[the-old-coach]

Reminder–

If for any reason you want to save any or all of the Daily Challenges for this last month- (Jan ’23)– (favoritize them/ print them/ whatever)– THEY GO AWAY at midnight tonight.

If anyone needs any of them from about the last two years, send me a PM. We’ll figure out some way to get them to you– there are several different ways.

theoldcoach

[the-old-coach]

Just type in the song you want. Add the word “tabs” on the end. Hit enter. Example— “Yesterday tabs”. You’ll get lots of free sites- ultimateguitar, echords, cowboylyrics, etc. all free unless you want the enhanced version(s).

[the-old-coach]

Hello, all–

This is a great thread.

With-OUT “steering” the thread from being about what strings are recommended……. if I may, can I throw out a simple question?…..

When considering and hearing about “how long strings last”, is that in reference to how long they have been on the guitar(?)…….. or how many hours they’ve been PLAYED(?).

I have 4 guitars and don’t play them all, all the time. I have two that I play about a half-hour each pretty much everyday, and two that I maybe play a half-hour a WEEK.

So the first two get a LOT more hours of actual playing- and in a shorter time frame, than the other two.

Which is it– “calendar time”, or actual “playing time”?

Thanks for any thoughts on this- and I REALLY don’t want to steer away from the original thread………

theoldcoach

[the-old-coach]

Sorry about my loooong original post on this. This one, too, it seems…..

In the FBW lesson about transposing a song- I think there was a word or two about actually transposing a song in the “Now You Try It” area- sort of as an assignment(?) maybe.

While I understood the process clearly while going thru FBW, I didn’t actually take a song and do it at the time.

So…. fast-forward…. there I was– with three similar-sounding songs…….

I went from ground-zero. Followed the FBW course. Figured out the Key/chord family from my song, figured out the chord progression- (the hardest part), converted it to Nashville numbers, and then just listened to songs in other keys- hoping I could find one I wanted to change my song TO, to get a “general sound” I wanted.

Songs in the key of “A” sounded good- so why not?

Funny thing is- actually changing the song- (in my case from “G” to “A”)- was remarkably simple. So then it was a matter of applying my-own-song’s Nashville-numbered chord sequence to the NEW Key/chord family chords.

Voila- done- (easy-actually!).

I knew HOW to do it before-hand- (from the FBW course materials)….. but actually DOING IT was the fun part! And it sounds great- and my voice “matches up” better in that key.

Again- I’m sorry if this seems to many of you that this is a “so what”, as many are way ahead of where I’m at– but it’s a pretty big light-bulb moment.

Note- It actually took longer to write this post that to actually change/transpose the key to a song.

So…… just for kicks……. Take a song you like- (but maybe isn’t easy for you to sing-along with)- and do what I did………. Change the key/chord family to a different key!- and if you don’t like THAT- change it to another one.

The FBW-lesson said being able to do this is a GREAT skill to have— it would allow you to easily play along with others who only know a song in one key- you could adapt a song to THEIR key and play along!?

theoldcoach

[the-old-coach]

Another reminder- the end of the month- (December)- is near.

“Favoritize” or print- (or whatever)- if you want to save any of this month’s Daily Lessons.

[the-old-coach]

Welcome John!

My two cents— Along with joining TAC in the first place, you made a great choice by coming into the Forum.

There’s lots to learn in HERE also- just read thru some recent threads- you may learn a lot just from others’ posts and answers.

Others’ threads and posts are one of my favorite things in TAC- different perspectives, thoughts, ideas, hints, and videos are extremely valuable and helpful- they are GOLD.

theoldcoach

• This reply was modified 3 years, 4 months ago by  the-old-coach.

[the-old-coach]

OldSalt-

The stretching warmups are actually a thing.

As K-man and Cadgirl said- (and I agree)- they make a difference- especially if your hands and finger joints are stiff & sore from whatever as you are “going in” to a practice session.

Disclosure- I don’t do it as long as the Skills-lesson might say- maybe a total of about 2-3 minutes seems to be enough for me- unless my hands are really “tired” or sore.

