playing the guitar ... with dyspraxia!!!

so, this story starts with a westfield strat that was in the window of a certain charity shop. i'd seen other guitars in their window and they'd been snapped up. as such, i was somewhat determined not to let this one get away. and with that, i handed over my rather modest £40 and it was mine. now, you might think that it would. or should, have crossed my mind that having dyspraxia wasn't going to be conducive to learning the guitar ... but no, it never occurred to me that a lack of any kind of dexterity would be a problem. some weeks down the road and it's sort of dawning on me that this might just be a little beyond my ability. it's really the fingering of the strings that's the problem. i don't seem able to hold the neck in the conventional way because i hate using my thumbs. it just feels very awkward putting my thumb on the back of the neck. it feels more comfortable with the neck between my thumb and my 1st finger, with my thumb sort of lying along it. and i seem to get a better reach with my fingers like that too. but my fingers don't have a good enough span for some chords. there's a 'long A' chord that's virtually impossible as i can't get my 4th finger 4 frets from my 1st finger. all in all, i suspect i'll be quite limited in terms of certain chords. and then, and i admit this is self-inflicted, there's the oddity of why the tuning jumps from 'G' to 'B', instead of 'C'. i seems wrong to me. it sounds wrong too. and this is causing a bit of a mental block. being obsessive, like wot aspies are, i'm thinking of translating all the chords to see if i can avoid this odd tuning arrangement. anyway, there we have it. perhaps if i practice enough i'll get to be some good at this. i suspect it's the time aspect that's going to be difficult to achieve. it just takes me too long to change finger positions at the moment, and the precision required is somewhat daunting.

Hi there. Check out" the secrets of Standart tuning" in YouTube. Also find a simple music you like with few chords which you can play without moving your hand along the arm. Try "all I got" from sublime, it's 2 chords, D and G, and it's a great song.

You may progress slower than NTs but don't let that get you down, each one with it's own pace. you can always practice harder...

the nut on the neck of my guitar broke a day or so ago. it just fractured across the 6th string or lower E. now, being a creative type, i think this gives me the opportunity to widen the string spacing a little. perhaps by 1mm. that ought to help.

my guitar playing is probably improving a little. i still need longer fingers, though. and i've given up on the whole thumb-on-the-back-of-the-neck approach - having dyspraxia, it just feels completely wrong.

i decided last night to try to figure out the notes to a song that i've had in my head for many years. so, i've managed to write that down. frustratingly, i can't play it, or at least not remotely coherently. i also thought that i ought to write a body, as previously i'd only made up a chorus. so, i wrote some words, much like writing poetry really, and tweaked them to fit a common melody. it needs a bit more work to integrate the body and chorus and get the timing right (this isn't easy, due to my inability to play remotely well). but, overall, i'm quite pleased with my efforts.

however, one of the things that i've noticed is the high proportion of sharp notes that i've used - possibly a sign of my lack of formal music training.

Keep that effort going. It's a bit hard to break the first song barrier but once you do so the sky is the limit. Once i channeled my social frustration into creativity I really felt better about myself. Also by playing songs from musicians that lift you up when you're down you have the power to increase positivity, and thus you're able to focus on solutions instead of problems.

i'm busily trying to improve a little on the pickup set-up of my second strat. the neck pickup, in particular, is a little problematic. the output is low and the pole pieces are flush with the pickup cover, unlike the middle and bridge pickups. also the string spacing is out by 4mm - 52mm, where as it ought to be 48mm. i quite enjoy tinkering with the set-up, though i suspect it's a means to avoid actually practicing playing. at the back of my mind i can't quite kick the idea that i'm not going to be any good at that. we shall see.

Wow, good luck Shock! Taking up a new hobby sounds great, especially something related to music! I've always wanted to learn myself, maybe i'll get to it someday too..

AprilR wrote:Wow, good luck Shock! Taking up a new hobby sounds great, especially something related to music! I've always wanted to learn myself, maybe i'll get to it someday too..

... music has always been something that i've loved but never has the self-confidence to really give it a go. my first choice would've undoubtedly been a drum kit, as i like rhythms and i figure that hitting something has to be a lot easier than actually playing it!!! but i don't have the space and the noise would've been horrendous. the electric guitar solves both those problems. and i'm enjoying learning something new too. i should've done this much sooner but i've always used the fact that i'm constantly strapped for cash as an excuse not to try. anyway, i'm still strapped for cash ... but it's amazing how many people suggest that i ought to try busking!!!

i've just got a westone thunder jet, which arrived yesterday. it's only a body and neck. the electrics have gone, possibly removed by its previous owner, though i haven't asked. i spent a fair bit of last night putting it back together and re-stringing it. i've also joined a westone guitar forum, in the hope that i might gain some useful information about re-building it. the guitar itself is quite small but very heavy. it has a 24 3/4 inch scale, instead of the usual 25 1/2 inch scale. it also has a hardtail, instead of a tremolo. from what i've read, hardtails sound different to tremolos, so it'll be interesting to see if i can tell. i have to confess that i'm spending more time fiddling with guitars than actually playing them, though the latter is still improving.

I myself focused on acustic guitar. I like its portable you can play it anywhere. Electric guitar is great if you can make noise were you live. You can have different sounds and make a simple music sound great, involving too. Anyway, spending time fixing the guitar must be like solving a puzzle, really absorbing. When you get your guitar up and running try playing "all I got" by sublime. It's 2 chords. After getting the rythm right, try to sing on top of the chords. This will require some coordination and thus practice, but when you get it right, what a rush! Also the next song will be much easier to play.