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WOOHOO!! I just did a solo! Thanks Tony!
I meant to write this yesterday, but had choir practice and sang in Christmas Eve service [all after my guitar challenge. My win from day 3 was my fingers felt more flexible.
Thanks Tony.
I feel like I am picking up the scales and lessons so far, but my biggest problem is that I am terrible with the pick! I have so much trouble finding the right string that it makes me lose my rhythm.
It was fun to improv over the backing track. For some reason I found this was the quickest lesson so far to find the groove. Thanks Tony, looking forward to next lessons.
I’ll be honest…like the “concept” of this. I have played each of these days on my acoustic, though I do have concerns before signing up:
1.The style of music being played. Grateful Dead isn’t really my style, I’m more of an 80s and 90s player, really not into the “jam bands” and I’m curious as to the style of the rest of the lessons should I continue.
2. How well this translates over to electric. I have both an electric and acoustic, but prefer my electric for most playing. I don’t want to learn skills that are not easily transferable to electric.
3. The actual web site. Every day I have had loading issues with the site. Not everything loads and I have to refresh often and just a slow response time from the server.
Now with that all being said, I do enjoy the format. I have played each day up to 3 and it has definitely helped me feel more comfortable around the guitar, but just unsure if the long term if it is worth the investment if I am learning songs that a really don’t enjoy much and if it pigeonholes me into an acoustic player.
I am very grateful for your sequence of lessons that are overlaying skillsets. With practice, I “get them under my fingers” and am using your words of wisdom to be patient with myself and celebrate the small victories. You have come up with a strong program and I have never felt as empowered as I do now. I literally followed your patterns and had a solo, just like you said in your video. I doubted it, but then….wow! Thank you Tony!
That was fun! Played scales at first, then started improvising. Even doing some slides on the horizontal scale.
When I watched the lesson, I thought – improvise, yeah right. I learned the scales, and then played them along with the backing rhythm a few times. Before I realized it, I was making up my own stuff, sticking to the notes of the scale. WOW, what fun. I even let my wife in the room for a quick listen. Thanks
So based on my experience, if someone says noodle in G major pentatonic over this riff, I’m off. But the key takeaway and win for me here was to make it musical and keep it simple, and come up with repeatable musical sounding phrases rather than just run off to nowhere noodling, which to me is always the challenge. The other things for me, since you played it slow, was to really slow down my brain and actually listen for each of the chord changes, the chord tones and focus on them as landing points. Yesterday was actually much harder for me even though technically I could do it out of the gate, but because it required counting, playing in time and repeatable consistency, it was very frustrating to have to work to find the 4 in measure 2. I do think this is a good approach for those first starting out to get eveything solid, or at least started in the right direction, from the get go. Do wish I had started with this type of approach 40+ years ago. For those that are struggling, stick with it. It should get you to a pretty good foundational place in short order.
ive got blisters on me fingers. is that a win? still stumbling along
OK so this is day 3 of the challenge. Got to say “challenge” is the right word. Just me I suppose but each lesson is taking upwards of 1-2 hours just to get the pattern down; not at speed mind you, you the patterns. Vey frustrating and time consuming and so, not much fun. Is this really supposed to take just a few minutes each day?
Awesome! You make it look SO easy – I hope I can keep up
I am looking forward to today’s lesson, but yesterday’s “ten minute” lesson took me closer to an hour to figure out.
it’s much easier when you are not listing to my playing. Thanks, it’s fun.
I never used a pick before its been just fingers. So the small win is I’m starting to use a pick. This is so far despite playing on and off I feel I might actually move the ball for the touchdown and I like that!
First video doesn’t play
First two lessons were very hard and frustrating. Third lesson was easier and more fun
OK, now that was fun!!!! The thought of soloing and having to come up with my own ideas was fueled with zero confidence . I had no idea it could be within my reach so quickly. Lots of stumbles but sounds great ( unless you accidentally hit the wrong fret- it’s quite obvious when a note doesn’t fit!). I had such a great time I can’t wait to try it again.
Too fun playing with the backing track!
A small win for me is feeling that I am using the skills together to build something bigger. In the past, I learn a musical phrase but never build on it. I can see how each day is building on the previous skill and for me that is a good learning situation. Although, I am not the fastest learner, I do feel that I am making a small improvement in the way I am approaching playing guitar already.
Hi there…I am really enjoying this. I am playing a Breedlove and I can actually read the tabs! I really like the way you teach!! Thank you!!!
This has been quite surprising so far since day 1. I’ve been a tab centric, rhythm strummer, and playing with no pick because I never learned. Each day has started like um yeah right and ended with, “I’m doing that”. Always wanted to learn to solo and today was awesome! Went off on a little tangent while listening to the strum just noodling on the scale adding notes where it sounded good. Then went back and watched your overplay to get the sense of speed and timing. If I had more time tonight I’d slow it down a bit. Looking forward to tomorrow!
I was familiar with the pentatonic but not the one string scale. I found myself having fun improvising for the first time in years. This is a well organized and small but achievable course that I am starting to really enjoy after this third lesson. And the emphasis on listening to what I play makes me realize how good my guitar sounds.
