u/keegtirr

Hi all,

I'm currently taking a calc 1 class as a business econ major to satisfy my lower division major preparation courses before I transfer to a university. I am very worried about this class as I'm a straight A student but this is the first one that has me genuinely terrified that I won't be able to ace it despite hours upon hours of work and applying myself. So far I am fundamentally understanding calculus, however if you ask me to prove why a certain theorem or formula works I will be completely lost. Unfortunately for me, and I don't know how common this is for an introductory calculus course, but my professor apparently asks his students to do proofs on his exams and "brags" about how many people fails his exams or drop out of his classes (from rate my professor.) I'm extremely worried because I desperately need an A in this course and it is too late to drop it. If you ask me to evaluate limits and derivatives and I can use formulas, I can get by. If you ask me to prove a theorem from scratch, I am lost. Any advice on how to prepare? I feel like there are so many theorems I've learned so far and to fundamentally understand the ins and outs of every single one is making me sick. I have about three weeks until my midterm.

Extended 3 4 5 fingers

Closed 3 4 5 fingers (fist)

There is something that has been ambiguous for me that I've been noticing when watching other people play guitar and I don't really know if it has any practical effect on how a guitar is properly played. I have a feeling it's just preference but I've noticed some people like to strum and pick with their 3rd 4th and 5th fingers extended out, almost like they're making an OK sign with their picking hand. Others, and as a beginner guitarist I feel myself falling into this camp, pick and strum with mostly a closed fist or don't extend those three fingers out all the way. I feel uncomfortable strumming and picking with those back fingers extended, like it limits my range of motion. Yet when I see people playing with those three fingers extended I feel like I missed out on some crucial technique or like I'm doing something wrong. Is there any practical explanation for why many guitarists play like this? Is it a technique? Or is it purely just a preference and has little to no effect on how guitar is played?

Hey all, I've been a drummer my whole life but have been learning guitar recently. I'm self teaching myself which has been a bittersweet journey.

In drumming, there are rudiments that you learn and you practice those rudiments every day starting at slow speeds and build up your chops from there, and eventually your fundamentals and chops become so good that you can play basically anything by ear. It's a very linear learning experience. With guitar, I've found the opposite. I've been practicing the santeria solo very slowly and working on it every day, and I can actually play the bulk of it at slow speeds, but as soon as I add any speed to it it becomes very uncoordinated, clunky, and dirty, like my fundamentals are just flawed. There's just so many variables to guitar to mess up that I feel I have no control over the instrument as you practice. I want to get that total control over the instrument.

Are there any basic exercises, or "rudiment exercises" you guitarists can recommend or a learning avenue to go down next that will develop my fundamentals and make the contents of this solo easier to play? I would say I struggle with picking the right strings, finger accuracy when playing licks, bends, and all around just playing faster with a clean and precise tone. I know learning my scales and playing those everyday will help, but I feel like I'm playing with bad technique and having no one to let me know. All advice welcome! Thank you.