[the-old-coach]

Mike–

This latest post of yours is great! You have applied it to guitar, but I think it generally applies to most any king of learning.

As a young-kids-up-to-18-or-so baseball/softball coach for a few years, I always tried to remember that I ONLY really had two jobs…… Period.

1. Teach the kids the fundamentals- (just so they had some kind if idea what they were doing!).

2. MAKE SURE they always had fun in the process….. the BIGGEST goal….. is to make sure they all want to COME BACK the next year…….. mainly because it was FUN.

That was pretty-much “it”.

(The actual “unspoken, behind the scenes” goal was to make them better- and then hand them off to other coaches as they get older and move on “up”. Our little town of Montesano has many, MANY fastpitch softball State Titles as a result of literally decades of this coaching philosophy. Hundreds of coaches thru all the years– same philosophy).

Well, nowadays, for me, it’s guitar.

The longer I stay “in”, the more fundamentals I learn. The more I learn, the “better” I get. The better I get , the more satisfaction I get out of it. The more satisfaction I get out of it, the more fun I have with it…… up and up……

(quote from your post)—- “the main secret? Keep coming back. The secondary secret? Have fun.”

Yup—- that.

TOC

[the-old-coach]

Mike—

Posting a vid from a couple years ago…. and then, playing it again NOW…. would be AWESOME…… for us…… and for you!

It is the PROOF when it’s sometimes hard to see progress because it happens so subtly and slowly.

• This reply was modified 2 years, 10 months ago by  the-old-coach.

[the-old-coach]

Jeff–

This thread is like…….. awesome!

You three always make me smile with your perspectives and the way you word and share them. Hope you all had a great Christmas!

[the-old-coach]

Kirk–

First off– Welcome!

I hear you completely about the difficulty of “getting started”. You are asking your hands, eyes, and brain to do things they never have.

You have already gotten some GREAT suggestions– (doing the stretches- (VERY important!), focusing on FUN, maybe having your guitar “checked out”, moving-on in the hope that it will be easier when you come back to it, etc, etc). Again, great suggestions, all. And…… they ALL work……..

Here’s my two-cents if I may.

Instead of just doing some stretches, also, warm your hands up somehow- (temperature-wise). And– “shake them out” every few minutes to help get that cramping-tension out when it starts to come on.

Also maybe- instead of just trying to “land” a C-chord out of the blue- (or maybe worse– working and working like crazy to get your fingers in just the right place when they are sore and cramping)- try going “TO” that C-chord FROM a different, maybe similar, chord. Focusing on the TRANSITION to the C. Maybe try going from an A-minor chord TO the C-chord. Your fingers are already right there in the neighborhood, an easy move gets you there.

Try different adjustments to your hand-position– see what works best for YOU.

Also, DON’T think you have to squeeze the life out of your guitar neck. Making a chord is MUCH easier if you don’t have a death-grip on the fretboard.

Lastly— be patient with yourself. We have ALL been where you are right now. Your issues are temporary, and you WILL get thru them.

Remember— if it was “too easy”, you would not get the personal satisfaction of learning something difficult– that deep, inner, personal, enjoyment is coming your way!

You are now on a journey! Don’t focus on the destination….. make sure to take in the sights along the way!

Sorry for this long-winded reply……….

theoldcoach

[the-old-coach]

Well, I, for one, want to thank BOTH of you for all you have done for others… (including me)!

[the-old-coach]

Kevin–

Wow….. great job on this song, man!

It has always been one of my favorites.

Thank you for sharing this!

[the-old-coach]

Loraine– (as always)– nailed it!

[the-old-coach]

I have taken an old, cheap, no-name, “smaller” guitar along on some trips- (but they were “road-trips– no flying involved). Never taken one on a plane, and wouldn’t, unless I had one of those really cool, “folding” kind.

Maybe another variable is- “what KIND” of adventure are you going on? A cruise? Hotel/condo-ing it? Hiking in the mountains for two weeks? Taking a computer? Will you actually have enough time and opportunity to justify taking it along?

Even if you DON’T take your guitar along, you can still pack along a couple of guitar-workbooks- (or whatever), check-in w/TAC- (laptop or however), and stay up-to-speed with the “learning-parts”, and/or play learning-mind-games in your head, etc, etc.

