I just love TAC

[Philb]

That’s great! Keep on keeping on!

[N-lightMike]

👍😊

[albert_d]

I concur my fellow guitar geek. So many things are now a part of my toolkit that we mysteries to me a few years back. It’s not redundant when it is true.

[N-lightMike]

No, it’s certainly not redundant, @albert_d . I have been moved to say “I love TAC” so many times in the last 4+ years that I could possibly guess.

But the thing that really causes amazement is the amount of improvement I have seen in others and have now experienced myself. If you could convince someone of this one fact, they would have a huge incentive to sign up for TAC. But even myself, I’ve been here a long time and I’m so much better, do I really still need the lessons?

Well, do I still want to improve? Do I know of any other way that I can get as much impressive improvement?

Simple answers: Yes, and No!

So, I sign into TAC everyday 4 years later. I don’t do the lesson every day, but that’s because my guitar journey has a number of facets that rotate and I’m not always in the “growth” phase.

Anyway, thanks for responding, Albert.

MG 😀

[jumpinjeff]

Yep, me too N-Light.

[N-lightMike]

👍😊

[the-old-coach]

Mike-

I’ve been waiting to respond to your original post here— to give me a chance to really think about it a bit.

My “short” response is- I love TAC also.

I didn’t have any idea at all how “deep” guitar-learning goes…. I don’t think there is an end, really. But Tony and TAC seems to put the brakes on the bottomless pit when the philosophy is “I’m gonna teach you the 10% of music theory that you will use 90% of the time”. And that’s good enough for me.

I did not know BEANS about guitar when I started– (on Jan 12, 2021- right in the middle of COVID– and there I was, home, suffering from what felt to me like a bad hangover that went on for nine days). (Side note- I’ve had “the VID” two more times since then).

Well, anyway, it’s now two years and seven months later—- wow.

So the reason I had to think about my response in here was that there are just SO many things, SO much knowledge, SO much improvement in physically, actually playing of the guitar, and SO MANY wonderful people I have “met” in here!

SO MUCH, in fact, that it is just not possible for me condense it down.

You must know by now that I am full of a lot of things- one of them being examples. So here is just one example – (there are hundreds)- of how Tony and TAC helped me.

I play “mind games” quite often, usually when I’m out for a walk, or driving a boring highway, or layin’ in bed in the early morning. Anytime my mind has a chance to just “wander”.

For example– yesterday morning, maybe around 4-5 AM, I started dissecting chords in my mind. Completing one at a time, I went thru the seven major ((“open”(?) A,B,C,D,E,F,G)- chords—- every barre, every fret, every string, and every fingered-note location…. in all five CAGED shapes and locations……. in my head– just layin’ there in the dark.

Then, this morning, I started doing the same thing with minor, minor7, major7, dominant7, and sus2 and sus4 chords. (didn’t get all the way thru– but made a good dent in it). I’ll get there…….

The big thing is that I am NOT doing this as in just “memorizing the chords and where to put my fingers”– I’m doing this by analyzing each chord, and each note (1-3-5- (7))- and then it’s location- (which string/which fret).

The point is- (and I apologize that it took me this many words to explain it)- that THIS is one of the main reasons I, also, love TAC.

Yes- I know I still have a LONG ways to go—- but I never……. EVER……… would have gotten this far without TAC. Ever. Much of the stuff I now “know”– I never even knew existed before I came onboard.

And you know what?……….. it’s still FUN!!!!!!

So “there ya’ go”. Thanks for starting this post, Mike.

mark- (theoldcoach)

• This reply was modified 2 years, 7 months ago by  the-old-coach.
• This reply was modified 2 years, 7 months ago by  the-old-coach.

[N-lightMike]

You are welcome, Mark @the-old-coach ;

I have found it very important in my life to recognize my gratitude and then express it. And TAC is a great example of why it’s so important. I was here before TAC shifted to this platform. It’s very different, which means some things we had before are no longer here. That caused a lot of people to get upset. I recognized how much Tony had given me and therefore gave him the respect to “allow” him to make decisions on how best to guide TAC moving forward (not as if I could do anything about it, but by “allowing” him, I was maintaining a positive attitude).

