guys, don't worry.
keep going, without expectation.
you can do it, but you have to keep going.
just listen to what tomo is saying.
that sounds so easy....
i am adding my perspective as just another human being trying this technique. nothing new, but i hope it bolsters your efforts and encourages you to keep going (because this is what i am telling myself)
i haven't changed amp volume, i have ~12 watt combos in "stereo", volume on noon, tone all the way up since november, day, night, early morning.
i live in a small condo/apt, neighbors on both sides, kids sleeping upstairs above living room. only my 11yo daughter complained a few times (early dec) so i tried to play softer.
tomo does this, wes did this. so i can (try to) do this too!
i have been trying R 3 7 / R 7 3 B-flat swing groove excercise since then, working on it at least ten min twice a day, for a few weeks. i usually shoot for 3x/day. each time i ask myself if i am picking up the guitar with joy. if not, i don't, i go for a walk or something.
i thought it would be easy.
but when i found this technique is quite subtle, i found frustration and self-doubt.
but tomo and all of you, i felt, kept encouraging me so i continued.
that is the bottom line and so important.
tomo has built universal support into this place.
especially watching all the stuff tomo says is not part of the lesson...sometimes that is the most valuable part of the lesson.
as you continue to do this thing, you will find problems. sit with them. think about them. don't beat yourself up. break the problem down until you find something you can work on. it may mean taking a few steps back but maybe not too!
for me now, i am able to do "first position" Bb7, and "second position" Eb7 now, almost.
I really liked jh's observations and interactions generally but also for Eb7 position in this exercise.
To get around muting problems for D string I am now thinking of partial barré with middle finger in the Eb7 position.
this seems to help with better muting on B,E (top strings, from players perspective looking at fb)
I am able to do each chord position mostly cleanly, so now I am wood-shedding the finger movement between the chords. (That is what Richard W. Kendrick Jr, my first guitar teacher taught me. Thank you Rich! And Tomo is reminding me because I think all the masters will tell you the same thing, the truth.)
Getting it down super slowly (except the strumming. do that so there is one *sound* like triads) without the metronome.
Once I am able to do the transitions cleanly, I can go back to blues progression song structure.
also, trying this exercise, along with other foundation practice exercises like 1212 chromatic scale exercise, is helping uncover and solve issues i am having with this exercise so i am started to realize maybe why tomo groups these together. thinking about 1212 is helping me solve 4th string muting problems here, i think.
If I can get this far, you guys can too!
thank you for reading these words. i hope it will ease any doubt or frustrations, and add another learner's perspective.
every video i watch of all of you is so encouraging to see for me, because it is the truth. the truth is so powerful on its own.
truth, humility, listening as part of a group, and eventually adding my small replies to the whole. that is what i am learning here. profound thanks tomo and friends. 🙏🏾