Learning Guitar, a Touchscreen, and Biometric Scanners.

[dm_gsxr]

I started lessons 12/10, practicing for a few hours a week or more. This past Christmas, I bought an Xbox360 and Rocksmith, a game where you plug your guitar in and play real guitar. I've been having a grand time. Yesterday I took the day off and among other things, played my guitar for four hours, one session for two hours straight.

Anyway, something I've noticed recently is it's becoming more difficult to use the iPad because my index finger is becoming too callused. I have to use my right hand and carefully read my typing before posting.

Even more interesting, the biometric fingerprint scanner at the front door of work can take up to 15 tries to finally recognize my print.

interesting effects.

Carl

[Fourstring]

I always know I'm practicing enough when the guys at the blood bank can't get  samples from a finger-stick.  I gave up on my laptop's biometric scanner a while back.

Keep it up, Carl.

[dm_gsxr]

Heck, with Rocksmith, I'm practicing at least an hour each night now. I'm supposed to participate in a Student Showcase put on by my instructor the first Saturday in March and I'm having a difficult time breaking away from Rocksmith to put together my presentation

Carl

[Bounce]

calloused fret fingers is how you extend your session times. use your pick hand for normal human requirements.

[dm_gsxr]

True however I'm one of those folks who use both hands for things. It just means I have to change some of the habits I'm used to doing and of course have work change my scan to be my right hand instead of left. It's not something that can't be worked out, just an interesting observation (to me anyway ).

Carl

[stromgal]

I never like having the callous get *too* thick... sandpaper is my friend.  

[panther289]

Picked up Rocksmith on the release. Reinvigorated my playing. Started listening to a lot of new bands I wasn't aware of and realized a few weak areas in my technique. Keep up the good work.  

[FiremanBob]

You could just get the RFID implant for the corporate door opener.

[X1Glider]

Interesting about the fingerprint scanner.  Who'd have thunk it?

Been playing since 1980 and have never developed callouses, wether it during first learning on a shit box 3/4 acoustic or during the late '80s when I went through a 2 year phase of using .012 - .062 bronze string sets.

Try out some pressure wound or half wound strings.  Less squeak, more speed and may be gentler on the fingertips for you.

How long until the performance?

[X1Glider]

I never like having the callous get *too* thick... sandpaper is my friend.  

Women with rough hands!  Eeeeeewwww!!!

I'll cut you some slack though.   You have a fantastic looking S1.

[dm_gsxr]

Interesting about the fingerprint scanner.  Who'd have thunk it?

Been playing since 1980 and have never developed callouses, wether it during first learning on a shit box 3/4 acoustic or during the late '80s when I went through a 2 year phase of using .012 - .062 bronze string sets.

Try out some pressure wound or half wound strings.  Less squeak, more speed and may be gentler on the fingertips for you.

How long until the performance?

It's not bothering me at all really. Just an interesting observation. If it gets to be a pain, I'll see what I can do to fix it.

The Student Showcase was moved again and is on March 10th. I'm busy writing my own song as well (improv but with an ordered list of what I'm doing). I have two and possibly a third riff right now with a fourth building. It's supposed to be 3 to 5 minutes so I figure to have 8 riffs down with space for an improv riff/solo. I have a friend taking video for me so I'll post it once I get it.

Carl

[dm_gsxr]

As to Rocksmith, last week they came out with two Pearl Jam songs as DLC and the rumor is Blink-182 for next Tuesday (every other Tuesday).

Carl

[CMS_Sprint]

I had been thinking of buying this game for a while, and after reading this post, I pulled the trigger.

It's great fun, and as already mentioned has switched me back to guitar. I had been playing drums a lot (studied both in high school) but I'm a better guitar player than drummer any day.

It's taken me a while to get used to the interface, and reading tab was never my forte, but it's coming together now. Plus songs that I already know make me feel like a hero! Anytime you can score 100K on the second try is very satisfying!

Thanks for giving me the nudge I needed!

[steve.ski]

I started lessons 12/10, practicing for a few hours a week or more. This past Christmas, I bought an Xbox360 and Rocksmith, a game where you plug your guitar in and play real guitar. I've been having a grand time. Yesterday I took the day off and among other things, played my guitar for four hours, one session for two hours straight.

Carl

Are you taking lessons locally, online, or?

Good on you for picking up the guitar. I wish I had more time to practice and play...

