Skyman911
Forum Replies Created
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I’ll miss you Loraine. 10/14 is my last day here. You’ve been a huge inspiration.
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When I started I also had this phobia. So, I started strumming with my thumb instead of using a pick to keep the sound down. That along with keeping my door closed. That did help, but also created another problem. Phobia of using a pick. I’ve spent the past year and a half dedicated to using the pick most everyday. The fear of others hearing me created another problem. Once you really don’t care what others think, you’ll skyrocket.
That said, I play on my back patio whenever I can. When the neighbors are out, I tend to subdue my playing. So, as you can tell, I still have issues to work on. It’s getting better though. Keep pushing on, and realize many others also have these challenges.
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I use Chordify, Songster, Music Notes for playalong learning. Ultimate Guitar for printing tabs. I probably use Chordify the most. It has a pretty vast library of songs, and I like how it scrolls when playing the songs and showing when the chords/notes show up. It flows better for my brain for some reason than the other ones. The premium version, you can slow things up or speed them up. The free version gives you one free song per day, however no ability to adjust speed.
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This is what I’ve been using. There are some nicer ones with backrests and guitar stands as well. I also always use a strap when playing on the stool.
guitarcenter.com
Enjoy the lowest prices and best selection of Bar Stools at Guitar Center. Most orders are eligible for free shipping.
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I take what I’ve learned here and search the song I want to play. I.E. Landslide guitar lesson. You’ll find many videos. Some good, some not so good. If you want to PM me, I could give you the names of some of the teachers I like. I don’t want to post here out of respect.
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You should start a TAC open mic. We could possibly play some of the benchmark songs together. I bet Tony wouldn’t mind at all, and would probably be very supportive of this.
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I would say to experiment to see what you like. Different playing styles can sometimes dictate the string gauges. Heavy strummers may want heavier strings due to lighter strings buzzing when played hard. Also the size of the guitar can also dictate what strings go on the instrument. Large dreadnought’s usually have medium to heavy strings, where smaller bodied guitars usually have medium to light gauge strings. I have my Martin D-28 strung with lights instead of the mediums it came with. I don’t feel like I sacrificed any tone. My 00-28 and 000-18 are also strung with lights.
Also keep in mind the string gauge can also affect your action. For example, if you had your guitar setup with medium strings, and then change to lights, there will be slightly more spacing between the string and the fret, so your action may be slightly higher.
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If a song has a lot of G to C transitions, I use that shape. However for most songs I use the full standard G shape. Pinky on the high E and ring on the B string.
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A smaller body guitar may solve your issues. There are many fine small body guitars out there. I have a Dred, but mostly play my 000 and 00 sized guitars due to this. They just don’t sound like the Dred though.
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Just my two cents here, we wanted to learn guitar to play songs, so I would spend most of my time working on songs.
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I’ve seen many of your videos. You’re a very accomplished player. Kind of curious what you’re looking for.
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@Ben64, so are you still able to access the forums?
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I know Tony mentions the “10 minute” thing a lot. I would encourage folks to try to play a lot longer than that if you can. 10 minutes a day may help you stay committed, however progress will be very slow. 30 minutes should be the minimum goal in my opinion. I’m barley warmed up after 10 minutes. I do realize for an absolute beginner, 30 minutes may be difficult.
@RiverRooo, I get the being exhausted thing after a hard day. A lot of us are in the same boat. Waiting for winter to be able to play just seems like torture to me, especially looking at the poor guitar sitting in the corner. Too bad you can’t commit to just a few minutes a day or week. In my experience, (and I have a very demanding job as well) is if I just pick it up, I’ll play something. Last week for example, I got home after a very stressful 10 hour day, and I just wanted to sit down and veg. I did grab my guitar and just wanted to fret a few chords and feel like I wasn’t giving up on my commitment. I ended up playing for more than an hour, and the guitar actually gave me energy. After I put my guitar down, I realized I had completely forgotten about my bad day.
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I thought you could still access the forums after cancelling your membership?
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TAC is not my only method of learning, and in my opinion should not be. There are great skills to learn here, and a very methodical format. I know the ads for TAC talk about how expensive teachers are compared to TAC, and they can be, however nothing has done more for my improvement than personal instruction. You just cannot replace the personal one on one, and video lessons can never replace that. You can’t stop and ask Tony about something right in the middle of the lesson, and usually need to revert here to this forum for questions. And the teacher isn’t the one answering them. So, you kind of fly blind a bit and just trust the system. But I also understand some people don’t have close access to good teachers. Teachers I’ve used usually charge $25 $35 an hour, so $100 a month can certainly add up.
I’m hoping to retire at the end of the year. I plan on getting back into some personal instruction to help learn more about the CAGED system and how to really incorporate that into real time playing. Not just theory. Fretboard Wizard has really helped my understanding, but it falls short on how to incorporate into everyday playing. I also think I need a bit of a change as well.
Done with my rambling.