Hi, everyone. I wanted to start us off with a comment to get the ball rolling. I would LOVE it if you could leave a short comment introducing yourself to the other members. ๏ปฟIโm Dan Thorpe, from Birmingham, UK (not Alabama!). I love fingerpicking – Paul Simon, James Taylor, Tommy Emmanuel and about a gazillion others! My favourite thing about playing guitar is having some quiet time to play for myself (music is a great outlet for everything in life) and to jam with my 4 year old boy, Archie! I used to be terrible at guitar but after years… Read more »
Hey everyone, I would love to know what lessons you would like to learn. More on fingerpicking, Travis picking, chord changes, theory, jamming???… you name it, leave your ideas below!! This is the place to do so.
Hi Dan, I am an intermediate player, but am fascinated about finger style, and very anxious to get started. But i must admit i do struggle a bit with the dreaded Barr Chords, but am improving a bit. I am a Viet Nam vet, who suffers from PTSD, I am very private, so if you don’t hear much from me please understand. Thanks
Steve
Hi Steve, thanks for getting in touch. It`s great to have you here. Barre chords are tough but do make sure you take your time and use good technique with them.
No problem at all regarding being private and I hope you are doing well regarding the PTSD. Just know that the comments section and the mini-forum is there for you when needed. All the best.
Cool, for sure, let us know some more details. What sort of slaps and slides? The crazy stuff or solid on beats 2 and 4 type thing? What sort of guitarists have inspired this? (I ask, so I know I’m on the right path). ๐
No particular artist comes to mind but I would say on beats 2 and 4 nothing crazy (yet). Slapping all the strings I find okay, it’s the thumb slap I have trouble with on the low E A strings.
I have come across slaps in the odd piece of music, done right sounds amazing. Just something I would like to add to my repertoire.
Ah, okay cool, thanks for letting me know. The slaps on beats 2 and 4 are very cool. The grooves these can add are great. Will get something ready on this. ๐
If you would like to submit a video, you can add it to your comment by including a video LINK (for example, a YouTube, Vimeo, or Dropbox link). (Email Dan for help if you get stuck uploading a video)
YouTube and Vimeo links are the preferred video format. Make sure that your links are set to unlisted (not private!) and then only we will see it.
Hopefully, you have all noticed the new comments section at the bottom of each page in the DTAA! I would love for you to comment, ask questions and say “hi”!
Another excellent lesson. I enjoyed the exercise at the end moving up and down the neck. Not easy at first but started to fall into place with some practice, sort of ๐ค.
The initial exercise is great for stretching the fingers as well as learning the notes on the strings, as they also apply to the low E string.
I loved the 6/8 pattern. I picked it up right away. However, the Travis picking is still hard for me. I need to put it on my list to do a little every day. I can get the hammer-on with the G chord, but haven’t mastered the Am chord yet. Will keep trying.
This is such a brilliant lesson. I have just watched it for a second time before going onto Day 3. And I’m sure I’ll return to it as there is so much useful information. I find it more comfortable to stand when playing guitar and discovered the usefulness of a mirror by accident – it really is useful and allows you to see the positioning of your fingers easily and certainly saves any strain on the neck. My immediate takeaway from this lesson is the classical position. I am struggling with finger separation at the moment, especially between my ring… Read more »
I wish all hammer-ons could be like the Am–index finger is so much easier than trying to do the G. But the cool thing is that at this stage in my guitar playing, I can look for the “easier” embellishments to add while I keep working on harder ones.
Good stuff. Yeah, that is one of the unique things about playing guitar – the different chord shapes lend themselves to different embellishments and different ideas. Keep enjoying the process and keep at it. Sounds like you’re having fun. ๐
Great stuff. Yeah, I wanted to keep all the lessons short so as not to be overwhelming but couldn’t help but pack this one with all the key details. These tips will help you throughout the rest of the course and super pleased the classical position is making such a good difference already. Well done applying it. ๐
I’ve gotten a little hung up on this lesson because I love the sounds and want to get the chords and progressions right. But that’s okay. I love the way that you have set it up so I can fall behind a day and still be able to keep progressing.
