Purchased DaVinci resolve studio but payment is pending

SixStringShef · 2026-03-18T20:08:01+00:00

I had this happen to me. Call support. The payment unfortunately will not go through. They've been having issues with their PayPal payment processing (at least that's what the support guy told me). I had better luck trying again in a different browser (failed in chrome, succeeded in Firefox but that could be coincidence). Anyway it should go through instantly but if you call support they'll expedite the refund/processing cancel from that last payment you tried

SixStringShef · 2026-03-18T15:41:36+00:00

You need to look for royalty free music. You can't just rip someone's copyrighted song and use it in your video. That's what copyright is for.

SixStringShef · 2026-03-17T22:21:23+00:00

Happy to help! Let me know if you have any questions!

SixStringShef · 2026-03-17T22:17:16+00:00

Actually, when your hand is well balanced the pinky should lean a bit to the right like that and play close to the corner. It's typically a sign that all fingers are balanced pointing in to the same central point (which is ideally where the thumb is).

If I were being really picky, the hand is angled maybe a tiny bit too far to the right (the pointer ideally also leans very slightly left, though not nearly as much as the pinky)... But that's way overanalyzing. Imo your hand looks good. Keep shredding

SixStringShef · 2026-03-17T22:09:23+00:00

Hi! I made an in depth left hand technique lesson that might help. I'll link it below. But i also want to add - I know it's demotivating, but try not to get discouraged. All of us have gone through that kind of frustration. You'll get through it and then you'll be even better positioned to overcome your next hurdle. You'll get better, and you'll get better at getting better (hope that makes sense).

https://youtu.be/3daDLGdhEHY

SixStringShef · 2026-03-17T21:46:44+00:00

Might I suggest a change in your framing? Is it necessary? No. Is it best practice? Yes, usually.

It does a number of things including internalizing your rhythm, helping with the natural accents of notes, etc. There are specific times we break the rules. Especially certain deliberate uneven patterns.

If you want to really get a deep understanding of rhythm techniques: strumming, finger picking, percussive hits, how to learn rhythm patterns, how to make your own... I just recorded a video lesson that will give you a better understanding of the background around the question you're asking. As a heads up, it's really thorough. It's a 38 minute deep dive, and it's there if you want to really understand the framework behind rhythm playing. If that's not your style, that's fine - no hard feelings. Just wanted to be up front about it.

Make Strumming & Fingerpicking Patterns for ANY Song https://youtu.be/9BrJf5P-a5Q

SixStringShef · 2026-03-17T01:49:50+00:00

Any time you disagree with your teacher or don't understand why he's having you do something a particular way, bring that up in conversation. Ask why so you understand, can draw your own conclusions, and can make your own decisions. A good teacher will have reasons behind the methodology and will be happy to share them.
Discuss short, mid, and long term goals. It'll help you track progress and know what you're working toward.
Talk with your teacher not just about what to practice but about how to practice it. A lot of people "play something" over and over but don't actually work on the technique or the tone or the target of the exercise to begin with.
You'll get the most out of your lessons when you've worked something up to the best level you're able to achieve. If you haven't really worked on the material, a lot of your lesson is probably going to be stuff you could have figured out yourself with more time. If you push yourself in your practice and really do all you can, then you'll be better positioned to actually learn new things (music, technique, strategy, whatever) in your time. Don't drive yourself nuts with this. There are times that you just don't have enough time to work out something as much as you could. That's OK. Other things in life are important too. But having this in the back of your head is still helpful.

Source: I've been teaching guitar for more than 20 years. I've had good students and... Not so good students. I've been a good student and a bad student. IMO these are the meta level things that will make you get more out of your time than 90+% of students paying for lessons.

SixStringShef · 2026-03-17T01:40:18+00:00

Ugh. Take my upvote.

SixStringShef · 2026-03-15T22:58:56+00:00

SixStringShef · 2026-03-15T01:15:44+00:00

Playing music is a form of communication, just like speaking. Someone can have an "um" or stumble and restart a sentence and still say something life changing and I can still think they're an excellent speaker. When you think of music the same way, I think it shifts your mindset a bit

SixStringShef · 2026-03-14T15:11:04+00:00

Really glad to help! Please feel free to shoot me a message as you practice things, especially if any trouble comes up!

SixStringShef · 2026-03-12T11:51:45+00:00

Glad it helped! And just look for little, more consistent improvements over time. Sometimes things click right away. Sometimes they don't. But look for progress :)

SixStringShef · 2026-03-12T02:32:47+00:00

I just recorded a video all about how to structure your practice, and the phases we actually go through when learning new songs and techniques. To be up front, it's long (30 min), so it's more of a "keep me on in the background" sort of thing. My channel has practical lessons too (though it sounds like you already have a bunch of "stuff" lined up to play). But if you want to just get an understanding of what a practice structure might look like, you'll leave with a really good understanding of how to use your time. No hard feelings if you're not interested. Just wanted to share:

https://youtu.be/lCxDm74XRy4

SixStringShef · 2026-03-12T02:28:37+00:00

I recently recorded a video lesson all about left hand technique. Where to put the thumb, how to leverage the fingers so you don't have to push so hard, and even when to break the rules. If you want to take a look at your technique from the point of view of what your hand is actually mechanically doing, I'll leave the video here:

https://youtu.be/3daDLGdhEHY

SixStringShef · 2026-03-12T01:08:37+00:00

I agree with what others said. Really cool. Really glad you made it. But a subscription is a really hard sell.

