I've just started the lessons in the past week. I wanted to submit this video so you could give me some feedback. Also, I wanted to know the best way to approach the lessons. Should I only watch one of the lessons a week and then do the next one the following week or can I skip ahead? I also wanted to know if you had any suggestions for exercises to help with speed and cordination.
Hello Matthew, welcome to our little guitar community!
First of all, I enjoyed hearing you play and sing this song. You have a great, strong voice and a good sense of musical pacing. Your right hand, what I could see of it, looked nice and relaxed, which is great. I notice 2 things immediately in your left hand that are hindering your ability to make a clean sound.
1) You never want to fret any further back than the exact midpoint between two frets, and in bluegrass, you generally want to press your finger down just behind the fret. This leads to a much more crisp sound, and you’re less likely to have errant buzzing.
2) The position of the thumb on your left hand can make or break the ease with which you fret notes. In short, by having your thumb solidly on the back of the neck you can take advantage of the motion of *clasping* your hand together between thumb and fingers, which provides leverage and mechanical advantage.
There are lessons that cover both of these things in detail. I would suggest going all the way through this fundamentals series because it lays out some fundamental principals that we return to again and again. After that I would go through the Honey, You Don’t Know My Mind and Soldier’s Joy lessons because they lay out other fundamental principals that will be very useful. After those, whatever strikes your fancy. Generally speaking, the first week of any series lays out the basic parameters of the song, and in subsequent lessons we use the song as a vehicle to study specific techniques, approaches, or solos.
Hi Chris,
I've just started the lessons in the past week. I wanted to submit this video so you could give me some feedback. Also, I wanted to know the best way to approach the lessons. Should I only watch one of the lessons a week and then do the next one the following week or can I skip ahead? I also wanted to know if you had any suggestions for exercises to help with speed and cordination.
Hello Matthew, welcome to our little guitar community!
First of all, I enjoyed hearing you play and sing this song. You have a great, strong voice and a good sense of musical pacing. Your right hand, what I could see of it, looked nice and relaxed, which is great. I notice 2 things immediately in your left hand that are hindering your ability to make a clean sound.
1) You never want to fret any further back than the exact midpoint between two frets, and in bluegrass, you generally want to press your finger down just behind the fret. This leads to a much more crisp sound, and you’re less likely to have errant buzzing.
2) The position of the thumb on your left hand can make or break the ease with which you fret notes. In short, by having your thumb solidly on the back of the neck you can take advantage of the motion of *clasping* your hand together between thumb and fingers, which provides leverage and mechanical advantage.
There are lessons that cover both of these things in detail. I would suggest going all the way through this fundamentals series because it lays out some fundamental principals that we return to again and again. After that I would go through the Honey, You Don’t Know My Mind and Soldier’s Joy lessons because they lay out other fundamental principals that will be very useful. After those, whatever strikes your fancy. Generally speaking, the first week of any series lays out the basic parameters of the song, and in subsequent lessons we use the song as a vehicle to study specific techniques, approaches, or solos.
Let me know if you have any other questions!
Chris