Glad to hear it. Yeah, try not to get hung up on too much but feel free to take a small handful of lessons and practice them each day. Mostly though, remember that once you complete the 21 days, you can come back and re-start the course, or simply spend a week or so going through the lessons that need more attention, before restarting it in the future. ๐
Good stuff – those patterns are all very useful but the most important ones are being used in this course (in a variety of fun ways) but I’m sure you are seeing that. ๐
“Eagle and the hawk”, a good example of 6/8 time, a very waltzy feel. Took me a while to get that feel down when I first learned that song. Fingerstyle in 6/8, makes me smile. Fingerstyle in any timing for that matter, i’m easy. I can ‘get it’ if I can ‘hear’ a song, I find it harder to ‘count’ beats, especially if starting off of beat one. It’s still a work in progress, but I know it’s important, and i am working on it, learning to feel timing by counting beats. (Choir, with some of the syncopated parts, are… Read more »
Yeah, 6/8 is a time signature I found strange at first. I’d listen to music and struggle to feel the beat but once I learnt about it and could play a little 6/8 time patterns on the guitar – it made so much sense when I’d hear a 6/8 song! Hoping this lesson has the same effect. Cool about the John Denver song too ๐
Love the sound of the decending chord pattern, a great study in emotions, building tension and release.
A great example of the level one pattern in a song, the intro and outro portions of john denvers “the eagle and the hawk”. Strummed, with an interesting pattern.
The fingerstyle versions of these progressions taught here are quite lovely and interesting.
Pleased to hear it, Allan. Yeah, descending patterns do have a certain emotion to them I find and tension and release – so important in music. Glad you’re enjoying them. ๐
Geez Louise…. this was a tad more difficult than it appeared. For the life of me, I thought my guitar was not in tune with Level 1 (Bmadd11/D). It did not sound right to me and could not wrap my head around it. It was because of the 2 – B notes. I agree w level 3 being easier. That one simple B note through me off.
Yeah, I find with more exotic sounding chords sometimes they can be a bit more niche – some people prefer the sound of straight up Major and minor chords and some love them. A lot of it depends on how familiar you are with those sounds. It’s like 7th chords – some don’t enjoy them at first but others love them. It’s a super interesting topic I remember reading about in the book Guitar Zero. The key thing though is, you enjoy and experiment, and have fun. ๐
Your explanation and demonstration of the hammer on and pull off at the end was really great. It is the first time for me to see all the movements from beginning to end, and I was actually able to do and make it sound good! Thank you!
Cool, thanks for letting us know. Pleased you like it and it was helpful. Breaking down any technique into bitesize chunks is always useful. Well done! ๐
Dan, really enjoying this course, look forward to each day’s lesson. have to tell you that you have converted me. started the basic fingerpicking course 3 years ago then joined the acoustic academy about 2 1/2 years ago. have read your thoughts on posture and the classic position multiple times but completely ignored that. oh me of little faith! when i started this course i thought let’s try good posture and the classic position and voila ! i found that it is much more efficient for fretting chords. noticed great improvement in the musicalitity of most of my chording –… Read more »
That’s great, John. Really pleasing that you are both enjoying and looking forward to each day’s lessons. Yes, one of the things I find is getting students to try the classical way – sometimes it clicks right away, sometimes it needs a few attempts at different times, but eventually, those who stick with it find they love it. Very good stuff and well done! ๐
Good stuff. That’s a super start and pleased to hear it. Yeah, that is one of the big benefits of this position for sure. Keep up the good practice ๐
Application of 3/4 time would be “Norwegian Wood” by The Beatles, or maybe it is a slow 6/8? Don’t know why I didn’t have it in my song list, but it has now been added.
Yeah, it’s a great song and a nice one to enjoy with non 4/4 time signatures. It’s more of a 6/8 time signature and a great one for counting and practicing counting out that timing. ๐
Fun stuff, Dan. Iโve been working on the hammer on embellishments in the DTAA September lesson, and this one adds another twist I can work on. Thanks!
Sigh…tricky, but good. It is so fun to an individual hammer-on and get it right! But then to put it into a musical phrase is so tricky. But it is good to remember that in the beginning, an individual hammer-on was difficult for me. I’ll just keep practicing and trust the process.
Yes, not an easy thing to learn at first but lots of fun as you will see the more you do it. Absolutely, just the beginning and this lesson is touching more on intermediate concepts, so do be patient with it and come back to it! Enjoy the process too. ๐
Thank you, I enjoyed that. I also have arthritis in my fingers and like to soak them in warm water and do gentle stretching exercises before playing guitar. Now I have some warm ups to add to this routine. ๐๐
Couldn’t get the pattern correct at first as it just didn’t sound right. Rechecked my finger placements on both hands. Still didn’t sound right. Critical error!! Didn’t check the tuning before I started.
Ha! Everything was smooth sailing on this one, and I felt like I knew it all until you did the count-ins. Of course it makes sense that you modify the count-in depending on time signature!
