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Hi everyone, I've been having singing lessons for the past few years at a superb local singing school. They put on a Summer Show last weekend at a great venue to an audience of 200 people to showcase their students, kids singing groups and pop choirs (which I've also joined). Here is their video of me performing my own arrangement of I Can See Clearly Now, along with a backing track that I recorded myself and superb backing vocals from my teacher and her colleague. Neither the vocals nor guitar are particularly virtuosic, I deliberately wanted something simple so that I could focus on overcoming incredible stage fright nerves that have previously crippled my performances in front of other people. It's far from perfect, and I really need to work on those facial expressions, but I did it! When my LMG package was delivered 10 years ago and I couldn't play or sing a note, I could never ever have imagined doing this. I can honestly say that without Steve starting me on my journey and the incredible support and encouragement from this community this would never have happened. Ian

Now that is a brilliant idea. Go for it Julie!??? About the noise, I always compare the amount of noise that I am making to that of the average television. You can practice on an electric guitar that is not plugged into an amp if you are worried. I have a low wattage modelling amp that can produce lots of different effects including distortion at low volume levels. jumiclands stop procrastinating, get Julie a guitar and get to it.

@Randy120 Sorry to hear about the mishap... I hope you can recover soon and get back to doing what you love. A good time to study theory concepts...

Jules is going to start learning the guitar with me. Which guitar would you suggest for her. Make it electric to go along with my Ibanez Jem.

Without a budget or idea of the music she might be interested in its hard to make a recommendation but at a moderate price point the Classic Vibe Squires from Fender are pretty universally praised for being a lot of bang for the buck. I and at least a couple of others here have, or have had the Classic Vibe Tele, and think there are a few that have the Strats as well. The guitar she likes is the best one to buy, but these would be good ones to check out.

How much do you want to spend? Is it possible for you and Julie to go to a local guitar shop so that Julie can try some out? My first electric guitar was a Yamaha Pacifica 112J in black. I found it nice and comfortable to learn on and still love it and play it. I bought an Epiphone Les Paul Special after that which is nicer to look at but I did not bond so well with it. It comes down to personal choice in the end I think. I bet Fender Telecasters are nice. Let us know what Julie gets!

@jumiclads, let me apologize up front for not answering your question. I don't know if it the Boss JS-10 will work for you and your wife practicing together. I would think it would. Is there a better way? I don't know that either. I have the Boss JS-10 and love it. I have posted here and over at our previous home many times recommending the product. But I have never used it with another guitar plugged in. I have taken it to several environments, lessons, jams, etc. thinking that I would use it that way but it never materialized. I even flew to Chicago one time to take a lesson with @Steve Krenz with it but we only plugged my guitar in! As Neil mentioned there are other members are here that have it and hopefully one or more of them will offer you a more helpful response than mine. If you find it will work for you and your wife it is a very useful learning tool. I use it every day. I always have the different learning materials that I am working stored on it. As an example I am finishing up Session 13 right now. The last jam along song is "Johnny's E Blues". I have it set to about 80% speed and I have it looped to about the first 8 or 9 bars. When I get it to where I can play all 12 bars I will start increasing the speed until I get it to 100%. I probably used mine for at least a year before I tried the different modelling amps and effects that it has. I still rarely use it for that. I usually plug in to something else. Any song that I am working goes on it and I have lots of backing tracks on it. It's really compact as Neil also mentioned. Many times it has gone in the overhead in a plane or the back seat of my car. That's when I use it to plug in. good luck to you and let us know what you decide. I'm now logging off and going to go work "Johnny's E Blues" and blues scale with it.

@jumiclads I dont have one of these, but judging by the Boss review video this looks like probably has bit more than you need, right now, but l would be very good for jamming along with songs , recording yourself etc. It does handle 2 guitars, and is compact. As long as you get along with the digital "menus" idea it could be a good option. I believe there are some members here who have and use them. BTW; I have a Fender G-Dec amp (not produced any more) which has similar features, but I found the menus etc too complicated when I was getting started. .. I still dont really use all the features it has, but I'm slowly using more of them. Just a thought to maybe keep it simple. (You might consider a digital amp that has 2 imputs and less expensive than the Boss E-Band)

My wife, Julie has just suggested that we should get another guitar and learn together. Maybe that's the way to go!

