Intro & Verse

[Not_A_Minor]

Hi All.
Im a complete newbie to both the guitar and forums in general but was born with a passion for music which remains as strong now as it was 50 years ago.
Grew up in Connecticut and now resident in the UK.
As suggested by my User Name I'm no youngster but at 57 my lifelong desire to play the guitar is to be realised.
Burst a disk in my spine last October with complications and although I will recover from this I've pretty well worn my back out, have advanced
osteoarthritis and the future is not too bright physically. Having my mortality thrust in my face in this manner made me think of things I've always
wanted to achieve in life but never got around to doing.Needless to say, top of the list was the guitar.
I Will play the guitar one day but for now thanks to Jamie I am extremely happy to practice.I have ludicrously long fingers and a slender palm and all my life friends have said, "You should play the guitar with those fingers".
Until Xmas day some 3 months ago when I actually picked one up for the first time in my life I had always believed them. How wrong they were. Piano/keyboard perhaps but Oh how I wish I could loose at least an inch from each digit on the left hand.
"Place your thumb in the middle of the back of the neck", OK. Now I need to borrow Jimmy Page's twin neck guitar because the second (lower) neck is the only one my fingers will contact. My thumb is 5" long so my palm is now 4" from the neck !!! Nice claw, out there, shame it's nowhere near the guitar.

Perused several well known courses and embarked upon one Christmas Day, not a fad please note but a well thought out plan. Lesson One gave me the fingering for 5 Open Chords all played within frets 1 to 3 and instructed me to play these in various sequences to a metronome between 40-80 bpm. Furthermore, and if you should read this Jamie your gonna love it, I was instructed "Do not allow left hand difficulties to interfere with the strum pattern of the metronome". OK. Day one remember, I've just figured out which end of the guitar goes in my lap.
I actually stuck with that course and spent 2 1/2 months mutilating my fingers, crippling my hands and wrists, and generally thinking I'm useless. At
5 weeks I was attempting the 4 requesite 1/2 Barre F chords(to be perfected in a week). The standard pictures of the "Designed By Fender" hand were always present ( I've seen them in several courses) and led me to believe I was some kind of alien mutant. Is it any wonder that so many thousands of people give up in frustration.
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And then I met Jamie, not literally unfortunately, but stumbled across several Internet postings/blogs/videos etc.
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Thank You Jamie. And I mean that with genuine sincerity. Your the first person to advise me that it is NOT a criminal offence to practice No Tempo, the first person to even mention that some of us have longer arms than others and the first person to show me "The Principles Of Correct Practice". If it wasn't for your teachings I would still be unaware that much of the above mentioned instruction was laughable and in fact quite damaging. I have the 'Jaw' problem too bye the way.
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I read and re-read The Principles & Chords and Rhythm and am now without doubt on the right course. Now practice is pleasurable. Now I am learning. Much of what I took in mentally before is now capable of being done physically. And it just feels great. Jamies teachings are true of many undertakings in life and the importance of the neccesary detail relating to the entire physical being cannot be overstressed. Theres much to be lost when building on a bad foundation.
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"Do You Know Where Your Fingers Are ?"
& just as importantly
"Do You Know What The Rest Of You Is Up To ?"
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I didn't but I'm learning rapidly.
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Treated myself to a Tanglewood Electro/Acoustic and a Fender Players Strat. I'm learning "Correctly" on the Acoustic, it's my primary instrument,
practising 2 hours daily (1 hr sessions) although this often stretches to 4 or 5, I can't help it, I become immersed and then lightheartedly play about with
the Strat.
I'm here for life, addicted to fingerstyle (ridiculously long fingers on the right hand . . .Fantastic) and wish all of you the best and many happy hours
of making music.

[Jamie]

Welcome to our forum NotaMinor, I am very happy to have you here. That is quite a story!

I have to see those hands, so make sure you post something in our workshop forum!

I am quite confident you will find all the success you desire here, I know we can help you, and guide you, to make it happen.