That’s good it was plain sailing and you learnt a little something new. The count-in is something many people forget about in regards to time signatures! ๐
Welcome, David. Pleased to hear it. I hope you enjoy the course and happy you’re excited and eager to begin. Hope you have lots of fun and learn plenty. ๐
Super stuff, it’s a classic for sure, and glad you like the arrangement. Keep working through it steadily and in chunks and keep enjoying yourself. ๐
Super pleased to hear it. Yeah, a classic song for sure. Love the melody and oh yeah, it does require a good range in the voice, but keep enjoying it. ๐
I took classical guitar lessons for a while, so I’ve used the rest stroke before. I like how the melody rings out against the fingerpicking in this little piece. I’ll have to try it on “If” like J.P. I’m a huge David Gates fan and hadn’t messed around with this song in years.
Good stuff, yeah, contrast and use of dynamics is powerful, and that’s one of the beauties of using rest strokes and free strokes. Glad you enjoyed it and keep having fun with this technique! ๐
Playing mostly solo, I seldom used a metronome. I found a real need for its’ use the hard way. When playing with a group, as in a jam, an individual can’t embellish a song by changes in the beat as it throws off the other players. The other use I found is when I am learning a faster song, I used it to start off slower and build up the speed. Worked great for Glen Campbell’s “Gentle on My Mind”.
Good stuff. Yeah, timing really is key. I used to find embellishing and playing around with rhythm to be a tough old challenge but the more foot tapping, methodical practice, and of course, fairly regular metronome use, really helped. A little can go a long way with it I find. It’s cool how it helped with ‘Gentle on my mind’ too! ๐
So…I found level three the easiest because my hand didn’t have to move up and down the fretboard. In my head, I know that the last pluck is open which gives me time to move, but it is like I can’t get over the hiccup that happens when I play it leaving me with the dreaded silence/break in any kind of musicality when my hand moves. My way to possibly work through this is to make sure I have the pattern down, and then play with you on the video with the aim of synchronizing my hand fretting hand moving… Read more »
That’s quite common. Even on seemingly simple things, old habits can resurface. I’d try the way you mention for sure as keeping up with me will help you break the pausing habit. I’d also close your eyes too when playing it (or at least the part where the break happens). Closing your eyes can help focus on the musical aspects which should help. Also, super slow practice with five runs through it and no pauses can help break it (go as slow as you need to ensure there is no pause). Let us know how you get on. ๐
Hi Dan and members my name is Mark Sedunary playing for 5 years and 70 years old, retired would classify myself as a mid way intermediate player can strum songs play chords quite well and my fingerpicking skills are not to bad but struggle to play and change chords but working on it.
My aim is to be a solid player by October 2025 in both categories, I practice approx 1-2 hrs a day, so if any advice on how to achieve my goal please submit.
I am hoping that dans course will help.
Hi Mark, good stuff, sounds like you have some solid foundations. I’d say try to go through this course 2/3 times over the next few months and use the Breakthrough Beginner course a couple of times at least too. Do that and you will get lots of reminders on key stuff, helpful advice for chord changes, and other stuff, and as long as you keep having fun doing other things alongside this, you’ll be well on your way to achieving that goal. ๐
I was trying to find a practical application to apply this lesson. I found it playing the song “If” by Bread. I play a pattern similar to the “Ultra”Flexible” pattern. The 8th bar is an E7 chord and the last note is on the high E string. I found if I use a rest stroke on that note and hold it for a couple of beats, it adds a dimension to the song and a nice lead in to the next bar.
Great stuff. That’s great how you have already started using and applying this technique in your playing. Really well done! Cool song too – can see how this pattern, and similar ones, would work for that. ๐
Good stuff, Allan. Rest strokes are something I tend to teach and use like this a lot more these days so this might be the first time you’ve come across them in my lessons. Glad to hear you’re enjoying the sound of level 3 and having fun. ๐
This is a slow go for me. I’m having trouble getting the palm mute to sound right, plus the coordination of the picking is a little difficult. I didn’t have any trouble with the syncopated E, though, so I will get this with practice.
Sounds like you are on the right path. The palm muting does often take some time to get just right so keep coming back to that – hopefully by the end of the 21 days you’ll nail the sweet spot for getting just the right tone. Keep it up. ๐
I did this lesson yesterday and reviewed it today. I tried to concentrate on getting a nice ring on the high E string by making sure I kept my left-hand fingers pressing on the string for the full beat. It’s much more musical that way. I’m also trying to memorize the notes on the fretboard, but as a pianist, I find it very hard compared to how the piano is laid out in patterns of black and white keys!
For sure. What you mention is one of those small details that improves all-round musicality. It’s subtle but makes a difference for sure. Thanks for the comment on that. Regarding the notes, yeah, the guitar is a strange one in many ways, especially compared to the piano but stick with it – it will all click and that will give you many more options for playing notes around the fretboard. ๐
I love the beautiful sound of the G to Cm7 chord. It’s such a nice chord change I could play it all day long. Also it’s easy enough so that I don’t have to worry much about what the right hand is doing.
