6 replies to this topic

[MrStig91]

Ok, so I've been on session 7 for probably 2-3 months now (they all take me forever with my limited practice time) and I'm to the point that I can play the Barre Chords pretty well and switch with decent speed. My hand feels much less pain/strain than when I began this lesson, but there is still plenty of room for improvement in the strength department. I'm not worried about that so much as that will come in time. 

 

The only part I'm not sure of is the worksheets. So... I am to the point that I can get all of the worksheets done pretty quickly, maybe 7-8 minutes to complete all 4 worksheets in the bonus workshop book. However, I do not have all of the scales memorized. Just a couple of them. 

 

Is this going to be detrimental in the near future, or am I safe to move on to the next lesson and just continue doing the worksheets and improving that knowledge? 

[NeilES335]

MrStig91; You'll note in the bonus lesson Steve gives some pretty clear guidelines on moving on. That being said, if you feel you have grasped at least the concepts presented (as Steve has also said) it isnt necessary to strive for perfection at this level. Your barre chords will continue to improve with practice. Memorizing major scales will become more impotant in S8 and S9 so this will take more effort per session (imho) than previous sessions. Many students get "stuck" at S9,10,11. Getting past there honestly and completely is a real accomplishment. (Theory wise I've been there way too long) Take a shot at the next Level S8. You can always continue to work on S7 as welectrician or go back and review.

[John Wells]

MrStig, it's your call, pure and simple. Learning is an iterative process, but it's possible (and very probable) to get bored with too much practice of ye olde same-old same-old. It's called "lesson fatigue." Look ahead and find exciting new material. We need to challenge our mini-brains, our ears, and our klutzy fingers. Some of us just "annex" the next lesson before we really dig into it and get our hands dirty. Go for it! As the song goes, "I've laid around and played around this old town too long. Summer's almost gone, and winter's comin' on...etc. And I feel like I gotta travel on." Hey, I'm eighty-five and eighty-six is sneaking up on me. Got no time to waste. Lotsa luck. 

[drlaptop]

MrStig I would say if you feel it is close enough like just an occasional muted string and no fret rattle or not to noticeable on a strum or finger picking I would say to either move on and use the chord fingering that gives you trouble as much as possible on new class material or pick some songs like maybe 2 or 3 of them for a week just to get the chord rhythm and progression down to break up the monotony. You can always worry about the melody or lead at a later date. In other words your fingering or positioning that gives you the most trouble may need something slightly different exercise wise, movement wise or a different repetitive angle your hand approaches the hand position of the chord, fingers or maybe even the wrist position to finish developing.  I'll pull an example out of mid air if you have spent a lot of time and one specific chord has a muted string and you always play an A chord prior to playing the chord position that needs work then try a b or c chord. So in a nut shell I'm saying change the chord progression that uses the difficult chord or try a different octave of the chord prior to the chord you need work on. Everyone's hand, coordination and muscle development movements are never exactly the same and there are variations. Perhaps you just need a slight variation that most of us don't that isn't in the course material you have been working on for as long as you have. Your caught in a cycle and all we have to do is tweak the cycle. You could also add some new strength building exorcises to your fretting hand. Squeeze a tennis ball or a sponge ball while you listen to music or watch TV. Early on when I first picked up a bass I did an exercise in which I picked up a pencil off a table with out my thumb by laying my four fingers flat with the pencil under the joints of the fingers and palm flat on the table and try to clinch the pencil with only the fingers.

[The Deuce]

MrStig I too am in session 7 and certainly not close to meeting move on guidelines. My biggest holdup is doing the D and E barre cords. Working on session 7 for about 4 months Now I can see another month working on D and E barre cords to meet requirements. The question seems to arise at this point in each session, move on and continue working on previous session, or gut,it out. I'm not 85 like John but I'm 74 so " maybe I gotta travel on ".

[MrStig91]

Thanks for all the input everybody. Its not so much the actual playing of the barre chords that is holding me back. Sure, there is always more improvement to be made, but I can play all of the exercises up to speed and it sounds pretty good now. Just a little fumble here and there. I can get through probably 4-5 lines straight of the exercises then might have one dead note on a chord. No big deal there, that will come in time. 

 

For me its more the education part. I was way off on my estimated time to complete the worksheets. I timed myself earlier and to complete all 4 it took me 15 minutes. I think I have a lot of improvement to make there. Memorizing stuff has never been a strong suit of mine. I failed the test in geography where we had to list the capitols of all the states even after three weeks of flash card training. haha. 

 

Just an hour ago I remembered I purchased and briefly started the major scale mastery course Steve had on sale a few weeks ago. I jumped back into that and I think I'll stay on lesson 7 for awhile longer, and also work on the major scale mastery course which should really help me strengthen my knowledge of the scales. 

 

Thanks again for the input.

[Eracer_Team -DougH]

Session 5+6 are a combined session
As well as
Sessions 7+8 are combined sessions