Originally Posted by: harrymcWow, is this a major deal, what a difference it's made in one afternoon. I needed to be in the Spider Legs section of the instructions – that’s EXACTLY where I needed to be directed, I thank the Administrator for that.

It blew me away how huge the thumb placement is. Heck of a "Quick Tip" Jimmy. It's made all the difference in the world. Like you said, you wish someone would have taught you that that back in the day - I lucked out big time because you shared your experience with me. I can move some again, that’s a really good feeling. Thanks man, there is no telling how long I would have struggled with this, it seemed pretty far off.

Knowing that what has been killing me is the same thing that nails everyone else at the start certainly matters Markus. It picks you up knowing it's not just you, that this is tough, just keep fighting, others have, it will come. Learning something new like this becomes more a mental struggle than anything else at this point, for me anyway.

I'm not afraid of hard work, so if that's what it takes I'll be playing. I'll tell you though, I was so far away on so many cords I was honestly starting to think there just wasn't any way I was going to be able to make some of them and I'm no quitter. Some I had been working on for weeks, all with my thumb everywhere but the center of the neck, sometimes even with the neck in my palm.

It was getting rough and as I said, I learned the mandolin, so I know there is a pretty big learning curve you have to get over, you just have to stick with it, but I didn't think the guitar was looking to good for me. It's amazing that you guys gave me these tips and along with the Spider Legs I can now at least reach those miserable cords.

Great stuff that you guys jumped in to help me, I really appreciate it - I'm having fun with practicing again. Thanks guys, Harry

Paragraphs are your friend :P much easier to read this way :)

Glad to hear it Harry! It gives me a smile when I can help someone out even in a small way. Certainly with learning any instrument and especially guitar, I think that the mental roadblocks we all find along the way can be the toughest part of learning anything new, and a big reason why many people stop learning new things after a while.

but it really does just take hard work to get past these plateaus, and of course the proper practicing techniques, like the thumb in the middle of the neck! :P like I said, it is absolutely necessary, and if you can, train your thumb to remain there all the time while you are playing, it will improve your technique much faster than your peers, though it is pretty hard when your first starting out. Happy practices!