This is dusting the cobwebs away from my guitars and my head. Also making me think about my technique (I flat pick and play by ear)
I can time it and play the notes and they seem to sound ok, but there is not really a beginning or end and I really don’t seem to have a plan of what I want to play so not really a solo. I was also doing the 2 stings pattern but I am still having issues getting my fingers out of the way to allow the G string to ring true all the time.
I thought scales are doe ray me a
and so-on not up and down. I think this is some kinda other pattern. You said two patterns what’s the other? You keep calling this a scale but it’s more of a pattern.
Wow! When i heard you first play it…I thought…no f-ing way.
I have been trying for a year a few different teachers or different videos that helped me learn..as there are hundreds on youtube. Yeah..the various teachers’ methods are good enough, but probably more for when you are sitting in front of them. You make this fun and more intuitive.
I really enjoyed the video and caught on pretty quickly…not perfect but it sounded good. The backing track is awesome! For the first time i am playing with someone else (I don’t feel i am not good enough to play with anyone right now) But doing it with you a definite confidence booster! Thank you!
I don’t understand how 30-day Jumpstart challenge will be FREE. If I join 1 month or 1 year at a time, does it mean the month or year does not start for another 30 days?
Playing a solo was fun day 3, I have to admit it all these years and I alway thought I could never do it ….just a taste…
This is fun – thanks for the great lesson! But mothers cover their children’s ears and angels look away when I try to play guitar. I will keep trying, but if my playing somehow summons the Mind Flayer and flips our world into the Upside Down, just remember that you encouraged me.
Really enjoyed the video; I have some understanding of scales and the notes on the fret board but the concept of vertical and horizontal scales and how they meet was such a cool way to think about it. And yes, I was playing a solo by the end. Maybe not the most melodic but I was experimenting with how different notes sounded against the backing track. soo that’s a win! Thanks so much!
What a fantastic lesson. I’m glad I did it on a weekend so I can play around with it all day. It was hard to play something that sounded bad as long as you stayed within the scale. I think a light might’ve come on when I started mixing the scales and repeating sections. It actually started sounding like something. So fun!
Had to play catch up today. Storms took out my internet yesterday and last night. Worked on lesson two for quite a while and I’m getting better. Lesson three has been a lot of fun!! The scales and improvising along with the backing track has been awesome!!! I’ll probably be playing around with this half the night!!!
This lesson was the bomb today!
that was so much fun,I used AI to generate a series of single line pentatonics for major and minor!!!
Can’t publish here. Always says excessive repeated characters when there are none.
Hi Tony way behind, but still here. My breakthrough has been my discovery of how just a few notes, grouped in a scale can make beautiful music. I have played by ear, as I have low vision, and knew this intuitively, but now I understand more about thee pattern and how it works. So fun! Thank you!
Missed a couple of days due to work commitments so just catching up with day 3.
Soloing! It can be done! Tomorrow I’m going to find an open mike night and get out there.
Well, maybe not just yet 🙂 but that was lots of fun and really great for confidence. Let’s see what day 4 brings.
I’d gotten out of the habit of using a pick unless I’m strumming chords (and not always then either) but this week has got me back to it. I’m even alternating up and down for the notes, which I’ve never been good at previously, mostly because I didn’t really try.
I finally was able to play the scale. I feel like it just takes me so long and playing it at the slowest speeds to do this. Might be the age factor. Feels so awkward and I have to concentrate so hard. Have to look at the frets and strings quite a lot. Felt today was a positive compared to Day 2. I still can’t seem to get that lesson.
Thanks for the positive vibes.
Great felt like I could play a bit of solo knowing what notes would fit with your chords
Scales not working
Started using a pick. Mostly stuck to just using my thumb and fingers.
Today has been the best day of the challenge yet. So fun to use the scale improvising to the backing track. I had to make myself stop playing, I could mess with that so hours.
I have to look at the frets a lot and can’t always find the right string. You make it look easy but when I try it, it is not so easy for me. I have to stop the video a lot and repeat to keep up but I think I am making some progress – slowly.
I have taught myself how to finger pick on a classical guitar and not used a plectrum at all and when I picked it up wasn’t even holding it correctly. I have had to get used to this and it seemed a big step backwards, and I am still working on getting day one, two and now three under my belt. But it is just starting to feel a little more comfortable all round and to me this is a small, but very important breakthrough. The dopamine is kicking in. Thanks Tony.
I’m really trying hard but I can’t keep pace. I figured out the scales. they seem relatively simple, especially the vertical scale. However, I’m spending far more than 1`0 minutes on this per day. I have to look at the fret board quite a lot and I frequently pick the wrong string.
This feels challenging. I just keep trying to break it down into small bits. Little by little. I just allow myself to show up and try it.
Tanglewood TS8. Bullied into buying it by a friend at start of summer, as it would be’good for me’. Not touched it since, I had to get over memories of childhood guitar trauma first! Anxious absolute beginner – taking me all day on each lesson, but I can feel progress and Im enjoying it.At 61 I’m finally ready to conquer the memory. Im in!
Wow – first time I have ever felt like I was playing an improv(-ish) lead where nearly all of the notes sounded good with the rhythm guitar in the background.