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Old 08-01-2017, 11:25 AM
Albert D Albert D is offline
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Default Learning more than one thing at a time

I'm a 56 year old beginner and am just learning to change between simple cords. I have started an on-line course called Guitar tricks and it starts with very basic stuff. I know I need to get strumming, cord changes and all the basic's down to build from. My true love is fingerstyle blues. I picked up a Stephan Grossman beginners book and have been practicing the exercises leading up to the song Sugar Babe. Am I hurting myself by doing this as long as I keep up with the regular lessons?
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Old 08-01-2017, 11:35 AM
Wyllys Wyllys is offline
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Originally Posted by Albert D View Post
I'm a 56 year old beginner and am just learning to change between simple cords. I have started an on-line course called Guitar tricks and it starts with very basic stuff. I know I need to get strumming, cord changes and all the basic's down to build from. My true love is fingerstyle blues. I picked up a Stephan Grossman beginners book and have been practicing the exercises leading up to the song Sugar Babe. Am I hurting myself by doing this as long as I keep up with the regular lessons?
I can't imagine any harm. I always post this as a great starting tune because it's a great tune, no "changes" and gives you something meaningful and enjoyable as a vehicle for putting in the tim necessary to get that thumb doing an alternating bass.

https://youtu.be/tx29hxvjPfk

Just put the ring finger of your fretting hand on the 6th string, 3rd fret G note and go...the melody is basically third fret notes on the E and B strings along with the open notes on them. There's one 1st fret note on the E and the occasional 2nd fret note on the D string as a tonal variation in the bass, but this is as simple and accessible a tune as there is. Still fun to play after 50 years...
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Last edited by Wyllys; 08-01-2017 at 11:41 AM.
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Old 08-01-2017, 11:42 AM
Albert D Albert D is offline
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Originally Posted by Wyllys View Post
I can't imagine any harm. I always post this as a great starting tune because it's a great tune, no "changes" and gives you something meaningful and enjoyable as a vehicle for putting in the tim necessary to get that thumb doing an alternating bass.

https://youtu.be/tx29hxvjPfk

Just put the ring finger of your fretting hand on the 6th string, 3rd fret G note and go...
I usually get at least an hour a day with my guitar and usually more. I will try putting 15 minutes a day into Sugar Babe. Its a fun song I would love to have down so I can play something I enjoy. That's a great video. I love watching those guys.

Thank you.
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Old 08-01-2017, 11:50 AM
jseth jseth is online now
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No problem at all, Albert... the point of the exercise is to LEARN TO PLAY THE GUITAR, and at this point, you know very little of all the ends and outs of the thing. The cool part is that nearly EVERYTHING you learn early on will be of benefit in the overall context of playing...

Enjoy the ride! I believe you will have more fun and progress much faster if you "just play", as opposed to measuring, evaluating and quantifying the pace of the whole endeavor.

Even as a beginner, if you can find a playing companion (even sporadically) who is at least "slightly' better than you are, you will go farther, faster and have more fun doing it!
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Old 08-01-2017, 11:59 AM
Albert D Albert D is offline
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No problem at all, Albert... the point of the exercise is to LEARN TO PLAY THE GUITAR, and at this point, you know very little of all the ends and outs of the thing. The cool part is that nearly EVERYTHING you learn early on will be of benefit in the overall context of playing...

Enjoy the ride! I believe you will have more fun and progress much faster if you "just play", as opposed to measuring, evaluating and quantifying the pace of the whole endeavor.

Even as a beginner, if you can find a playing companion (even sporadically) who is at least "slightly' better than you are, you will go farther, faster and have more fun doing it!
I just found out a week ago that I have two neighbors who play. One is an advanced beginner and the other is an advanced player who is a blues guy. The advanced beginner said he would work with me. I think he would enjoy having someone to play with. I have not actually met the blues guy yet but that will change soon.
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Old 08-01-2017, 12:05 PM
Wyllys Wyllys is offline
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Originally Posted by Albert D View Post
I usually get at least an hour a day with my guitar and usually more. I will try putting 15 minutes a day into Sugar Babe. Its a fun song I would love to have down so I can play something I enjoy. That's a great video. I love watching those guys.

Thank you.
He does a very good presentation of the tune. Try the John Hurt tune as well. It's a lot more accessible and every bit as good.

https://youtu.be/lwB45anSAo8

I never did get to meet Mississippi John, but I did get to spend a good bit of time with Mance Lipscomb from whom Grossman takes his version.

https://youtu.be/7wB7SLxBxy8
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Last edited by Wyllys; 08-01-2017 at 12:13 PM.
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Old 08-01-2017, 12:55 PM
Denny B Denny B is offline
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Originally Posted by Wyllys View Post
He does a very good presentation of the tune. Try the John Hurt tune as well. It's a lot more accessible and every bit as good.

https://youtu.be/lwB45anSAo8

I never did get to meet Mississippi John, but I did get to spend a good bit of time with Mance Lipscomb from whom Grossman takes his version.

https://youtu.be/7wB7SLxBxy8

I don't hear much about Mance Lipscomb on this site, but I'm a fan of Justin Townes Earle, and have read where he said he got his playing style from Lipscomb...he also said that his cuticles are shot and his thumb is a different shape than it used to be...

