N-lightMike
Forum Replies Created
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Hello @the-old-coach ;
So, when Lewis and Clark traveled across the USA, you could say they were “lost” the entire way. They were lost in the sense that they had never been where they were at the moment, and they had no maps of this area save for the one they themselves were making. And they didn’t know anyone who knew this area. And they had no idea how much farther they had to go or what they would find along the way.
Yet, they weren’t lost. They had a very concrete idea of the path from where they started to where they were at the moment and had drawn a map. Second, they knew exactly where they were going… in a very vague way. Their goal was to reach the other side of the continent and map the whole thing. That’s it.
So, one morning, Lewis wakes up and says to Clark, “What now?” And Clark says, “Well, we just keep going in the same direction”. And Lewis says, “Oh, of course, I knew that”.
So, of course, you knew that. What are we missing? The real question is “Why are we doing this?” They had a commission from the President to map the country. Simple.
So what is your commission? Why are you putting all this time on your guitar. You see, the answer to that question is what guides you and let’s you know you are still on the correct path going in the correct direction.
Let’s take an example. “I’m on this guitar journey simply because I enjoy playing the guitar.” Now the only thing that changes is you are confident that the time you are spending everyday is the right thing to do.
You may not realize it, but your 2 goals are rather vague in that they are very general. You have not given specifications. There are many excellent guitarists that may not be able to “just play any song”. If they are a studio musician or a guitarist in a cover band, then yeah. But what if they are a well known classical guitarist? Could they pick up an acoustic guitar and play any popular song you asked them to? Maybe, but not without looking up the chords or listening to the song. So, you must be specific to be able to get where you want to go.
The second thing, writing songs. You’ve already written some, so why are you not feeling content? What more is it that you want? Do you want to record some songs and put them on Spotify? And when you do that, “Then What?”. See where I’m going.
Stop worrying about your goals and find your reason. My reason is to write songs that help me process my feelings. That’s the reason for me continuing to play my guitar and get better and continuing to write songs. I’ll never be famous. I’ll never make money. I don’t care if I ever have any songs on Spotify. But I have a reason that will never end and it will always help me to define whether my time is being spent “correctly” or I need to adjust my course.
Lately, I have been changing my focus a little. I am still pushing on “writing songs”. But I’ve already written a number of songs that I really like, but I’ve never played them enough to be good at them. So, will being able to play them better help process my emotions? Simple question, and the simple answer is YES. So, that’s what my focus is now.
How about recording? Would making one of my songs a more complete production by recording tracks and adding more instruments and background vocals help me to process the emotions better? That’s a little more difficult, but I think yes. Take one song as an example. The first song I ever wrote is named “Gratitude”. Would the lyrics have more impact on my emotions if I spent the time trying to turn it into a production? Well, yes, I do. But what if I’m wrong? Well, I can always change course. But for now, I need to start playing songs with a metronome so I can record. Right now, I can’t record a simple acoustic guitar rhythm track and stay in tempo. How do you add more tracks to something that changes timing? That is a very specific thing that will take time. But I know that it’s what I want to do because it’s in line with my purpose.
As always, Mark @the-old-coach , it may seem that I have spent more time helping you than perhaps I should. However, it also helps me. By using my own purpose and goals and steps toward those goals, I have solidified my own decisions. So I will say thank you up front for giving me a reason to do that. 😎
MG 😀
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Hey @the-old-coach ;
Much simpler and more cost effective ways to stay into your guitar journey. You don’t actually need a guitar in your hands or spend any more money.
Watch some music theory videos. Write some lyrics, maybe come up with some melodies using just your voice. (My music theory channel on YouTube is finally up: N-Light Music Theory.)
Listen to music that you might be interested in learning. See if you can pick up some chord progression and technique ideas from the locals. There are many stellar musicians among the Hawaiians and their style is totally unique.
