Am 27.06.2012 22:34, schrieb Orchid Win7 v1:

> Out of curiosity... how do you actually make a guitar sound like that? I
> mean, when *I* try to play guitar, it sounds nothing like that. Almost
> everybody can jam their fingers into the shape of a chord and scrub the
> strings like a washboard, but playing a *melody* is another matter. I
> can just about stumble through a few simple tunes, but it seems
> impossibly difficult to keep all the strings muted...

It's all a matter of practice. In my imagination, the roadmap is as 
follows: First you train chords until your left hand can go on 
automatic, so that you can concentrate on your right hand work. Switch 
from washboard strumming to simple fingerpicking patterns. Exercise 
until your right-hand fingers can go on automatic as well (including 
suitable pattern changes when you change chords). Now you can 
concentrate on occasional variations, such as picking a note here and 
there that's not in the regular chords. Exercise, and with enough 
variations you suddenly have a melody. Muting is not always necessary, 
as long as the strings sound in harmony, but of course with extra 
training you can also train your left-hand fingers to gently touch the 
strings in such a way that they go mute, rather than pressing them down 
firmly as you'd normally do. Right hand can do some muting effects, too, 
of course.

Keep in mind that it is absolutely /impossible/ to /consciously/ move 
your fingers with the required speed, coordination and precision; your 
cerebrum is much too slow and fuzzy for the job. You need to put your 
cerebellum in control, and that means training, training and more training.

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