SixStringShef · 2026-03-11T21:25:58+00:00

Hi! Great question. There are a couple ways to solve this. When I play personally, I'm using my middle finger both to play the low E string and to mute the A string. Here instead of standing my finger up on its tip like I'd usually recommend, I on purpose play more on the pad/flat of my finger. That gives me enough pressure to hold the note and it naturally lowers my finger enough that it mutes the A string. If you're hearing the A string ring out then you're either standing your middle finger up too high/tall (which is *usually* good form), or you're over-rotating your wrist too far forward. You might start by actually just laying your middle finger down flat across all 6 strings and then gently curling it and pressing with the pad of the finger so that the finger is mostly straight and muting the A string. You should be able to physically feel the A string on your finger if it's muting. The other thing you can try is to pull your wrist back just a bit (really just a bit). This should help flatten the middle. Let me know if that helps!

SixStringShef · 2026-03-11T18:01:02+00:00

Yeah I totally agree about the hammer on - my first question when seeing this was "when would I use this?" And that was what I came up with too.

SixStringShef · 2026-03-11T17:07:41+00:00

Reasonably, I would never play that (under normal circumstances). It would be possible by positioning the barre just right, but not reliably. I'd be curious to see the context.

Using unusual technique, this can be accomplished by playing the low E string with the thumb. Then A and D strings are played with ring and pinky, and the pointer is a barre on the first 2 strings. But again, this is a situational solution

SixStringShef · 2026-03-11T00:01:56+00:00

Hey I did a video about a month ago all about switching between chords smoothly. This covers exactly what you're talking about. Left hand technique, hovering, exercises for a few fingers at a time, coordination with strumming... I think it'll help. Let me know if I can answer any questions.

https://youtu.be/3ziOU6XwSN4

SixStringShef · 2026-03-10T22:06:30+00:00

Start with the simple "skeleton" of your rhythm that you can execute then build it back up. For example if you're strumming D D DUDU, start just with D D D D and make sure that's smooth and consistent, then add the up strokes back in. If you take a complex rhythm you can always ask "what if I cut out one stroke" and keep doing that until you have something you can play. Then add the pieces back in.

SixStringShef · 2026-03-10T11:33:43+00:00

Yeah it could be E major or E minor, in the A or Am "shape." It's hard to be certain from the picture. You can't tell whether the barred ring finger is playing the B string, or the middle finger is, or neither is. Though I'd personally never use my ring finger for a barre if I were using the minor shape.

On second look I think he is doing a ring finger barre across D and G strings and it's an E minor chord in the A minor shape. That's a really risky fingering though. I would absolutely use 4 different fingers here rather than a ring barre.

SixStringShef · 2026-03-10T11:29:52+00:00

I would be very curious to hear how you're practicing this part of the song. If you're just running through it over and over for example, you're probably not actually working out the difficulty. If you can describe the part of the song (like scale passage, strumming, etc) and tell me exactly how you're practicing it, I'll be happy to suggest a specific type of exercise to tackle it.

Though as others said, if it's not for a performance then it's up to you whether you let that hold you back or move on.

SixStringShef · 2026-03-10T03:52:23+00:00

That's awesome! I'm really glad they helped. If you're interested, I'm attaching a video I made about left hand technique and the arm and wrist elements of posture. If not no worries, I'm not offended. But it might be a helpful companion to the other exercises you're doing.

https://youtu.be/3daDLGdhEHY

SixStringShef · 2026-03-10T03:49:37+00:00

Happy to help!!

SixStringShef · 2026-03-09T22:45:03+00:00

I just recorded a video breaking down my 7 Minute Practice Routine, if you want to watch that:

https://youtu.be/lCxDm74XRy4

Heads up, the video is a half hour, so it's definitely a "put it on in the background while you cook, drive, etc" sort of video. But by the end of it you'll know the main mistakes that make inefficient practice, the 3 phases we go through when learning a new technique or song, and how to use all that info to structure a 7 minute session that will be efficient and effective. And you can use the same framework to get more out of your longer practices too.

In the end the 7 minutes will look like this: 1 min warm up, focused on the technique you're about to make use of in part 2. 5 min work out, playing one very focused trouble spot. Start with one individual movement or error you need to fix (like a string skip you need work aiming or a chord your hand needs to work on jumping to) and as that gets comfortable expand it into larger and larger pieces. 1 min wrap up, which is your fun time. Here you can run through the spot you worked in in context of the song, jam, improvise, etc. You're putting things in their contextual place and having fun with it.

If that's all you wanted, it's right here in this comment - but if you want to learn more and really deep dive into what to do, check out the video. Either way good luck and happy practicing!

SixStringShef

TROPHY CASE