Since you will be busy enjoying your vacation and you will already be spending a bunch of money, and your wife has to enjoy the time also, seeing local musicians and really paying attention might be the most obvious way to go. You might even get the chance to talk to some of them. That might end up being a golden opportunity that would be wasted if you had a guitar and spent the time playing since you do that at home all the time anyway. You fingers won’t forget in 2 1/2 weeks even if you mind does.
MG 😀
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@sahardellamorady Hello Sahar;
People were wondering your price range, but I thought you gave a fairly good idea of that when you said “Martins are good guitar, but out of your price range”.
Ok, so we’re under $1000, and if we can get under $500, even better.
Some of the best guitar manufacturers at the lower price points are:
Epiphone
Ibanez
Alvarez
Yamaha
Washburn
In the lower price range, everyone beats the big names, with the exception of Taylor’s GS Mini. For the money, that is a truly remarkable guitar. However, it’s gone up and you may not want a small bodied guitar with a short scale length.
So, what do you want? Since you are new to the game of picking out guitars, you must get to a store and pick up guitars and spend as much time as you can playing them. What size and shape do you want the guitar body to be? And how long (scale length) do you want the neck to be. And how wide do you want the nut (top of the neck) to be. You will only be able to answer these questions by picking up some guitars.
After that, you must like the price and the looks and the sound. Everything after that is unimportant. You must like it, hopefully love it. The looks, the feel and the sound. And yeah, that might be the correct order, because it’s the looks that will get you to pick your guitar up. Then, no matter how much you love the sound, if the guitar hurts your shoulders or your fingers or your wrists, or whatever, you can’t play it.
So I’ll say it again: you must like, hopefully love, the looks, the feel and the sound. And you must be able to afford it. Don’t pick up guitars you can’t afford. Big mistake.
MG 😀
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Hello @Mrfredsporty ;
You absolutely are not a “traitor”. That’s ridiculous. However, I know how you feel.
For me, TAC isn’t just another guitar tutorial site. Tony helped me to become a guitar player, and no one else did that before or after. I owe him my acoustic life.
Now it’s true that Tony seems to have more altruistic intentions than many of the the other instructors. He has proven that his driving force is to share his love for music and guitar. However, this is a monetary world, so no one can separate that from the equation. I have given Tony the majority of the money I’ve spent on guitar instruction. I have a couple of t-shirts from other guitar instruction sites. I have at least a dozen of Tony’s t-shirts. I would never have spent the same amount of money if I hadn’t found TAC. I’m a tight wad.
But there are a ton of videos, for free, on YouTube that can and have helped me in my musical journey and my guitar journey. I even paid for another guitar instruction site because I thought Brian Kelly had a unique way of teaching like Tony and his instruction resonated with me. Justin Sandercoe is another guitar instructor on YouTube that many of us have learned from.
Yes, we need to be careful of using TAC to promote other businesses. That’s wrong. But Tony knows that music doesn’t exist in a vacuum. TAC may be our center, but it’s not our everything.
MG 😀
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Yes, the rhythm of the music and the rhythm of the lyrics must work in harmony. If you wrote a chord progression first, like many singer/songwriters do, then the words must match the music. But if you write the lyrics first, which I do and some of the songwriters that I love have done, then your music must match the rhythm of the lyrics.
Start by saying the lyrics like you’re reading a poem for a drama class or an audition for a show. Don’t worry about the chords progression or the melody, just find you rhythm. Then start playing with that rhythm using some simple chords.
When you’re first starting, just use a the 1, 4, and 5 chords, and maybe the 6m chord. Keep it simple. So, in G major, you have G, C, and D. I favor D major, D, G, and A. I also like C major, C, F, and G. What do you play the most when you play cover songs? Or what do you like to play the most?
Let me know your progress and I will give you more feedback if you need it.
