[GerryB56]

Sorry to hear of your struggles, but congrats on getting “back in the saddle”!

[GerryB56]

That is impressive for sure! I doubt I’ll ever make that number consecutively, but TAC has definitely made a guitar geek out of me😄🎸

Keep on strumming and picking, fellow geek!

[GerryB56]

Congrats on your one year milestone! One of the best things I like about this guitar journey is that I’d never run out of new things to explore even if I had several lifetimes! TAC has been a game changer for me, mainly for firmly establishing that regular playing routine.

Finding people to jam with is a problem for me as well, though I’m not sure I’m quite ready for that yet – I need to play in front of others more before I would be comfortable trying to play along with other musicians. What I need to do is practice using jam tracks more often.

All the best with your ongoing guitar experience!

[GerryB56]

Glad you are enjoying the TAC program, I have found it has been a tremendous help to me in establishing a regular guitar playing habit. My finger dexterity has improved dramatically and my musical knowledge has expanded greatly in the 9 months since I joined.

I struggled alot early on with strumming patterns, but it’s like learning the chord shapes, just takes repetition and patience. Others have offered good advice, I would add this suggestion: when you are ready to learn strumming, there is one particular pattern that is very common and is useful for many songs (and also sounds more musical than DUDU etc):

D DU UDU

1+2+3+4+

Learning to play songs made my journey much more enjoyable than just doing finger exercises and scales, riffs, etc. You’ll find plenty of good instructional videos on YouTube for this and other strumming patterns. Tony also has a Stumming Jumpstart course in the Skills Courses area, though I was surprised that he didn’t include the above pattern as I’ve seen it used so often.

You made a great move in coming to the Forums, there are always members eager to offer advice and encouragement. Enjoy your journey!

[GerryB56]

Oh boy, do I know the feeling! I too want very much to join in on the VOM nights but so far have hesitated because I fear that stage fright moment. Which is weird since I will happily get up and sing karaoke in front of a hundred people. My guitar playing has not caught up to my singing yet, though. I have recently played a few songs in front of smaller groups so I’m confident the moment will come.

Anyway, congrats to you on taking the plunge! No doubt it will be far less stressful next time. I know the JMG community is an extremely welcoming and encouraging one.

[GerryB56]

Oh yeah! I so identify with this feeling. Hmm, maybe 6 guitars is enough for awhile? But wait a minute, just saw a great deal on a (fill in the blank) and I don’t have one of those yet! And, you know, I kind of would like to try a ukelele………😆

[GerryB56]

Good point! I sometimes enjoy poking through those profiles as well. Quite a fascinating range of experiences, goals, and reasons for joining TAC. If I decide to leave someday, I know the forums will be one thing I really miss.

[GerryB56]

That’s a pretty diverse collection! I have also fallen victim to the “not good enough yet to own more/better guitars” fallacy, but am getting over it😄

Like you, too, I took my first acoustic (a Seagull Concert Hall Mahogany) to a friend to have the action lowered, and what a difference it made. Probably should get some of the others looked at sometime.

I regret a little my years of dabbling, but now I’m finally on a good path and accepting that it’s the journey that counts.

[GerryB56]

Geek on, wherever your journey takes you! I too have enjoyed reading your insights and experiences with TAC. Glad to see you found your way to JMG as well – I greatly enjoy checking in there regularly, and plan to eventually get brave enough to join in with the VOMs.

My own renewal comes up in May and I just might decide to explore other pathways more seriously. TAC has been a huge blessing for me in firmly establishing the zest to become a better and more serious guitar student/player/geek.

All the best!

[GerryB56]

I am just starting to dabble here but I can add my first impressions. I’ve been curious about these devices for awhile, so finally went and rented a basic Boss RC 1 Loop Station, as they call it, and have played around a little bit with it.

I’ve watched lots of YouTube videos on how to use them, and I’m convinced this will be a great tool for experimenting with creating my own backing tracks, working on my timing (boy does it need work!), and just goofing around having fun. I even bought a book that provides basic instruction, tips and about 3 dozen sample loop tracks to create.

I’ve only had the pedal for a week, and my first experiments were a little frustrating – it’s tricky to get your timing right for starting and stopping the loop. I was so nervous about hitting that switch at the right moment that I’d get mixed up with what I was trying to play. But I’m sure that will be overcome with a little more practice.

The rental fee was quite modest – $12 for a month. If your local music store has this service, I’d suggest taking advantage. The pedal isn’t terribly expensive (about $169 up here in Ontario) but I was afraid of buying one only to have it become another decoration in my music room that never gets used!

[GerryB56]

Thanks for that timely prod, Mrfred! I’ve been in kind of a rut myself lately, but you are so right about how all the learning seeps in there and you don’t even realize it sometimes. I have gone from dabbler to all-out guitar geek since joining TAC last year. Now if I could just get a bit more focused…….😆

[GerryB56]

Wishing you all the best on your guitar journey. You do raise some points that hit home for me. I’m coming up in a few months on my first anniversary of joining TAC and am very conflicted right now about whether to renew.

TAC has been phenomenal for helping me develop that daily desire to pick up a guitar and make more progress in my learning. The community is very supportive and inspiring. But lately I feel myself being pulled in different directions. There are so many areas of guitar playing that are not really covered here, and I want to explore most of them😆

I took the plunge to invest in Fretboard Wizard and certainly don’t regret that, although I do resent a little that I will lose it when/if I leave. But I think I got enough for my money that I can continue learning all that fascinating theory elsewhere.

I too have discovered so many amazing teachers on YouTube and in other guitar learning programs, enough to keep me busy in this lifetime for sure!

Thanks for offering us your perspective on your TAC experience.

[GerryB56]

I too will recommend SongNotes.net as a great source for learning songs. David P is an excellent teacher and his pdfs are very comprehensive and well designed (he is a web developer type by profession, I believe). Annual memberships are quite affordable and there is lots of material available as far as practice tips, licks, etc. You do have to buy the songsheets separately from another site due to copyright, but they are only a couple dollars each and easy to download and print.

I’ve been a member of his site for several years and have learned plenty of songs thanks to David. There are lots of places to get tabs and watch tutorials for free, but for guidance on strumming patterns, intro licks, and other nuances David is very helpful.

[GerryB56]

I understand completely what you say about Tony’s approach – he really does have a knack for making you believe you can do this! And you’ll find the TAC community to be very helpful and supportive.

As for the 2 string dilemma, I assume you’re referring to those power chord exercises? I have struggled with those, too, not only hitting the right strings but I haven’t fully managed to get my palm muting technique down pat. But there are many excellent videos on YouTube showing how to mute adjacent strings with your other fingers so they don’t ring out even if you stray onto them with your strum. This seems to be a critical skill for blues guitar players, as well as for slide guitar.

Keep on enjoying those daily sessions! That’s easily the biggest win I’ve gained from TAC – the urge to pick up my guitar every day and work on something I want to learn.

[GerryB56]

I’m very glad about getting my resonator. I’ve played it quite often, mostly using it to explore open tunings (open D mainly, so far), and one goal is to use it to learn some blues slide guitar. I’m also at 6 guitars currently, though I’m probably going to sell my GS Mini as the neck is just too narrow for me to finger pick on. It is such a lovely instrument and has such a great sound for so small a body, though – it won’t be easy to let it go. Planning to try a classical guitar, hoping the wider neck will prove more amenable to my stubby fingers😆