[Loraine]

@DiscostewLA Follow up to previous post.

Apparently thee site is new, because it is incomplete. Only level 1a is available for play. All the rest say “coming soon,” so either new, in beta stage, or a forgotten platform that was never completed.

[Loraine]

Hi @mikeb71comcast-net Whats your price range? That will help with recommendations for good guitars within a price range.

You don’t necessarily have to go really expensive to get a good guitar, but spending a little more than $60 may make a considerable difference. The name on a guitar doesn’t guarantee whether it’s good, and price doesn’t necessarily make a guitar better either. You start getting into wood choices, sold Sitka spruce tops, electronics, types of bridge and nut . All these affect the tone and playability. It really depends on what you’re looking for in a guitar.

It’s unfortunate that your local guitar shop doesn’t have left handed guitars to try. Look outside your local shop and see if other shops might carry some. Do you have a Sweetwater or Musician’s Friend nearby? They carry larger inventories. Sweetwater allows returns within a period of time. Therefore, if you don’t have a local store, you could look on their website and order one and return it if it doesn’t work out.

[Loraine]

@TMutter Terry, I am so proud of you. Congratulations on the new album. You’re a very talented songwriter and the music and your vocals make the song come alive. I love hearing about your inspirations for songs, and how quickly you can pull a song together. It amazes me that it comes so naturally. I’m also impressed with, and I’m not sure if most people know, but you play most of the instruments in your songs, and you learn to play a new instrument quickly. That is another gift.

Keep on plunking, as I say. Looking forward to listening to the full album, and I’m looking forward to being a close audience member of your next inspiration. Btw, I think the song Mr Warthog is your absolute most creative and best song. I think you should be sending the single to NPR, maybe along with a few others of your best. I think it would be great if NPR could play the song or invite you to a lunchtime concert.

• This reply was modified 2 years, 11 months ago by  Loraine.

[Loraine]

@OhWowMan great question that I don’t have a technical answer for, but I own both neck sizes and several different neck shapes. I think there is a definite difference in playability with the smaller width. I attribute that to the size of my hands.

As for the GS Mini, I have the Koa and can’t say anything but good things about it. The set up was great, very playable, and it sounds great.

There are stores that will let you rent or borrow guitars to try out at home. Just ask and you might be surprised. Also, most stores have a return or exchange period where if you dislike the guitar or want to try a different one, you can within that window they provide.

Gos luck with your decision.

[Loraine]

@BethL The song is absolutely beautiful, heartfelt and selfless. I feel your sadness and pain for the loss.

Sending you love, hugs, and I’m always here for you. Just IM me if you need anything.

[Loraine]

@amcmurtrietwcny-rr-com I happened to look at your post again, and I saw you responded. To make sure the person you are addressing knows you’ve responded, start the conversation with an ampersand sign @ and their name so that person receives a message that there’s a response or message to them. This turns it into a highlighted name like yours at the beginning of this message, and the person wiill receive a notice in the upper right corner in the bell looking icon.

To find the fingerpicking and flatpicking courses, look for <i style=”font-weight: bold;”>Jumpstart to Flatpicking and Jummpstart to Fingerpicking in the Skills section. There is more than one page to the Skills section, so you might need to go to the next page. I’ll double check to make sure they’re still available too, but I don’t see why they wouldn’t be. They’re very popular.

Hope all this helps. Let me know if you need anything further. 🙂

[Loraine]

@amcmurtrietwcny-rr-com -rr-com and @Mark_S Welcome to TAC, and congratulations on completing the 30 days to play and the next 6 chords.

Mark makes a great suggestion in starting with the daily lessons, but first you might want to take the skills lessons, 5-Day Guitar Routine Challenge, which actually explains how the daily lessons work. The daily Stretches for Guitarists should be mandatory to avoid injuries. I got tendonitis and tennis elbow from playing and had to hang up the guitar for several months. It was torture.

The following is what TAC suggests, “After the 3 minute TAC <strong style=”background-color: var(–bb-content-background-color); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; color: var(–bb-body-text-color); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;”>Quick Start orientation, begin your guitar journey with the <strong style=”background-color: var(–bb-content-background-color); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; color: var(–bb-body-text-color); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;”>30 Days to Play challenge to learn the basics and to begin building your daily 10 minute guitar routine. Once you’ve completed that, begin the <strong style=”background-color: var(–bb-content-background-color); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; color: var(–bb-body-text-color); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;”>5-Day Guitar Routine Challenge where Tony takes you by the hand and guides you through your first week of daily challenges. Once these are complete, you’re ready to dive into the TAC daily guitar challenges! Use <strong style=”background-color: var(–bb-content-background-color); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; color: var(–bb-body-text-color); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;”>Your Next Six Chords when you get curious about adding the most common chords to your arsenal. Use <strong style=”background-color: var(–bb-content-background-color); font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; color: var(–bb-body-text-color); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;”>Daily Stretch for Guitarists at any point your hands, shoulders, or back start to feel sore or stiff.”