Of course, now it’s easy to see that TAC has improved a lot over the previous platform. And when I say improved, I specifically mean the teaching platform. But that’s what TAC is and that’s why we all joined TAC.

A side effect of TAC was a social forum. That isn’t the same. But if the interest was strong enough in the community, the socializing that took place wouldn’t die, it would continue in another form. And it has. But it was never incumbent on TAC to keep feeding that social media side of TAC. If we want to make friends, we don’t wait for others to approach us and introduce themselves, we take the initiative to approach others. But that’s a side bar.

So many people left TAC and therefore can’t know how much TAC has improved. I have the knowledge and guitar skills that I can do pretty much all the lessons. Yeah, but does that mean there is no longer any benefit for me? Absolutely not.

What I’ve found, is the farther along my guitar journey I am, the more the lessons refine my technique. And that’s across the board of guitar skills. I thought TAC was the best before, and now TAC has improved.

The benefit of TAC in the long run is pretty simple to understand. Tony comes up with lessons and exercises that challenge him. That means, you would have to be better than Tony, a lot better, to think that every single lessons was easy and contained no challenge. For me, TAC will always help me improve because I don’t think I will ever be as good as Tony.

That’s a lot more than I intended to say. I guess there’s some good thoughts there that I could put into my 4th TACiversary post which I’ve never made.

MG 😀

[the-old-coach]

Yeah, I remember the “old” TAC also- (it was revamped a few months after I joined, I think- but can’t remember exactly).

I remember the “old” Forum being more “open” and “lively”. But, I suppose, with that, the conversations sometimes wandered all over the place……. maybe a bit beyond or outside of just learning guitar(?)……. (this may have been its demise?)….

I am not complaining about the new TAC, but I have read that a LOT of folks feel/felt the “old” forum did somehow seem more fun.

Even though I do “check-in” to the TAC forum every day to see what’s new……. I don’t post in here as much as I used to- (perhaps to the delight of many!).

The TAC Forum— in both the old and new version….. have been a GREAT source of inspiration, information, help, and a kick-in-the-butt-when-I-needed-it.

Anyway– back to the subject at hand….. (and you know that I can go on and on……). I’d like to provide one more example: I’ve taken-in most of the Skills Courses- (and completed them with a decent understanding of each……. All great stuff indeed!

The REAL light-bulb came on…….. later………. maybe a year later/ maybe two years later- (heck– it’s still happening!!!).

My own greater-broader guitar knowledge has grown- (for which I am thankful to many- including you). Some of the stuff I thought I learned or knew back then….. I see differently now. Yes, I knew each lesson’s material– but only “individually”, so to speak. I viewed each lesson or Skills Course completely separate and different from the others.

The really coolest part is that I am NOW starting to see how each of those lessons are/were actually just pieces of a MUCH larger puzzle— they are ALL starting to fit together.

TAC has provided me the opportunity slog thru the mud for almost three years, and get to “meet” some REALLY wonderful, helpful people– who keep pulling me- (well, all of us, actually)- “up”…… to keep us going!

I wish those who have helped me- (again, well, all of us along the way– but have left)– would come back. So they could “see” what we’ve become, in many ways, because of their help.

yadda-yadda-yadda…… some(?) days, I just can’t seem to shut up

• This reply was modified 2 years, 7 months ago by  the-old-coach.

[N-lightMike]

I hope that everyone’s guitar journey is continuing to progress whether they left TAC or not. Unfortunately, that’s not always true.

I am happy that I stayed. I am happy for the new changes. TAC is doing what Tony’s marketing videos says it does. It gives us some thing to play with everyday that steadily hones our guitar skills. And that continues over time. You don’t ever finish. I love that.

MG 😀