Leaderboard

Hi all! Glad I found this place. It's been a couple years-ish since I was on the Legacy forum and went to check it out today and the link took me nowhere. After some searching around I'm happy to see their is still a community based around Steve's courses! I bought the original course probably 10 years ago now. Upgraded to the current one shortly after it was released but didn't go further than Session 11 or 12. Been doing the marriage/kid-raising/career thing since I started and I'd lose motivation to practice when I'd get to the challenging parts of the course. Admittedly, spending too much time on the internet hasn't helped either. This last hiatus happened due to a few personal issues: troubled teen son, impending divorce after 17 years and overcoming substance addiction. I've gone months without even touching a guitar but knew I'd return to it when the time was right. I recently created a new personal space dedicated to guitar practice and, of course, I pulled out my L&M guitar books. Finally...the time has come and it's great to be back in the saddle again! Quick history: I started playing guitar right before my 14th birthday (1987...sheesh has it been that long?). Traded an alto saxophone I used for 4 years in the school band for my first electric guitar and amp. I Took piano lessons for many years prior (and after) and had a couple of excellent teachers, especially my first who instilled good practice habits. I've tried a few guitar teachers over the years but never found one I really resonated with that lasted more than a couple months. Most of what I've learned to date has been on my own through books, sheet music, self-study courses and just picking things up here and there. After 30+ years I've tried a number of home study materials and I can confidently say that Steve's courses have been the best that I've run across. I'm definitely going to continue with them! Music (of all many kinds) has always been a passion and big part of my life since I was a little guy and that passion is still alive today even at the age of 45. I think it's safe to say it will always be with me until the end. It's time to break some barriers and continue on with my guitar journey! I'd like to jam with other people again some day and maybe even form/join a band. Who knows. I've gone through lots of guitars/amps/effects since I started and the past, oh, 4-5 years I've gotten into Fender short-scale guitars. I'm a short dude with relatively small hands that struggled to get on with Strats (my favorite for decades). I have an Epiphone Sheraton with a shorter scale, but has also been a struggle especially in first position. Playing guitar can be painful to my fret hand which is one of the main reason I haven't progressed much over the years. I get discouraged with the pain and cramping. Took a chance on a Classic Player Jaguar due to the even shorter scale and found out the 24" scale and thicker neck felt most comfortable for my hand. Never saw the offset guitars as my thing, but the comfort and playability for me is undeniable. I own a few different Fender offset short-scales now as they're working for me. Anyway...thanks for reading and see you all around!

Those of you that know me, know that I am a PRS Guitars supporter. (Or you can look in my sig) And Santana is in large part why I fell in love with guitar music. But this isn't about that. Carlos makes one complimentary comment about PRS guitars. Maybe Warren Haynes says something nice about PRS amps. There is no selling of equipment in this video. Nor is there any technique lesson here. This is, from the description, " A philosophical conversation about tone and the quest to find your own voice featuring Carlos Santana, Warren Haynes, Derek Trucks and Paul Reed Smith. " Warren said something to the effect, "It's about the singers and getting your instrument sound like a singer." One of them said, "If it doesn't give you goosebumps how can you expect it to give the audience goosebumps?". It was 3 of the greatest living guitarists talking casually and candidly about what they strive for when performing or playing. I found it very interesting. I hope you enjoy it.

I'm a huge James Taylor fan, so I thought this would be a good one for this month's theme. Thanks for listening.

you can get little soft plastic things to go on your fingers if playing to long hurts my manager bought some on ebay and you can still play the guitar ...... well he is just starting lol just type 4 Silicone Guitar Guard Finger Picks Protector into ebay search when I started learning i was in the navy and i dipped my fingers in bacardi no joke it works, drank a lot of it too but no good if you've cut the finger that would smart

Thanks Ron! This was really cool. I love hearing about all the different musicians that have influenced each of them. I feel like I've been to the church of music this morning. Such wonderful positive souls! btw, I do play like I don't know how to play...... Bill

Thank you for posting the video Ron, there were so many interesting comments that I watched it twice. I am also a big PRS fan, Carlos Santana and his music has been a favourite of mine since Woodstock. These famous artists all take their craft very seriously from the point of view of the fans to be entertained. The professionalism of these men to be the best they can be every night is what makes them special. Plus, their relationship with Paul R. Smith to develop the "tools" to improve the sound is something that we all benefit from whether listing to the music or trying to play it. Henk

I wanted to sing this song but my cold is forbiding it so this is my months contributions. pleases hear his original :