[GuitarGeni]

Congrats Cadgirl, it really is challenging at first, but once you get the hang of it you realize it is really a good friend.

[GuitarGeni]

My understanding is, if you showed up and you put in the time (10 min. or so), you mark it complete.

You can always favorite (❤) it if you really like the challenge and want to work on improving on it later. If you don’t favorite it in the month that it occurs you won’t have access to it again until the next time it comes around (8 months or so), so get in the habit of favoriting the challenges you like and want to work on.

I usually use whatever the Monday warmup exercise is for the whole week in addition to my normal warmup. I’ll spend about 5 min. reviewing the prior day’s challenge each weekday and on the weekend review everything from the prior week. That usually makes me feel satisfied that I’ve practiced the material enough. You don’t have to, but I feel like it helps me get ready for the coming week.

• This reply was modified 4 years, 2 months ago by  GuitarGeni.

[GuitarGeni]

I usually open the tab and then hit the picture in picture on the video and move it to the tab so I can see the tab while I watch the video. It helps a bunch. Let me know if you need a tutorial.

[GuitarGeni]

Yeah, I had a heck of a time getting used to a metronome for the longest time. Once I found one that plays real blues or rock style drum beats all has been good. Congrats on finding a solution that works for you!

[GuitarGeni]

Not sure if you purchased anything yet or not, but an Epiphone Masterbilt is an excellent guitar in that price range. Unfortunately mine just sold a few weeks ago, but there are tons of them available online.

[GuitarGeni]

I recently switched (within the last year) to Dunlop FLOW picks, the Ultex version. They have some texture to them and it really helps hold on to them. They are also shaped slightly smaller than a standard pick and have a beveled edge which makes your picking action feel smoother than a regular pick.

I also bought the Delrin version and they are way slippery. Would not recommend.

[GuitarGeni]

Many good suggestions here. I would also add that I stretch all throughout my guitar playing routine. I used to only stretch before I started playing, but I find it helpful to stop several times at various points throughout and stretch a bit and then resume. YMMV.

[GuitarGeni]

No problem Bill.

1.) I spend 5 min. daily working on finger picking from this Justin Johnson video: https://youtu.be/JWSSS7tJ2wQ I like that there are five exercises so I just spend time doing one each day. I alternate between Em and Am every min. so my fingers don’t get too tired and cut back to 30 sec. ea. for the final minute.

2.) I work on using finger picks for 5 min. daily.

3.) I work on slide guitar with Orville Johnson on JamPlay for about 5 min., but it usually ends up being longer because I don’t usually manage to get to it daily.

4.) I am finishing up Beginner Electric Guitar Masterclass by Henry Olsen on Skillshare. I’m in the last section where we learn various licks and I spend about 3.5 min. ea. on 3 of them daily, which is the avg. length of the play along videos. If it’s one I’m struggling with, again I spend 5 min. working on that one. He also teaches a Music Theory for Guitar on there that is excellent.

5.) I just started Rock Guitar for Beginners with Will Ripley on JamPlay. I really enjoy his teaching style and so far the licks are way more interesting than any other teacher I’ve tried.

I’ve had to cut back, because I’m doing so much, but when I’m finished with #4, then I will use that time learning Jazz guitar @ Jazz Guitar Online. Really nice site that simplifies this genre quite a bit.

I also have a bunch of courses that I’m working on in Skills section of this site. As you can see, I’m way busy, but that’s what retirement is for. There’s another site I used to be a member of that has a T-shirt that says: “Yes, I have a retirement plan, I’ll be playing guitar.” Pretty much says it all!

[GuitarGeni]

Loraine, I am far from a master at the metronome. In fact I was metronome challenged for a VERY long time. I guess I just had to find the right one. I use an app on my phone called Soundcorset that I absolutely love. It’s a metronome, a tuner, recorder, keeps track of my practice time and a bunch more. What I like about the metronome are a few things: Rock and Blues drum beats instead of beeps or clicks, there’s a function where you can set it to increase the speed gradually over a certain amount of time. For example: going from 80 bpm to 120 bpm in a 5 min. practice session. I usually max out at 120 on the speed challenges, but you barely notice you’re speeding up so it’s pretty cool. I haven’t spent as much time with this feature as I’d like, but my goal is to start using it to go from 120 bpm to 160 bpm on the speed challenges. If you get a chance, check it out. It’s available for iPhone & Android.

[GuitarGeni]

Declaration? I must have missed that. Please inform.

[GuitarGeni]

I already a knew a good chunk of the theory so that was pretty easy. What is really helpful are the exercises in how to find the key to a song, figuring out the chords in a song, etc. Really simple ways that I hadn’t been exposed to before.

I highly recommend it!

[GuitarGeni]

Thanks for your reply. This really helped me see it from the listener’s perspective instead of my own. You’re right, other musicians will have and idea of how much time and effort it took to get here, but a regular listener has NO IDEA of how much effort goes into being a musician. I think you’re right that I became annoyed because the word “gifted” seems to come with the connotation “easy or effortless”. It’s neither.

I appreciate you sharing your story of “faking giftedness”. It is indeed a valuable lesson as we take the journey. 🎸

[GuitarGeni]

Thanks for your perspective. I guess I just expected that a comment like that would feel better than it did. The truth is, I’ve been getting a lot of positive comments recently, so I guess it shows my hard work HAS paid off.

[GuitarGeni]

Here’s the demonstration video from Brickhouse Guitars that I used to make my selection. He plays much better than I do.

https://youtu.be/44KePv8p73Q

[GuitarGeni]

I thought someone might say that. This beats the smell of new car any day. That’s more of a chemical smell. This is woody and earthy. Unfortunately, like new car, it doesn’t last very long. 🙃