Leaderboard

Anybody planning any in the upcoming months? Good weather just around the bend (I hope). My trio opens for another band this Saturday as a small pub in Portland with a 40 minute set, but in May my quartet gets 2 1/2 hours on one or two Sundays for rehearsals-practice/play- at another truckstop bar as well. Any plans for others on the forum? Greg

I have a great skill, I can totally ignore a metronome. 😎 Even if it is really loud. Those of you who have heard my GarageBand produced songs will testify to that! So when I heard that there is a metronome that you can wear and it pulses so that you can feel the beat I thought it would be worth a try! Here it is...drum roll please.....🥁.......The Soundbrenner vibrating metronome! It comes with two watch strap holders, I got a good deal on a package which included the body strap also. So now I have plenty of options to try it out. I can sync it to a DAW that has a midi clock (I use Ableton Live Lite) that way I can see if I am playing on the beat. What do I mean "if" I should say that I can see that I am not playing on the beat!🤣

As I was finishing up session 4 last month, I went ahead and treated myself to my first electric guitar and amp. It was more of a combined finish session 4/30th birthday/promotion gift from me, my family, and fiance, but after a month on backorder it finally came in today. Pretty excited about it and can't wait until I get to the later sessions and start learning some blues. I also got a Yamaha THR10C to go along with it so I have the option of some late night practice with the electric. Might use some of my Musicians friends points I earned on this purchase to buy a blackface type amp later this year once I make some more progress in the course.

Since @UncleHammy hasn't logged in in a while we decided in February's thread to keep the tradition going. Let's hope he is well and that he can pick it up when he comes back. This month's theme is courtesy of @Nutty 1 Theme: If I could turn back time Description: "If I could turn back time" anything that is to do with the past or time. Deadline: 11:59 PM PST March 31, 2019 1- @Texaspackerfan - She ain't in it 2- @Nutty 1 - I think it's time 3- @WATSON43 - The Times They Are A-Changin' ------------------< RULES >------------------------- SUBMITTING: To complete the challenge, record an eligible song and reply to this thread with your your direct-linked or embedded track (Soundcloud's great) before the end of the month. GUITAR REQUIREMENT: You must play at least one real guitar track heard in the mix. GEAR: All content must be recorded with your home studio equipment. You may use BIAB or loops as long as you play the majority of the song with your real guitar. This is a guitar playing challenge not a sampling/recording challenge so keep that in mind. TIME: A recording made at any time before the entry deadline counts, but do not enter a recording in more than one challenge. ONE ENTRY per person or collaboration. But, I doubt anybody will complain if you want to share another on-theme track too. NEXT THEME: The person to choose next month's theme will be chosen randomly from those who complete this challenge. ----------------------------------------------------- Have fun, try something new, and give us something to listen to!

We've got a 1-hour set on Sunday at a biker bar! Doing a bunch of AC/DC and ZZ Top (which is why our name is AZ/DZ)!

I've played guitar for elderly in Nursing Homes and for young children in Pre-school. Always fun! It was just awesome to see how even people who don't move much suddenly start to boogie to music. Good stuff.

Howdy folks! Here is my entry for this months challenge. I want to apologize for the vocals, I'm not a singer, lol! but I tried. The song is "She Ain"t in it" by Jon pardi. its kind of about if you could turn back time, in this case its about and old love. go figure, its a country song, lol! Danny

Steve does not cover the CAGED system in the Learn & Master course, but he does have some videos on it. I don't think you should waste your time on CAGED at this point because you have so much to learn. You can always learn CAGED at a later date for extra credit, but if you think it is some magical system you must know to be your best then you will be disappointed. Desi Serna covers caged in his Fretboard Theory course. I think you have plenty of challenges just trying to complete Steve's course. It is easy to get sidetracked looking for some magical formula that will make you a great guitar player, but there isn't any. There is just knowledge, practice, and playing in the end.

@RBT618, I certainly don’t want to contradict what has been stated so far, but since you are open to thoughts from anyone, I’d like to offer my humble opinion of the CAGED system. The system that is known today as CAGED is really an intrinsic part of the standard guitar tuning. Understanding the chord-scale-arpeggio relationships from the CAGED perspective is really the basis for mastering the fretboard. It’s not a difficult concept to grasp and it gives you the big picture a beginner may not see for a long time. Frankly, I would introduce CAGED conceptually as early as the open chords are taught, to show how the entire fretboard can be methodically deciphered in terms of the three basic elements: chords, scales and arpeggios. As each element of the puzzle is learned, having the big picture in mind helps put them back together again. CAGED is the standard way of breaking down the fretboard into manageable pieces. Some say CAGED sucks. Tom Hess is probably the biggest opponent of it. I think it’s a gross exaggeration. The 3-Notes-Per-String system he touts as being superior is advantageous in terms of economy picking and playing horizontally, but not so much when playing in position which allows for the best voice leading possible. Although the 3-Notes-Per-String method allows for 7 patterns and CAGED only 5, additional patterns can be derived. The Extended CAGED system as taught by Richie Zellon is basically the standard CAGED system with two more patterns to cover a whole 7-note scale. The fingering method employed results in consistency when playing both a scale and the arpeggio derived from it. Richie's heptatonic system of fingerings is the most versatile method I’ve come across so far. It allows for playing both vertically (in position) and horizontally (along the fretboard) using composite fingerings. Bottom line: There’s no single method that works perfectly in every situation. Therefore, the more shapes, patterns, and fingerings you’re familiar with, the more playing freedom you will have.