Good stuff! Glad to hear it is helping. A good warmup goes a long way, especially on the colder days and when the fingers are feeling stiff, but keep doing them each day. ๐
That’s very common but good you are honest about it. It’s no deal breaker for progress but a little can go a long way. Hope this helps encourage you. ๐
That’s still good stuff, Denise. You can always sing the majority of the piece using level 1 strumming and when there is room to, or as you start getting more comfortable with it, you can bring in bits from level 2. Keep up the good practice. ๐
Level 1 and 2, no problem. Level 3 is another story. I have to keep it very very slow and still found it difficult to add in that half beat on the high E.
It throws everyone at first. That’s “syncopation” for you! You will get it though, keep coming back to it, that one note feels weird at first (it did for me too) but at some point, with focused practice, it will click. ๐
Glad to hear that you are getting there. Yeah, you can use other fingers – it’s a good exercise to practice this with multiple fingers to give them all a good workout. ๐
This was fun! I have a question that is going to be awkward in wording. In the tab/notation are the parentheses and carrots standard throughout scores to show free and rest strokes–or did you only do it to help us learn? Another way to ask might be, if I picked up a piece of classical guitar music, would I be likely to find those types of notation or symbols and then I would now know that means to play the notes as free or rest strokes?
Yeah, the reason for that was to make it clear which are free strokes and which are rest strokes. Unfortunately, most notation doesn’t do that but usually a good rule of thumb is this – if the notes are being played across multiple strings in a picking pattern way, use free strokes, but if there is a distinct phrase (usually played on one or two strings), it’s likely it’s a melody and rest strokes can be used. I hope that makes sense? ๐
Glad to hear it. Love how you have taken the pattern and applied it to some chords of your own choosing. Always a good thing to do when you’re ready to. Keep it up. ๐
Em, Gmaวฐ scale, same scale different reference point. Playing along the string really enhances the interval spacing as opposed to the vertical pattern, it’s starting to click with a big a-ha moment. Thanks!
Good stuff, Allan. Very true that and yeah, the linear method of playing along one string makes it more like a piano in some ways and that can help us understand the intervals nicely. Keep up the good practice ๐
Em scale? I’m still playing around with the C Major scale. I was not much for learning scales, just chords with base notes and what you term embellishments. However, I am plucking along and slowly acquiring the note locations along the fret board. Thanks!
Yeah, the Em scale. Very useful as many songs use it and we can combine some bass notes such as the open low E with the scale for new melodies. I hope this adds a new string to your bow. Glad you are acquiring the note locations and keep up the good practice. ๐
Great tips Dan super duper ๐
Cheers, Angie. Glad to hear you like the lesson. Keep coming back to it too. ๐
Hi, everyone. I wanted to start us off with a comment to get the ball rolling. I would LOVE it if you could leave a short comment introducing yourself to the other members. ๏ปฟIโm Dan Thorpe, from Birmingham, UK (not Alabama!). I love fingerpicking – Paul Simon, James Taylor, Tommy Emmanuel and about a gazillion others! My favourite thing about playing guitar is having some quiet time to play for myself (music is a great outlet for everything in life) and to jam with my 4 year old boy, Archie! I used to be terrible at guitar but after years… Read more »
Hey everyone, I would love to know what lessons you would like to learn. More on fingerpicking, Travis picking, chord changes, theory, jamming???… you name it, leave your ideas below!! This is the place to do so.
Hi Dan, I am an intermediate player, but am fascinated about finger style, and very anxious to get started. But i must admit i do struggle a bit with the dreaded Barr Chords, but am improving a bit. I am a Viet Nam vet, who suffers from PTSD, I am very private, so if you don’t hear much from me please understand. Thanks
Steve
Hi Steve, thanks for getting in touch. It`s great to have you here. Barre chords are tough but do make sure you take your time and use good technique with them.
No problem at all regarding being private and I hope you are doing well regarding the PTSD. Just know that the comments section and the mini-forum is there for you when needed. All the best.
I would love to see some lessons on guitar slaps and slides please. That is if you possibly find time in your busy schedule.
Cool, for sure, let us know some more details. What sort of slaps and slides? The crazy stuff or solid on beats 2 and 4 type thing? What sort of guitarists have inspired this? (I ask, so I know I’m on the right path). ๐
No particular artist comes to mind but I would say on beats 2 and 4 nothing crazy (yet). Slapping all the strings I find okay, it’s the thumb slap I have trouble with on the low E A strings.
I have come across slaps in the odd piece of music, done right sounds amazing. Just something I would like to add to my repertoire.
