I posted this on another forum, and thought I'd put it here as well in hopes that it would help some budding young (or old!) finger-pickers-to-be.

David

quote:

I have been trying for ever, it seems, to get a groove going with the alternate thumb bass part when playing Blues fingerstyle.
Single string bass lines are no problem but anyhing else is a disaster.To quote Monty Python's T.F. Gumby " My brain hurts!"
Any suggestions?

Hi Thinman. I had the same problem. And no offense, but I have to disagree with the folks who tell you to get the thumb part down first. That did not work for me at all and only added to my frustration.

What worked for me was to sit down with the tab and work on one measure at a time. The thumb and fingers have to work together, and that won't come, at least it didn't for me, if you practice those parts separately.

Start with the first measre and play it as slow as necessary to get it right. I'm talking SLOW. 30 seconds for one measure is OK, if you're plaing it RIGHT. When you can get through that first measure at any speed, repeat it back to back until it flows, but keep it slow. Doesn't matter how slow! Timing and feel are FAR more important than speed at this point.

Then work on the next measure in the same way. When you can repeat it fluidly at any speed, put the two together

When I first started learning alternating thumb, those first measures took forever! Whole eveings were devoted to single measures. Don't get discouraged! It takes time, but man, is it worth it.

Here's what I sound like now: http://home.mchsi.com/~dberch/MP3s/Kay_Kra...y_Night_Rub.mp3

Another technique that works really well for me is this: Don't over-practice. What I mean by that is if you start to get frustrated, put your guitar away and go do something else. Practice should be fun! The learning you've done takes time to 'settle in' - trust me I know. Come back to your guitar an hour or a day later and try again. You'll be surprised at the difference. I've used this technique a lot. Even today, when I reach a difficult passage in a new song, I'll slow it WAY down, play it right 10 - 20 times and put my guitar away. The next day it's usually MUCH better, easier, and faster. This is also an effective way to practice when you don't have much time for it.

Hope all this helps some, and let us know how it goes!

Oh, and a BIG :+1: for LittleBrother's lessons. He is a WONDERFUL teacher and his lessons are very reasonably priced.

David

This message has been edited. Last edited by: dberch,

Awesome playing David, very inspiring.

I've posted a link to a dream site guitar below. Do you recognize the song. Wouldn't mind learning to play it.

I practice a great deal, and it is a little frustrating, but it's coming and it will continue to come.

Stuart



http://www.dreamguitars.com/audio/Sobell_Model%201_3201.MP3

Hi Stuart. That sounds almost like an alternating thumb arrangement of "Black Bird". Pretty cool. If it were me, I'd slow it down a bit - the notes are all running together to my ear. Still pleasant though. Is that a Koa small body?

David, thanks for the tip! I always had problem with alternate bass run when learning it the "usually recommended" way. I followed your suggested approach and it worked!!

I wish we can have more threads about playing instead of gear!!

I learned from a book called The Art Of Ragtime Guitar...can't remember the author or publishing co. but it was the mid 70's ya understand. It got me going with the alternating thumb thing and had some nice tunes and a little floppy black record inside so's you could hear the tunes and try to play along.Maybe it's still in print with a shiny silver CD now

When I saw the reference to "The Art of Ragtime", I went rifling through my old music books and found my 1970's version, complete with two thin black vinyl 331/3 records. I figured I'd have to rip and convert them into mp3's which would be a hassle but doable.

Before starting, I did a google search on the title of the book and found a website

http://www.acoustictruth.com/ragtime.html

which has already converted the musical examples from the book into mp3's but also includes the entire book in pdf format. Both are available for free download.

It's a classic instruction book and contains lots of great information.

Thanks Shel....it'll be just like old times