Tuesday 4 June 2013

A new skill and whoops there goes another rotator cuff.

I bought this last Thursday...
Yes, I am using a sofa as a guitar stand!
Last Sunday, I took it to an open mic night and played it - very slowly! So far, I've learned the following chords:- C, Dm, Em, F, G & Am. As my fingertips are like cushions (big & soft), I have to finger chords as triads, with my fingers coming down onto the strings nearly vertically, to minimise the area of my fingerprint. Dm is particularly difficult for me. I'm going to learn the CAGED system, so that I can play any chord using any pattern.

Due to the sunny weather, I've been putting the soft top down on my MX-5. Unfortunately, I've been raising it from the driver's seat position. I forgot that this puts enormous strain on my left shoulder. The pain in my left shoulder when I woke this morning reminded me to not do that again!

2 comments:

Praguestepchild said...

As someone with a degree in guitar performance I can recommend you learn to sus chords ASAP (suspend the 3rd and add a fourth). A good sound for the acoustic.

Nigel Kinbrum said...

I love Sus4 (& Sus2) chords. The intro to "Mr Rock and roll" by Amy MacDonald has both. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tR7SdaXHPH4

"A little respect" by Erasure is a stonker for Sus4s. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x34icYC8zA0

I'm learning loads of stuff from David White, who plays in the House Band at the jam session in the Unicorn pub on Monday nights (and some local bands). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbBn4CpioO4


Firstly, I need to harden-up my "cushions"!