Still working on F

F is slowly killing me.  But I'm getting it.  I can do a fairly decent change now from C to F, finally, so there's progress.  I'm working on some new songs, and trying to work on the hardest ones I can.  That C-F change?  My latest song does that change, like, 5 times in a row, then switches it up a bit, and back to C-F for a bit.

My practice schedule - I briefly got it back on track, and then dropped it to do nothing but changes from C to F, and back.  I'll do just that change for, like, 20 minutes or so, then switch up to a couple of exercises.  So I'm still practicing, and working it out.  And it seems to be progress - slow, agonizing progress.  But moving forward, slowly though it may be.

I think I'm working towards cresting the F hurdle, though.  Apparently it's a rite of passage - it's also a work in progress, for me.

F... I'm getting it.

So, I have a bunch of random stuff to report.

F sucks.  Starting to do the 1 minute changes.  Yes, just starting - the last few weeks have been completely insane.  Starting to calm down now - those two really stressful things?  One is behind me, the other I'm in the process of.  Hopefully I'll be able to get back on track shortly.

So, I'm way behind in practice.  I have been just playing (not doing any exercises, just playing "music", for certain values of music) for about 20 minutes, and that's generally all I can manage.  I need to get back on track with a practice routing that includes EXERCISES.  The problem is they are no fun.

I did a full practice today - including my exercises (the finger exercises, as well as the 1 minute changes and basic chord practice), so, that's good, I guess.


I *finally* figured out what I've been doing wrong with F - I needed to choke-up on it a bit, so my barre is starting at my first knuckle, instead of ending with my fingertip.  With my fingertip, the B string falls in a crack of a knuckle, and ends up muted, but this way, everything sounds great.  And I'm starting to be able to do it semi-quickly.  I've noticed improvement even since last night.

So, going better than it was, and seeing improvement again, instead of just hanging on.

Back from the dead

So, it's been a few weeks.  I've been stressed and running around like an idiot.

Of the 5 most stressful things a person can do, I'm currently in the middle of two of them, so my free time has taken a bit of a dive.  But I digress...

I've been working on F, trying to make a decent one I can just hit.  Not making much progress on that front - mostly because my practice routine has gone in the toilet.  I'm practicing once per day, if I'm lucky.  I would like to get it back to twice per day, but I don't know at what point that will happen.  So, I can pull an F, but I can't switch to/from it - I need to start doing 1 minute changes that are F based, but haven't had time to really get into it.

On another front, though, I found that I can do the finger-picking Robyn left me with at our last jam session, and miraculously, I have made progress on that front.  Don't know how - without practice - but I'll take it.

Anyways, the rest of my day awaits - I'll try to say more next week.  And hopefully things will start to calm down in the next week or so, though it's entirely possible that the opposite will happen.