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Showing content with the highest reputation on 10/23/2020 in all areas

  1. I would agree as well. I've found that using my Looper pedal while practicing is a great help in hearing exacty how you sound. I record the rhythm track and play the melody over it to practice the tune and the timing. It's a bit frustrating at times to get a "clean" track and often takes many many attempts, but it's well worth it in the end, whether you are practicing or recording. Now I'm more familiar with it (there was a pretty steep learning curve), I also use my recording software "Reaper" for this when I want to capture a track to save. Pro backing tracks are good too, but I prefer doing both parts.
    2 points
  2. @Gran Gran, welcome to you and no one, I believe, thinks your question is a joke. It's a valid question. We often see some form of "Will a better, i.e. more expensive, guitar somehow improve my guitar learning experience". You have received two thoughtful, considered answers and I am probably going to do little to add to those other than just reiterate. There are probably a lot more of us senior learners, of great grandpa age, on these forums than most realize. I am conceivably (pun intentional) of that age. I have two grand-kids in their upper 20's😉. So biologically it's possible. I was slightly younger than @Oldjock when I started. Santa brought me a nice "starter" kit. It was a Yamaha Pacifica guitar and a little practice amp. Shortly after I, fortunately, and I don't remember how, found Steve's Learn and Master Guitar. And my journey began. But it wasn't long afterwards, 5 or 6 months perhaps, and I recognized a problem. I had been now dutifully practicing every day, for months, and I am not playing like Carlos Santana yet! There had to be a problem. And I knew what that problem was! I have a cheap guitar! I very convincingly explained the problem to my wife. She had, after all, delivered the Yamaha to me in Santa's stead and I didn't want to seem unappreciative nor offend her or Santa. And then off to the local guitar store we went. And when we returned home I had a new Gibson Les Paul and a Fender Blues Jr. 3. And practice I did. And I made more progress. Although Carlos was not yet looking over his shoulder. After a few more months with the new Les Paul I was sitting in my music room and there was that poor, dejected, lonely Pacifica sitting in the corner. Something prompted me to pick it up. And play it. And guess what?! It played great! I had made progress and it was due to the fact that due to the excitement of the new Les Paul, I was practicing more. With retrospection, I had made it through the dreaded L&MG session 4 with that Pacifica. @Gran Gran, you're not there to session 4 yet and probably don't know what that means. You will. Session 4 around here is badge of accomplishment. So "will a more expensive guitar help in learning how to play"? No. But anything that encourages us to pick up the guitar and practice will.
    1 point
  3. As Henk and Diane said once you cross the $1,000 range of instruments the return becomes less and less . like a car that didn't cost much can go from 0-60 in 5.5sec and costs a lot to get it to 5.0 seconds. Granted there are many fine examples well below $1,000 as well. Just remember, nicks, scratches, and dings happen and are all part of a guitar knowing it's loved. [edit: owning a $2,000+ guitar is amazing.. play it , play it again]
    1 point
  4. Henk if you have an iOS device then you have free access to GarageBand. You will find it in the App Store. GarageBand is an amazing software package which I highly recommend for a first DAW. If you are going to work with an iPad or iPhone a cheap but good way to connect your guitar is an iRig2 which is a good low cost interface. This is much better than using the internal microphone. If you are thinking about working with a Mac or Pc and had more cash to spend a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 is a great interface (it does not work with tablets though). Macs also get GarageBand for free. If you wish to record to a Pc you could always install Audacity which is free (they also have a free Mac version) https://www.audacityteam.org.
    1 point
  5. Thanks for posting the article Mandy. Recording myself play has really become one of my failures. I have such limited time to play and practice that I cannot commit more time to learning about recording systems. I have on occasion used the Voice memos app on iOS and have been disappointed with the results. I suspect the the replay points out to my lack of skills rather than the tinny sound coming from the phone. In the summary the author states, "Multitracking a song by yourself is one of the best things you can do to improve your musicianship." I cannot disagree, so I must begin moving in that direction to improve my skill set. Hopefully my children's houses will be completely renovated and more time becomes available. There are many small recorders on the market for less than $300. What are my fellow forum members using and why? Henk
    1 point
  6. @Gran Gran Welcome to the forum, and I presume, to Steve's course. My take on your question is this: the guitar that will best help you learn is the one on which you actually practice and play. That guitar could cost anywhere from $25 to $250,000. It should suit the kind of music you want to play, give you pleasure, and it should be professionally set up so that you don't have to work against it. So, my layperson's short answer is, no. There comes a price point of diminishing returns at which the extra dollars do not add playability or tone as much as they add trim and finish. This point varies with the individual. A downside of owning a pricey instrument is that one can become more concerned with preserving its value than actually playing it. These days one can purchase a high quality instrument for $2,000, so your present guitar should serve you well as a student. All the best.
    1 point
  7. That's a busy schedule, @Limatje. Respect! I tend to work on fewer items in parallel. A couple of excercises and a song or two. My practice is dictated by the songs I want to learn. If a specific scale or technique is used in the song I am learning, then I do some specific exercises on that scale or technique. This works for me and keeps me motivated. Wim.
    1 point
  8. Great job! I loved it and I agree with Gotto, your voice fit the song purrrrfectly!
    1 point
  9. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6frfQ72mQeA
    1 point

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