[unofficial weekender] Brainfarts

[grantinvanman 10428xp 1]

@limburger the numbers refer to the fret numbers – from the thickest (low E) to thinnest (high E) string.

Some players don’t even use a pick! Derek Trucks, a brilliant blues player, is all fingerstyle. It’s something to behold.

That scar may indeed have something to do with your fingers; the pinky and ring finger are joined in their movement through a deep flexor tendon in the forearm, and that’s one of the hardest things to unteach your body.

Anyway, off to paint and enjoy a sunny day!

[blinky465 17208xp 2]

@limburger if the tips of your fingers are already numb, you’ve got a head-start over most guitar players! Some people even put a dab of superglue on their fingertips to make them hard and less “feel-y”.

Mastering barre chords is one of the most frustrating things to do. It’s such an unnatural thing to do, a weird way to hold your hand – curling your fingers so they press hard enough without deadening the other strings – it’s something that takes weeks of practicing every day to get right.

But, honestly, once you can play an “e-shape” barre chord, you’re away! “a-shape” chords are simple in comparison (not least of all because you play them quite “sloppily” and mute strings and get away with it. Once you’ve got that down, you can play any song, in any key.

“Cowboy chords” are usually a little easier to learn, but they don’t make much sense musically.
Why go from this shape (c major) to this shape (a minor) to this completely different shape (g) to this other weird shape (d) ?
With barre chords, you go up a number of frets, or down a number of frets, and no matter what key you’re playing in, the distance between the frets is always the same. Play this chord, go up two frets, play the next chord, play the a-shape… chord names and letters don’t matter.

Intervals are what it’s all about 🙂
(you don’t need to worry about all that until you’re happy playing a barre chord; but once you can play even just one shape, you’ll be a far better player than someone who can play half a dozen “cowboy chords”. Once you’ve mastered just two shapes, you’ll sound like a pro!)

Other than guitars, what’s everyone else been up to?

[blinky465 17208xp 1]

@sundancer – how have you got hayfever?

It’s still winter isn’t it? And as far as I remember, not many people get hayfever from snowdrops and the first green shoots of daffodils….

We moved to south Birmingham at the backend of last year (to be nearer to family in Brum and in North Wales).
I quite miss the south coast. Mostly the sunshine. But also the fancy coffee shops and vegan cake. I hadn’t realised I’d become quite so middle class 🙂

Birmingham is great for music, though. Regularly attend jam nights with guys from Ocean Colour Scene and have played with some really cool musicians already.

[grantinvanman 10428xp 0]

My guitar instructor Sam is from Birmingham!

[sundancer 44755xp 1]

@blinky465  we have 20°C over the days. zero clouds. Night temp goes down to 4°C. But it’s enough to make the tree go apeshit. birches are making everything yellow already

[limburger 22552xp 1]

@blinky465 it’s my right arm … so it’s not helping me hold down the strings.

There’s probably a magic trick to it that I just haven’t mastered.

 

[sundancer 44755xp 0]

Guess what?

NEW THREAD!

[unofficial weekender] 2025 – less is more

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