[the-old-coach]

md–

Now……… don’t just “forget it (by) tomorrow”. Put it into a Word document or some-such.

Go back into it…… keep adding-onto it…… keep messing with it……. make a copy of the Circle of Fifths and tape it to your desk- (so that it’s easy to see while you are messing with this progression– so you can see the other chords that go “with”)…….. Throw some words onto it somehow………. Just keep adding to it!

[the-old-coach]

A horse will only move forward if the carrot is out in front of him. If he catches up to the carrot, he stops, as there is no need to go forward.

[the-old-coach]

Do you really want it to be fast and easy? If it was, everybody would be doin’ it, and then, you would not be able to quietly… to yourself… enjoy the pride that you get when a tough task is accomplished— one that not everybody can do?

Always– always– remember that it’s not about the destination…. it’s about the journey. When the Griswolds finally reached WallyWorld—- the very best parts of the movie…… were over.

So I have to repeat that, just for “effect”— It’s not about the destination…. it’s about the journey.

My advice is to be cool. Relax. Enjoy all the little moments— and all the help, advice, encouragement, and great friends that you will meet right here.

Your brain can only take-in so much/ so fast. Enjoy the “slow” part of it– (it really is the best part).

• This reply was modified 2 months, 3 weeks ago by  the-old-coach.
• This reply was modified 2 months, 3 weeks ago by  the-old-coach.

[the-old-coach]

Don B–

Don’t be frustrated. It in itself will suck the life and fun out of your guitar journey.

Don’t ever compare your ability to “where you think you should be”. Or, to anyone else.

DO your stretches! Both…. before practice and occasionally– during. This will REALLY help when starting-out!— (but don’t get to the point of pain!)

Try tuning your guitar down (say 2 half-steps)— and then put a capo on the second fret. Your guitar will be “back in tune”— but now the strings will be easier to fret– because they are “lower”– as-in (now) closer to the frets.

Carry-on– remember the fun– and remember that learning to play guitar is NOT easy. But– you will begin to enjoy those moments of inner pride at your improvement(s), and a quiet smile will start to show up once in a while.

the old coach

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

[the-old-coach]

This is actually pretty cool…. I didn’t the old version was even (or still?) accessible!

I have completed both versions a couple of times– (and I think I agree with the group that thinks the old/original version is “better” than the new version).

They are BOTH great— a solid investment in my opinion!

(now I gotta go in & look to see if I can find the original version!)

[the-old-coach]

I’m “old-school”. I have a huge 3-ring binder full of printed-off Daily Challenges- (yes.. actually printed). I think I saved them (every one) until “the cycle” started coming around again. It’s about 2-inches thick and weighs about 10 pounds. Ridiculous?- Probably to many, but to me it’s MUCH easier that way. No computer/no tablet/no nothing. I simply open it to a lesson I choose and start playing. I really love just opening that big lesson-book to some totally random page– and spend maybe a half-hour focusing on just that one lesson. (It’s funny how quickly I remember them!).

Ya can’t “go back” to the prior-month’s lessons…. so if you ever want to dig them back up, you DO have to somehow “save” them. I printed ’em off….. and have ’em that way. For “old-school” me– that’s the easiest way.

[the-old-coach]

mso—

Don’t cancel.

Some of the Daily Challenges can seem pretty tough, especially for a very new guitar-player. If one seems too difficult for you at this point, just give it a try anyway- (~10 mins or so), and look at it as “OK, challenge, you are why I’m here. You may think you are tougher than me NOW, but I know you are going to come around again in say 8-10 months……. and I’ll be waiting…..”

In the meantime, there are plenty of really cool “Skills Courses” to check out, that you can work thru at your own pace.

Acknowledge to yourself that learning guitar isn’t as easy as it looks. It takes time and effort. Lots of both….. YEARS of both.

One last (and the best!) piece of advice…… FORGET ABOUT YOUR OWN EXPECTATIONS AND COMPARISONS OF WHERE YOU THINK YOU SHOULD BE IN LEARNING. Just have fun with it…… It’s all about the ride— not the destination.

[the-old-coach]

So after all my yammering in this (great) thread- (my apologies BTW)- I guess it’s time I actually threw in my answer to Brandon’s original question- “When did you finally feel like you could play guitar?“…. (took me a while to actually think this out)….

For me, I think it was when I had completed Fretboard Wizard- (three times thru now)- and then also went thru two (separate/annual) “Fretboard Fluency” courses in a different-but-closely-related-website-group from TAC.

Right around that time, I felt I had enough knowledge to learn the art of tinkering with the music itself. Counter to what I had always thought……. I had to go the “knowledge-first/ then playing-second” route, rather than the other way around. I didn’t have the advantage of “growing-up around it” and being the 8-year-old kid on the front porch (who could play anything just about anything….. naturally).

Funny– “finally feeling like I could play guitar” may actually have involved more learning than actually playing! But, the two work hand in hand…. they need each other…

I’ll leave you all alone now in this (again, great) thread.

[the-old-coach]

If you aren’t familiar with the Circle of Fifths….. get familiar with it!

It is SO full of information once you start to see what’s really in there.

I think of it as a giant music multi-tool; So many different functions!

[the-old-coach]

Yup, that.

Why do golfers pay the most money to play the courses that are the most challenging….. it’s simply because of the “inner” satisfaction gained. What special thing have you accomplished if the task was easy? Nobody brags to their friends that they have, say, climbed a small mountain.

There’s a reason TAC’s daily lessons are called challenges.

[the-old-coach]

Ahhhhh, yes…… “expectations”…… I defer to the quote-master— Jumpin’Jeff- (author of the single best quote about expectations– in the history of the world).

[the-old-coach]

Loraine— Great post as always! (As I’ve said before)— you were the first one to welcome me when I first joined TAC– (back in 2019 I think– at the start of COVID). You have been– and still continue to be– one of the most helpful and encouraging people I have ever met here in our little guitar-world. I don’t know if you realize, but your always-positive, un-wavering, rock-solid manner has helped countless players— certainly including myself— get started, get them back out of the weeds, and get them back moving forward. You carry-around a truckload of good karma, my old friend!

• This reply was modified 3 months, 1 week ago by  the-old-coach.

[the-old-coach]

Yet another fantastic post in this great thread!

Seems to me that any/all of these courses try to keep you “on track”- (just get from A to B). For me, the real fun is in walking “parallel” to the trail…… taking the information given, “sort-of learning” it as you go, and doing your own tinkering/experimenting with it— along the way. It’s not an assembly line. We’re not all the same, or at the same place in our guitar-journey. Our brain has to have some “free space” to actually use the information given to us. The only path to learning something is to be creative with it, otherwise we’re just memorizing it…… big difference between the two.

[the-old-coach]

But….. can we really tinker too much ???

• This reply was modified 4 months, 2 weeks ago by  the-old-coach.
• This reply was modified 4 months, 2 weeks ago by  the-old-coach.

[the-old-coach]

Brandon– You’re gonna go thru those times when nuthin’ seems to be going right. If some of the Challenges are “beyond” where you are right now– (when that happened, I felt like I just wasn’t having any fun/ feelin’ bummed-out/ like I just wasn’t gonna ever “get it”, that “everybody else is doin’ great except me” thing)… don’t sweat it even one bit!… Some of those Dailies are difficult for everyone.

For whatever reason—- when I feel down in the dumps– (not “if”— because this happens to ALL of us at times)- I fall back into my old comfort zone for a couple days— playing my very favorite songs from the tabs, while listening to the recording of it. I think to myself– “these are my favorite songs! and I’m playing-along! It’s like guitar karaoke!”

Cheers me right up!