N-lightMike
Forum Replies Created
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Hey @GGG ;
Some people change strings once every 3 weeks. Some people don’t change strings once every 3 years. How often do you play? Can you hear or feel a difference? If not, why bother? Find a reason for yourself and let that be your guide to how often.
Personally, I usually change strings within a year. But not always. And I play everyday, a lot. But, if you got a grand daughter to help, like @albert_d , then I’d say go for it. 😅
MG 😀
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Thank you, @PopPop , for sharing your concerns at this point in your journey.
One thing I have learned from the TAC community is how important the questions are. How many times I’ve come over to a thread thinking I was going to offer some sort of advice and find out I’m the one receiving the help.
So, thank you @HowardM and @jumpinjeff for you very simple but encouraging comments.
Like Jeff and Howard, I’ve been here a while. I’ve pushed through many walls. However, there are many walls still in front of me. The wall is more an illusion that I perceive than a real thing that takes action to get through, over, or around. If I just ignore it and keep doing what I’ve been doing, it vaporizes as I walk past it.
But each time that happens, I become more aware of the importance of the basic elements of “doing what I’ve been doing”. Like simply showing up everyday, regardless of how I feel. Of making sure I have fun rather than pushing myself like a “task master”. And actively look for things I can be proud of, no matter how small.
This process leads to the “bonus round”. Now, I’m in a position to take the things I’m struggling with and put them into my practice as “intentions” and make some more progress.
So, I continually go through the cycles of “go slow”, “break through”, then “joyously express myself through my new found guitar mojo”, only to hit a wall again and start over. At that point, it is most important to look back and see how far I’ve come and realize I only need to keep “doing what I’ve been doing”.
The process is both very simple and very profound. 😉
MG 😀
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I think this is a great move as we are the beneficiaries.
Since he is reorganizing his time, the TAC community is getting more commitment from Tony. There was talk about new lessons, now we are getting them. We’ve gotten a whole new lesson week every month for quite awhile now.
<font color=”rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)” face=”inherit”>Then there are the </font>signature<font color=”rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)” face=”inherit”> series. I remember when Tony released the first one, Mississippi John Hurt, he said he was going to do more. I was really excited about that. But they just didn’t come for the longest time because he already had a full schedule. Then with the kids coming along, it was even worse. Yet now, even with that extra stuff on his plate, he’s released several new lessons that focus on the style of a particular person. </font>
Now, just in case anyone doesn’t realize, the time commitment of making a new weekly lesson is pretty large. It would take at least 40 hours, like a full time job’s output for a week. And Acoustic Tuesday just morphed. He’s still releasing YouTube content. Every YouTube video takes way more time and effort than most people realize.
So how do I know all this? Simple. Tony expressly told us this on the show. He said he was giving MORE ATTENTION TO TAC MEMBERS, NOT LESS; HE’S NOT WIDENING OUT. The Acoustic Tuesday show WAS widening out since it wasn’t directly supporting the members of TAC in anyway. TAC is about learning guitar, not finding new acoustic artists or new gear reviews.
So he’s cutting away the fat so we get more of his attention. That’s what he said. So anyone who says “Tony is widening out to a larger audience” is implying that Tony is lying to us. But the facts support the statement that he’s giving us MORE, not less, for our money.
MG 😀
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Hey @stevieblues ;
I’ve been on TAC for over 4 years and my longest streak is 112. I would guess I only got to 50 or better 3 or 4 times, including my longest. I don’t know about everyone, but it’s a lot harder for me than it looks. I think a streak of 50 is definitely worth posting.
Great job, Stevie.
MG 😀
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Nice job, @Marty72 . Love the sound of that Martin. And great finger picking and thumb picking. Sounded and looked very “organic”. It was really nice to listen to.
MG 😀
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I’m not sure why my post was all garbaged up with all the <font> stuff because I hadn’t even edited anything. And of course, I’m afraid to edit the post because it’ll end up being worse. So, I just copied that last part and edited it here in another comment before I hit the “Post” button.
