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Originally Posted by Jon C
So I have just completed one year with guitars.
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Keep goin' Jon, this is great! Happy Anniversary!
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Originally Posted by Jon C
First some background I am 54 and started taking 1/2 hour weekly lessons one year ago, I practice an hour a day and I still stumble on easy songs. Although I can play chords, they still are not very fast in changing (B7 in particular) and when I try to play a song my strumming hand still stops momentarly as I move my left hand.
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It's important to stick with what your teacher says! But just a small bit of advice is that I believe you would benefit from practicing to switch chords without regard to rhythm. Pick three chords (how about B7, Em and Am for one set, and then the second set G, C and D) and learn how to switch fast and clean between them. Use a single strum to verify that you're playing cleanly. Build up speed with your left hand only as you have accomplished switching cleanly. The deal is that if you learn to switch with speed without regard to rhythm, then when it comes time to switch within a song, it'll be easy!
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Originally Posted by Jon C
As far as gear I started with a Gretsch anniversary model but about four months ago my wife bought me a Taylor 514 that I love as much.
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Welcome to the Taylor family! I have a 714ce that still blows me away every time I pick it up, and I've had it since '99..
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Originally Posted by Jon C
I know I have made a lot of progress since I didn't even know how to hold it last year, but it just seems that it is painfully slow. Is this normal? All my teacher said is the old everyone learns at their own pace. I can do scales pretty fast but I still just don't seem to get it. What do you think.
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I think you're doing great. You've been moving forward and having fun. There's no deadline to learning. Enjoy the journey. If you need food for thought, I'd say that you might consider continuing to learn chords and chord changes as a mechanical part of the journey. Sprinkle in as much theory as you need and there ya go.
Steve