[N-lightMike]

Hey Gordon @GGrav , I would think buying from a small startup could be a really smart thing to do. Being a small guy, and they are obviously for real if the offer a full refund, they have to try harder. And when they are better known, their price will go up. And guess what? The guitar you bought will be worth more than you paid for it… used. Gotta like that.

There are a number of people who own and play resonators on the Virtual Open Mics. The schedules are at justmusicgeeks.com. Zoom is used to get together virtually. Many people only listen at first and don’t turn on their camera or microphone. You should come by and give us a listen. It has been very inspiring for all of us “VOMers” and it has contributed to a lot of growth and improvement in our musical ability and guitar playing.

MG 😀

[N-lightMike]

The simple answer Mark @the-old-coach , is yes, absolutely. In fact, most songs that say they are for beginners are actually simplified. What’s important is the sound, not the technical aspects of how you play something.

And it is also a yes that many, if not all, people have difficulty at first putting singing and playing together. It is tough to learn. At first, it’s easier if the lyrics line up with the beat and you just do simple down strums. But, you pretty much gotta memorize something. I like to memorize the chord progression first. But others with memorize the lyrics first. Something has to be gotten off the pile of stuff your brain has to remember. It’s too much. Especially if you don’t have the chords down automatically and you have to think about making the chord shapes. That would be nearly impossible. So absolutely, use simple chord shapes.

I hope this helps. Oh, and there are a blue million sites for free on YouTube that teach how to play popular songs. Just type in the name of the song followed by tutorial and you’ll get a bunch of options. Pretty soon, you’ll run across the same sites and decide which ones are your favorites.

Eventually, you want to reach the point where you can work up a song on your own just by looking at sheet music and listening to a recording. Or, maybe just listening to a recording. That’s how a lot of sheet music is created in the first place. An awful lot of popular bands never actually wrote down their scores in the first place. Someone else wrote them down by listening and learning the song from ear only.

MG 😀

[N-lightMike]

hello @Marisa and @Cadgirl ;

The open mics were only associated with TAC in that we were all TAC members and the schedule was posted on TAC. The open mics never stopped, and we are still mostly TAC members but the schedule is now posted on justmusicgeeks.com as you said Denise.

We’d love to have you Marisa or Denise anytime you want to log in to a Zoom Virtual Open Mic. We do have people who log in and don’t turn on their camera or microphone. They just come to listen “anonymously”. It couldn’t hurt just to drop in and give a listen.

MG 😀

[N-lightMike]

Hi @the-old-coach ,

There have been some monumental changes to TAC and there are many improvements. I don’t understand the Fretboard Wizard drought at all.

So, as far as I understand, the Fretboard Wizard course is available to purchase when you first sign up. So, of course, you would get the original version.

Now, another thing I understand, is that Tony wants to revise the Fretboard Wizard course. So, he doesn’t want to have a release where the whole community goes through the course at the same time until he is able to get the revision done. If all this is true, then it is understandable why the release has been stalled.

Now, here’s the BIG however… the logic you already pointed out, that the original version of the course is still available when you first sign up, so why can’t individuals buy the course. Yeah, most of them will still go through the community class thing when the new version comes out. But in the meantime, many TACers are becoming frustrated with unfulfilled promises. We were clearly told “the beginning of 2022”. Well, 2022 is now almost half way over. We are clearly past “the beginning” of the year.

So, I’m tagging @VictoriaTACTeam . I’d like to try tagging @Levi (I hope this is Levi Kujala), and @tonypolecastro643 . I’d like to say that I have fielded questions about the upcoming Fretboard Wizard course numerous times now. Victoria is well aware that I contacted her through the Support page chat. We all understand that there has been an awful lot going on in the last year with the platform change. And I sincerely appreciate the new week of lessons once a month. That alone must be a big commitment. But people are looking elsewhere for help with music theory. Every time the subject comes up, a bunch of us older members who have taken the Fretboard Wizard course jump on the bandwagon and sing it’s praises. I guess that just makes it worse as it stokes the fires of anticipation. There is an old proverb that says “expectation postponed is making the heart sick”.