Ah, okay cool, thanks for letting me know. The slaps on beats 2 and 4 are very cool. The grooves these can add are great. Will get something ready on this. ๐
If you would like to submit a video, you can add it to your comment by including a video LINK (for example, a YouTube, Vimeo, or Dropbox link). (Email Dan for help if you get stuck uploading a video)
YouTube and Vimeo links are the preferred video format. Make sure that your links are set to unlisted (not private!) and then only we will see it.
Post your video below…
Hopefully, you have all noticed the new comments section at the bottom of each page in the DTAA! I would love for you to comment, ask questions and say “hi”!
Another excellent lesson. I enjoyed the exercise at the end moving up and down the neck. Not easy at first but started to fall into place with some practice, sort of ๐ค.
The initial exercise is great for stretching the fingers as well as learning the notes on the strings, as they also apply to the low E string.
It was nice spending time with the patterns we learned yesterday.
level 3 makes a nice little melody.
comparing Emajor vs Eminor this way is very visual, good for my ‘ear’ and fretboard visulation.
good for practicing that ‘rest’ stroke as well. Onward!
thanks.
I loved the 6/8 pattern. I picked it up right away. However, the Travis picking is still hard for me. I need to put it on my list to do a little every day. I can get the hammer-on with the G chord, but haven’t mastered the Am chord yet. Will keep trying.
I have a good understanding of time signatures, but I enjoyed applying the fingerpicking patterns to these key signatures.
This is such a brilliant lesson. I have just watched it for a second time before going onto Day 3. And I’m sure I’ll return to it as there is so much useful information. I find it more comfortable to stand when playing guitar and discovered the usefulness of a mirror by accident – it really is useful and allows you to see the positioning of your fingers easily and certainly saves any strain on the neck. My immediate takeaway from this lesson is the classical position. I am struggling with finger separation at the moment, especially between my ring… Read more »
I wish all hammer-ons could be like the Am–index finger is so much easier than trying to do the G. But the cool thing is that at this stage in my guitar playing, I can look for the “easier” embellishments to add while I keep working on harder ones.
Good stuff. Yeah, that is one of the unique things about playing guitar – the different chord shapes lend themselves to different embellishments and different ideas. Keep enjoying the process and keep at it. Sounds like you’re having fun. ๐
Great stuff. Yeah, I wanted to keep all the lessons short so as not to be overwhelming but couldn’t help but pack this one with all the key details. These tips will help you throughout the rest of the course and super pleased the classical position is making such a good difference already. Well done applying it. ๐
I’ve gotten a little hung up on this lesson because I love the sounds and want to get the chords and progressions right. But that’s okay. I love the way that you have set it up so I can fall behind a day and still be able to keep progressing.
Glad to hear it. Yeah, try not to get hung up on too much but feel free to take a small handful of lessons and practice them each day. Mostly though, remember that once you complete the 21 days, you can come back and re-start the course, or simply spend a week or so going through the lessons that need more attention, before restarting it in the future. ๐
Nice.
I need to get those patterns in your ‘101’ book under my fingers, I have the book in my kindle
Good stuff – those patterns are all very useful but the most important ones are being used in this course (in a variety of fun ways) but I’m sure you are seeing that. ๐
And just like that, shazam, I got a hardcopy of the fingerstyle101 in the mail. Much easier than the Kindle book thank you!
Very pleased to hear it. Yeah, I’m old school and prefer real books generally, and spiral bound are even better. Enjoy! ๐
“Eagle and the hawk”, a good example of 6/8 time, a very waltzy feel. Took me a while to get that feel down when I first learned that song. Fingerstyle in 6/8, makes me smile. Fingerstyle in any timing for that matter, i’m easy. I can ‘get it’ if I can ‘hear’ a song, I find it harder to ‘count’ beats, especially if starting off of beat one. It’s still a work in progress, but I know it’s important, and i am working on it, learning to feel timing by counting beats. (Choir, with some of the syncopated parts, are… Read more »
Yeah, 6/8 is a time signature I found strange at first. I’d listen to music and struggle to feel the beat but once I learnt about it and could play a little 6/8 time patterns on the guitar – it made so much sense when I’d hear a 6/8 song! Hoping this lesson has the same effect. Cool about the John Denver song too ๐
Love the sound of the decending chord pattern, a great study in emotions, building tension and release.
A great example of the level one pattern in a song, the intro and outro portions of john denvers “the eagle and the hawk”. Strummed, with an interesting pattern.
The fingerstyle versions of these progressions taught here are quite lovely and interesting.
Pleased to hear it, Allan. Yeah, descending patterns do have a certain emotion to them I find and tension and release – so important in music. Glad you’re enjoying them. ๐
Can’t call this one complete. Have to go back and practice the “Outside In” pattern for a while. Nice addition.
