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Newbie needs GUIDANCE
OK, gang, TRedd is here….I am a 67 year old Dude , ‘cept wife says I am a “Dud”, and I have been attempting to wrangle this guitar stuff into its right place for 20 yrs…but 9 moves, and high pressure, global travel job,4 dogs, and 4 kids, and 1 motorcycle has cost me much needed focus.
So now I am retired and have time and said lets abuse this Tony guy and see if he can whip me into shape.
Day one on the course and I am on Challenge 11 – Smack me up side the head Finger pickin. Now no idea if this where I should start. I asked the help line and they sent me here.
I can play songs already with bad chord switiching and lousy strumming but American Pie, Wagon Wheel, etc songs I can do,,,just slow.
MY ASK: Where do I start – on step 11 or did I get put there since I signed up near fathers day???
Thnks and feel free to insult me at will….
Tredd
Really – a Dude
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7 Replies
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Hi Tredd, and welcome to TAC!! And congratulations on your retirement too. Now is a great time to get back to the things that you never had enough time for!!
I would highly recommend that you check out the “Skill Courses” section (under “Resources” in the menu bar on the right side of your screen. There’s tons of little mini courses on things like strumming, fingerpicking, chord changing and lots more. Also it’s good to spend a few minutes a day on the Daily Challenge. Just to get used to the daily lesson routine and to build your daily practice habit. Don’t worry if you don’t get the daily challenge perfectly. Just watch the video and give it a few minutes. But do pick out a few of the skill courses that interest you and work thru those.
Best wishes!! C
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Here is a link to the quick start guide
https://tonypolecastro.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/TAC_User_Guide-v5.pdf
Basically the idea is you go through the 30 day challenge and then jump into the daily challenges. The daily challenges are week long stand alone exercises. Each day of the week you spend at least 10 mins on each challenge and then wait for the next day. Some daily challenges will be easy, some you will only get through one measure. That’s ok. The challenges come around again in several months and the next time you will get further.
The motto is progress over perfection. You don’t need to perfect any challenge, instead spend at least 10 mins on it and then move on.
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Welcome to TAC. The others have directed you well so I’ll just say have consistent fun and enjoy your musical journey. You should also find this forum quite useful. Enjoy.
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Just to reiterate what others have stated…definitely start with the 30 day challenge (4 weeks). After you’ve completed that, move on to the sample 5 day routine (1 week). If you don’t complete these first, the regular daily challenges probably won’t make much sense. By all means, go through the introductory pdfs, which offer detailed information on how to get started.
By the way, I’m in a similar situation as you. I’m 68 and retired a couple of years ago and have no guitar experience. I’m fairly new to TAC myself (60 playing sessions, including a couple of stops and restarts). There are days when I think I can’t do this, but there are more days when I surprise myself at how far I’ve come. I think you’ll enjoy the course. Stick with it, try to play at least a little every day, and you’ll do great.
Welcome, and Good luck!
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ThnaksTom…I will keep cranking….good reason to get out of the woodshop in the heat and hide in my basement guitar dude room….
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Thanks Carol////I will do that with the skills area …Still getting the drift…Finished the 30 day challnge in about a week and now starting July with the 5 day challenge. Saw Tony has a YT video for each tuesday on on my YT, so will look at that too – or maybe I will find it in the site somewhere.
Many thnks Carol, and I am getting back in gear. My typing should improve too…
TRedd
The Dude
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Hey Dude
Just wanted to welcome you to TAC. This is your journey, and you’re having fun. Who’s to say your doing it wrong. Tony always says if it feels good, it is good (and if it sounds good it is good). At least you have.gotten stuck on something and not progressed. That happens to a lot of people. Just keep progressing, don’t get hung up on perfection, and have fun.
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