[Loraine]

Hey Dude

Just wanted to welcome you to TAC. This is your journey, and you’re having fun. Who’s to say your doing it wrong. Tony always says if it feels good, it is good (and if it sounds good it is good). At least you have.gotten stuck on something and not progressed. That happens to a lot of people. Just keep progressing, don’t get hung up on perfection, and have fun.

[Loraine]

Can’t go wrong with Tom Hall. You did a great job on this, and your vocals were perfect for it. Rough old memories up of listening to his music when my uncle played his music.

[Loraine]

Great job on a classic!

Nothing like Chitown blues. I lived there for nearly 30 years. I miss the music scene in Chicago. It really was the best. Buddy Guy has his place called Legends there. He’s a genuinely nice, good hearted man. I actually got to sing one line when he and Akroyd were playing one night. Was pretty funny, because I froze when the microphone was shoved in my face. He often plays song.

Brought back a lot of memories. I really miss certain aspects of living out there. A big part of it is the music, food, especially south side, and the people. They were all generally very friendly and fun. I do not miss the weather, and it is gray there. I prefer the green of Pennsylvania.

[Loraine]

Hey @mearcedgmail-com I’m glad you took a much needed break and are giving it another go.

Guitar is not an easy instrument to learn. At the beginning, it can feel impossible. I decided to supplement TAC with private guitar lessons beginning around the end of my first year, beginning of my second year.

So a testament first to TAC, my guitar teacher said that I was further along in playing and knowledge, especially basic foundational skills and theory from the Fretboard Wizard, than 90% of his 2+ year students.

I nearly quit, probably at the end of my second year, because I wasn’t good, my vocals were bad because my vocal chords atrophied during covid from lack of use. I was a caregiver for my mother with lewy body dementia, and we could not have lucid conversations. It was a very dark time for me, and if it weren’t for finding TAC & learning to play, and especially to the people in the forums I don’t know where I’d be today.

I was a very slow learner, and it did not come naturally to me. I was going to Florida to meet up with some other players for a few days, and we had a list of all the songs we planned on learning and playing. I spent a good month or two trying to play those songs, because otherwise I would be at a disadvantage. Things did not go well at the meet up, and I left early. I was very depressed and seriously going to quit.

The turning point felt like it happened so suddenly. All oc a sudden, things began to make sense, fell into place and muscle memory kicked in, I was able to transition chords faster, pick up songs very quickly, and Bam! I was having the best time. I wasn’t a super great player, my vocals are subpar, but I was getting better and better at a very fast rate. I had someone comme t in a jam club I belong to, that I was getting better and better at a much faster rate than anyone they had ever seen. I can’t tell you how satisfying it was to hear that. Because it meant that all of my hard work was finally falling into place and coming to fruition.

I still play daily, and I still come on TAC every day. I challenge myself by choosing songs that are a little bit outside my playing skills, because it forces me to learn new things and to continue to grow.

So long story short, don’t give up before the miracle happens, because it will in due time. Remind yourself daily why you wanted to learn the guitar. I painted a saying that I saw somewhere that says, Music is life. That’s why our hearts have beats! I have another metal.art that says, This is My Happy Place.

Sorry for the long post.

[Loraine]

@Bill1am That was fantastic! And you got the singing too, which baffles most players. It’s like patting your head and rubbing your stomach – lol. Very impressive for only playing a few months. I am not a great player or singer, but I approached playing and getting over my social anxiety and shyness and pure terror was to to commit to posting the good, the bad, and the ugly. You will continue to grow and gain confidence and become a much better player. You were right to choose a song you really liked and knew. That is the trick to playing and singing. Kudos for tackling your insecurities and fear. That dreaded read button when recording has ruined many a performance – lol

[Loraine]

I have an entire shelf in a large wardrobe with a variety of strings. Each guitar has a different personality and voice when it comes to strings. I switch them out with different ones, and it is so much fun to find THE one that wakes up my guitar. I am in love with Santa Cruz mids & Ernie Ball Earthwoods, because they’re are more tonal and just feel and sound awesome. I like D’Addarios, and I use them on most guitars, because they’re not too expensive.. Taylor are brighter, and Martin has a completely different sound than any. Sounds like a different guitar. Took me a bit to get used to them. I like the Martin Retro, and the Taylor Acoustics. I’ve recently been experimenting with different gauges Make sure to try different picks too. Just have some fun with it.

[Loraine]

TAC teachs foundational skills they can be applied in most songs that you’re going to learn as you move forward in your guitar journey. Full songs are not taught here, but you’re shown a quasi song once a month to show how the skills can be applied to different songs..I think it might be difficult to specifically recommend a song, mainly because people Play songs differently I could pick up music and play a song in my own interpretation whereas someone else might do it closer to a true cover of a sign that type of thing. But that being said, it might be worth a suggestion to TAC to have Tony State that these are the types of skills that you’re here such and such a band play in their original music. Then you could listen to that music and discern where those skills are being applied. Send a message to support with that suggestion. It can’t hurt.

Here’s the site that was from the old forums. Tony used to teach some bluegrass songs on it. People that had access to the song vault paid for it. When they were moving to the new forum, Tony put the song vault out on a public site per se. It wasn’t necessarily meant to be for everyone but a place for the paying members to go but over time, people have just shared the site with others. It can give you an opportunity to try your hand at playing songs it by finger picking or flat picking.

http://tacsongs.com/

• This reply was modified 9 months ago by  Loraine.

[Loraine]

That type of issue will typically occur when you need to clear your cache/history.

[Loraine]

Welcome to TAC! I think there are several people that use classical guitars for very similar reasons and I think that you’ll fit in very well here using one. I have a classical and I use it for different songs only because it is easier. It has a comfortable wider neck too and easier to fret I would actually recommend it to anyone struggling with playing because they’re smaller stature. It’s more comfortable to hold it at an angle in order to fret.

[Loraine]

It is fun to play. Appreciate you comme ting LeCassandra!

[Loraine]

Thanks so much for the encouragement Kevin. You definitely inspire me to keep moving forward and trying new things.

[Loraine]

How’re you doing Mark? Haven’t talk to you in ages.

[Loraine]

Hey Ian! Where the heck have you been – hanging in the shadows, huh? Still miss seeing your torso and hearing your voice! Lol. I have a whole slew of songs to still record.

Saw the Tiana’s and even met Jim and Lorraine Crosby (I think that’s his last name) from Nova Scotia. He was passing through the area.

[Loraine]

Thank you Phil! I’ve been strumming well, but I really struggled through this, because of the pick turning, and that was even with gorilla snot. Haha

[Loraine]

Thank you! I am fighting through it actually. I have to have a 3rd surgery in the fall. I have severe nerve pain, and a bone is displaced and sitting up, and that is painful. The hand is permanently deformed.. it’s concave like a big bowl was laid on the back of my hand to the displaced bone. There is probably nothing to be done about the scar tissue. It’s tight, so a use a snake venom extractor tool to suction the skin up and I move it around to loosen it and make it bearable.