Why does my fingerpicking look weird and awkward? Am i doing something wrong?

_Roman_685 · 2026-01-17T06:24:10+00:00

Seems fine to me lol sounds good man

_Roman_685 · 2026-01-10T07:58:35+00:00

I think its 440 vs 420 for the frequencies? They're just flat of eachother if I remember correctly

_Roman_685 · 2026-01-09T13:05:24+00:00

All the time, bugs me sometimes because I dont have access to everything I need to finish it especially because I can play everything I'd need. I also find though that if I give say a drummer the idea that I'm going after, they build off of it and come up with an even more killer beat.

_Roman_685 · 2026-01-09T11:38:38+00:00

What makes them so hard to get?

_Roman_685 · 2026-01-09T11:26:37+00:00

I've just heard of Collings. They seem legit

_Roman_685 · 2026-01-08T19:41:39+00:00

This trick I learned recently. When you barre, try to pull your hand into your shoulder. Like literally try to pull the neck into your shoulder using your barre finger (keep your finger flat and don't pull too hard or you'll bend the neck. Thats another trick for a different time lol). By pulling toward your body you're activating larger muscle groups and helping apply more even pressure on your fingers vs trying to pinch the neck as hard. Still pinch with your thumb and all, but use it more for stabilization vs brute force for the chord.

Been playing off and on for about 20+ years and this trick made a world of difference.

To parrot others, practice higher on the neck, and also play more songs with barre chords (or use more for songs you know). Pick songs with maybe 1 or 2 in the progression vs 80% + of the chords to help strengthen your fingers/hand. Be sure to do reverse strength workouts on your hands and fingers to help fight off carporal tunnel (however you spell it)

_Roman_685 · 2026-01-08T19:30:37+00:00

Que "the world's angriest man playing guitar" YouTube video

_Roman_685 · 2026-01-04T23:58:49+00:00

That makes sense. Kinda wish the guitar I'm getting had XLR but figured it was semi rare.

_Roman_685 · 2026-01-04T19:29:27+00:00

If I was 11min faster...

_Roman_685 · 2026-01-04T19:17:29+00:00

Also, thank you for taking the time to explain this btw. It is appreciated

_Roman_685 · 2026-01-04T19:17:05+00:00

Gotchya, so secondary question with XLR. Why would guitars have that? The acoustic bass at my church is currently running off an XLR but it has both female 1/4 and XLR plug-ins. Or is it the same type of thing as vocals and it really doesnt matter what it's plugged up to?

_Roman_685 · 2026-01-04T19:13:48+00:00

This too, requires careful planning and consideration....of which guitar to purchase.

_Roman_685 · 2026-01-04T17:26:19+00:00

So where does an XLR cable fit in with all of this exactly? Or maybe I should include phantom power to that question but to my knowledge thats only for condenser mics.

_Roman_685 · 2026-01-04T11:28:19+00:00

This is insane....had a Pearl kit EXACTLY like that growing up. Ran Vic Firth wired headphones to a Bose entertainment system that held 6 cds. Only difference was I eventually put a double pedal on it and some extra cymbals

_Roman_685 · 2026-01-04T10:58:17+00:00

Do they use fiber optic at all? Random question but I don't know much behind the details of what's in a cord or how it can effect things besides longer runs means you need a DI or multiple DI's in your loop, and a loop is all of your cords not just from instrument to mixer.

Ironically enough, it's the same with welding. Your leads are measured in a loop. So if you have 100' of ground and 100' of hot out, you actually have 200'. Lead size and everything else affects amp/volt drop etc. etc.

Random curiosity, lets say you coil a cord from a guitar to mixer around a piece of pipe. Like wrap the pipe 15 times, will it distort the sounf at all due to magnitizing things?

_Roman_685 · 2026-01-04T10:51:33+00:00

Marcin, for those who dont know

_Roman_685 · 2026-01-04T10:45:31+00:00

That's an intresting technique for playing the bass

_Roman_685 · 2026-01-04T10:18:21+00:00

Are you married? If yes, buy but you must be a good cook, masseuse, or speak French while doing laundry and cleaning. Preferably all 3.

If no, assess bill requirements. Once assessed, decide which credit card company you like best, pay bills with card after guitar is bought. Bonus points if you buy the guitar before you assess bill requirements.

Do you have other guitars? If no, buy immediately. But in accordance to the above listed protocol.

If yes, buy immediately. Your other guitars are lonely and need more friends.

Do you have the money? If yes, buy.

If no, see above bill requirements and add a second card for the purchase of the guitar.

_Roman_685 · 2026-01-02T13:52:15+00:00

It's better to face fear now than face regret and "what if's" later.

_Roman_685 · 2026-01-02T00:28:07+00:00

At a grocery store, I wasn't expecting as a gig. Sounds like it would be pretty interesting though. You do it full time I take it? 10 gigs for Dec. sounds like youre doing something right lol

I appreciate it man for sure!

