Shifting Chords and Sounding Barres the easy way!
I have always believed that my skill in programming was a gift delivered by means of a learning accident. And that if I cracked this accident, I can cause it to happen with anyone.
However today I discovered an easy way to learn chords and specifically barres accidentally.
The technique is not to focus on playing the chords and barres at all 
We are talking about two challenges:
1. Shifting Chords
2. Sounding Barres
For a long time I believed that to get smooth transition between chords I need to play a chord make a perfect transition to the second chord and then strum and so on. That is so wrong!
The best way to learn to instantly and quickly shift chords is to practice constant strumming.
You are allowed to miss the chord or even hold it wrong, but not allowed to missing a strum or a beat. Once you shift you practice to hold on to the beat and rhythm, very soon the chords just comes to you naturally. Even when some chords sound muted, or you just cannot transition that quickly, just keep strumming. Your brain will learn even when you don’t realize that it quickly needs to transition and will make that happen. It worked for me.
Last week I wanted to fix my long due challenge with Barre chords. But I had a compelling reason to work on my strumming instead! So I ignored the muted strings and just focussed on the strumming. I continued to work on the rhythm like everything was fine. And today I am surprised to notice myself barre effortlessly!
I had actually discovered and forgotten this technique when I had initially overcome my challenges with quick chord transitions. I owe a lot of thanks to Ashish. His methods of teaching was to get me to continue strumming and maintain the rhythm even when my chords where not sounding perfect and even when my left hand couldn’t keep up with the right.
I just realized that there are so many things I want to write which never get written. And every time someone asks me a question about something I just wanted to write about last night, I keep wondering what can I do differently to make blogging work for me. I think today I cracked the puzzle. The way to make it happen is to commit early and commit often. It is buggy, it is incomplete, it doesn’t matter. Just spit it out.
When you are chatting with someone. You never say, hold that thought, let me go perfect it and we can discuss this again. And that is what makes conversation interesting allows for a natural flow. Like I have taken less than 2 minutes to type this! This is not structured message. But I have got the thought out! I can perfect it another day if it really matters
This is quite contrary to what I initially thought. Set aside 10 – 20 minutes to write once in x days. The key is to make it happen instantly that you are not setting aside time, but posting it as and when it comes to you.
If there is someone searching on the discipline of blogging, I hope this helps you.
You hold a guitar like you hold a bottle!
It has been almost year since I first touched my guitar! And yesterday I realise I have been holding the guitar very wrong! Shock!! Many of friends hold it the way I do. All tutorials and materials I have read and people who have helped me learn, have always focussd on the front position of the fingers. Or the movement of the right hand. Not many speak of the left thumb position!
Believe it or not, the left thumb position as I realized yesterday is very critical to being comfortable and fast at transitions! So how not to hold a Guitar? Don’t hold it a position that requires wrist movement for transition between neighboring chords. For example if you have to switch between G and D and you have to turn your wrist, then you hold is definitely not correct! Afterall, it is this shift that was hurting and very slow especially between open chords and Barre that led me to reconsider my position.
So how do you hold the guitar in a way that allwos you to just move your fingers and still transition between chords. There are few guidelines that I have learned that should be useful
- Your left thumb must be just a little below the top of the Guitar. Above the curve
- It is desirable that the thumb is straight and aligned with ring finger
- You need to twist your wrist forward such that the fingers are perpendicular to the fret
- There must be space between the palm of the hand and the neck of the guitar. That is it is better as much possible that the palm of the palm doesn’t touch the guitar
- If you let go off the guitar, the left hand should look like you are holding an empty bottle
- The thumb should relax and let the rest of the fingers work
- Even for a open chord shift to a barre chord, the wrist movement has to be minimal
It may take a little practice, to unlearn and learn if you have been like me holding it differently.
Called to be Conquerors!
“The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” John 3:8
Last Sunday I had a wonderful time at church. It is so pleasing to experience true leaders share their message. It started with the passage
“Then the LORD said to Moses, “See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of craftsmanship“. Exodus 31
Note, the Lord is speaking not of a goldsmith, nor a silversmith, nor of someone who works with wood. But of someone who can work in all of them! To make artistic designs! Now this man was a slave who was making straw and bricks with the rest of the crowd in egypt and yet here he is with a calling to build one beatiful masterpiece – the tabernacle!
When the Lord anoints you with his Wisdom it makes people wonder where you have learnt what you know and demonstarte! Afterall the Pharisee did ask about Peter -“Where have these man this knowledge, seeing that they were uneducated”. Similar questions were asked about Jesus. In modern days, you don’t have to be a business graduate or an engineer for God to bless you with skill in any such field. Such Learning is beyond any form of teaching. You are not just the best among the crowd but exceptional beyond comparision! Like Joseph, Like Daniel, Slaves and Captives who became the most powerful men of their times. Daniel learnt all knowledge and skills of the egyptians just like the other scholars, yet he was beyond comparision and the King’s counselor. Something made him special and that’s the anointing of the Spirit!
I know I can have the best mentor and coaches for the fields I like to learn! But its the anointing that is going to make the difference. I feel so shameful that I have tried to justify my learnings with books I have read, teachings I have heard, methods and principles when all the while it was the Spirit guiding me. For clearly David says – “I have more knowledge than all my teachers, because I give thought to your unchanging word” Psalm 119:99
You reap a hundredfold when there is famine and thats your minimum standard! You are called to split the red sea, still time, break through barriers. A person who has experienced such blessing cannot be satisfied with mediocrity success. As the pastor spoke, I began to realize that I have been moving away from the trust in God to my own attained knowledge and learning in recent years. And though by human standards I am doing well, from the standards the Lord has clearly shown me before, I know its mediocrity that I am living with. And that I can do so much more with His strength. For it is our right to move with force and break all barriers, afterall it is written again – “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us” – Romans 8:37
Clearly such Calling is from the Lord and it is for everyone who desires.
“And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh” Acts 2:14
Skill and Success
It so surprises me how people appreciate and specially respect successful individuals. I myself have been appreciated on my successes and I always wonder – Is success earned or granted? Why is success attributed with the many virtues of patience, hard work and diligence.Is it not written that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.
A successful man means nothing to me as much as I credit my own success to just chance and grace. I know and I am honest when I say I have not done anything that makes me deserve what I have seemingly earned.
My delight is rather in knowing and discerning a skillful man! For it is written, “Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men“. I know of a certain man whom every HR failed but every CEO longed to own.
It marvels me over and over again, that we are re-learning in leadership lessons to recognize capability and not merely accomplishments when scriptures prophetically have quoted them centuries ago!