Not really commenting on whether Altman got paid enough or not, but “well he’s not fucking homeless” isn’t really a sensible argument in any conversation about compensation.

Oh it’s hard to explain through text but definitely don’t hold your thumb on/over the neck. Your fret hand should be same or similar as playing guitar. Your thumb should be usually pretty much “on the spine”/middle of the neck. If that feels uncomfortable, you might be holding the guitar awkwardly/wrong. Check out how people instruct you to hold classical/Spanish guitar, because that’s literally like guitar ergonomy 101.

My problems with my fret hand were mostly related to having too wide a neck for my hands which led to over stressing my fret hand, pressing too hard and having my wrist at an awkward angle. Which led to pressing even harder which led to wrist pain and overall difficulty reaching everywhere I was supposed to. Things you should take into consideration but not necessarily stress if you’re just playing to chill, but I was ambitious from the get go.

The way you describe “crab claw” sounds about right, but you can check out classical/Spanish guitar + wrist + ergonomy on YouTube or something if you want to. Your wrist should be fairly straight and you definitely can’t do that if you’re having your thumb over the neck. As little as your nerves and tendons and shit need to stretch unnecessarily, that’s the sweet spot. Look at how classical guitarists play. They have the guitar at an angle for a reason, because they’re kind of going to the extremes of the mobility of the fingers and tendons etc, and even if you aren’t, a more ergonomic stance is only going to do you good

E: almost forgot. It might do you good, especially for something as small as a Ukulele, to get a strap. It can be difficult to hold and fret and do all of that at the same time. A strap can make it a lot easier/automatic for the instrument to stay in a good position so as not to strain your wrists

Sounds like she’s already off to a better start even before starting then! Hope you both have fun learning and sharing the love for music.

I didn’t even have a teacher, I just had a couple of books, and thought that was the only way to learn so I pushed myself to strain my hands and my head to figure it out because I really wanted to learn and it really fucked my hands up for decades leading to further and further problems with advancing. After over two decades I finally corrected my hand position and well, ergonomy and everything became so much easier. Problems I wouldn’t have had if I’d had proper teaching or even a proper instrument for my tiny hands. Carpal tunnel is no fun, especially when the number one thing you want to do is play. If only someone had told me the things I know now.

Haha perfect. Glad she can hear now. But lol yeah, maybe a little early to start.

Honestly I wouldn’t know really, I think it’s all kind of subjective. My nephews started expressing interest anywhere from 4-12 years old. Exposure can/will help though usually. The nephews and nieces that saw and heard me or my BIL play more got interested earlier. A ukulele is kind of automatically in an open tuning so you can just strum or pick the strings without even doing anything with the fret hand and it sounding nice can encourage them to learn more - when you can just make something that sounds nice with minimal effort it will make it easier to apporach. I didn’t even teach them any chords at first. Just kind of show like, how much you can do with just going up and down one string with even just one finger can make something that sounds nice. Kids are still developing the muscles their fingers and motor functions, just like adults who don’t play or use their fingers in such a way, but I think it might be even harder for kids. I can remember a hundred times I almost gave up be cause it was just too hard physically to hold the chords, especially on an oversized classical guitar for tiny child hands.

Like you can even try for yourself. You don’t even need to tune the uke differently, just strum the open strings and then go up and down a basic scale on the highest pitched (E) string (on the bottom of the neck): 0-2-3-5-7-8-10-12 frets, in different variations and find a melody. You don’t need to do anything with any other string, just strum the open strings along with that one string. Just as an example. From there just expand the same mentality to other strings and start using more fingers. Too much theory can kill any interest very quickly and personally I think it’s such an ass-backwards way to approach music. Like learning grammar and how to write before learning to speak.

I’d say it’s easier, already because there are less strings so the amount of fingers needed and frets to press are less. Like you can play an E minor chord with just one finger on one string. The standard tuning is like the highest 4 strings of a normal guitar. I’d say the size can make it softer on the fingers as well. Other than that it’s literally just a tiny guitar. Plus you van get one for pocket change or even a decent one for less than a 100€/€. Also because it’s so small you can take it literally anywhere.

Oh haha, perfect. You have a ukulele? I highly recommend one even just for you if you want to learn. There’s something weirdly inoffensive and less threatening about a uke that it’s easier to approach while it’s literally just a mini guitar with four strings. I’ve played guitar since I was under 10 years old and I have half a dozen guitars, but I find myself playing most on these tiny, cute guitars. Like you have a minute till the water’s boiling, you can just grab it for a second and chuck it back on the corner of the sofa. Like you’re not “really playing” - you’re just killing time, but you actually are.

Also just the fact that it has less strings literally makes it less difficult and you can still play it like a guitar. I kind of hate this trend that everyone plays it like they’re on vacation in Hawaii, because it literally is just a tiny guitar. It’s the perfect starter guitar.

Good point, they probably are. A cassette can fit in a pocket though, it’s like a greeting card and usually comes with a download code. CD’s are just lame :D I don’t know man.

Yeah cassettes never went away when it comes to punk. It’s a cheap way to distribute your music in physical form as well, which is a big part of why it’s so present in punk and indie music.

If she ever expresses an interest, maybe even without, buy a guitar and learn with her. Like you’re teaching, but you’re actually learning with her. Bonding x1000. You can both sing or take turns if it’s too difficult to play and sing from the get-go.

Oh, hey me!

Goddamn it now I want a couch with pockets. For snack, beer/cup holder, all kinds of tiny things. I’d never have to leave again.

Yeah well dumb people will try dumb ways to magically make their dumb kids smart. Wicked smaht. We played them Mozart 24/7 so they’d be smaht and look at him. So smaht. And the kid grows up to be an insomniac serial killer who grew dissecting any animals they got their hands on.

Yeah chilhood is insane and super interesting the way we process information and emotions and the weird reality we’ve just been dragged into.

Like there was for a while the whole “Play Mozart/Beethoven to your kid in the womb and they’ll be smarter” and shit - there’s no way everyone universally likes classical music. I know several older people who don’t enjoy music at all, which just seems bizarre.

It’s not like every kids gonna pop out and be like “That Mozart’s Requiem was some shit, man! Play it again!”.

least brutal 3-year-old/freshly born.

I’m imagining toddlers growing up to hate their parents’ music taste, because they already fucking hated it when they played it to them when they were a fetus in utero.

The dad hyped up “fuck yeah I’m gonna teach this kid to love Slayer because I’m playing it to him now when they’re in there!”. And then they hate it like “THIS IS WHAT THAT SHIT WAS, I HATED IT ALL THE FUCKING TIME, FUCK YOU!”

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It’s insane how abruptly things went from “Don’t share any information, online, especially anything personal” to “You must be a suspicious person or a criminal if you’re not on the net with your real name, face and everything about your life” in the advent of Facebook et al.

We’re going to have to bet on the finns.

Please don’t, for the sake of us all, it’s the same over here unfortunately.

All of the shit is everywhere already. Fighting this shit is going to have to be a worldwide effort the same way bigots, fascists, nazis etc. are uniting worldwide. There is no place on Earth immune to idiocy, because most people are just idiots and/or fucking suck.

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