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Breakthrough—– I think
Hello–
I…. think…… I can celebrate a small win tonight!
I’m in the 2nd week of Fretboard Wizard. (Chord Matrix, Anatomy of Chords, Learn Chords- (and chord changes)- by Ear).
So, I ran the “whole process” thru, to the song “I Won’t Back Down”.
Found the Key, built the matrix, and THEN……….
I played the entire song RIGHT OFF THE MATRIX- spotting the Minor chords as they came up- and keeping an eye out for the “1-4-5” (major) chords as they came up also.
I’ve played that song a hundred times just playing along with the TABS as already printed.
But… this is the first time I’ve played it directly– and only– off my-own chord matrix, right in front of me, in real time.
It was EASIER (!!!!!) than playing off the “website-tabbed” song- (Ultimate Guitar, E-Chords, etc). I was playing that song by ear– and EASILY– once I got the “hang” of the chord progression and changes.
This is kind-of confusing to explain here- but this is something I have NEVER done before. It was fun and easy. And cool knowing I was DOING what Tony was teaching me, at full speed, and catching every chord change- (inc Major-minor changes).
Anyway- that’s it….new territory for me – for sure – and lovin’ it!!
theoldcoach
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7 Replies
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@the-old-coach. GLAD TO HEAR IT!! Fretboard Wizard really does open some doors. I really enjoyed the new update to it also. Just take it slow, get stuck on something, go back and redo some of the previous lessons. I thought that 1-4-5 thing was pretty cool too. Now you can sit on the couch and pretty much figure out a song on your own (within reason). Have fun and thanks for sharing.
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Great win @the-old-coach ! The chord matrix was new and an “ah ha” moment for me as well. It is really cool that you applied the new too and knowledge to real life. Congrats!
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Thank you for C-G and K-man for the responses!
I know the way I explained it sounded kind-of corny, but it was truly eye-opening to me.
So, C-G, you’re right- I can now just be listening to a song….. but NOW I “hear” it DIFFERENTLY, and that’s kinda cool.
I HEAR the chord changes, whether major or minor- (happy or sad)- in real time/ full speed in songs I listen to. And can work-up a chord matrix fairly quickly- just in my mind- and go from there– it’s all kind-of “clicking”…….
Almost……. (not quite there yet)- able to identify notes/ keys/ chords just by ear- without guitar in hand. Almost……..
Cooler– (with no sound playing)- when I “hear” songs in my head, I can somehow “compare” the keys/ notes/chords, from memory of what those keys/ notes/ chords/ actually sound like. Again– confusing and hard to explain w/o sounding corny. Not perfect yet- but coming along.
It’s funny how TAC can teach a LOT about playing the guitar- without even necessarily having a guitar in my hands– it’s more than doing the physical-exercises and lessons— it’s about training my BRAIN.
Anyway– there’s a glimpse into my guitar journey if you care. The brain-stuff?– it’s a curse, really😜…….
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You are on your way. I can find notes by listening to a song. But, by no means is it easy. I was playing (get this) The Addams Family song from the TV series yesterday. Just to give my brain a challenge. Good Luck, but it really isn’t about luck. It’s all hard work.
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That is so great a win. For years I had the memory to play songs because they were memorized. Now with the theoretical understanding they make sense. The veil is lifted and the key is easy to transpose and you can hear the chord change coming. Welcome to the joy of theory. Congratulations.
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Hey, y’all—
Well, today I did “the whole process” again. This time it was the song “Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not- (by Thompson Square). Chose this song because we got to see them perform this in one of the Broadway bars in downtown Nashville ~10 years ago…. from about ten feet away! (Zach Brown was in the crowd about ten feet behind us- drinkin’ beer- I got pics and videos!).
Anyway- did “the whole thing” using this song….. Told Alexa to play the song, figured out the key, major recipe for the notes, built the matrix/got the chords, listened for the chord changes, gave each chord in the progression it’s “Nashville Number”, and played away.
Interesting part- the song was actually in Key of A flat- (which in itself is unusual(?)- BUT- (checking my work)- the Ultimate-Guitar TAB showed playing it with a capo on the first fret…. and then just playing “regular” open chords- (G-C-D /// 1-4-5).
So…. I had to think about that for awhile- because I wanted to– and was– actually playing those 1-4-5 chords in the key of A flat- (no capo)- using all E-shaped barre chords- (A flat, D flat, and E-flat— at 4th, 9th, and 11th frets).
So I just played the song thru about ten times using only/all barre chords, glancing ONLY at my own chord matrix columns……….
Hard to put into words– but a DAMN fun “lightbulb moment” today.
THANKS to TAC— and all who I’ve learned from here in the TAC Forum!😀😀😀
You all were right— when “it” starts to happen— all the lights come on!!!!
theoldcoach
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This reply was modified 3 years, 1 month ago by the-old-coach.
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This reply was modified 3 years, 1 month ago by
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Sorry to all about my enthusiasm and all my “blah-blah-blah”………. “I did this/ I did that”.
I was in kind-of a hurry today when I posted about all my latest “fantastic accomplishments😏”, and when I got the chance to go back and RE-read it– I realized I was probably a bit “over the top” sounding.
I’ll be the first to tell ya’ I still have a LONG way to go. But I am havin’ fun with all of it, and have a pretty-good handle on where I want to end-up guitar-wise. There’s an end to how much I want to LEARN out there somewhere, but I don’t see an end to how well I want to be able to PLAY what I’ve learned. Does that even make sense????
Anyway– Think I was just excited and enthusiastic about discovering something new😃- (and every new lightbulb moment is pretty cool)- because learning to play guitar seems to go so S….L….O….W…. most of the time.
Heck, maybe someone else can get something out of my BS— (believe me, if –I– can learn to play guitar— anybody can).
Anyway, I’ll work toward fixin’ all the enthusiasm, excitement, and blah-blah-blah….
theoldcoach
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