Thats a perfect song to start out on. Just dont get frustrated before learning it. Slow it way down and keep at it til you get it.
Geoo
oh great... thanks!! i am taking the odd lesson here and there from a teacher and learning from books and the internet... so i really wasnt sure... i just liked the song and thought i'd give it a go since the chords seemed ok and i just liked the feel of it...
thanks so much for your support... i'm really glad i found this site. :wink:
No problem. Keep us updated on how its going.
A while back I was interested in fingerpicking. I tried and tried but I just kept getting frustrated. But then I took David Hodge's "Silent Night" lesson and made up my mind that I was just going to learn the first two bars. No more!! I practiced those two until finally, I could play it no problem. So I though well, I will practice just the first line. I finally got that. I continued on until now I can play the entire song, finger picked, and it sounds wonderful. Now I can play several songs that way.
The hardest part of anything is the mental block. Once you decide you can do something, you usually can. Especially true in guitar I think. You might not be able to do it just the way you want to immediately. But with practice, you can.
Glad you found your way to Guitar Noise. :D
Geoo
“The hardest thing in life is to know which bridge to cross and which to burn” - David Russell (Scottish classical Guitarist. b.1942)
No problem. Keep us updated on how its going.
A while back I was interested in fingerpicking. I tried and tried but I just kept getting frustrated. But then I took David Hodge's "Silent Night" lesson and made up my mind that I was just going to learn the first two bars. No more!! I practiced those two until finally, I could play it no problem. So I though well, I will practice just the first line. I finally got that. I continued on until now I can play the entire song, finger picked, and it sounds wonderful. Now I can play several songs that way.
The hardest part of anything is the mental block. Once you decide you can do something, you usually can. Especially true in guitar I think. You might not be able to do it just the way you want to immediately. But with practice, you can.
Glad you found your way to Guitar Noise. :D
Geoo
yes i think i'm going to try that exact approach with this one... i'll also try the other ideas too... writing down exactly where the up and down strokes hit the words and going very slowly and practicing the strumming till its second nature and the song etc etc... but i'll intersperse a bit of practicing other songs too... and come back to it and see how it goes... and leave it for a bit if it's driving me mad.... and who knows... maybe one day i'll be able to upload a recording of me doing it... :D
Definitely a suitable begginner song.
I find that singing while playing is a matter of dividing your attention. The easier a song is, or rather how well you can play it, the easier it is to sing. I find it very helpful to play the recording and sing and play along. Even on this site, if I am learning a portion of Davids lesson that I find difficult Ill often download the mp3 of that section, record Davids strumming with Audacity, loop it about 5 or six times and practice till I get it. Audacity is free and you can use that method with the linked video lesson if you so desire. I just stick my dirt cheap computer mic next to the computer speaker. It actually records very well.
Cheers,
Max
Ditto what geoo said. I've had the same thing happen on many occasions. I'd try something and get frustrated and quit. Then finally decide to take extremely small chunks at a time and before I knew I could play it.
The mental block is the biggest hurdle to overcome and you need to not put pressure on yourself. If it's not going well just slow down a bit.
"It's all about stickin it to the man!"
It's a long way to the top if you want to rock n roll!
I find it very helpful to play the recording and sing and play along.
This is what I find works well for me. Even just playing along to the recording such that I can only really hear the vocals on the recording. Then I try singing along with the vocals while playing. Then I remove the recording entirely. For me singing while playing really takes it to a new high ... not to mention the new low when I realise how atrocious my singing is. :P
From little things big things grow - Paul Kelly
First song I learned to sing/play at the same time was Polly by Nirvana, Its quite easy if you want to try. The struming matches up almost exatly with the lyrics so your mouth and hand don't have to do differnt beats. Its a good starting point :)
First song I learned to sing/play at the same time was Polly by Nirvana, Its quite easy if you want to try. The struming matches up almost exatly with the lyrics so your mouth and hand don't have to do differnt beats. Its a good starting point :)
i like the sound of that... i'll give it a go... if i cant find the chords maybe i can pm you for them? :D
one thing that i hadnt thought to think about (grammar?) is this: does the DUDUUDU pattern in the song that he's demonstrating in the video for Corrina Corrina ever straddle chord changes? Much too tricky for me if it does.... I've listened over and over to the full version of his lesson which you can down load as a podcast on itunes and i'm sure it does...
