Quote:
Originally Posted by CaptJack
Thanks for the encouragement and hints. I think part of my issue is that I'm always thinking about what I'm supposed to be doing. But when I think about my left hand my right messes up and vice versa. I'm going to try the one bar at a time approach to see if that helps ingrain things a bit.
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Hi Jack,
If I'm not mistaken Toby encourages memorization. It works for me. Once I kind of know the tune I start trying to play it by memory. You have to know the tune well enough to know when you are making a mistake. Then you start noting your mistakes and actually figuring it out by ear. Then it really starts to flow, you are no longer thinking about it, you are playing. I think if you apply this approach to the "one bar at a time" advice (which I also use on difficult passages) you may see quicker progress than always staring at the page and thinking about what comes next. I say this as a beginner picker, not a teacher, so take it with a grain of salt.
Stick with it, you can do it. It takes a crazy amount of time in the beginning. 4 months of at least an hour or 2 a day (more on weekends) was when I started to think maybe I could be a fingerpicker some day :-) I'm not there yet but I think the foundation is in place.