Yeah, remember, no need to nail the full levels of lessons first time round. Glad you like it and keep enjoying the process. ๐
Geez Louise…. this was a tad more difficult than it appeared. For the life of me, I thought my guitar was not in tune with Level 1 (Bmadd11/D). It did not sound right to me and could not wrap my head around it. It was because of the 2 – B notes. I agree w level 3 being easier. That one simple B note through me off.
Yeah, I find with more exotic sounding chords sometimes they can be a bit more niche – some people prefer the sound of straight up Major and minor chords and some love them. A lot of it depends on how familiar you are with those sounds. It’s like 7th chords – some don’t enjoy them at first but others love them. It’s a super interesting topic I remember reading about in the book Guitar Zero. The key thing though is, you enjoy and experiment, and have fun. ๐
Your explanation and demonstration of the hammer on and pull off at the end was really great. It is the first time for me to see all the movements from beginning to end, and I was actually able to do and make it sound good! Thank you!
Cool, thanks for letting us know. Pleased you like it and it was helpful. Breaking down any technique into bitesize chunks is always useful. Well done! ๐
Dan, really enjoying this course, look forward to each day’s lesson. have to tell you that you have converted me. started the basic fingerpicking course 3 years ago then joined the acoustic academy about 2 1/2 years ago. have read your thoughts on posture and the classic position multiple times but completely ignored that. oh me of little faith! when i started this course i thought let’s try good posture and the classic position and voila ! i found that it is much more efficient for fretting chords. noticed great improvement in the musicalitity of most of my chording –… Read more »
That’s great, John. Really pleasing that you are both enjoying and looking forward to each day’s lessons. Yes, one of the things I find is getting students to try the classical way – sometimes it clicks right away, sometimes it needs a few attempts at different times, but eventually, those who stick with it find they love it. Very good stuff and well done! ๐
Thanks Dan for the lesson also I have started in the classical position and found that my left arm is much is feeling more comfortable in use great
Good stuff. That’s a super start and pleased to hear it. Yeah, that is one of the big benefits of this position for sure. Keep up the good practice ๐
Application of 3/4 time would be “Norwegian Wood” by The Beatles, or maybe it is a slow 6/8? Don’t know why I didn’t have it in my song list, but it has now been added.
Yeah, it’s a great song and a nice one to enjoy with non 4/4 time signatures. It’s more of a 6/8 time signature and a great one for counting and practicing counting out that timing. ๐
Fun stuff, Dan. Iโve been working on the hammer on embellishments in the DTAA September lesson, and this one adds another twist I can work on. Thanks!
Glad to hear it Sharon. That’s great. Keep working on them – embellishments and the different rhythms they offer are so much fun. ๐
Found the Warm ups very good and it helps the tips of my fingers to improve the tone thank you
Super stuff, thanks and pleased to hear it. I hope the rest of the course gives you lots of great results too. Keep us posted ๐
Sigh…tricky, but good. It is so fun to an individual hammer-on and get it right! But then to put it into a musical phrase is so tricky. But it is good to remember that in the beginning, an individual hammer-on was difficult for me. I’ll just keep practicing and trust the process.
Yes, not an easy thing to learn at first but lots of fun as you will see the more you do it. Absolutely, just the beginning and this lesson is touching more on intermediate concepts, so do be patient with it and come back to it! Enjoy the process too. ๐
Thank you, I enjoyed that. I also have arthritis in my fingers and like to soak them in warm water and do gentle stretching exercises before playing guitar. Now I have some warm ups to add to this routine. ๐๐
Cheers, Dave. Glad to hear it. Good stuff, physically warming up the fingers is very useful too – especially on a cold day! Keep it up. ๐
Couldn’t get the pattern correct at first as it just didn’t sound right. Rechecked my finger placements on both hands. Still didn’t sound right. Critical error!! Didn’t check the tuning before I started.
Ah, a simple error but one we have all made! Pleased you figured it out though and hope you enjoyed it! ๐
Day One – Nice and easy! Just my speed?
Glad to hear it. Hope you enjoy the rest of the days too. Let us know how you get on. ๐
Ha! Everything was smooth sailing on this one, and I felt like I knew it all until you did the count-ins. Of course it makes sense that you modify the count-in depending on time signature!
That’s good it was plain sailing and you learnt a little something new. The count-in is something many people forget about in regards to time signatures! ๐
I’m really looking forward to getting started. And that introductory video has just put me in the mood. Roll on tomorrow…..
Welcome, David. Pleased to hear it. I hope you enjoy the course and happy you’re excited and eager to begin. Hope you have lots of fun and learn plenty. ๐
I love this fingerstyle version of this song. Some of the changes are difficult for me, but I’m working on them!!
