string dampening

After learning the basics i decided to carry on with something a little more interest to play when i'm working with the guitar.What i am beginning to learn is called dampening or string dampening which is when you take a rest and basically mute your guitar strings. Dampening is to stop any unnecessary movement of the strings while playing so no other sound distracts from the selected chords. For this part Leonard Hal author of Guitar Method says to "Use the edge of your right hand (or left) to touch the strings, and work for little unnecessary movements." (pg.30) i had never really previously tried this so as you can imagine it didn't go exactly as planned and i was more of a novice about how to go about the movement but as soon as i tried it more i began to understand it. Hal gives an example exercises to help progress my learning in which he says count aloud for the notes that say the word, "rest," for each beat of silence. (pg.30) as i counted the notes like he said it became easier to eventually stop saying rest instead of the number of beats and muting became easier with his help.

thankfully now i am able to complete the string dampening and look to do more in the future with this since it does help to have rests when strumming and they are needed. I wonder what else i can do now that i have learned how to properly mute strings i suppose thats for the next chapter. Above are pictures of how to properly dampen strings.


WHAT DO YOU THINK IS HELPFUL TO LEARN NEXT TO BECOME MORE ADVANCED IN STRUMMING?


Citation:
Leonard, Hal Complete Addition: Guitar Method Leonard Hal, 1997

chord progression and finger placement

In my last post i talked about how i wanted to start the beginnings of proper finger placement and technique again taking information from Guitar Method by Hal Leonard. To begin building off of what i already know i have to correctly put my thumb on the back of the guitar as Leonard said on page six, and relax my form and fingers so that the strings are not muted.

So to begin i started on the chapter called playing chords after properly tuning my guitar and reading his instructions on finger placement. Leonard begins to say to depress the strings indicated with the tips of your fingers (pg.19) i did as he said when previously i had been putting the first part of my finger flat across the strings and i could never produce the right sound since my fingers overlapped and began to touch other strings i learned the correct way when Hal said to "arch your fingers to avoid touching strings that are to be played open." (pg.19) it makes sense now why i was not achieving the correct sound because i did not think to lift my fingers due to it seeming awkward and uncomfortable at the time but i know now that it was the correct way to play the strings.

As you can see in this picture the proper finger placement for C chord is being demonstrated. After learning how to properly play the chords and learn good finger placement i wanted to see what advice Leonard had on switching between chords. Hal says "As you are playing one chord, look ahead to the next and get your fingers in position. Then, switch chords using a minimum of hand motion." (Pg.21) when i tried switching chords usually it was very stop and go, i had a lot of trouble switching fluidly because i kept looking back to the frets to see where i had to place my fingers. Usually i would place them one at a time but with Leonard's help i swiftly moved my fingers with minimal hand motion by looking ahead to the next chord and visualizing my next target. I wonder what else i can learn from Hal as i discover more about chord progression.

DID YOU EVER STRUGGLE WITH CHORD PROGRESSION?

Citation:
Leonard, Hal Complete Addition: Guitar Method Leonard Hal, 1997

playing the basics

For my next lesson i again referred back to Hal Leonard's Guitar Method to instruct me on how to better my playing skills when it comes to guitar. After my last accomplishment of learning how to perfect the C chord i moved onto other progressive chords and strumming styles as to reach the frets better, since my fingers aren't very long.
What i lacked the first time was going over the basics of proper guitar playing, i was trying to go to the more complicated playing styles right away without even bothering with the basics Hal Leonard says to place the thumb in the back of the neck roughly opposite of the second finger (pg.6) i had never ever thought of this previously when playing i had always had my thumb away from the back but when i applied this technique it was easier to play the strings and the music was much clearer as seen in the video.The next thing i looked and saw was that Hal says "Strive for finger efficiency and relaxation." (pg.6) before i had thought of this i had just went for it when i was playing but the key is to be one with your guitar. Relax and let your fingers guide you, i hadn't thought of this so i was always rigid and stuff in place making the music muted and stuck sounding, When i relaxed i was able to play more effectively and clearly producing a better sound.
After realizing all of this i was able to better reflect and realize what i was doing wrong in the first place thanks to Leonard and his teachings. I hope next to learn more of the basics such as proper finger placement and arching of the fingers which will hopefully be talked about in my next blog post.


WHAT DO YOU THINK SHOULD YOUR THUMB BE PLACED ON THE GUITARS NECK?

Citation:
Leonard, Hal Complete Addition: Guitar Method Leonard Hal, 1997

Learning to Play Guitar

 I have been working a lot on the C chord because at first I was having a lot of trouble switching in between chords to create a progression since my fingers are not very long in the first place. So in the mean time I have been reading an instructional book to help me.

Since I have been struggling I looked to Hal Leonard the author of Guitar Method for help with my chord progression. Leonard simply states that now that I am advancing the notes will be moving from string to string (pg.11) as I am supposed to look ahead I must ready my finger for the next position (pg.11) after reading this I expanded my understanding of how to accomplish chord progression by getting my fingers ready instead of switching last minute.

  As you can see from my video I intergraded Leonard's technique into my usual practice after reading his next instructions. Leonard says to gradually and slowly increase my tempo (pg. 12) it started clicking with me after a while when I would fumble a few times but remained steady and constant.

As you can hear over the course of time after taking Leonard's advice I am slowly getting better at chord progression. Leonard gets more into chord progression as he says to depress the strings with your fingertips and arch your fingers to avoid touching strings (Pg.19) after taking his advice my chords became clearer and less muddled. I wonder how much faster I will be able to play now.


Citation:
Leonard, Hal Complete Addition: Guitar Method Leonard Hal, 1997