N-lightMike
Forum Replies Created
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Nicely done @Michelle_in_PSL. You are developing a very natural and steady strumming pattern. And of course, your voice is excellent as always.
Yes, your voice was hard to hear. But there was nothing wrong with your sound. I was the same sound quality as always. That’s what you hear when someone is strumming a full size acoustic guitar with a pick and singing at the same time. The guitar overwhelms the voice.
Solution? Well, there are different ways. One is to use a different mic that doesn’t pick up your guitar very well. (Acoustic guitars, especially with a pick, especially especially with a fast strumming pattern, are so loud that you can’t get a condenser mic to not pick them up without sound isolation.)
You have a nice mic that does a good job of picking up the sound someone would hear live. So, I like a different solution than amplifying my voice. I don’t like to use picks for this very reason. If you just sit down on the couch and play for your husband, that’s what it sounds like with a pick. Not using a pick softens the guitar a lot. Finger picking softens the guitar even more. And with time, our ability to be more subtle in our string contact will allow us to brush the strings more lightly even with a pick.
I’m trying to work on that last one as I am finally determined to use a thumb pick. I still won’t use a flat pick cause I don’t want to learn hybrid picking since I’ve already gotten so far down the road of finger picking.
MG 😀
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Yeah, @MommaTAC, @Alfred and @Marty69, I relate to the ADD thing, except my (self) diagnosis has progressed to ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder).
I haven’t tried the whole timer thing. Maybe I should.
Anyway, thanks for posting Sharon. 😍
MG 😀
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"But one thing has been constant – at least in my opinion – Tony, Levi and the TAC team truly have a passion for helping us become the kind of guitar players we want to be. Every iteration of a new application has been an attempt to increase our enjoyment and grow our skills." 😍
I can’t read that and just reply with an emoji. I have to say thank you so much. I know things have been a little shaky and there are some concerns. But for me, it’s really important to stay focused on the reality. And that’s the reality, that Tony and Levi and the team want to help us. In fact, they have a <i style=”font-weight: bold;”>passion for helping us. It just doesn’t get any better than that. And when I remember that, everything else that is going on is just… well… nothing more than another reason to take a deep breath.
It also helps me when others speak out about their appreciation. It makes me feel connected and gives me hope. It even validates the thoughts and feelings I have, keeping me rooted in that attitude so I don’t waver.
So thank you @MommaTAC . 🤗
MG 😀
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Yes, @Levi , I have wondered the same thing. I have been very careful not to even read posts where people are complaining because I don’t want to get sucked in and take sides. But I did wonder if there was an approved method/place where I could tell others to go to so they could share their thoughts rather than in the open forum which becomes one big complaining session. Should we send all questions and suggestions/wishlists to support@tonypolecastro.com? Or is the “NEW! Message from Tony” still accepting comments? Maybe @Alfred and @Mark have the right idea, and just put them here under “Community Support” as long as they are respectful and reflect the philosophies of the site?
Thanks for your attention. I know you guys are super busy and super stressed. I know you want this site working well like all of us do. Difference is, we have the pressure of one person, ourselves, pushing us. You have the pressure of thousands of people pushing you. So none of us could possible want this site working well as much as you guys do.
Oh, I should always start with commendation, so sorry about that. Better late than never. I want to commend you for the problems that are already fixed. And there are quite a few. I want to commend you for getting the site out to us so quickly in spite of the glitches. I want to commend you for this excellent new platform with the amazing learning/practice philosophy built right in. Have I told you yet today that you guys rock? My bad… “You guys Rock!”
MG 😀
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Hi @lisa18wheels ,
Here’s how I was able to “memorize” the circle of fifths. (I don’t really memorize, I see relationships that allows me to reconstruct it.)
So lets’ start with the mnemonic, “Fat Cats Go Down Alleys Eating Bats”. These are all seven notes in the “5ths” order. If you go backwards, they are the 4ths order.
Now, notice the the first sharp is F. But F is sharped in the key of G, because the key of C has no sharps or flats. So we start with the key of G, but our mnemonic is the order of sharps. So, G has 1 sharp, F. Then D has 2 sharps, F and C. Then A has 3 sharps, F and C and G. Starting to see the pattern? We can jump to B since it is a fixed pattern. If we start counting from G, B is number 5, to there are 5 sharps. What at they? F, C, G, D, A. Now, you can work out the “cross overs” on your own as they get too muddy to cover here. I will mention them at the end just so you know what I mean by the “cross overs”
Now, let’s go back to C and go in the other direction. Again, our string of letters in that particular order is important (F C G D A E B). The key of F has 1 flat. What is it? Start at the other end and go backwards. It is a B. Continuing to the left, the next key is B, and it has 2 flats, B and E. The next key is E and it has 3 flats, B, E, and A. See the pattern? This pattern is a little more complicated, so let’s not jump ahead. Ok, the first key with a flat is F, then B, then E, then A, then D. We’ll stop at 5, and I’ll explain. The flat notes are B, E, A, D, G.
