[Braden]

Very nice Phil @Philb . Really smooth playing and the solo was great…and thats not easy! Good job bro, keep em coming:)

[Braden]

Hey @DiscostewLA that was great! Both songs! Althea blew me away…you are so smooth man…barre chords and transitions slick like butter. Really nice singing too….just loved it, very inspiring. And yeah thats a beauty Les Paul…I went electric this past year also. Got myself a PRS SE (which I love…fits me like a glove), and a Fender Mustang LT40S amp. While I still mostly gravitate to my acoustics, been having lots of fun making the transition. And figuring out the gear is definitely a learning curve, my lack of knowledge is vast but having a blast anyway. Youve prompted me to bring “Blondie” out and plug her in. Beam me up Scotty!

[Braden]

Really nice playing Albert…your picking is great! And kudos to you for the experimentation..your recording is very good. Inspiring me to so the same as my lack of knowledge is vast when it comes to most gear. thanks bro keep em coming:)

[Braden]

Nice job Albert! Great picking…doing great, keep it going!

[Braden]

Thank you @Marty75 ! Much appreciated…hope youre doing well

[Braden]

Hey Brett im the same way…been inspired by watching many musicians, including on this forum, do their thing. Whether the original artist or folks doing covers…do i sometimes think, “man, i wish i could do that…if only id started sooner…”? Of course! I think many of us do. but that doesnt last long and i have no regrets and like you, im encouraged and motivated to keep plugging away and have fun trying to close the gap.

Thx for shring your story and glad youre liking TAC. I tried other programs too but liked Tonys style and philosophy/methodology. The daily challenges are a great way to pick up skills that become foundational in all your playing and no other program I saw focuses on these quite like this. Having said that, I can go for weeks without doing the challenges, and will use other learning sources, or mainly just focus on songs, learning new ones and continuously practicing ones already under my belt. Lately Ive also been taking a deeper dive into theory, which has been very helpful re song structure, etc. Its also been a lot of fun getting something ready to post on here too, and Id encourage you to do the same (and its a very supportive and kind community!)

Sounds like youre really close…playing and singing at the same time is hard but youve already got the singing part down, which is the main act…the guitar accompanies the singer…so youre well on your way! Pick one of your favourite songs with that easy 1 4 5 chord progression and where the melody follows the chord changes. Separately learn and practice both the lyrics and the guitar. Get them both down so that you can play/sing them in your sleep (repetition over an over). Then when youre ready to put them together start slow…maybe just one beat per measure and sometimes I’ll just say the lyrics or sing very softly. That helps to know where in the lyrics the chord changes happen. Get comfortable with that, then you can get your rhythm and tempo going and next thing you know youre belting it out! Some songs are more difficult than others so to get to “performance ready” can take as little as a week or two, to several months. But of course thats all relative depending on how much work youre putting in. I also think its important to mix up the easy and difficult. Anyway I hope this makes some sense and is maybe helpful. Main thing of course is to enjoy the process, be kind to yourself and keep living the dream. Take care and hope youre having a nice Easter weekend. B

[Braden]

Thanks Phil @Philb, appreciate that! But no, still mostly playing for the dog…thanks bro hope youre getting some good playing in this weekend:)

[Braden]

Thanks @JeffM.22 for watching and commenting. Very appreciated!

[Braden]

Thanks a lot @albert_d Really appreciate the supportive comments brother. Ive been a John Prine fan all my adult life but the cool thing is I still keep finding songs Ive never heard before! So sad that Covid took him after he beat cancer and was rejuvinating his career. But I thank God he left us with all those tunes

[Braden]

Thank you Jack @Guitargeezer Appreciate you having a look and glad you liked it. Prine sure could tell a good story! Hope youre loving your guitar these days:)

[Braden]

Thanks @DiscostewLA for tuning in and commenting. Much appreciated! Ive been having lots of fun working the harmonica in lately so glad you liked it. Living the dream my friend…thanks again rock on

[Braden]

lol Pete @petelanger thats a lots of words! I think Id run out of steam… thanks for watching bro and glad you liked it. Much appreciated!

[Braden]

Hi Brett @Aservire and thanks for watching and taking the time to comment…much appreciated! This is a fun song and one of the first ones I picked up but it never gets old for me:) One of my goals when I retired three years ago was to get more serious with the music, and thats when I joined TAC. I’d already been playing for ten years or so but TAC helped me to focus and has been very helpful. My advice is just keep on plugging away…always play the things you like, but stretch yourself too. And lots of repetition…over and over again…for me thats the key…but the main thing is to enjoy yourself and have fun with it. You can do it! And Pete @petelanger is right on, we all need to try hard to not compare ourselves to others who may be further along. I struggled with this alot…sometimes when I’d see a real good player Id want to throw my guitar away! Our journeys are very personal but at the same time music is meant to be shared and we’re all in this together bro so rock on!

[Braden]

Hey thanks @rainbow-kid for tuning in and commenting. Much appreciated, and I will for sure…Blue Rodeo coming up:) I see youre a new member to TAC…welcome aboard, Ive learned a ton since joining so hope youre liking it. rock on

[Braden]

Thanks for watching and commenting @Michael_D ! They put on a great show…Gord was fun to watch… Thanks man appreciate you havng a look and glad you liked it.