GerryB56
Forum Replies Created
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Nice job! The greatest piece of Christmas music ever written, IMHO. Good to see you recovered and back playing. Best wishes for Christmas and the New Year ahead🎅
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It’s different for each one of us, so it’s tough to decide sometimes what to suggest. But I know for me even after 7 months of TAC (and 4 years of dabbling overall) I come across the odd challenge that just won’t work at all for me, so I shift gears and work on something else. The skill courses are a great place to find alternate paths.
If one of your main goals for guitar is to learn songs and play along, there are tons of YouTube tutorials for relatively easy 3 or 4 chord songs – and I always find it’s more motivating to learn songs than to just do repetitive drills.
Good luck with your guitar journey – you made a great choice in joining TAC!
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I’ll second that emotion, as the fabulous old Smokey Robinson classic puts it!! I’ve been on this amazing but sometimes terribly frustrating guitar path for 4 years now, and in the last 7 months since I found TAC I know I’ve climbed up the mountain much further and faster than the previous 3+ years. Of course, I’m nowhere near the summit and likely never will be, but at least I can now foresee achieving some level of competence with these lovely instruments🎸
As you said so well, oldcoach, sharing this journey with many other enthusiastic guitar geeks is invigorating and very inspiring. Seeing our fellow TACers enjoying their progress makes me that much more determined to keep picking and strumming along😆
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Nicely done! I’m a longtime fan of CSNY but can’t say I know that one. It’s a treat to hear songs that are not Top 100 hits. Oh, and I like the t-shirt – I think I need to make some additions to my guitar themed apparel😄
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For starters you can go to Tony’s skill courses and do the Strumming Jumpstart one. There are also tons of YouTube videos on learning strumming patterns.
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On the Daily Challenge page, at bottom right, there is a yellow circle with an icon inside – click on that and it brings up a message thread to reach the TAC team.
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Hard to beat that deal! I tried to look up that model online, but didn’t find much info. Is it a classical (nylon string) guitar? I don’t have one of those, but have heard it suggested they can be easier to learn on as the strings are softer on the fingers than steel strings. Anyway, your guitar store folks set it up and approved your choice, and you made a good decision joining TAC! Don’t hesitate to make regular use of these forums – lots of helpful, wise members here to offer advice and encouragement😃
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Sounds like a pretty good deal – I didn’t even know Squier had an acoustic line. Makes sense to have a backup handy when you have that fine Martin tucked safely away in its case. Of course, you’ll never hear this geek tell anyone not to buy more guitars😆
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Congrats on your milestone! Not that I need any convincing about TAC, but it’s inspiring to hear from more veteran members how much Tony’s system has helped them progress in their guitar journey.
Sounds like you are well ahead of me on that journey, but I will attest to the “awesomeness” of Fretboard Wizard. I hesitated about signing up for it, but now I’m mighty glad I did. Tony has a way of explaining the music theory stuff that makes it so much less intimidating.
Hopefully your example will also inspire me to be better at setting clear goals, and not be all over the map trying to master it all, right now😄
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Hang in there! I remember very well how frustrated I’d get in the beginning, feared that I’d never develop any speed. But eventually your fingers develop that muscle memory and chord changing becomes almost automatic (though that isn’t happening yet for me with barre chords, alas!)
As the others suggested, learn a few favourite 3 or 4 chord songs – I find that much more motivating than doing repetitive drills. Don’t know your musical tastes, but if you like country take a look at “Wagon Wheel”. It has a catchy rhythm, and uses the same chord progression for all the verses and the chorus (G -D -Em – C). You’ll find lots of tutorials on YouTube.
Best of all keep coming back to Tony’s daily challenges – even if you find some of them hard now, believe me, sticking with that regular habit pays off big time! And it’s great that you came to the forums, there are many veteran TAC members who are eager and willing to offer advice and encouragement.
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Hey, oldcoach! As you might imagine, I highly doubt any TACers will advise you to pass up a chance to add to your guitarsenal😆 But I can relate to your concerns here. I have acquired 2 electrics so far, but have to confess I’m a bit intimidated by them and haven’t made much leeway in learning to play them. I’m not a hard rock – metal guy, so my main goals for these guitars (a Les Paul and an ES-339, both Epiphones) are to ultimately learn to play some Chet Atkins – style country -blues, and hopefully some slide / lead guitar solos and improv.
The sound/tone of electric guitars is so different and has its own appeal, for sure. I have a couple of cds of Chet Atkins playing with Mark Knopfler and Les Paul, and really love the laid-back, slow grooving style of these masters. Not that I expect to ever remotely approach their level, but it seems to me that some sort of competence might happen if I live long enough😆
Isn’t it amazing that your cousin never even knew her dad had this baby!? My Les Paul is a ’98 made in Korea edition, and I love the sound of it. My Taylor GS Mini was made in Mexico, and it is a beautiful looking and sounding instrument.
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Thanks, Moonhare! I like that “slow but melodic” mantra – just what I want to work towards. Chet Atkins, Les Paul, and those old blues masters are the ones that really inspire me. Not that some of those rock shredder types aren’t darn cool to watch, but I’m much more of a ballad style guy for sure!
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It does feel pretty good! Thanks for the positive energy you bring, stevieblues!
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Always appreciate your “look on the bright side” attitide, Kitman!
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You’re so right about that “slow but steady wins the race” mantra! Day to day, or even at the end of any given week, sometimes it’s hard to recognize any real progress, but after 7 months in TAC I have definitely made huge strides. Lately I’ve been less inspired by the daily challenges, but Tony’s whole approach that emphasizes showing up every day and looking for the positives, plus his encouragement and the great feedback from fellow TACers, has been such a game changer for me.