Getting Used To Thumbpicks

I mentioned in my previous post that I had to start using a Thumbpick when playing Dobson's song "Time 2". Never having used one before, I went down to my local music store and bought three of them in different sizes.

When I first put one on my thumb, it felt really awkward, but after about an hour or so of persevering, it started to feel more natural, if a little bit too long.  I ended up taking a pair of nailclippers to one to make it shorter and rounder, then filed it off with a nail file.  Perfect!

​Standard pick on left, modified pick on right

I still cannot play with the thumbpick on for more than two songs or so, otherwise my thumb feels like it is being strangled and the circulation is cut off.  There is a way to make them fit better, which is explained in the video below.  I still haven't tried this yet, but may do so with one of the spare picks and see if I can make it more comfortable.

2013 Challenge - February

​Canadian guitarist/composer Ewan Dobson

Ok, maybe most of your haven't seen the videos of the amazing guitarist playing all these rhythmic songs on guitar whilst wearing all sorts of silly headgear?  Then again, some of you may have already seen Canadian guitarist Ewan Dobson on Youtube in the past few years.

​This song 'Time 2' was one of the most watched guitar videos on Youtube, and I am not sure whether it is because of the 'Raiden' hat he was wearing whilst playing it.

​This song was actually a massive challenge.  Mainly because it is played through a delay pedal, with 1/8th dotted note repeats, so timing is absolutely crucial here.  Half a beat off and it all sounds a right mess.  Did I mention in my last post that timing and tempo was one of my weaknesses? :)

The basic song itself was not that difficult to pick up.  There are a lot of wide stretches with the left hand that were challenging, but overall, the absolute biggest challenge with this one was maintaining a steady, and FAST pace, throughout.​

I ended up using a click track when recording this, just to keep with time.  In fact, when playing it anytime at the moment, I still have to use a little earpiece with a metronome beat to keep me on track.​

This recording was done at 120BPM too, whereas the original is done at 140BPM.  I need to work on the control and speed so I can get it up to Ewan's pace.  This is another song that I want to re-record later in the year when my skills (hopefully) get better.​

Oh, and this was the first time I had used a thumb pick.  You HAVE to use a thumb pick with most of Ewan's songs, otherwise your thumbnail will be just a worn out sliver in very short order.​

2013 Challenge - January

Hungarian guitarist/composer Tom Lumen

To kick start off my 2013 'learn a song a month' challenge, I decided to learn a piece by Hungarian guitarist/composer Tom Lumen.  I first heard this piece, titles 'Ragged Robin' on the Maton Guitars Facebook page, where they used it as a backdrop song for demo of a heat sensitive coffee mug that would display a picture of a guitar as the hot beverage was poured into it.

I was struck by the beauty of this song, and how it evoked the feeling of a fresh new morning when I heard it, so I commented on the Facebook post that I would love to get my hand on the sheet music for this song.​

​Lo and behold, Tom Lumen himself responded to my post, and kindly offered to send me the music via email, which he did on the same day.  I set myself the goal to learn the piece within 4 days and record my attempts.

To say it was a poor attempt is an understatement.  When Tom listened to the track, he gave me some kind and useful feedback.  My tempo was all over the place.  I totally agree with that.  Tempo is something that I seem to have lost in my 15 year break away from playing the guitar.  I am going to have to work hard at getting it back, and this piece was certainly a challenge to hold the tempo throughout all the changes.​

I intend to redo this piece sometime during the year when I have better control over my tempo, and record it again and see how I have improved.​

My 2013 Challenge

Ok, I've decided to set myself a musical challenge for 2013, and that is to focus back on the acoustic guitar, and learn ONE new fingerstyle piece EVERY month...  By the end of the year, I should have mastered at least a dozen songs.

Seeing as I haven't played fingerstyle for a longwhile, this is going to be quite interesting.  I've been focused on Blues/Rock for a couple of years now, so going back to fingers on a steel stringed acoustic is going to be quite difficult.​

Oh, and I am not going to be doing just your run of the mill popular songs on it either - I am going to hunt down lesser known players and composers and learn their stuff.​

Here goes nothing...​