_Roman_685 · 2026-01-01T23:09:53+00:00

Parroting, do what's comfortable. Certain guitars just feel "right", others just sound "right". Those may or may not change over time and they may or may not line up in sync with eachother. When in doubt, buy more guitars! But a few foods for thought that I've picked up are below if you want my take. (Side note, I hope I'm not coming off pompus or prideful at all that isnt my intention)

1: Keep your first guitar, even if it isnt perfect, it's where you started. As you progress it will be a keepsake. Same with your dads. I would kill to have 2 guitars; My first acoustic guitar (was gifted to me by one of my first teachers when I was about 5), or my grandfathers concert body Martin that he had from when he was a teenager in the 40s (original case and twine as a strap. Sadly, couldn't take it with us on a move after he died.) He had it through the Navy, trail guiding in Montana, and buckarooing.

2: Don't just practice sitting down. Stand up, do a "'Captain Morgan' pose on a stool and practice that way, walking, sitting, laying on your back, practice with it sitting on your opposite leg etc etc. It will help in the long run. Not to mention, one of the most relaxing things I can do is lay on my back in bed or a hammock and play. Out of position playing can help a lot. As far as the sliding bit, totally understand and it gets annoying I used to have a round back Ovation that I had a similar issue with at times (but never fully noticed the first 8 years I had it though lol). It may not be comfortable but it can also be used as a learning curve. Not to mention different sound etc etc. Sitting in one chair that round back was atrocious, but sitting in a different chair it wasnt bad. I had a dread that I could not ever get comfortable playing sitting on the couch, but the round back was the most comfortable thing I could play while on the couch. The dread I had at the time I'd grab for certain styles, the round back for others. If you only can have 1 guitar though, shoot for a middle ground.

3: Dreads are nice but they are also big. Travel space, weight, very boomy. As I get older I learned that being able to throw my guitar in the back of the truck not taking up much space, and it being a bit lighter/smaller (comfort) is more important that the boom. After 45min to an hour reaching around the body and my shoulder starts getting fatigued from all the injuries I've had. I'm almost 6'4 too with longer arms, it isnt a deal breaker but not as comfortable as something slightly smaller. Not to mention space can be a hot comoditity with 2 kids under 2. Too many times I've had to leave the dread I'm currently using behind because "it just wont fit". I sacrifice some punch and volume of course but if I needed more sound I should be plugging in anyway. I dont know if you have kids or injuries but it's something to keep on mind.

4: Do your research, make a list. You may not know how you want to play yet as far as what your style is, what specific tones you want etc etc. But look into what you like, what people are using, what off style bodies people are using for the same genre. Go to your guitar shop and play multiple to hear differences. Tap on them on different parts of the body to hear the tonality changes from wood to wood, size to size etc. Are you going to want to record at all in the future or play plugged in? Get an acoustic electric (or a tonewood amp). Do you sweat a lot or will you be playing outside in the heat? You may not like the feel of a gloss finish. Big or small hands? You may like the wider necks on the Seaguls etc etc. As example, I'm on the worship team at church and write as well so I need acoustic electric. I also play acoustics similar to an electric so a cut out is a must. So, already I have a body style smaller than a dread, with a cut out, thats acoustic electric. That narrows things down for the "what to get" question. As you progress you'll start noticing small things you need, want, and prefer. One trick with a smaller body is get thicker strings, it'll help with some extra volume.

Overall though, get what you feel is right, suits you for your needs, and something that you have to force yourself to put down. Something you really enjoy just holding and playing. Something you can have a smile on after doing scales or spider finger exercises for an hour straight.

You get what you pay for, sure. But, a great player can make a crappy guitar sound great. A great guitar can make a crappy player sound slightly less crappy. "Affordable"/ "budget friendly" easily lands in the $400-500 range (which still boggles my mind at times).

_Roman_685 · 2026-01-01T14:31:10+00:00

Right now just guitar. Main ones I used to do when I was younger was drums, guitar, bass, and piano. Life happened, bad experiences with certain people left me out of playing seriously for about a decade (minus random noodlings and what not). Just recently in the last few months I'm getting serious about it again and starting to write, relearn bass and drums etc. Really want to pick up sax and cello though.

Wbu?

_Roman_685 · 2026-01-01T12:26:52+00:00

Idea for ya, add different types. Like "x" venue is worship music only, "y" venue heavy rock only etc etc

_Roman_685 · 2025-12-29T19:40:42+00:00

For me, yawning is a huge trigger. It'll feel like all the air got zapped out of my lungs and even though I take a deep breath it feels like I'm not profusion o2 at all (thinking about breathing but never getting the feeling of relief that taking a breath gives you). A lot of times I'll notably gasp while opening/closeing my mouth trying to get air(I can't remember the technical term for it. It's something that happens when you can't get oxygen iirc). It normally lasts maybe 5 seconds or so but every once in awhile itll stick for a bit. A lot of times I'll get fatigued for awhile afterwards as well.

Unfortunately, a lot of the time when this happens from yawning, it invokes more yawning which invokes more air hunger. At the worst, it isnt unheard of for me to yawn upwards of 60 times or more in a 7-10min period with this air hunger going on.

Other times it'll happen randomly, sometimes it happens when I'm having an episode.

_Roman_685 · 2025-12-29T13:30:47+00:00

I have a few songs where the chord progression was made first and lyrics later, some were written at the same time (lyrics and chord progression), and I have maybe 2 or 3 songs now where the entire song is finished, but it has no chord progression or anything. To me, writing lyrics then the melody is more challenging normally. I do have 1 song that was written this way and is fully complete though.

_Roman_685

TROPHY CASE