My new guitar accessory

Got it yesterday.Film at 11.

I lied. No film tonight. I sliced the tip of my index finger on my left (fretting) hand cutting bread. It is not too bad or two deep but it will never heal if I keep on fretting with it. So, let me explain the couch. I became very depressed that I have hardly spent any time playing guitar during the pandemic. I realized the reason was because it was uncomfortable to play it. If I play standing up I can only last about 10 minutes before my back starts hurting. The only chair I have in the living room is a recliner. Playing uke or bass was uncomfortable but doable. Playing an electric guitar was challenging and playing an acoustic guitar was almost impossible. I then managed to figure out a way to rearrange the living room and put in a couch. Then I could sit down and have lots of room with no chair arms to bug me.

Now that I have the couch I am going to start doing some guitar studies. There are three areas that I am weak in and wish to improve. First is hybrid picking.  I have not done a lot of hybrid but I have noticed lately that every guitar player I watch is using a lot of hybrid picking. I did a song by Neil Young called Link A Hurricane which features hybrid picking. He is playing octaves with a pick and a finger. And I can play Blackbird which is all finger picking. But other than those two that is all the experience I have and that is going to change. There are about a hundred videos on YouTube explaining hybrid picking and I am going to watch a bunch of them and pick out some exercises that I like.

The second area is modes. I know what they are and how to play anyone of them, I just fail to comprehend the reasoning behind using the same notes to form a bunch of different scales that all sound the same. Once again there are a hundred videos on YouTube and I will adsorb at least one a day.

The third area is picking cleanly. I have gotten sloppy and I am going to be working on cleaning up my act. Watching the Mike Pachelli  videos is inspiring since he is so clean. I am so jealous. Anyhow I will make a video to show off my new Martin and my new couch. I played on it this afternoon and it works just beautiful.

But wait! The sofa is a great guitar accessory - plenty of room to sit and play without bumping elbows!


Luckily we have a "center" console on our media love seat that folds up - otherwise it'd be like playing a guitar inside a bear hug!


Stay well - cure the finger.

I have a tough time playing while sat on most chairs with arms, and prefer to use a folding chair with no arms. It also saves damage to the instrument and chair.

We found that bringing 50+ band members into an assisted living facility that wanted us to play sitting in their dining chairs (with arms) didn't work. So we organized a small crew and a large pickup to regularly bring in folding chairs borrowed from a local clubhouse. The crew arrives 'early', moves existing chairs and tables out of the way, and sets up the folding chairs.

Domo said:

Stay well - cure the finger.

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Thanks. I tried playing today and I really sucked. Long layoff, lots of ukulele and a bad fingertip makes for a bad practice session. I will only get better.

I got my coffee table for my music room. It matches, it has a lot of storage and was cheap. I tried to play guitar today and I sucked. The good news is I played a long time and had no back problems, however my left hand fingers got sore quick. I am too used to soft ukulele stings. The Martin has normal metal strings but they feel like they are like piano wires.

Be patient Tom.  At our age it doesn't come easy. 

I've been playing so much my right arm is just about worn out and my left index finger is starting to freeze up again.  Time for more cortisone.  I've been concentrating on sweep picking and last night I started a music theory course designed for guitarists.  I want to get to the point that I can correctly name the weird chords in whatever tuning I'm using, without using software.

Regarding your finger:  I used 'New Skin liquid bandage' on my cut finger a couple of weeks ago.  I was playing again in 3-4 days.  I cut myself pretty deep with poultry shears.  It stings pretty good when you put it on. 

I wrote a piece that I refer to as what happened when I was playing Embryonic Journey and got sidetracked into Blackbird.  (It's really not that much like either except in general feel)  That was nearly 40 years ago and I can still play it!  I learned EJ from Jorma himself at a coffee house in Saratoga when I was about 17 or 18.

Thanks again for then Pachelli tip.  You might want to check out Steve Stein's videos too.

Thanks Mud - I have to be patient. I am having a blast every time I play an instrument. Nothing will ever lessen that. Even the days I am my miserable worst it is worlds better than watching TV. Especially tonight. ( I have some NuSkin, but the cut is not very deep and I will be able to play in a few days.

I have no musical talent but I like to sing. When I was a kid, I had a friend like this guy and we had fun. Beatles, Eagles, Neil Young, Alabama. Brings back memories. I miss those days.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4i4YE3Ohkk