So I was having a problem that needed a diagnosis, to see what I was doing wrong, and how I could correct it...
And like the faithful folks they are over at "The Rock House Method", Dr. Sarge steps up and quickly diagnoses the problem, and writes up a scrip for the proper medication. Lets take a look at it shall we? Hopefully this will be of some help for others on this road as well..
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Hey Guy
Ok dude here's the scoop...
In pic 1: First notice that I have a couple fingers anchored to the body of the guitar. I do this to help control how far my hand actually travels down (or up) the strings. You can practice this just playing the first and second notes of the blues progression, Once you get a feel for it go ahead and move to the chord.
Pic 2: After strumming the chords it's hard to see but I use the heel of my hand and touch it to the top strings that are not supposed to make sounds. An important thing to remember though is that they will sound some which is ok. You'll hear a thump kind of sound when you mute them. This would be an example of palm muting. 
Pic 3: Notice how on the strings under the one I have pressed to play the note that the finger lays on top of it? I'm not actually pressing it down to make it sound out but rather muting that lower string with the finger. 
Using these techniques and practicing them should help you make a better sound but it will take some time and patience before it all comes together.
-Sarge
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So obviously I will be implementing this, and I will let us all know down the road how it is coming out!
Thanx Again Sarge!
Friday, January 9, 2009
Dr. Sarge at the Rock House Hospital
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Practice day & a problem.
Ok, so I have been struggling with practicing on and off with this lesson. It seems that I can hit the open string just fine enough, but the one right below it is where I can't seem to hit.
I am also having trouble getting my #3 finger on the 4th fret, with my #1 finger on the 2nd fret. I can't seem to get the 3rd finger down far enough on the fourth fret to get it to sound right.
Watch this video, and see if you can help me diagnose it:
Sunday, December 14, 2008
A Full Plate...
I am going to be setting "Hands Of Steel" & "Edly's Music Theory" aside next week, and just concentrate on Lesson 11, and my practice. I have implemented the suggestion that Sarge gave about playing with my eyes closed, and since that is going so well, and because the "Finger Flexing" exercise is having a slow start, because I am having trouble getting my fourth finger on the fourth fret right, whilst keeping my first finger on the first fret. It will just be easier this upcoming week to focus alone on the lesson, and the practice.
Not ditching them, just taking a week to learn to get my eyes off of my hands, and the current lesson. I need to pay a lot of attention to playing with my eyes closed, so I can get past having to depend on looking at my hands when changing chords.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Back to the beginning...
No EMT today, no lessons where I am currently at. I stalled out, and went back to the strumming pattern with the E - A - D Major Open Chords.
While practicing I noticed something, no don't think I am just some old man that is losing his grip on reality, because I have seen what is happening once before. Maybe it is just me, maybe others might have had this happen to them, who knows, but it is back, and needs to be dealt with accordingly.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Everything bad comes in 3's & EMT C#1
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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