Talk:TMBG In 4 Chords

I guess that this is the page to write comments in, if it's not, well, you guys all know how to delete stuff. Anyway, the proper way to write out your fingers is that "T" is actually thumb, NOT 1. The fingers are as follows:

• 1 - Index
• 2 - Middle
• 3 - Ring
• 4 - Pinky
• T - Thumb

You should stick with the recognized way of doing things, as this is how people will hear things from an instructor, and the last thing they should have to do is re-learn something so trivial as this. They should save the re-learning for how they're sitting, or how they're holding their guitar, or how they're actually playing. That is far more important.

Also, avoiding using your thumb is a bad way to put it. Yes, it's generally not useful to use your thumb to fret a note, however, it's very useful to use your thumb to mute E and maybe A while you play something on higher strings.

If any of the chords feel uncomfortable, change the fingering until it does. The fingering I put down will be the easiest to switch chords with, but whatever works with you.

If any of the chords feel uncomfortable, do NOT change the way you're playing them. The fingering you wrote is the correct way to play them, although, the GM is a bit off, since you also may want to add the B string in, so you would want your Middle on the E, Index on the A, and Pinky on the e, thus leaving your Ring for the B string (third fret). The most important thing you should do is use your pinky. Period. You should use 1234 on frets 1234, never 1233 on frets 1234. The only time you should skip a fret while using the wrong finger is if you plan on using your pinky on a much higher note, see the example at the end of this. If anything should feel uncomfortable, try adjusting the way you sit. If you're hunched down over your guitar, pressing too hard against the strings (yes, I know it can be difficult to find the right amount of pressure, just keep trying guys), or you're really tense (IMPORTANT!), then I suggest you go find a book called "The Principles of Correct Practice for Guitar" by Jamie Andreas (www.guitarprinciples.com). This book will show you many ways to do things the right way. And believe me, there is a right and wrong way to play guitar. One tip, though: Sit in a straight backed chair. Anything that's comfortable is almost definitely a bad idea.

Being even the slightest bit tense while you play WILL physically hurt you down the road. If you're not worried about the future and the pain you will be in, then just remember that if you're tense you will be unable to play anything faster than Mary Had a Little Lamb. You'll never manage the acoustic solo that Dan Miller does in the beginning of Istanbul for the WXRT radio concert.

If you're tense, get his books and his DVDs, if you don't believe me about how good they are, read his reviews, visit his forums, ask around on independant guitar forums, do whatever you have to do before you buy them, but just be sure to buy them. You will hurt yourself badly if you continue to play while tense. It's not worth it. If you're very new to guitar, then learning things again will be easy. It's only when you have to learn something that's been embedded too deeply another way that it becomes difficult.

The example for stretching your fingers and skipping frets:

All of this is on the high e string, or the smallest string on your guitar.

Say you want to play a part such as -7-8-10-12-10-8-7-, for the seventh fret, you would always use your index finger, for the eighth fret, you would use your middle finger, for the tenth fret, you would use your RING finger, for fret twelve you would use your PINKY, and the same in reverse. This is the only time in which you would want to use an incorrect finger for a fret. People have been playing guitar for a VERY long time, this is the way that people like Steve Vai, Yngwie Malmsteen, Joe Satriani, Eric Johnson, both Johns, and every other famous guitarist use, if it weren't the best way, then they wouldn't use it. Please use the right fingers for the job and don't use your ring just because it's stronger, your little finger will get just as agile and flexible as any other finger if you just give it time!

Anyway, this got longer than I expected (as usually happens when I go off on a guitar topic), and I am very tired, so if anything looks like I made a mistake, feel free to correct (after 4 times reading it over just to be sure, I finally realized that I, for some reason, wrote "initial" instead of "correct") it and leave me a note saying where I messed up. Tired people make lots of mistakes. :)

--NewYorkCity 05:53, 29 Dec 2005 (EST)

Article is highly incorrect and should be taken down, in my opinion

No offense, but I don't think you understand the concept of this project. -AtionSong 15:32, 31 May 2007 (UTC)