Randy, So sorry to hear about this setback. Hopefully there won't be any permanent damage. Here are a few thoughts. Relax. You may not have chosen this but now you're strapped into this ride and there's little that worrying can do about it. Worrying won't make it better or shorter - just more miserable. Do what you're told. Do what the doc says. If he says "no use for a month" then don't sneak a quick play in here and there. In this big world of ours there's short term damage and long-term damage. A finger fracture is painful and a hassle but it is short term damage. BUT, not letting it heal properly can easily take it into long term damage and it will be something you'll be wrestling with 3 years from now. Keep thinking about guitar. There's tons that you can do without having to actually play. Work on theory stuff, song-writing or chord knowledge. The main thing is to keep your mind still in the guitar and learning game. Your mind is the real organ that affects your playing. Keep it engaged during these off weeks. You'll be back playing soon enough. - Steve

My wife is taking singing lessons and it really helps with her playing the accordion. I am sure it has affected your playing as well, for the better.

Great Job

Wow Ian that is absolutely brilliant. I enjoyed that. Well done! You don't look or sound nervous to me. You have every reason to be proud of all the work you have done to get to this stage. An excellent performance. ???????????

this is what it's all about.. to stand up and be heard.

Brilliant, Ian!

Proud of you Ian , That was great hope you have a lot more successes. Really Nice . Thanks foe sharing. Blue Dog

Sorry Randy, Hope you feel better soon. work that finger as soon as possible as i dont stiffen up. take care. Blue Dog

I couldn't agree more, Barb. As I was watching it I thought this is one of the best ones yet. And that I need to review it.

Randy, this is horrible news. Here is hoping you mend quickly.

When working on a new piece of music or an exercise, I use 3 information sources. The 2 main ones for me are the audio file and the tab. I do know all the notes on the fingerboard, but still the most efficient way for me to learn a melody is to look at the tab. The tab tells me where to play a note, whereas the sheet music leaves this open. I only use the sheet music, as third source, to identify the key and for the info on rythm and lenght of notes and breaks. Please don't get me wrong here. I do think it is important for me to understand and know what notes I am playing and how they relate to the key and to the chords they are played over. But I rather derive this from the position of my fingers on the fredboard than from the sheet music. Now this is what works for me, but there is a big disadvantage. I am not able to read sheet music or tab at playing speed. So basically, I have to analyse and study a piece of music and then completely memorize it. Unlike myself, my 13 year old daughter who is learning to play violin, has gone through 4 years of studying music theory as part of her classical music education. She does not have to fully memorize the music she is playing, because she has learned to read and play notes simultanuously at the required tempo. That's a nice pay off. Now tab would not work for violin anyhow ? Wim.

So sorry to hear this, Randy. Hope your finger heals quickly!! ?

I am sorry to read this, Randy and I hope you recover soon. Wim

Tough one Randy, maybe a few weeks of rest will give you a bit of a break. Your will return refreshed and raring to go. Hope for a speedy recovery. Henk

I agree... I;ve heard this before that while the members enjoy the guest artists, they really get a lot out of the "teaching" live lessons. BTW @ShadowBoxer86 George I recommend you get the Ditto X2 looper, which although a bit more expensive than the Ditto 1, has a dedicated START/STOP switch, which makes it much easier to use. It also runs on batteries if you want, and you can download saved loops too.

What a difficult setback Randy. I had to set the guitar aside for 3 months after my most recent thumb surgery so I am well aware of the feeling of loss of opportunity to play. That said, I dug into some of my instructional literature and tried to fill the gap with some better understanding of music and some refreshing of what I had forgotten, as it applied to playing guitar. Maybe this is also a time to start listening to new music that you haven't been exposed to or to visit some venues to observe other performers for visual ideas and creativity. Don't despair , your return is just a small distance away hopefully. Get well soon, I hope, the music will always be there waiting for you to return to. Greg

I'm so sorry, Randy. That really is dispiriting. I hope you heal quickly.

Hang in there ... you may learn a new style like Django Reinhardt or Jerry Reed ... can't go wrong with either one of those guys. Just take it slow when the doc gives you the go ahead. Thoughts with you.

Bummer. Its funny how once you've invested a certain amount of time in guitar how you start to worry about just this sort of thing. Thankfully this sounds like it will be a temporary setback and you'll be playing again soon. Hoping for a quick recovery.

@Randy120 Real bummer, hope your recovery is quick. Right-hand technique should be a goal. Collin’s tremolo picking video, string skipping, and harmonics practice (a capo could be your left-hand) are just a few ideas. Then there’s always THEORY that needs some work. ? Best of luck, Bryan

Heal quickly @Randy120

Sorry to hear that Randy - I hope you are on the mend soon!

Oh Randy, I am very sorry to hear that. I hope it heals well and soon. My very best wishes to you.

Maybe time to learn slide guitar while you wait for it to heal. Good Luck.