Hello Henrik, thanks for the reply. I'm well used to most of the left hand tricks, thumb over the top for F, short barre etc and I play dropped D a lot, it's my favourite tuning in fact. Rhythm in the right hand is the problem when it comes to playing rags and I'd love to play Blind Blake's Rag, it's an all time favourite.
I've got the tab book on my Christmas list and I'll be stupidly pleased if someone buys it for me, if not it will be an early New Year purchase.
So why do I have right hand picking problems? Probably because I'm left handed but play standard right hand guitar. When I started playing as a youngster off the shelf left handed guitars were unheard of and custom build wasn't an option financially. I'd had a couple of years of piano lessons so my hands could already think for themselves and act independently, chording wasn't a problem and basic picks like Travis (clawhammer) came with a bit of practice.
I seem to hit a wall when it gets to syncopation and I've often wondered if I would have been a better guitarist picking with my left hand which is still pretty dominant. The fact that I play other instruments doesn't help much either because I've hardly touched the guitar in the last couple of years. Hopefully a new tab book will rekindle my interest and spur me on.
I use the Amaj6 (or A6 as I would call it) in Streets and Clare to Here (I seem to remember it being the opening chord of the intro to First and Last Man too, which is where I think I first came across it) so I'll give Time After Time a go before long. I've got a few extra days off over Christmas so I'll dust off the Tama and get my fingers good and sore!
Pete.
Well, it does sound as if you are quite experienced then, so I really don't think ragtime stuff should be that to difficult for you to
pick up (no pun intended
) once you
get the hang of the idea. In many ways I think it's act. more "natural" or "easier" to
play that way, as it gives you a chance to add more stuff between the musical notes (when you have the time for it). So don't be
"afraid" to experiment!
For instance I will often play ordinary songs/ tunes that I know well in a ragtimish style - even though they normally have nothing
to do with ragtime at all - just for the fun and practice of it. "Greensleeves" seem to work particularly well as a ragtime tune for
some strange reason
- Waltzing Mathilda is another one - and Ralph's version isn't that far out of reach - just a few clever tricks
really.
Another good trick which can be used in all sorts of tunes - halfway on the way to ragtime
- is to just let the notes that would
normally be played simultaneously to emphasize the tune part in a non-ragtime tune, according to the tab-notation, be played slightly
apart - ie. the bass note
just before the "tune note" on the higher string. It produces a more interesting effect than just faithfully
playing them at exactly the same time all the time - like it's creating some kind of more exciting tension as to which note is going to
follow. As Al described very well playing ragtime is "merely " a question of overdoing this effect ( the "boom-chick" thing). So I imagine
it's really more a question of letting yourself loose, so to speak, than some kind of a left vs. right problem. I would suggest you try
playing the songs/ tunes you play well really sloppy on purpose and see, if you can reach that "raggy" feeling. After a while it will
probably seem very natural for you to play like this - like some automatic programme you can turn on and off at will.
Btw. I think you meant Fmaj6 there, didn't you? If not, I am really confused LOL
It's act. one of my favourite chords, which seems to pop up in all sorts of tunes - also in "Moonlight Shadow" btw. - ,
if you want them to sound that little bit extra. Many people will play a D7 or a Dm in SoL for instance, but I think
you will agree that this chord sounds better - especially when fingerpicking. ( and it is indeed the one that Ralph plays!
most tabs out there are wrong with respect to this detail ).
So did you manage to figure out "Time After Time" yet? There are also the chords G, Em and Am/ Am7 in it ,
if memory serves me right.
Btw. this "left vs. right" thing is really odd in a way, I think. Why would I as a "righty" be doing all the
hard work with my left hand? When you think about it, we "righties" really ought to playing the opposite way
But now I would be really put of to even think about starting from scratch to teach my right hand to do the
things my left hand is able to do, if someone suddenly placed a lefty guitar in front of me.
Well, I think you will be able to learn far more than you give yourself credit for. It's mostly a question of
patience and determination, and then suddenly one day those previously difficult chords, moves and riffs will
just start flowing and simply become second nature to you - and make you wonder what on earth the problem was
in the first place. Personally I have improved a lot in the past couple of years this way - inspired by people like AL
and Lee and several others on YouTube - , so I am pretty sure you can do that too. Just keep on challenging yourself
and try expermenting - look for new variants of chords and alternative ways of fingering them (or just parts of them!).
I used to have a lot of trouble playing barred chords in songs like "First Song" - so I would cheat and just finger &
play a couple of the strings. "Hotel California" is another good one with several barred chords ( starting in Bm - 2'nd fret),
which used to give me an aching or cramping hand, because I used way to much force, but now I have a pretty good version
(the intro - both sections (try finding out how to play the bass driven section one octave higher, harmonised and with extra
fills ) - and the tune as well ) going of this famous song and can play it without any hand problems, which I had never expected.
Yes, so just carry on -
and on! - and let us know how you improve, please.
Henrik
