A few frustrated questions

1. I can't help you with.

2. It depends on what you are playing. If your strumming away, yes hold your arm up slightly. If you are doing scales or soloing or etc.., you can get away with ancoring your arm alittle.

3. That is why they came out with the phrase, "You have your good days, and you have your bad days". It happens to a lot of people. If it starts happening again, start with something easy to build your confidence up, if you still having trouble.... put the guitar down and review some theory or something music orientated that way your mind is still focused on music. Pick up the guitar the next day with a good attitude and you should be fine.

Stay at it and stay focused BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY!!!! Have fun!

1--Don't know about the scratchy sound. Experiment until you get a good sound.

2--For acoustic, the accepted arm position is for the forearm just below the elbow to rest on the top edge of the guitar. The strumming motion is like a pendulum swing.
-sometimes when my attention flags, I find my arm moving down (off its position), and resting against the soundboard. This has the potential of muffling the soundboard; and because I am reaching, can make the shoulder sore. So good position is really, really important.
-my guitar teacher advises that if I move the guitar neck very slightly away from myself and forward; then the lower bout of the guitar is moved backwards affording a more comfortable position; rather than reaching over the guitar.

3--This has (probably) happened to all of us. Sometimes, I can't reproduce the results of a previous day. It's probably the mental and physical state that I am in. (i.e tired, stressed, happy, worried etc). It could also result from inconsistent practice producing inconsistent results. I've found that happening at times.
8)

I believe that even pros have inconsistent results. (Isn't this a small part of the magic of a live performance?)

It's great to have an awareness of not only the sound, but also the feelings and physical demands in producing the sound. The goal should always be minimal physical effort for maximum results (at least in my opinion...)

~ghost~
(corrections welcome)

what kind of picks are you using and what are the sizes of them? Are you talking about a scratching sound from the strings from playing? or is it coming through your amp?

I'm assuming your talking about from playing on an eletric cause of your metallica song name, LOL 8)

Im not gonna beat this dog with a stick, your first two inquiries are technique and preferance related, wisdom is the only cure.

But to add on to the third concept I find that the issue your having isnt necessarilly a bad thing. Have you ever met that 15-24 year old kid who is so incredible at the guitar that it seems they were born that way? (Now that I think of it age isnt really an issue here), my point being when you wake up tommorow you will be a different person. Youll have the same hair (add a few millimeters) the same eyes and usually the same voice, but all the accumulated information from yesterday is locked away somewhere changing your perceptions.

This is cummulative. When I began the guitar I couldnt play an "F" on the high E string and if I did I wouldnt have been able to tell you what it was. Now I can transpose solos into the KEY of F and explain how I did it. Was I born this way? Absolutely not, but it feels like I could always do it, and completely understandable how.

If you sit down and pretend that youve never touched the guitar every single day, how incredible would you feel about the things you could make it do. The songs youd know as if they were always there. The fact of the matter is, nothing that you practice is guaranteed to stay, no amount of practice guarantees proffeciency.

My advice is to approach the guitar with new hands and ears every time, aways remember what youve done before, and whats coming up next. The fact that people can kickflip skateboards over seven sets, build skyscrapers, send satelites into stellar orbit and yes, play quarter note triplets at 150 bmp in perfect succession is incredible. We arent investing our time into the guitar to make our same old selves great guitar players, we invest our time so that tommorow or years from now we will BE great guitar players, when otherwise we never would have been.

Just a blank chalkboard bro, what do you want to write on it?

Kido

what kind of picks are you using and what are the sizes of them? Are you talking about a scratching sound from the strings from playing? or is it coming through your amp?

I'm assuming your talking about from playing on an eletric cause of your metallica song name, LOL 8)

It's from the strings. I'm using Dunlop Gator Grips...I switch between .58mm and .72mm

It's from the strings. I'm using Dunlop Gator Grips...I switch between .58mm and .72mm
I just bought a couple of the Dunlop Gator Grips myself and liked them but also noticed whenever the pick hit square/flat on the string it made the scratching sound. This is because the same texture that stops them from slipping is whats is rubbing against the strings. After a couple of hours of use it goes away since eventually the strings smooth it out on the tip. Ironically, after a couple of hours your hand also smooths out the pick and it looses it's non-slip capability.

I put them at the bottom of the box for this very reason.

It's from the strings. I'm using Dunlop Gator Grips...I switch between .58mm and .72mm
I just bought a couple of the Dunlop Gator Grips myself and liked them but also noticed whenever the pick hit square/flat on the string it made the scratching sound. This is because the same texture that stops them from slipping is whats is rubbing against the strings. After a couple of hours of use it goes away since eventually the strings smooth it out on the tip. Ironically, after a couple of hours your hand also smooths out the pick and it looses it's non-slip capability.

I put them at the bottom of the box for this very reason.

Wow you're right. I just went back to my original Dunlop Nylons that I dug up outta the closet and it made a HUGE difference.

I've been using those gator grips for a long time. I used these for a few weeks when I first picked the guitar up and switched. Now that I've been practicing for about 5 months going back to these nylons really makes my sound alot clearer.

Thanks for all the responses!! Much appreciated.