[jumpinjeff]

@SteveinCT said: “One administrator told me this is what the members wanted, and they obliged. How come?”

I can’t answer how come they obliged…..I can answer why I am here. I came here because I wanted to learn to play guitar. I spent an embarrassingly long time learning what I now identify as “guitar choreography” with frustrating results. Results that did not allow me to play with others. I learned songs and complex sequences of notes by rote memory and this had two distinct disadvantages. 1.If I missed a note mid sequence and fell out of time I had no way to get back into the song without starting at the very beginning. 2. I had not developed the physical hand, finger muscle dexterity and was missing the strong mind muscle connection necessary to play what I was trying to play. This forced me into chasing speed, which turns out to be my biggest source of inaccuracy, uncertainty and sloppy playing. There are many teachers out there who are primarily focused on this method of teaching. Some are great teachers. That method was not where I found success. I wanted to learn more than sequential memorization of one note to the next song playing. I wanted to learn how to play guitar not just a song on the guitar. This is what I found here at TAC. It is the distinguishing feature of this site. Here I am able to build my skills. I found skill building is not an overnight endeavor. Ha, when I got here I thought it was. I was able to increase my theory knowledge on an as needed basis. I started at zero. Okay, I knew about middle C and do rey me, yadda yadda. It was a slow process for me because I think I may just be a slow learner. All that said I now know how to play guitar. I can sit down with someone and play a song with them I have never heard. This was always what I wanted to be able to do. Now I continue building my skills, incorporating the layers of theory I have learned into my intuitive playing. I am still amazed by what I learn in the daily lessons regarding theory stuff I missed the first 12 times through. My experience has been this, the more I know the more I am able to extract new knowledge from what seemed initially to be an easy lesson. So that is why I am here: I want to play guitar and know it inside and out, multi-dimensionally, so I don’t have to struggle to learn how to play a song on guitar. I want to be able to pick up and play anywhere with anyone who wants to play.That is what I have learned how to do at TAC. Lotta words but the question was more than a simple yes or no answer would satisfy. 📝😄

[jumpinjeff]

@johnny67 ,really happy for you on this one. Counting was really tough for me to get initially. When I did, whole new worlds began to open up. It was the beginning of being able to fit the melodic thoughts in my head into other peoples songs.

[jumpinjeff]

@MikeGaurnier said: “So this is my intention for this week:”,

I am loving this.

You know me, I don’t chase speed, I sneak up on it a coupla bmps at a time. When I get to the place when it is effortless and precisely accurate I gently squeeze the throttle.

Looking forward to the progress report!

[jumpinjeff]

@GuitarGeni said: “Once I got the hang of it, that was pretty easy as well.”

That sums up my whole experience in learning guitar right there. I have learned to not go with my initial reaction on hearing something for the first time. I have had way better results when I take the mindset of “Well, let’s just see what this is all about” especially when accompanied by clear instruction.

Nice Small Win!!!

[jumpinjeff]

<div>@AttyTJ , I clicked on your link and I got a 503 Service Unavailable Error. </div>

Too soon?

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[jumpinjeff]

Hi @Steve_O_123 , from your picture it looks almost like you could just unwind it. See if you can snag the end with an old high E string and maybe just maybe unwind it?

[jumpinjeff]

@gregD35 , ya buddy but you may not think my solution is a good one. I memorize the ones I like. I give myself the week to do it and if I don’t, I catch it next time. My all time favorite is the finger stretch exercises. Not the actual hand/finger stretches but the ones that spread your fingers on the fretboard horizontally and vertically. They were a part of a week long challenge a while back. There are 4 different sequences I play together. Love those. I know probably not the answer you are looking for, but it is all I got and it is working for me.

[jumpinjeff]

I was just commenting on another post about the advantages of metronomes. I like a metronome separate from electronic devices but I don’t use the wind up weighted ones from days of old. I found a battery operated metronome with a wheel that lets me dial up the speed one click at a time. I hardly notice when I increase speed one position, two beat on slow speeds and 8 beats on high speeds. I rarely use the high speeds in drills, instead I will count two 1/4’s per click. It is made by Matrix: MR-600.

[jumpinjeff]

I just want to point out the advantages I found by learning with a metronome rather than multi speed video. One of the ways I progress fastest was by using the small incremental speed control the metronome offers. It was way easier for me to increase speed 2,3,or 4 bpm at a jump instead of 20 bpm at a bump. I will learn at the natural speed of the video or if I am having difficulty discerning tones and sequences I will suffer the distortion on slow down to get it in my head and under finger but I go to the metronome right after for faster progress.

[jumpinjeff]

@mkjohnsons said: “Man- I’ve got some work ahead’a me. There’s a boulder and a mountain waitin’.”

Shoulder to shoulder we push the boulder and up the mountain it rolls.

After so long our fingers get strong, our minds connect with our hands

for we find fun, we get everything done

to merry make music in bonnie bands

Roll boulder roll, Roll boulder roll.

[jumpinjeff]

Hi @SteveinCT , The strongest discussions are had when we stick to our experiences, as in: I speak for myself, I speak about what I learn, I speak about what I want. If I were to speak for you even if I knew what you wanted the discussion could deteriorate and be less constructive. You reference : “Thx, but pls realize that for some seasoned TAC members who’ve been playing a long time,” How about we let those seasoned TAC members share their own thoughts and ideas. I for one disagree with your premise. I am a seasoned TAC member. I have found The daily lessons are multidimensional, like music itself there is no end to what can be learned or skill improved upon. I find the repetition of the cycles extremely useful. They have been the continuous source of my progress. I have gone beyond the learning of the lesson to figuring out what the lesson means. Recent example “Ultimate Warrior” Rhythm Chord Progression unlocks a super key musical principle. I missed it the first few times through. Tony does not speak directly to the principle….It would have been over my head and frustrating or a “ya whatever” sort of thing until I had enough knowledge to comprehend and incorporate. When I came prepared with that knowledge, seeing the principle was like finding a gold nugget in the river I was hiking along. Maybe you saw it too? There is more to the lesson(s) than meets the initial glance. That is this seasoned TACer’s perspective.

[jumpinjeff]

great suggestion @Loraine , My last frugal good buy was at an Iwo Beach pawn shop picked up a fender which now lives on the sailboat.

[jumpinjeff]

@MikeGaurnier said: “I am neither spectacular nor incapable. I am simply a guitar geek like everyone else and news flash: this is what it takes. 😄

That is Brilliant, gonna have to come back and visit that notion with high frequency. Okay if I quote you? Brilliant. I know….said it already but bears repeating.

[jumpinjeff]

😄👍

[jumpinjeff]

@Bill_Brown said: “I would be very cautious about doing what @jumpinjeff suggested, be sure to release the tension on the string first”

Fair enough. Might even be able to slide it off but it is dicey to remove a string once the string gets a bend going around the tuning peg. Additional bending can fatigue the string metal and cause it to break right at the post. Yep, I was a kid who 1. rode my whole childhood without a bike helmet never getting a concussion and 2. engaged in BB gun wars with the other neighborhood kids. Nobody lost an eye. I seem to get away with ready, fire, aim regularly.😄