I just wanted to add my support and respect for those struggling to get through these little chords.
Of course, being on here I have great appreciation for Griff's teaching. For me, so far, two things from Griff's course material have had the greatest impact for me learning and playing. This lesson 10 page and the pent. boxes. These two things make up my daily routine, my warm up, hand therapy, keep moving stuff. Thanks
@Griff!!!
Since I'm not the best "student" per se
(my mind goes to planning emergency exit routes at the sight of flash cards - no dis here for anyone, quite the opposite, if it works, yeah!) I went after this the old way. Starting with the music stand, the charts, and my ability to sound E7, A7, & B7 in the open position I just hammered it out. learn one chord, then another, then transition. Repeat, repeat, repeat until the chords and patterns are internalized. I will never memorize the "name" for everything, no use trying. I can repeat until it works though. I just offer this as encouragement for any out there that might see this as too big a task, or like me just can't take the added complexity of remembering what it was that I was supposed to remember to help me remember. Repetition works too
Another thought, run these chord inversions down to the open position and up to the octave, I don't practice that way but I think it helps me visualize/embrace how the patterns shift along the fingerboard, I hope
Why do I feel the pent boxes and these chords are sooooo huge, such a big deal? Because I can't even imagine how many times, while repeating the same lessons over and over, I "hear" passages, or phrases, from tunes, or part of a chord structure that I didn't understand before, from something unrelated to what I am practicing. This stuff is that neat, at least to me.
(naw, it's huge!)
Try, when you are playing some normal progression and you come up to the 5 (dom 7th) flip in one or two of those 7th inversions you have been practicing. Magic! You can hear this has been done before
, and it can help to build tension, or follow the melody, or just sound cool. Same with the pent boxes, play 'em, stare out the window, let your mind go. Unless I'm getting interference from my fillings, this is another time when familiar melodies will wander in through your imagination and make sense.
(And another Gem that I picked up listening to Tommy Emmanual, try to make the metronome sound good. That can really pass the time and is so much more fun that developing an adverse relationship with it, just sharing)
Anyway, that is why I love these lessons, share your joy when I read of your progress, and get all silly to encourage you to keep on working it. I will.