Something just didn't seem to jive. Why the F of all chords? I had it exactly the way John showed it, I changed legs, I did everything under the sun, then I gave up, and plain old stuck my thumb on the two strings (1st & 2nd strings/1st fret) just to be pissy, to prove that they were going to submit. And ya know what? They still didn't hit! Then it hit me...
I went back to the WIRED DVD and re-watched the "Set Up" part. And their was the answer!
PROBLEM #1: The Action is too high.
When the guitar arrived, I didn't even know that it had to be "Set Up". I never learned that until just yesterday. My guitar was never set up on arrival, and now that I went and checked, I can see the culprit.
"But why are all the other chords goin so great then Ol' Top?"
Actually, I thought of that too! So when I go back to strum the E & C, I verified what I already knew. I have to "vise grip" that first fret to get the chord to hit. I have always assumed that the problem was "me", hence the reason why I asked about a "finger exerciser" at the RHM forums. I just assumed that I was a six foot three, 225 pound weakling. Ya right, like that pans out logically!
So it looks like that WIRED DVD turned out to be a godsend after all... LOL
PROBLEM #2: The nearest Luthier is 2 hours away.
I live in the sticks. There are 325 people in our village, and the nearest real civilization is 30+ minutes away, and even that is quite less than "real". No music store, no nada.
PROBLEM #3: We own no vehicle.
The engine blew on our truck last year, and seeing as we really have no where to go, we never really got the ambition up to buy another. Besides, since then, we have had another baby, and many auto models will no longer carry us all, hence we just passed on buying another. Well, that and we are poor! LOL (That is why AMS came in handy, because you can make payments.) My credit also stinks because I am disabled, and cannot work, so financing a vehicle is out, especially in these tough credit times.
The Solution: Live with it.
Somehow I am going to have to become one of those folks that likes the action high, and or wait until the nut finally wears down enough to lower it I suppose? LOL
So practice trudges on, and I will just have to keep moving forward in the lessons until the day comes that I am used to the action being that high. I will focus on the C & G, and work with the F, and then move on.
Oh, BTW. If you have my DVD, on page 8 you will find that the chord chart for the G Chord is wrong, it is a misprint. It should be "2nd finger, 6th string, 3rd fret" But the chord chart displays it as "1st finger, 6th string, 3rd fret" A human impossibility. I took an ink pen, and wrote over the two numbers at the bottom, and I will report it to RHM today. I imagine they have already heard about it, and more than likely have made the typo change, and I just got an old stock that has yet to be sold off, but it couldn't hurt to report it anyways. :-)
I read, re-read, and read, and re-read yet again, Chapter #1 of Edly's Music Theory. The Discussion was on "The Musical Alphabets, Natural & Chromatic"
John McCarthy's suggestion to get into some music theory is an excellent one! I am only on chapter 1, but already I can see my "Taylor Rose" in a whole different light! It's as if I am starting to know why she is what she is, and what makes her so special.
So what do I know now?
- I know what Pitch & an Octave is.
- The what's and why's of half & whole steps.
- There is 7 letters in the alphabet, with no beginning or end.
- There is sharps and flats between them. Except for E/F & B/C.
- Every "natural note" is separated by a whole step.
- B/C & E/F are separated by only a half step.
Although chapter 1 is only 4 pages long, there is much information packed into it, and the info there is mighty meaty. Granted there is much white space, visuals, cartoons, and the like, but what info is there does fill your plate quickly. The book is turning out to be an excellent read here in the beginning, and it is not intimidating at all. The author is staying as far away from being overwhelming as possible. An excellent choice for an overview of Music Theory.
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