Day 4 in the books!
Have fun with your shows Mr.Fujita!
Today I worked on moving my body to feel with each note, I also worked on maintaining a good posture throughout.
I was also working on palm muting. This is something I work on in a lot of my playing. Which part of my had should I do this? Closer to my thumb? Also should I be muting right on the tuning pegs at the back?
Overall noticing improvement!
Thank you again so much,
Max
Day 4 Complete!
Mostly found myself battling tension today, in both hands, and being hyper focused on my left hand thumb position. I find that I tend to leave it trailing behind slightly which feels comfortable to me but I’m not certain is correct. I’ve got to catch up on reading the thread too as I’m sure there’s lots of good feedback to digest.
Best,
Erik
Thank you Erik!
This exercise, proper way is very difficult! That's why you will use less pressure and play anything very easily!
Good efforts! Great commitment! Thank you so much!
Try to do super slow! Keep each note for (sustain) 2-3 seconds and while you are sustain the note, try to check your posture, your left hand pressure (very light as you are holding a paper).
Good job!
Tomo
Day4 and I have switched to my acoustic it is much more honest than my warm, comfy, fat, smooth sounding Epiphone Joe pass (ebony tail piece and bridge, with GHS bright flats). It was hiding so much! (even with reverb off and treble up)
Now I can really hone in on the string noise. Stepping backward to move ahead :)
Thank you so much Tomo for this patience inspiring challenge!
Thank you Al,
Good job! No reverb, less bass, more treble!\
Just in case, your guitar volume never goes to full 10! Keep it around 7-8.
Guitar tone all the way full!
Good job!
You're very welcome!
Tomo
Hi Al, I did the same thing on this here day 5, Changed to acoustic and yes, room for improvement. I dig the rig!!
Day 5 - continued to focus on posture this morning. I put the strap on my guitar and concentrated on standing up straight and moving my body. When I move, I groove. Also, standing up made me focus more on thumb position and string noise (mostly when releasing a note - I want that perfect).
Question: are we ascending and descending at this point? Or only ascending?
Thank you.
Respectfully,
Bryon Mondok
Laconia, New Hampshire
Thank you Bryon,
Good job! Have a good posture is so good!
Using a strap too.
Only going up! Week 2 I will explain more!
Only going up now. Less is more!
Don't worry!
We will do more!
You're very welcome!
Thank you.
Tomo
Love the phrase, when I move, I groove! :)
Day four experienced!
Today I focused on muting and pick attack. Paying attention to the feel of my pick passing through the string made me wonder about follow through and pick escape. Paid special attention to my thumb position because it's my habit to have the thumb parallel to the neck rather than vertical.
Thank you Tomo and be safe!
Thank you Christian,
Good job!
Overall soft picking is good.
Thumb position is super important!
You're very welcome!
Thank you.
Tomo
On the fifth day(·.·)
Today I‘m trying to bend each finger a little bit while keeping my palm open.With my fingers bent, I found It difficult to move again.And I‘ve been recording practice videos for five days now!
Tomorrow I’ll pay attention to the mute of the palm.
It‘s okey!Cheer up
Thank you Jiayang,
Good job!
Please watch my video more.
Great plan!
Thank you!
Tomo
Day 5 of the challenge is complete! Today’s focus was on refining my technique with a light touch of the fingers and holding the pick only halfway. Every time I caught any finger noise, I went right back to the start to keep it clean. I also paid close attention to thumb positioning, making sure it’s centered or just slightly below center
Good job!
Light touch is good!
Yes! If I hear one noise, I stop and go back the beginning and I will go slower.
Never same pace/tempo.
Thumb position. Good!
Thank you.
Tomo
Day 5 notes:
• It’s almost crazy how light of a touch you can get away with. Finger does not even have to press the string to the wood part of the neck, just get the note to sound against the wire fret and it’s much easier on your hand. I can see this when I go super slow. It also seems to create less finger squeaking. Let me know if that doesn’t make sense or is wrong.
Thank you.
Exactly! Not pressing, just touching and when the string contact the fret, you use less pressure!
Playing guitar so good is so difficult to do!
Good job! Slower is good!
Thank you.
Tomo
Hey everyone! Sammi here :)
I appreciate your updates and reflections. It is so easy to want to jump ahead, but I can tell how deeply focused and committed you are to this practice. So be proud of yourself for putting in the effort, and don't worry about the outcome. Stay curious and free of judgment - noticing things is good! I am proud of all of you for taking 5-10 minutes out of your day to connect with your instrument. It is a beautiful thing. Keep it up!
Thanks for the support and encouragement Sammi! :)
Thanks Sammi for your extra support!
Week 1:Day 5
I made my first concerted effort to try palm muting. It was far more challenging than I anticipated. Small movements of my hand make all the difference between hearing a clear, ringing tone on the 4th string or a buzzing or muted tone. It is all so subtle and nuanced.
Michael Kimber
Good job!
Once you can do this basic moves without any noise then you can use your right hand palm mute. Very lightly.
Thank you.
Tomo
Day 5 is complete! I notice after doing this with such focus for just 5 days that when I play a chord melody song or other song, my hands are cooperating more easily and attention is improving. Very cool!
Good job!
Great to hear that. Slowly this technique will work into your playing.
Thank you.
Tomo
Day 5 Complete!
Today I made an effort to focus more on my palm muting for 5 minutes and on my thumb position & shifting for the other 5 minutes. Both are still challenging but awareness of the subtleties is growing!
Best,
Erik
Good job!
Please be careful not go over 10 minutes total!
Great challenge.
Thank you.
Tomo