Sometimes I’ll also stretch for a minute or so DURING a practice. THAT HELPS in the middle of a grueling Barre-chord session.

And when I said, “you can hurt yourself”, I more-like meant I can aggravate existing conditions- (like, for me, it’s arthritis in my finger & thumb joints just from being beat-up over the years).

And you DON’T want to be “that guy” braggin’ to his buddies over a beer or two about how he hurt himself playin’ guitar.🤨 🤣

theoldcoach

[the-old-coach]

OldSalt–

My small two-cents worth……… Remember to do your stretching exercises- (and try to keep your fretting ARM straight as you can for maximum effect). Take it easy at first with the stretching- you can hurt yourself.

theoldcoach

[the-old-coach]

A-G– (love the name- sounds like a rock-band name)

Welcome-Welcome-Welcome!!!!

If you yourself are just starting-out on your own guitar journey— you are in the best place!!!

At first, here in TAC, if you get the “how do I start” and/or “what do I do first” – (or “next”)- feelings– don’t worry about. There are LOTS of really helpful– REALLY excellent and knowledgeable– folks in here to get you goin’ and keep you progressing.

Use this TAC Forum as your go-to source for answers– NO question in too small or large. The Forum here is an extremely valuable resource. Read a few threads from the recent few days to see how helpful everyone is!

Again- welcome–

theoldcoach

[the-old-coach]

Roger that, Mike!

Haven’t got my hands on it yet- (that family is “hard to get ahold of”, and keep to themselves- they don’t often answer phone calls or messages- and when they do- it’s usually weeks afterwards😒– so there’s that).

A bit frustrating in that respect……. for sure………. But– I’m not about to show up, bang on their door, and say- “What’s the deal— I’m tired of waitin’, and I want the d*mn guitar”. Gonna rattle their cage- (lightly)- after the holidays settles down.

I like your mentality- I don’t wanna have any regrets by NOT getting an electric and then wondering. Rather have and then not like it if that’s the case…..

Thanks for your thoughts– as always.

Mark- (theoldcoach)

[the-old-coach]

Mike-

Once again you have nailed it.

This is a great response you have made here.

To me, your “implied question” point is spot on, but even in this thorough- (and fun-to-read)- post, the sentence that hit me like a hammer, was maybe your shortest.

In the last paragraph, the sentence- “And it doesn’t end.”

I had to pause and think about only those four little words for a couple of minutes.

Jeff & I used to talk & chuckle about “keeping pushing that boulder up the mountain”.

I believe you gotta —-keep—- movin’….. keep learnin’…… Or you will forget all that you HAVE learned.

You can NOT steer a boat unless it is moving.

Thanks for your insight– as always–

theoldcoach

[the-old-coach]

I have them all- if you can’t figure out another way to get them- we can figure a way I can send them to you…….. keep in mind however that I am REALLY not so much computer-savvy, so there is that. I have ’em- we can figure out a way.

theoldcoach

[the-old-coach]

Mike-

Yeah, I see your original post is POOF-gone!

I’ve noticed also now & again all the “weird” symbols and words, etc, that seem to show up whenever something is either italicized or made BOLD– or both. It’s weird….. and frustrating for sure.

And my/our old nemesis—- The Pink Screen of Death—- aaarrrggghhh……

Anyway– they are/were great lines, and maybe someone can get something out of ’em.

yeroldpal-

theoldcoach

[the-old-coach]

Mike-

There are two small lines hidden in your post that hit it right on the head for me-

“so I can figure out to play a certain song myself”— and—

“just by trying, we are engaged. We figure something out every time that can help us make cool sounds”.

Right on— yet again👍.

theoldcoach

[the-old-coach]

Gerry–

I agree with C-G. The “soloing” section of FBW really threw me for a loop, too. As I have said– I just had a HARD time “getting it”.

Not ashamed to say that I STILL don’t have a clear handle on it- (and that’s almost an understatement).

But I’m OK with that….. Over time, with more learning and practicing what I learn……. It will come to me.

Love reading your always-encouraging posts- they help us all!

theoldcoach