Last edited by Denny B; 08-01-2017 at 01:29 PM.
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Old 08-01-2017, 12:55 PM
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Keep doing both, in a few weeks maybe go 75% fingerstyle. Keep up on the chord changes and later on work in Barre chords as you will still use them even though you are playing finger style. Homespun has some great blues lessons and uses the same instant download platform as Grossman. Check out Toby Walker, Roy Bookbinder and Mary Flower.
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Old 08-01-2017, 01:11 PM
Wyllys Wyllys is offline
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I don't hear much about Mance Lipscomb on this site, but I'm a fan of Justin Townes Earl, and have read where he said he got his playing style from Lipscomb...he also said that his cuticles are shot and his thumb is a different shape than it used to be...
I was fortunate to meet Mance and play music with him over a period of about 6 years. He was a kind and generous person and a "pure" musician. He WAS the music.

I still favor my Sovereign over all other guitars because it connects me back to him every time I pick it up.
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Old 08-01-2017, 01:25 PM
Denny B Denny B is offline
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Originally Posted by Wyllys View Post
I was fortunate to meet Mance and play music with him over a period of about 6 years. He was a kind and generous person and a "pure" musician. He WAS the music.

I still favor my Sovereign over all other guitars because it connects me back to him every time I pick it up.

Very cool...sounds like a priceless experience few of us are privileged to enjoy...
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Old 08-01-2017, 03:05 PM
lowrider lowrider is offline
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Toby Walker, who is a really important part of this forum, has a great beginner finger picking lesson that includes Spike Driver Blues and Sugar Babe;

http://www.tobywalkerslessons.com/le...nger-pick.html

It includes easy, middle and full versions of the songs to get you going. Both tab sheets and very instructive videos. Price is more than reasonable.

I've been working on it for about two months. It takes time. It won't happen over night.
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Old 08-01-2017, 04:01 PM
FwL FwL is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Albert D View Post
I'm a 56 year old beginner and am just learning to change between simple cords. I have started an on-line course called Guitar tricks and it starts with very basic stuff. I know I need to get strumming, cord changes and all the basic's down to build from. My true love is fingerstyle blues. I picked up a Stephan Grossman beginners book and have been practicing the exercises leading up to the song Sugar Babe. Am I hurting myself by doing this as long as I keep up with the regular lessons?

Seems to me you're doing the other stuff because you think you have to. If you want to fingerpick, then fingerpick. Life's too short to mess around trying learn a bunch of stuff because you think you're supposed to.

All the chord changes and whatnot that you need to eventually master can be mastered using your fingers just as well as using a pick. If I were you I'd learn a couple of basic fingerpicking patterns and practice changing chords while getting the picking down.


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Old 08-01-2017, 04:17 PM
Albert D Albert D is offline
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Originally Posted by FwL View Post
Seems to me you're doing the other stuff because you think you have to. If you want to fingerpick, then fingerpick. Life's too short to mess around trying learn a bunch of stuff because you think you're supposed to.

All the chord changes and whatnot that you need to eventually master can be mastered using your fingers just as well as using a pick. If I were you I'd learn a couple of basic fingerpicking patterns and practice changing chords while getting the picking down.


.
That sounds like a good course to me. I do want to learn to strum songs for campfire music and such but fingerpicking is where my heart is. Hearing Stephan Grossman play Assassination of John Fahey is what inspired me to get a guitar in the first place.
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Old 08-01-2017, 04:53 PM
Wyllys Wyllys is offline
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Originally Posted by Denny B View Post
Very cool...sounds like a priceless experience few of us are privileged to enjoy...
There have been many. I set out to be able to "hear it/do it", to know Music, not just a bunch of tunes. Being able to chord guitar along with anyone in real time meant that I got to spend a LOT of time performing with older musicians, usually at least 30 years older and often 40-50 years.

So I got to jam with a "peer group" with decades and decades of experience to pick up on. There was Mance, Fred MacDowell, dozens of fiddlers and a few great accordionists from "the Old Country"...pick your country.

Now I'm in their shoes age-wise and I don't see too many young musicians taking the same general path I followed. I do see folks getting into old-timey or Celtic, though.

So to the OP I say FOLLOW YOUR INTEREST. Find something that speaks to your heart and latch on. Be willing to give it a lifetime and it'll pull you in and on.
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  #15  
Old 08-01-2017, 04:57 PM
Wyllys Wyllys is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Albert D View Post
That sounds like a good course to me. I do want to learn to strum songs for campfire music and such but fingerpicking is where my heart is. Hearing Stephan Grossman play Assassination of John Fahey is what inspired me to get a guitar in the first place.
Fahey was a big fan of John Hurt...and Balinese Gamelan. Check out Music From the Morning of the World.

https://youtu.be/AdJMesV7UP0

His Yellow Princess album post-dates his interest in that direction. He also listened to Monk a lot.
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