Downstroke Practice Tune Breakdown

Questions & Answers

9 months ago

Hi I cannot get my fingers to be at a perfect angle for G chord. how should I practice that?

Mike Olekshy 9 months ago

Hi there - thanks so much for your question! Getting just the right angle for the G chord can be challenging at first. The key is to keep practicing getting your fingers onto the chord shape by: aiming to get the fingertip onto the fret at as close as a 90 degree angle with the fretboard as possible. It doesn't have to curl into the fret perfectly perpendicular, but just enough to let the note of the next string down ring out clearly. Place your fingers on the chord and check that each note is ringing out. If not, adjust your fingers so that the notes will ring out cleanly. Do this for 30 seconds or so, then give your fingers a break. Now try again. Do this every practice session for 2-5 minutes. Eventually, the muscles will loosen up, and you find that you can hold the G chord so that all the notes ring out cleanly. Keep at it - you'll get it!!! Hope this helps!

1 year ago

I know this is not really about the lesson but my A string is loose and not vibrating it’s just loose and I don’t know what to do

Mike Olekshy 1 year ago

Hello - thanks so much for your question! If your A string is loose and not making any musical note, it might mean that the string broke! Inspect the guitar and compare the string with all the others. If it looks the same, then maybe it is loose and simply needs to tuned up to pitch. If you still cannot figure it out, it would be best to take it for a professional setup. Hope this helps!

1 year ago

I am stuck on acoustic level 1 lesson 6. I can play through the practice tune but get stuck on changing from G to C. I manage to carry on but change is not smooth. Should I: 1) carry on practicing until I get it right, or 2) move on to next lesson (and also continue to practice G to C change)? Thanks, Alan

Mike Olekshy 1 year ago

Hi Alan - thanks so much for your question! You can move on to the next lesson and also continue to practice the G to C change.

2 years ago

If I’ve marked a lesson in a tutorial as a “favorite”, how do I easily find it again? I’m not seeing a dropdown or radio button for favorites.

Mike Olekshy 2 years ago

Hello - thanks for your question! The link to the Favorites section is located at the top right of the GuitarTricks homepage under the Account drop down menu.

2 years ago

Hello, thanko you for this lesson. when you were playing C chord, there is this ">" symbol above the TAB, what does it mean? Thank you

Josh Workman 2 years ago

That is an accent, so you would play any note or chord aligned with the accent slightly louder or with more emphasis.