[dm_gsxr]

Are you taking lessons locally, online, or?

Good on you for picking up the guitar. I wish I had more time to practice and play...

Locally at the Friendly Local Guitar Shop. It's $25 a 30 minute lesson paid a month in advance (so it's $100 to $125 depending on the number of Tuesdays there are in the month). Zack (the instructor) has been teaching at the store for 7 or so years I think he said and does a pretty good job in doing the lesson vs useless chit-chat. Right now we're concentrating on what I'm going to play in the Student Showcase, now scheduled for March 10th.

Time is hard but I set aside every day at 7pm and three times each weekend day. I don't always get to do an hour but sometimes I get more than an hour in.

Carl

[steve.ski]

Locally at the Friendly Local Guitar Shop. It's $25 a 30 minute lesson paid a month in advance (so it's $100 to $125 depending on the number of Tuesdays there are in the month). Zack (the instructor) has been teaching at the store for 7 or so years I think he said and does a pretty good job in doing the lesson vs useless chit-chat. Right now we're concentrating on what I'm going to play in the Student Showcase, now scheduled for March 10th.

Time is hard but I set aside every day at 7pm and three times each weekend day. I don't always get to do an hour but sometimes I get more than an hour in.

Carl

Cool. my sons take lessons from a very gifted musician/teacher and they have picked up a ton of knowledge. my only gripe is that he's pretty old school and does not really "test" them. It's more of a jam session, and he expects them to remember a lot of stuff rather than writing it down for them. When I do ask him to tab stuff out, he acts kind of put out. Thing is, as you know you can come up with a killer riff one evening and not remember it the next day, and my boys while very good at remembering stuff, sometimes forget what they are supposed to practice from week to week.

It can be difficult to find a teacher that strikes a balance between ear and charts.

Anyway, sorry for the rant...

[dm_gsxr]

No problem. One of the things I do is web-cam record my own jam sessions. When when I find a killer riff, I play it back and write it down in my book.

But yea, my instructor writes things down and passes out lots of handouts. I have a fairly thick folder right now and I've already cleaned it out once.

Carl

[DangerMoney]

Been playing since 1980 and have never developed callouses, wether it during first learning on a shit box 3/4 acoustic or during the late '80s when I went through a 2 year phase of using .012 - .062 bronze string sets.

Interesting. Do you play solos where you bend the strings (particularly the B and high E strings)?

Try out some pressure wound or half wound strings.  Less squeak, more speed and may be gentler on the fingertips for you.

Round-wound strings give the the brightest tone. Anything else (flat-wounds, half-wounds) will be duller. Lots of jazz players use flat-wounds.

[X1Glider]

Interesting. Do you play solos where you bend the strings (particularly the B and high E strings)?

Absolutely, I bend all 7.  But nowhere near as much as much as I did 20 years or so ago.  I've been playing prog metal for so long that I find it difficult to go back to my classic rock roots.  I try to do something blues based in a classic rock style, then inadvertantly find myself shredding again.

Round-wound strings give the the brightest tone. Anything else (flat-wounds, half-wounds) will be duller. Lots of jazz players use flat-wounds.

This is true.  But there are also varying grades of round wounds that go from super bright to kind of lifeless with shades in between due to different metallurgy and surface reatments.  Keep in mind, when your finger oils penetrate the windings, the oils dampen harmonic content, making rounds seem less bright, especially as your PH alters the chemical structure of the strings surface.

Modern flats and halfs are much better than they were 10 years ago.  Keep them clean (wash your harnds before you play and wipe them down after a session) and they'll stay bright enough and without the annoying finger squeak.  I like to record with flats or pressure wounds.  What is real nice about the halfs, is that they are wound over the pickups.  You really don't notice any loss of brightness or lack of harmonic content, just no squeaks.

As the years go on, strings seem to get brighter due to improved metallurgy and production methods.  On wounds, it just makes the squeaks more intense.  That's why I'm experimenting with finding the right full time half wound for the electrics and flats for the hollow electric.  The flats sound great on the hollow when I'm adding Spanish flair to my solos.  Plus it's also piezo, so flats are much more agreeable.

[bassjones]

calloused fret fingers is how you extend your session times. use your pick hand for normal human requirements.

I have callouses on my right hand fingers too... And the edge of my right thumb. The hazards of playing bass.