]

Jason, it is a lovely song. Your playing is very smooth and I do not see the mistakes you are talking about.

I have noticed though that the thumb is coming quite high frequently. The drawbacks are well known and I know it is difficult to change. But if you look at about 4:15 you switch from a bass line on an open G chord to an F bar then G Bar to Open G (or close to that).

Noticed how much movement from your forearm and shoulder you have to use because you are switching from high thumb to behind the fretboard back to high thumb. If your thumb would be lower all the time, the movement from your arm would be minimized and the chord changed would require less energy and would be more fluid. The other benefits are that the fingers are more perpendicular to the strings (coming from the top rather than at an angle) giving less chance of muting the surrounding strings. You also have more reach for the long stretch.

Sorry for the long babbling

Thanks for posting

Marc

[Craig]

Jason, my TG friend,
Great to "see" from you again. Nice job on the song..and very nice left handed guitar! Keep up the good work,
Craig

[snipe]

I thought you executed it well! Your Guitar sounds excellent.
A really nice song by Rush. Thanks for posting that.

Mike

[willem]

Jason, man, you played 4:59 very wonderfull,,i do not know the song but look it up,,
Alot off mistakes?? well i'm sure you can blame it to your cam,,i'm sure your gonna be well in futer with that,,if you go the the mountains,,well man,,be carefull,,cause we wanna see and hear more from you...

[neverfoundthetime]

Pretty damn fine playing Jason...and I'm assuming that's your new baby in your arms there... very nice!

[jayswett]

I loved Rush as a kid, and in fact my first concert ever was Rush at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, PA. Great memory. Anyway, you played the song well, and frankly, it looked very easy for you and not technically challenging. It looked almost effortless. Nice job.

[Music Junkie]

Lavallee wrote:

Jason, it is a lovely song. Your playing is very smooth and I do not see the mistakes you are talking about.

I have noticed though that the thumb is coming quite high frequently. The drawbacks are well known and I know it is difficult to change. But if you look at about 4:15 you switch from a bass line on an open G chord to an F bar then G Bar to Open G (or close to that).

Noticed how much movement from your forearm and shoulder you have to use because you are switching from high thumb to behind the fretboard back to high thumb. If your thumb would be lower all the time, the movement from your arm would be minimized and the chord changed would require less energy and would be more fluid. The other benefits are that the fingers are more perpendicular to the strings (coming from the top rather than at an angle) giving less chance of muting the surrounding strings. You also have more reach for the long stretch.

Sorry for the long babbling

Thanks for posting

Marc

Marc: Thanks for pointing that out. I notice that myself from time to time while practicing, and try to correct it, but it sneaks back when I get nervous. I am trying to completely re-learn half of my arsenal these days using the techniques that Neil gives us. My bad habits were (and still are) getting the best of me. "Economy of Motion" is so important, and I am still struggling with it. I will get it though, eventually....

Thanks for the response.

J

[Music Junkie]

buddy wrote:

I had never heard this song before so thanks for introducing it. You are progressing well on it and you look a lot more relaxed than you think you are in the video. I can tell you are getting ready for the mountains with that goatee !!!

Happy trails,

Bud

Thanks for the kind word Buddy. My nerves seem to get the best of me most of the time, but I am going for it and it will get easier..... B)

I am indeed getting ready for the mountains! Have you been p to your property yet this season? If so, how were the snow levels? I checked with the local ranger district up there, and it was still fairly low. So, it looks like I will be waiting a bit longer than I would like....

J