I've been looking for a place for extra help/guidance on some of the material is this terrific book. Any suggestions? Thanks.
Right here is fine. Or you can email me directly at [email protected].
Glad you're enjoying the book!
Peace
I’m looking at Complete Idiots Blues 2, where you introduce the A7 B7 D7 etc into the exercise. Where I’m getting hung up is the bar where you switch from the A7 chord to the 2 note E chord on the E and A strings. Actually the hangup is the switch from the E chord to the first alternate D7 voicing. I finger A7 with the middle and ring finger so the quickest is to slide the middle onto the A string for the B note in the E. But this means I have to lift the whole hand to get to the first D7 voicing which takes some time. The other alternative I can think of is to finger the E chord B note with the index finger while getting the middle ring and pinky over to the first D7 voicing. I’ve tried this one too but pretty awkward at this point.
I’m thinking this is what you were trying to lead us toward but I’d appreciate some thoughts. Kudos to you on a great book, I find I’m thinking about the why and how of playing a lot. Pretty sneaky!
Dave T
Hi again, Dave
It is all about shifting your hand from one place to another so it does take time. You can use either your index or middle finger on the two-string E chord (and the teacher in me can't help but say "be able to do it both ways") but the way you're currently doing it (perfectly set up with the A7 chord) is the most efficient. The E7 chord (with the D7 shape) and all the following D7-shaped chords are formed with the A7 shape you're using, you're just adding the index finger to the appropriate fret of the B string. If you can get used to moving your fingers as a unit - carrying the whole shape around with you - you'll find that you will make the chord change a lot more efficiently than you will putting each finger in place individually.
If there's a "trick" to this, it's to do it very slowly but still in tempo at first. Give yourself a helping hand by jumping off the two-string E chord on the last third of the first beat. As you practice this more and more, you should find it takes no effort at all to make this two-fret jump with all your fingers.
Hope this helps. And don't be shy about posting more questions if it's not going as well as you'd like it to.
Looking forward to chatting with you again soon.
Peace