Super stuff, it’s a classic for sure, and glad you like the arrangement. Keep working through it steadily and in chunks and keep enjoying yourself. ๐
This is a beautiful song! I never knew the whole melody, but I’m learning it. But I need a vocal range of multiple octaves to sing it!!!
Super pleased to hear it. Yeah, a classic song for sure. Love the melody and oh yeah, it does require a good range in the voice, but keep enjoying it. ๐
I took classical guitar lessons for a while, so I’ve used the rest stroke before. I like how the melody rings out against the fingerpicking in this little piece. I’ll have to try it on “If” like J.P. I’m a huge David Gates fan and hadn’t messed around with this song in years.
Good stuff, yeah, contrast and use of dynamics is powerful, and that’s one of the beauties of using rest strokes and free strokes. Glad you enjoyed it and keep having fun with this technique! ๐
Have enjoyed day 4 thanks. I really like the way that you teach.
Makes you feel like youโre getting somewhere.
Ah, cool, thanks. Super pleased to hear it. Keep it up – sounds like you’re doing great! ๐
Playing mostly solo, I seldom used a metronome. I found a real need for its’ use the hard way. When playing with a group, as in a jam, an individual can’t embellish a song by changes in the beat as it throws off the other players. The other use I found is when I am learning a faster song, I used it to start off slower and build up the speed. Worked great for Glen Campbell’s “Gentle on My Mind”.
Good stuff. Yeah, timing really is key. I used to find embellishing and playing around with rhythm to be a tough old challenge but the more foot tapping, methodical practice, and of course, fairly regular metronome use, really helped. A little can go a long way with it I find. It’s cool how it helped with ‘Gentle on my mind’ too! ๐
So…I found level three the easiest because my hand didn’t have to move up and down the fretboard. In my head, I know that the last pluck is open which gives me time to move, but it is like I can’t get over the hiccup that happens when I play it leaving me with the dreaded silence/break in any kind of musicality when my hand moves. My way to possibly work through this is to make sure I have the pattern down, and then play with you on the video with the aim of synchronizing my hand fretting hand moving… Read more »
That’s quite common. Even on seemingly simple things, old habits can resurface. I’d try the way you mention for sure as keeping up with me will help you break the pausing habit. I’d also close your eyes too when playing it (or at least the part where the break happens). Closing your eyes can help focus on the musical aspects which should help. Also, super slow practice with five runs through it and no pauses can help break it (go as slow as you need to ensure there is no pause). Let us know how you get on. ๐
hi dan having softy touch with fretting hand also lightens the grip of the picking hand doesn’t take long to get used of it almost makes you relax.
Mark Sedunary
Good stuff, so true that. Relax one hand and the other hand often follows! Super pleased to hear this is helping! ๐
Hi Dan and members my name is Mark Sedunary playing for 5 years and 70 years old, retired would classify myself as a mid way intermediate player can strum songs play chords quite well and my fingerpicking skills are not to bad but struggle to play and change chords but working on it.
My aim is to be a solid player by October 2025 in both categories, I practice approx 1-2 hrs a day, so if any advice on how to achieve my goal please submit.
I am hoping that dans course will help.
Regards
Mark Sedunary
Adelaide
Australia
Hi Mark, good stuff, sounds like you have some solid foundations. I’d say try to go through this course 2/3 times over the next few months and use the Breakthrough Beginner course a couple of times at least too. Do that and you will get lots of reminders on key stuff, helpful advice for chord changes, and other stuff, and as long as you keep having fun doing other things alongside this, you’ll be well on your way to achieving that goal. ๐
I was trying to find a practical application to apply this lesson. I found it playing the song “If” by Bread. I play a pattern similar to the “Ultra”Flexible” pattern. The 8th bar is an E7 chord and the last note is on the high E string. I found if I use a rest stroke on that note and hold it for a couple of beats, it adds a dimension to the song and a nice lead in to the next bar.
Great stuff. That’s great how you have already started using and applying this technique in your playing. Really well done! Cool song too – can see how this pattern, and similar ones, would work for that. ๐
I admit not being a fan of the click, either. Very accessible presentation. Working for me.
Super stuff. Delighted to hear it – never the easiest thing in the world using a click but glad you are warming to it and it’s working for you! ๐
Good info, somehow i had either missed, or never saw rest/free strokes before.
Level 3 just sounds nice, makes me want to just keep rolling along.
Good stuff, Allan. Rest strokes are something I tend to teach and use like this a lot more these days so this might be the first time you’ve come across them in my lessons. Glad to hear you’re enjoying the sound of level 3 and having fun. ๐
This is a slow go for me. I’m having trouble getting the palm mute to sound right, plus the coordination of the picking is a little difficult. I didn’t have any trouble with the syncopated E, though, so I will get this with practice.