The daily lessons have a different theme each week, and each daily lesson builds upon the previous days lessons. The lessons cover speed challenges, technique, scales and improv, rhythm, and chord progressions.

You can delve into the Skills section anytime you want. There’s no order to taking lessons; Whatever interests you. I will say the Jumpstart to fingerpicking and Flatpicking, and the Strumming courses were great intros to those skills, and you’ll actually learn songs in the Jumpstart classes.

Good luck, and have fun.

[Loraine]

Thanks for the link @DiscostewLA . I’ll have to play with it. I won’t hold my breath that Ill remember any notes or.chords though. The more I age, the more my ability to store this type of info goes right out the window

[Loraine]

Hey @Chris99 I’m so sorry you’re experiencing problems with Sweetwater. I’ve never ordered a guitar from the, but I’ve ordered a lot of other things, and I’ve never had any problems, and I always receive a courtesy thank you call from them.

It’s possible that your experience is an anomaly to what is the norm. Unfortunately things do happen at companies and things slip through the cracks. At least they were able to locate it, and having a new nut and set up would add additional lead time.

I know how difficult is to wait for a new guitar. Hang in there and remember to let it acclimate in the original box for at least 24 hours before unboxing and playing it.

[Loraine]

@Seven All the lessons and how you learn are the same regardless I’d the size of the guitar. The only difference might be on those occasions where Tony goes past the 12th fret. Those are more difficult on smaller guitars (but not impossible).

[Loraine]

@OhWowMan When I first started playing, I preferred the smaller neck, because I felt my hands were too small and it was more comfortable and easier to learn and practice with. Now, I like them both, and I readily switch out all the time. My GS Mini typically is in my office next to my desk, and I often reach for it. It’s packed away right now, because it needs to go into the luthier and have a setup. I replaced it with a dreadnaught which obviously has a larger neck. I find them both enjoyable to play, but my back begins to hurt with the larger guitar, so I’m limited on time. I find barre chords easier for me to play on the wider necks. I’m not sure why that is.The wider necks often are easier for fingerpicking too, but you can fingerpick on the smaller ones too.

[Loraine]

That’s true. As I believe I mentioned in another post, anyone that has favorited a lesson can share it. All you have to do is go to their profile and select Favorites. It will list all the videos that were marked favorite by a person. I typically save them all. Feel free to go on my profile and check out my favorites. As I previously said, you’ll need to know what the name of the lesson was and what the type of lesson was, such as technique, scale, improv, chord transitions, rhythm, etc. Take a look and you’ll see what I mean.

[Loraine]

That’s so awesome – Congratulations, and I’m glad you’re happy with it so far. You’ll have to post photos of it, and possibly a video to let us hear it.

[Loraine]

Glad you found them @Mark_S . I enjoyed them when I took them.

[Loraine]

@TMutter Wow, thank you for the gracious compliments. I love what Ira says, and it is so true. I’ve almost given up on several occasions, but this is something I enjoy and I’ve always wanted. It is way more work than I ever thought, but I hit these periods where all of a sudden it just makes sense and I can do something I struggled with for so long. Then when I hit a plateau and feel I’m in a slump, I can remember that those growth periods are just around the corner. It helps me keep track of what I’m supposed to be doing to move forward, even though I want to give up sometimes when nothing seems to be going right.

I was in a small funk for a few weeks,. I didn’t do the dailies, but I still played every day. I’m now doing the dailies again and still playing other things. Nothing comes easily or naturally for me, but I see the progress after a LOT of hard work and practice. I’m enjoying myself and my journey right now, and I’m having so much fun at VOMs, even if my songs aren’t perfect. I’ve allowed myself to be vulnerable, and I think that has helped me grow.

Okay, sorry for switching focus on your post, but you introduced it so I don’t feel so guilty. 😁. I hope others read your previous post and this one and shelve the information for when they’re frustrated or despondent. It’s temporary. Continue making the effort and taking action steps, and trust that it will turn around and get better.