N-lightMike
Forum Replies Created
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Wow, Jack, @Guitargeezer-Jack that was really fantastic.
I think you have some natural talent in music. You seem to understand how to use the guitar in a very musical and intuitive way. You did a great job of “outlining” the song and giving a lot of texture and variety. And of course, like others have said, your voice is able to stay in key and present the song in your own way. This was very enjoyable and entertaining. For your first video, wow. Great job.
MG 😀
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Wow Jack, @Guitargeezer-Jack you have done a great job with this. I missed the other 2. I hadn’t realized you posted some songs.
You seem to be the opposite of me. I gain more and more talent, yet can’t do anything with it. You start to gain just a little bit of talent and you put it to use making something very entertaining and thought provoking. Excellent performance.
MG 😀
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Hey Mark @mkjohnsons
I wanted to summarize what I said in another way:
Have Fun is the attitude I need to have, the frame of mind.
Enjoy My Sound is what I need to do, the action I need to take.
So enjoying my sound isn’t just getting lost in a journey on the fretboard, but can also be a song or a lick, anything where we just get into the groove. It can be adlib or something written down on a tab. Something we came up with or something someone else came up with. It doesn’t matter.
MG 😀
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Hey Mark @mkjohnsons
I feel like I could have written this… more than once in the past 2 1/2 years since I joined TAC. Tony/TAC asks us to come up with our “guitar dream scenario”. That’s supposed to be our raison d’etre (“reason to be” is all it actually means 😅).
“I think maybe at the heart of it, it’s an “expectation” issue, but—– Is there a point where a person like me simply doesn’t NEED some of it, and/or, is learning how to play—– just for the enjoyment of it—– “good enough”? I’m NEVER gonna play on a stage in front of an audience– I just want to learn some cool skills inside and out, and be able to play “by ear”- to grab a guitar and “play along”, if you will.”
So, an awful lot of what you said was just the background info. But you summarize your thoughts/feelings pretty well with this quote, so this is what I’m going to use to respond to.
So, what I have arrived at since I have been here and gone through this more than once is 2 fold:
A) You never need a reason… for anything… other than you want to. However, what you absolutely need is to have fun. When we are working on something that seems impossible and we wonder if we will ever need it, we are not having fun.
Solution: Find a way to enjoy the lesson… or don’t do the lesson. Here’s the answer to your musings. If you will do all the lessons, no matter how impossible or never needed, it will help improve your guitar skills. The other side of the coin is that it doesn’t really matter. We are not going to master all aspects of the guitar. In fact, we are not going to master any aspect of the guitar. But, we can get some amount of skill on some aspects of the guitar. So where does that leave us? Enjoy the lesson or blow it off.
B) Learn to love your sound. Another member said this once and I thought it was part of the answer to my feeling of being lost. So, I said we don’t need a reason other than we want to. Well, why do we want to if it just makes us feel confused and conflicted? Yeah, we have to have fun. But, have you ever just started messing around with some chords and rhythm and just got lost in the sound you were making? If not, try to find your way there. Just start playing some chords you can play easily. Play a rhythm you can play easily. Close your eyes and go on a journey with those chords and rhythm. Lose yourself in the sound… cause that’s the only reason you will ever need.
So, let’s visit “expectation”. @jumpinjeff has said “expectation is where fun goes to die!” The other side of the coin is that you mention what you really want out of your guitar journey… learn some cool skills, play by ear and play along. If you can connect what you do with your guitar every single day to those long term outcomes, then you can get over that lost feeling. You can call your long term outcomes your proper expectation, that is, what you want out of your guitar journey. If you feel you are moving toward your goal, then you can put away the expectation that is hiding in the shadows trying to sabotage your guitar journey.
One last thing. I have to revisit this philosophy frequently. That’s why I have boiled it down to those 2 simple things. Have fun (while doing lessons specifically). Enjoy my sound (every day if possible… don’t just practice/learn).
MG 😀
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This isn’t happening because you wanted it @RealKurt . This is happening because you <i style=”font-weight: bold;”>earned it. I’m really excited for you and I hope your star rises as far as you want it to.
MG 😀
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Hey @JeffM.22 ;
You don’t need to be embarrassed. This is for fun. We do what we can and/or what we want. Don’t “should” all over yourself.
I have found what @RealKurt said to be the best advice for learning chords or skills or whatever on guitar, play it in a song. Then it’s fun; something you want to do.
Keep at it and don’t feel embarrassed. This is a life long journey. If you are moving forward, no matter how slowly, you’re doing what a lot of guitar geeks are not doing. Not moving forward is what we did before we joined TAC. Now, we can simply enjoy the ride (and maybe learn some Grateful Dead 😎).
MG 😀
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Thank you @albert_d . 😊
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Thank you so much Jack @Guitargeezer-Jack . This is a really new thing to me, to interact with someone on the forums that I actually know in real life. 😁
I am moving forward with my playing. I think I will have more to share the next time we can get together. And I think I will be more prepared to play along with another guitarist.
MG 😀
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Thank you @Sheryl14 for the well wishes. Yes, everything is going well for our little household. These are tough times, so I feel we are blessed. I hope you and your family are doing well also.
Yeah, you must mean the Acoustic Tuesday show? @Loraine already mentioned that the show is recorded and is not done live anymore. When I click on the Acoustic Tuesday link in the left toward the top, second from the bottom, I get a list of the most recent taped shows. If you are not getting that you should contact support so they can help you figure out what is wrong. But in the meantime, you can just go to acousticlife.tv in your browser. I prefer that link anyway.
I like to check back on threads I have read and commented on because I like to hear the “end” of the story. Silly me, my caring is showing. 😊
MG 😀
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So how are your hammer ons coming along @JeffM.22 ? You have gained the proper direction and I’m sure you have spent time working on those hammer ons, give us an update and let us know if you’re doing better.
MG 😀
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Oh, come on, @Cadgirl , I’m dying to know. Tune that little baby up. Have faith in what you did, because you did your best. If it doesn’t hold, it wasn’t your fault. But my guess is that the original glue dried out and gave way and now it’ll function just fine. Oh, and by the way, that Gorilla Glue won’t dry out. 18 years from now that thing will still be making beautiful music.
MG 😀
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Thanks for coming by and commenting @JeffM.22 .Yeah, my little discovery won’t help you. There are 3 finger players who do remarkable things though. This is just an example of our learning to do what we can do and making beautiful music within that area of ability. I continue to push to be able to do more and more when a long time ago I had enough ability to make beautiful music. I need to push myself to use what I have now. Thanks for reminding me. 😊
MG 😀
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I’m glad I was able to inspire you @markvguitar . I know you can do it.
I have been doing TAC lessons for 2 1/2 years and that led up to my being able to gain this win. Also, I have done a lot of warm up exercises, including ones focusing on the pinky. Just doing what we can with the daily lessons leads to improvement. Slowly but surely our guitar skills get better and one day we find ourselves doing something we couldn’t do before.
Thanks for coming by and commenting. My post inspires you, and your comment inspires me. We both just keep putting in the time, having fun, and improving. What more could we ask? 😎
MG 😀
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Thank you @Cadgirl . BTW, how your guitar repair?
MG😀
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I did work hard on this @stevieblues , probably as hard as I’ve ever worked on any lesson. This one was worth it as it opens doors to a whole world of embellishments.
MG 😀