My suggestion would be to make the original Fretboard Wizard course available for purchase by newer, individual members who did not buy it at the outset since they have put in their time (6 months) but have not been able to get the much anticipated course.

@jumpinjeff , you want to jump in here? @dr_dave ? @Carol-3M-Stillhand ? Am I off base here? Is @the-old-coach off base? How about the numerous other newer members who have started threads asking about the Fretboard Wizard course or the newer members who have responded to such threads? It has been said that “the squeaky wheel gets the grease”, so I’m trying really hard here to squeak loudly.

MG 😀

[N-lightMike]

Hello @flagguy ,

It’s true there are several different ways to play a G chord, but no matter which 2 fingers are fretting the 6th and 5th strings, the answer is the same. The problem is that the finger fretting the 6th string is too flat and is touching the 5th string, thus partially muting it. It is necessary to push your wrist forward and lower you thumb to the middle of the back of the neck so that you can get good arch in your fingers. Then, it is important to fret the string with the very tip of your fingers, not the fleshy pad.

Good arch and finger tip are the answers to the problem you are having. It may take some time and some experimenting. Go slowly and take deep breaths often. And stretching will help a lot as @the-old-coach has suggested.

Now, in your description, you mentioned the A string and the high E. The A string is very easy to understand. All I can assume with the high E is that you are using your pinky and because it is so small, you are having trouble accurately fretting the string. Again, this will take time. Go slowly and take many deep breaths.

If you will be patient and persistent, you will get it. The biggest problem is to have fun while you are going through this phase so that your motivation to play guitar continues to be strong. So only spend a few minutes at a time working on your chords. You can do this every day and even several times a day, but don’t wear yourself out. After working on your chords, focus on making some pleasing sounds on your guitar. Have fun doing this. Do this after every single practice session so that you learn to love your sound, the music that flows from within you.

MG 😀

[N-lightMike]

@the-old-coach

🤣👍🙏

[N-lightMike]

Wow, Mark @the-old-coach ,

You got it. In fact, you explained it better than we did. I love the analogy. In fact, I would like to use that analogy to make a song, if you don’t mind. Climbing up a mountain really fits well and works on more than the first layer.

Let me know if you’re ok with my stealing your analogy.

MG 😀

[N-lightMike]

🤣🤣

[N-lightMike]

My guess is it’s not a story to tell your grandkids either. 🤣

Oh, the vagaries of youth. *sigh* 😉

MG 😀

[N-lightMike]

🤣🤣 Eagerly and Mexico, now there’s some word association for ya. LOL, @jumpinjeff .

[N-lightMike]

No one is trying to keep you at bay, @dr_dave . But this site has some glitches for sure that can make lengthy comments challenging. I’m sorry I didn’t get to see your response. This is a killer thread and I would have loved to read your thoughts.

One thing I do when a thread elicits a lengthy response from me is to copy it to my clip board and paste it into my word processor. That way, if I lose it I can repost it. That’s happened more than once. But then, even if I don’t lose it, I have a copy of deep things I’ve been moved to come up with.

Anyway, I’d love it if you would try again. 😄

MG 😀

[N-lightMike]

Hey Mark @the-old-coach ,

It turns out, you don’t need any special knowledge to write a song. Just start listening to some chords and write down what you are playing. Find a sequence of chords you like, find a pattern, find a melody that fits with it. Find some lyrics you like. It’s all trial and error. Some people get really fast at it. I’m still really slow, like days or even weeks to write a song I like. But I have the theory knowledge to figure out what I did… after the fact. The theory doesn’t help me write the song. It just helps me understand why the chords and notes I came up with work. Who cares. If it sounds good it is good. Only rule in music.

MG 😀

[N-lightMike]

🤣👍

I can hear it, @jumpinjeff .

[N-lightMike]

LOL, @the-old-coach , you should finish that by making a song out of it.

MG 😀

[N-lightMike]

🤣👍