Yes, If i understand your question correctly.
Most songs switch chords during an upstrum, in the case of the pattern you have shown it would fall on the last upstoke. The very next downstroke will be on the next chord.
Most upstrokes are only one, two or maybe three strings (I would aim for 2 for now), so they don't sound much different even if you are not fretting anything. So you "hide" the chord changes while strumming up.
Cheers,
Max
Yes, If i understand your question correctly.
Most songs switch chords during an upstrum, in the case of the pattern you have shown it would fall on the last upstoke. The very next downstroke will be on the next chord.
Most upstrokes are only one, two or maybe three strings (I would aim for 2 for now), so they don't sound much different even if you are not fretting anything. So you "hide" the chord changes while strumming up.
yep i get that... but my problem is fitting the whole pattern in with some of the lyrics as he shows... in other words, if i try to strum the whole pattern i cant get it "in" before the chord changes... (certain parts of the song i can but see below)
lets say it starts on the D when you hit the first downstroke of the pattern and strum it to the opening lyric (second "corrina" second syllable) "Cor - [D]rina" play the whole pattern as he does, and then switch to the A (which he does) then how on earth do you get the whole pattern in A to fit the words "[A]where you been so" before you hit the D on the lyrics "[D]long" ..... maybe someone can try it and see if they can see my problem? :( :? :(
I just watched the video again,
The D and G chords are held for two measures (play the full strumming pattern twice)
The A is held for one measure.
He held the G for only one measure the socond time around
Ill look up the lyrics and chords and give it a try.
Well I can't seem to find the a chord sheet, although I could follow along with him.
Cheers,
Max
I just watched the video again,
The D and G chords are held for two measures (play the full strumming pattern twice)
The A is held for one measure.
He held the G for only one measure the socond time around
Ill look up the lyrics and chords and give it a try.
Well I can't seem to find the a chord sheet, although I could follow along with him.
yep i agree with the measures....
here's the lyrics and where he suggests the chord changes... i think this is right... so its this bit [A]where you been so that i cant even make fit on the first line! some of the my Ds and Gs seems to fit but only here and there... i could break it down more where i'm having the problem but i dont want to drive you all mad!!! :D
[A] Corrina Cor[D]rina [A]where you been so [D] long
Corrina Cor[G]rina where you been so [D] long
I aint had no [A] loving
[G]Since you've been [D]gone
[A] Corrina Cor[D]rina [A] where'd you stay last [D] night
Corrina Cor[G]rina where'd you stay last [D] night
You came home in the [A] morning
[G] Your clothes don't fit you [D] right
[A] I love Cor[D]rina [A] tell the world I [D] do
I love Cor[G]rina tell the world I [D] do
I hope that [A] someday
[G] She'll come to love me [D] too
I don't have a problem getting the lyrics in.
Are you certain you are playing the complete pattern? Try playing and singing along with the video.
You can also try recording your playing then sing over it. Less to think about.
Cheers,
Max
I don't have a problem getting the lyrics in.
Are you certain you are playing the complete pattern? Try playing and singing along with the video.
You can also try recording your playing then sing over it. Less to think about.
well maybe it's back to the original problem then of my loosing the strumming pattern as i sing... but it's good to know it works!!!
and thank you so much for road testing it... if you're ever in England pop over and show me how it's done :D
I've nearly cracked it!!!!!
I can now strum and sing my way through it (ok not brilliantly but good enough - without loosing the pattern as i start to sing)
What really helped was just practice really... :oops: :oops:
once i could confidently strum it through and manage the chord changes it just sort of came togethr and clicked. :D
another thing that helped was using 3rd finger 2nd string on the G chord so that it never leaves the string for the D chord and only moves across one fret for the A chord (I think?) anyway that speeded up the transitions so i could play it better and then the singing just seemed to fit in from there.
so... i've learned a couple more songs now and i feel really great. :D
thanks so much for all your help everyone.... i'll post another thread when i have my next nervous breakdown. :wink:
