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Big Wins on 4 Levels
The first level is that I actually did all 5 lessons last week. I’ve never been any good at routine and consistency. I actually seem to fight regularity. Who knows why. Anyway, I didn’t manage to start on Monday, but I did Monday anyway… on Tuesday. Then, I only got 2 lessons done by Friday. Oh well, I did the 3rd lesson on Saturday and the 4th on Sunday and the 5th on Monday. I wouldn’t have done that before because I hadn’t kept up. Since I didn’t do it perfectly, why bother?
But no, Tony says something to the effect that he’d rather we had an imperfect guitar routine than to do nothing because it’s not perfect. So, following through and doing these lessons that I was interested in is a real win. This win is on the “first” level of consistency.
The second level is breaking things down. I was able to isolate transitioning to the barre chord up the neck. This has been a very hard learned lesson, to slow down and take things piece meal. On the Thursday lesson, I started with just getting the index finger and thumb into the proper position when going from the Am to the E7. I couldn’t grab the full chord in time with the rhythm, but I could get to the “pinch” (thumb and index). That gave me time to get my middle and ring down in time for the “and” beat.
That brings me to the third level which is the heart and soul of “small wins”, noticing how much we have improved. I was struggling with the “Ain’t No Sunshine” lessons all week. What’s different since I struggled with the daily challenge from the very beginning of joining TAC? WHAT I’m struggling with has changed completely. Finishing my thought from the previous paragraph, I was actually able to pinch the 5th string for my “1” beat and afterward put my middle and ring fingers down for the “and” beat. That’s huge and has taken 4 years of focused effort. But more, I wasn’t struggling with the muted notes by the Thursday lesson which requires the pinky to move across the strings to mute them… in time… then release for the next beat. By the Friday lesson, I wasn’t struggling with the percussive beat. Also, I had gotten the mixed timing values down and was just keeping the correct rhythm. All of this contributed to working on transitioning to a barre chord up the neck because I was freed up to focus on this.
That’s a lot of small wins. But, it was all made possible by the win on th<font color=”rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)” face=”inherit”>e 4th level. Normally, I get frustrated which leads to my becoming </font>overwhelmed<font color=”rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)” face=”inherit”>. I am finally starting to “take to heart” this idea of mistakes being good, not bad. Making mistakes means I’m pushing myself and learning how NOT to do something. Mistakes are actually a “normal” part of the learning process. Go figure. So, I’m “supposed” to think: “Cool, I’m making mistakes. I must be improving.” To get to that point has also take me the entire 4+ years I’ve been with TAC (I’m a slow learner). </font>
<font color=”rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)” face=”inherit”>To recap:</font>
<font color=”rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)” face=”inherit”>1) I was consistent with the “Ain’t No Sunshine” lessons in spite of the fact that I didn’t do a single lesson on the “correct day”.</font>
<font color=”rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)” face=”inherit”>2) I stayed calm and determined because I saw mistakes as a good thing.</font>
3) I was able to break things down to the “molecular” level so I could figure out how to improve “problem spots”.
4) Even though I was struggling, I was able to see how much I had improved and appreciate this whole process is working and that gives me even more determination to keep going and be happy with what I’m doing.
MG 😀
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9 Replies
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Holy “cow pie” Batman (LOL), that’s a lot of small wins!!
The moral of the story…….they really do add up, don’t they!
Congrats @N-lightMike 😉
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Yes, they do indeed add up, @Bill_Brown .
I have no idea what’s up with all the <font> stuff going on. I didn’t even do an edit. I love the new TAC site, but I really don’t care for this platform. Oh well. You gotta take the good with the bad as they say. 🙄😍
MG 😀
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Those are great wins!
I tried guitar (using another course) a year ago and quit after 6 weeks because I sucked.
I discovered TAC in June and the biggest thing it taught me was that yes I’m going to suck for a long time and it’s ok to suck. Just try and I will learn things in spite of myself.It’s also great that you were able to identify progress. It can be tough to realize because it is so slow.
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Yes, @Moose408 , it’s amazing how simple it is to actually improve. But we have to be consistent, and sometimes it doesn’t seem worth it. That’s why we have to try to see the “small wins” so that we know we are progressing. That gives us the feedback we need to be motivated to pick up our guitar even on days we “don’t feel like it”.
Thanks for reading and responding, Moose.
MG 😀
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Awesome wins @N-lightMike . btw, what does n-light stand for and what is the story behind that moniker?
I agree to some extent with @Moose408 that it is a long journey, but it is so much fun when you hit a growth period and rapidly improve at something. You just have to remember that there are plateaus and periods of slow and sometimes painful periods between the rapid growth periods. We must keep in mind that everything is temporary.
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Hey @Loraine ;
Thanks for reading and responding. Yes, I do need to remember about the slow journey and long plateaus between the occasional periods of growth. I don’t seem to think of them at the same time. So that’s helpful. Thanks. 😊
The name was given to me for my last B-day by @jumpinjeff . Someone had given him a nickname so he has “given it back” and given me a nickname. It’s short for “enlighten” and refers to the system Tony has put into place here on TAC. 😎
There are a number of things that take a while to figure out about TAC. Going slow makes your learning curve go faster. That’s counter-intuitive. You learn more skills by NOT mastering the lessons, but just attempting them. Ok, that’s pretty weird. Then there’s the one about being exposed to so many things it helps me NARROW my focus. 🤔 It tried so hard to understand these things and explain them to newcomers that Jeff picked “N-light” Mike as my nickname. I am honored. 😄 The only nicknames I ever got weren’t compliments. 😏
MG 😀
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I’m not sure why my post was all garbaged up with all the <font> stuff because I hadn’t even edited anything. And of course, I’m afraid to edit the post because it’ll end up being worse. So, I just copied that last part and edited it here in another comment before I hit the “Post” button.
That’s a lot of small wins. But, it was all made possible by the win on the 4th level. Normally, I get frustrated which leads to my becoming overwhelmed. I am finally starting to “take to heart” this idea of mistakes being good, not bad. Making mistakes means I’m pushing myself and learning how NOT to do something. Mistakes are actually a “normal” part of the learning process. Go figure. So, I’m “supposed” to think: “Cool, I’m making mistakes. I must be improving.” To get to that point has also take me the entire 4+ years I’ve been with TAC (I’m a slow learner).
To recap:
1) I was consistent with the “Ain’t No Sunshine” lessons in spite of the fact that I didn’t do a single lesson on the “correct day”.
>2) I stayed calm and determined because I saw mistakes as a good thing.
3) I was able to break things down to the “molecular” level so I could figure out how to improve “problem spots”.
4) Even though I was struggling, I was able to see how much I had improved and appreciate this whole process is working and that gives me even more determination to keep going and be happy with what I’m doing.
So part of the reason I put this text in here and cleaned it up is because I was re-reading it myself. I wanted to remember what I had learned and revisit it. So many times I get something and then don’t continue practicing it. I end up forgetting all about it and it never gets into my muscle memory and I never use it in a song. So, I want to do this one differently.
MG 😀
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Congratulations on your multiple small wins! Sounds like you are making progress on your guitar journey. Your post was inspiring. Keep on playing guitar! 🎸😎
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Thank you so much, @stevieblues .
I am so glad I had a lifetime membership or I wouldn’t have made it past 3 years just due to finances. Even if I had the money, if I had to sign back up in the early days of the transition, I can’t say I would have stayed. Then, at about 3 3/4 years, I thought I was pretty much done with TAC. I could do most of the lessons fairly well. I understood music theory on the level I started a Music Theory channel on YouTube. What do I need with TAC?
Well, it turns out, I am now good enough to see and learn lessons I didn’t even realize were within the lessons I had been doing from the beginning. TAC is taking me to the next level. For me, that’s the advanced/pro level.
So yeah, I’m gonna keep doing TAC and playing my guitar.
MG 😀
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