Sounds like you are on the right path. The palm muting does often take some time to get just right so keep coming back to that – hopefully by the end of the 21 days you’ll nail the sweet spot for getting just the right tone. Keep it up. ๐
I did this lesson yesterday and reviewed it today. I tried to concentrate on getting a nice ring on the high E string by making sure I kept my left-hand fingers pressing on the string for the full beat. It’s much more musical that way. I’m also trying to memorize the notes on the fretboard, but as a pianist, I find it very hard compared to how the piano is laid out in patterns of black and white keys!
For sure. What you mention is one of those small details that improves all-round musicality. It’s subtle but makes a difference for sure. Thanks for the comment on that. Regarding the notes, yeah, the guitar is a strange one in many ways, especially compared to the piano but stick with it – it will all click and that will give you many more options for playing notes around the fretboard. ๐
I love the beautiful sound of the G to Cm7 chord. It’s such a nice chord change I could play it all day long. Also it’s easy enough so that I don’t have to worry much about what the right hand is doing.
Pleased to hear it. Yeah, it’s simple but lovely. Glad you like it and keep having fun. ๐
I’ve started doing this warmup every day, along with a few other warmups that I do. I can feel that it helps me get my left hand ready to go.
Good stuff! Glad to hear it is helping. A good warmup goes a long way, especially on the colder days and when the fingers are feeling stiff, but keep doing them each day. ๐
Really enjoyed today and the bonus melody. Thank you
Great stuff – super pleased to hear it. Keep up the great practice ๐
I admit that I actively avoid the metronome. I’ll try to do better.
I look at it everyday. That’s about it for me, too.
Hopefully this will help! ๐
That’s very common but good you are honest about it. It’s no deal breaker for progress but a little can go a long way. Hope this helps encourage you. ๐
I can play Level 2 strumming but it’s really hard to strum and sing at the same time. I could do it with the Level 1 strumming but not with Level 2.
That’s still good stuff, Denise. You can always sing the majority of the piece using level 1 strumming and when there is room to, or as you start getting more comfortable with it, you can bring in bits from level 2. Keep up the good practice. ๐
Thanks!
My pleasure, keep enjoying it! ๐
Level 1 and 2, no problem. Level 3 is another story. I have to keep it very very slow and still found it difficult to add in that half beat on the high E.
It throws everyone at first. That’s “syncopation” for you! You will get it though, keep coming back to it, that one note feels weird at first (it did for me too) but at some point, with focused practice, it will click. ๐
Meant my ring finger !
Glad to hear that you are getting there. Yeah, you can use other fingers – it’s a good exercise to practice this with multiple fingers to give them all a good workout. ๐
Getting there with this but my little finger doesnโt seem long enough! Can I use my index finger instead? Thank you
This was fun! I have a question that is going to be awkward in wording. In the tab/notation are the parentheses and carrots standard throughout scores to show free and rest strokes–or did you only do it to help us learn? Another way to ask might be, if I picked up a piece of classical guitar music, would I be likely to find those types of notation or symbols and then I would now know that means to play the notes as free or rest strokes?
Yeah, the reason for that was to make it clear which are free strokes and which are rest strokes. Unfortunately, most notation doesn’t do that but usually a good rule of thumb is this – if the notes are being played across multiple strings in a picking pattern way, use free strokes, but if there is a distinct phrase (usually played on one or two strings), it’s likely it’s a melody and rest strokes can be used. I hope that makes sense? ๐
Yes, it does make sense. Thank you!
Great stuff. Thanks ๐
Bonus pattern rolls nice, sounds nice over a C F G also.
Haha took a few passes to smooth out, then niiice.
Walk away and come back reminds me this variant is not fully in my muscle memory just yet, lol.
Glad to hear it. Love how you have taken the pattern and applied it to some chords of your own choosing. Always a good thing to do when you’re ready to. Keep it up. ๐
Em, Gmaวฐ scale, same scale different reference point. Playing along the string really enhances the interval spacing as opposed to the vertical pattern, it’s starting to click with a big a-ha moment. Thanks!
Good stuff, Allan. Very true that and yeah, the linear method of playing along one string makes it more like a piano in some ways and that can help us understand the intervals nicely. Keep up the good practice ๐
Em scale? I’m still playing around with the C Major scale. I was not much for learning scales, just chords with base notes and what you term embellishments. However, I am plucking along and slowly acquiring the note locations along the fret board. Thanks!
Yeah, the Em scale. Very useful as many songs use it and we can combine some bass notes such as the open low E with the scale for new melodies. I hope this adds a new string to your bow. Glad you are acquiring the note locations and keep up the good practice. ๐