MG 😀
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LOL, @Mrfredsporty , there’s a positive way to “hear voices”. I like it. And I do the same thing @Kitman does. I have my favorites that seem to be helpful frequently. But for myself, I don’t bother paying for other content. (Well, except for Ultimate Guitar Tab. But that’s different. I don’t pay for any lessons they offer. I just want access to the tabs.)
MG 😀
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Hi @petra
When you are playing the lesson video, there is a little square with another smaller square in the bottom, right corner of the parent square. It’s the second from the right, between the “1x” speed control and the “[ ]” full screen control. When you click it, a little window will pop out and you can then go over to your lesson pdf opened in another browser tab. Then you can “grab” the corner of the pop out and make it larger. That way, you can look at the pdf while you are listening to the lesson.
You mention “all three”. I’m not sure what that means. I’m only aware of the 2 screens being opened at the same time.
I hope this helps. Please refine your question if I misunderstood.
MG 😀
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Thank you @VictoriaTACTeam . I really love the support we are being given. Like all customer support, much of what you do we are unaware of. That’s why it’s so important to say thank you. 😄
MG 😀
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Hey Mark @the-old-coach , that’s the beauty of music. You can go in a door or move on down the hallway. The important thing is you are in the hallway and you have options.
MG 😀
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HaHaHa, @Cadgirl , I love your rambling. You are on the right path for sure. I’m not a fan of bluegrass, but it has a definite technique and sound so that you can hear that and develop that. And there’s so many genres you could play if you can play bluegrass.
Anyway, figuring out melodies is a great thing to do for your musicality and guitar journey. But figuring them out by ear is the best way to do it. @jumpinjeff talked about repetition above, and I think that’s one of the 2 most important things. The other is training your ear to hear the music. So I love what you are doing.
And on top of all that, trying to figure out bluegrass by ear will supercharge your knowledge of the fretboard. And playing 10 songs from memory? You got it, Denise. It won’t take as long as you might think. Great goals.
MG 😀
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Yeah, I love it, @jumpinjeff . I’ve been here over 3 years and I just now am ready for the repetition to the point it makes you crazy. But it’s so true. No knowledge, no special gift, no magic practice, no secret exercise, will get us to where we’re going. Ultimately, it’s repetition and only repetition. More repetition than I wanted to know about for a long time.
Now? I look forward to that repetition. I guess that makes me a musician. I like saying that. I’m a musician. A guitar musician. A guitarist. A singer/songwriter. Yeah, a singer/songwriter absurdinaire. 🤣 I’m gonna go play guitar. 😎
MG 😀
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<div>Awesome. Thank you @Salty </div>
👍🙏😊
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If you want you can watch my music theory videos on YouTube. The channel is N-Light Music Theory. I have the first 2 episodes, both of which entail several videos. If you do watch them, I would appreciate some feedback. I think I am going to have to redo the episode 2 videos as they are too long and too rambling. But, that also gives extra info and insights, so I don’t know if they are good or bad. I need some feedback.
Also, I am willing to share the charts if you would like them.
MG 😀
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Hey @Loraine , I pluck a note, I usually start with the open D string, and try to match my voice to it. Then, I’ll go up to the 2nd fret, an e note, and the 3rd fret, an f note. Somewhere in there I usually am able to finally get my voice to match. It’s hard to tell, like you said. But when you hear it, you can tell. It’s just like the octave that I demonstrate in my music theory video. The notes blend together and you know you are hitting the same note.
From there, I use the C major scale, and play up to the open E string, sometimes I can get a little higher. Then I go down as far as I can, sometimes I can get below the open A string and hit the G or even the F# on the 6th string.
It really helps me. It is voice exercises.
MG 😀
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I didn’t used to be able to tell if a note went up or down, @Loraine . That’s why I started using the guitar as my “tuning fork”. Yes, it takes some time and persistence, but it was the thing that worked for me. 😎
Hey @Cadgirl , I wear hearing aids also. I know what you mean about too loud. Even with the hearing aids, I frequently talk so loud my wife tells me to talk quieter. 😅
MG 😀