Whatever you decide/ whatever your adventure…… have a fun, safe trip.

• This reply was modified 2 years, 11 months ago by  the-old-coach.

[the-old-coach]

OK- I’ll jump in and throw my two-cents in.

Since I/we don’t know where you are in your guitar journey, it’s a little iffy to say…. and …. since everyone is different, this adds even more fog to your question.

My own thoughts are that as long as you have a good grasp on the 30-days-to-Play- (and the 5-day Skills course?), go for it. FBW is YOURS. You own it and can access any part of it whenever you want.

Further– it is a “ladder” learning system for the most part— (once you grasp “this”— THEN move on to “that”). You have to understand each step before moving to the next.

You can also, of course, go back and revisit any previously-completed part– to re-clarify things– when you come to a part that is more challenging.

And of course, remember you can- (and should)- go completely back thru the entire course again, from time to time— you WILL learn something new each time.

It is a great course!- (and well-worth the investment).

Try to “be” just a little bit beyond where you are comfortable.

DON’T hurry thru it, but also don’t go so slow that you are bored with it.

My two-cents…..

theoldcoach

PS- Don’t ignore the “Skills Courses”….. Poke around in there….. They are GREAT.

[the-old-coach]

A-D–

No surprise– you have made yet another thoughtful and wonderful post. Thank you!

Merry and safe Christmas to you and yours!

[the-old-coach]

Thanks for responding!

It was a good run indeed– I learned a LOT……. and with all that I learned in TAC…….. I think I learned even MORE right here in the Forums– (thanks to all of YOU).

I’m still inspired by your “Blackbird” progress videos and info, and still work on that song… (it’s tougher than people think, right?). I always loved that song, though……

Thanks again—

[the-old-coach]

Awesome!

[the-old-coach]

Loraine–

Oh, you don’t know how many times I’ve been told to “go outside”. 😀

I don’t mind being “outside lookin’ in”😎…… used to it, actually.

I coulda/shoulda mentioned- (you likely already know this….)- that if I want to play another person’s music- (ANY song/any artist)- that ISN’T in a key that “fits” my voice– like D– I just think it out, or (faster)- use the Circle of Fifths to convert it over to whatever key I want.

Most of the tunes I have written are actually quite simple– but a few little added sus’s and 7’s placed just right make them sound a little more complex than they really are.

Said this before…….. if I can do it……… ANYBODY can. Give it a try— you may be surprised!😍

mark

• This reply was modified 2 years, 11 months ago by  the-old-coach.
• This reply was modified 2 years, 11 months ago by  the-old-coach.

[the-old-coach]

Thank you (again) for your kind words!

To answer your question as best as I know how—- I have to be careful because I don’t necessarily know that I really have the knowledge to answer “correctly”, and I don’t need any help sounding somewhere between stupid and absolutely full of BS.

For a number of my songs, I use the Key of D major. Only because that key seems to be the easiest for me to sing in. From there it’s just the chords in that chord family. Then I just monkey-around with different chord progressions and order. From there, I really like to sprinkle in some sus2’s, sus4’s, various 7’s, add9’s, etc, etc. So I do LOTS of doodlin’ around- adding or taking away or moving a finger or two– a fret or two– just to see what it sounds like.

When I “mess with” these chords like this, most of the time I don’t even know what the hell the “new” chord actually is until I draw a chord diagram, and dissect it “backwards” just to see what it is…..

Anyway, I hope this “dumb-guy explanation” sort-of answers your question. Bottom-line is, for the most part…… “I don’t really know”. I basically just mess around with chord progressions and the chords themselves……. until I find something that SOUNDS good to me. Beyond that, any actual knowledge of this stuff came from right here in TAC’s Fretboard Wizard Course, some of the TAC Skills Courses, and a few other course/classes I took on another guitar site I really like also.

Thank you again for your encouraging comments on this song— they mean a lot.

y-o-p

mark

[the-old-coach]

Maybe check out some videos about “playing in the “zone” ” or “playing in the “flow” “.

(youtube)- Classical Guitar Shed/ Allen Mathews may be a good place to start.

Stuff like this is great- it reminds us to see things right under our noses all along!