Now, starting at the top you have C. Going to the right by fifths, you have the keys of G, D, A, E and B. Those are the most common keys with sharps. Then going to the left by fourths, you have F, B, E, A, and D. Again, most common.
Here’s where it gets muddy. C# and Db are called enharmonic notes since they are the same note with 2 names. So, the key of Db with 5 flats is an enharmonic key. There is also a key of C# with 7 sharps. They have the same notes with different names. (Yes, you end up with an E# which is actually an F). You can work this out yourself. So, going farther around the bottom of the circle, you have the key of Gb with 6 flats, and is the same as the key of F# with 6 sharps. (The key of F# has an E# and the key of Gb has a Cb). One more, the key of B has 5 sharps and is the same as the key of Cb with 7 flats. You can use pencil and paper and work these out for yourself.
Notice, that all of this uses the same 7 notes in the same order like they are in a circle. The order remains the same no matter which direction you go or where you start. When we started adding sharps, the first one was F. So, when you get to the key of C#, the last letter to be sharped was B. But when we started adding flats, the first one was B, so the last one added when we got to the key of Cb was F.
Anyway, because of that simple mnemonic giving me the order of the 7 notes, and working things out in my head literally hundreds of times, I was able to type all of this out of my head very quickly. Most people just use the Circle of 5ths.
MG 😀
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Hey @lisa18wheels , thank you for asking your question. In fact, thank you for asking the question in that particular way. You see, I wanted to highlight this topic. Well, my post would never have generated the response it did without your question. So a big thank you to you for helping to raise awareness of this topic.
And Lisa, please don’t think @Dom_T meant any offense. I know for a fact that Dom and Sharon would welcome you into their house if you were ever in the area for a Jam Club. They are as hospitable a couple as you could ever hope to meet. Is he passionate about TAC and Jam Clubs? Yes, obviously.
If you ever get the chance to meet Dom and Sharon you will see for yourself. 🤗
MG 😀
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Thank you @Dom_T . 🤩
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Yes, @Lance-Hankins, I totally agree that things are frustrating right now. We are all frustrated, but none of us as much as Tony and Levi and the TAC team. As far as the names, I have given up waiting for the system to “recognize” the person I’m trying to tag, as long as it is a registered name and I type it in exactly as I see it, the tag works.
MG 😀
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Yes, @Pam B, I know this seems complicated. But, I can easily remember the relationships displayed in the Circle of 5ths using this method. Like I said at the bottom, most people just choose to have a Circle of 5ths available to look at. But @lisa18wheels asked how she could learn/memorize the order of accidentals. She wanted to be able to recall the sharp/flat order without using the Circle of 5ths. So, I guess the mnemonic was really the short answer in my comment. I like that Carl pointed out the guitar strings can be used to remember the order of the progression of notes. That’s probably a better short answer. (I don’t think I’m capable of giving a short answer. 🤣)
MG 😀
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I really like this idea @Carl. Using the guitar strings would replace my mnemonic. But, we have to do 2 things to make if complete. First, we have to see it like a circle. So we can start at B, and go to E, then circle back around, and go to A, then D, then G. Those are the flats in order.
But that brings us to the 2nd thing. We have to realize there are 2 more notes. We are missing the C and the F when using the guitar strings. That’s not a big deal as the C is our reference with no accidentals. How do we go from a C to a G for the sharps? Easy, if we substitute the B string for the C, we go up to the G, then D, then A, then E, and circle around, the high E goes up to the B. Now, we just have to remember F always comes after (or before depending on the direction, 5ths or 4ths) the B.
MG 😀
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This is a really great example of both a regular guitar routine and 90 day goals. Thanks for posting @timguitar .
So, the site looks way different but what we do is pretty much the same. When you want to tag someone, you still use the “@” symbol before their name (nickname). It doesn’t make any difference when you “reply” to someone’s post or comment because that will also send them a notification.
Posting a video is also the same. First, put your video on YouTube. Then, start a new topic under “Play for Us” and paste the link you copied from YouTube.
MG 😀
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Always did love reading comments from you @jumpinjeff . Now, I actually have to say something meaningless to let you know I like it because we don’t have the emoji reactions that every other social anything has, even Zoom. The other side of the coin is, I’m really good at saying meaningless things.
MG 😀