That’s a lot of small wins. But, it was all made possible by the win on the 4th level. Normally, I get frustrated which leads to my becoming overwhelmed. I am finally starting to “take to heart” this idea of mistakes being good, not bad. Making mistakes means I’m pushing myself and learning how NOT to do something. Mistakes are actually a “normal” part of the learning process. Go figure. So, I’m “supposed” to think: “Cool, I’m making mistakes. I must be improving.” To get to that point has also take me the entire 4+ years I’ve been with TAC (I’m a slow learner).
To recap:
1) I was consistent with the “Ain’t No Sunshine” lessons in spite of the fact that I didn’t do a single lesson on the “correct day”.
>2) I stayed calm and determined because I saw mistakes as a good thing.
3) I was able to break things down to the “molecular” level so I could figure out how to improve “problem spots”.
4) Even though I was struggling, I was able to see how much I had improved and appreciate this whole process is working and that gives me even more determination to keep going and be happy with what I’m doing.
So part of the reason I put this text in here and cleaned it up is because I was re-reading it myself. I wanted to remember what I had learned and revisit it. So many times I get something and then don’t continue practicing it. I end up forgetting all about it and it never gets into my muscle memory and I never use it in a song. So, I want to do this one differently.
MG 😀
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hey @PopPop ;
Thank you for responding and filling us in on some specifics of your “wall”.
I, too, have taken face to face lessons. First, I love my guitar instructor, he’s just a great human being. I truly wish I had the money to take lessons from him forever just to help support him. He has been a professional musician all his life. After being on the road for a number of years, he started teaching so he could stay home with his wife and daughter. He even encouraged his wife to retire when she had some challenges. So, you simply can’t blame someone trying to talk you into taking lessons.
Here’s my problem with face to face instruction. In one 1/2 hour session, a guitar instructor can show me enough stuff to take me through the next year… literally. It takes time… a lot of time, to develop the skills, the muscle memory, the brain pathways, the stronger muscles, the greater flexibility, and whatever else I’ve left out, to play what the instructor blithely showed me in that 1/2 hour.
Did you know Tony used to teach people face to face? He recognized the shortcomings of this method and with his pal Levi, he designed and floated TAC. Yeah, TAC is the <i style=”font-weight: bold;”>solution to face to face instruction. Go figure.
You’re right where you’re supposed to be. 😉
MG 😀
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Hey @Loraine ;
I’m gonna have to +1 @the-old-coach Mark’s comment.
I know you have struggled. I know you have some real challenges that most of us don’t. I know that many of us, me for sure, would have given up if I faced the challenges you do. You are such an inspiration for us.
Thank you for your “long” post, Loraine. I don’t think it was that long; I think it was just enough to let us know what we need to do. “Just keep having fun and moving forward”.
MG 😀
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I couldn’t agree more… when I look at my loss, @SoCal_Ian . But when I look at my gratitude toward Tony for the Acoustic Life I lead, that word falls away. 😊😉
MG 😀
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I couldn’t agree more, @Marty72 . I am happy to see Tony put dad responsibilities in first place. Go Tony! 😍
MG 😀
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Thank you, Chuck. I especially like the point that the TAC forum just as it is right now is head and shoulders above any other guitar learning site’s forum. I, too, am a lifetime member and I think it was the single most important guitar related thing I ever bought. 😍
MG 😀
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Thank you @Sharon_T . Well said. 🤗😊
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Yikes, @stevieblues , I can totally relate to being bummed about breaking that streak. I can also more fully understand why your 50 streak is worth noting and posting.
Good for you, really. Keep it up. And keep posting your milestones. It helps you and it helps us.
MG 😀
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Thank you so much, @stevieblues .
I am so glad I had a lifetime membership or I wouldn’t have made it past 3 years just due to finances. Even if I had the money, if I had to sign back up in the early days of the transition, I can’t say I would have stayed. Then, at about 3 3/4 years, I thought I was pretty much done with TAC. I could do most of the lessons fairly well. I understood music theory on the level I started a Music Theory channel on YouTube. What do I need with TAC?
Well, it turns out, I am now good enough to see and learn lessons I didn’t even realize were within the lessons I had been doing from the beginning. TAC is taking me to the next level. For me, that’s the advanced/pro level.
So yeah, I’m gonna keep doing TAC and playing my guitar.
MG 😀