matonanjin

Chris, my only advice is don't get them perfect. I probably worked on these two barre chord sessions for at least 9 months. With some retrospection I wish now that I had moved on sooner. You are going to play these the rest of your guitar playing life. They are going to improve as you play. Memorize the 5 shapes for 6th string and 5th string chords. Get them "pretty" good? If you can't get the F7 to ring out perfectly, live with it. If the G7 rings out clearly, you're close.

Really nice, Danny. Great playing and recording.

You and me both @Eracer_Team-DougH, Doug. I don't need to get back to "clean it up" but I need to get to it to start it!!? As you can see from my sig I'm supposedly working on it. But I finished up Song Hits Session 7, "Day Tripper" and then was going to move on to Session 8. And I changed my sig. And I was going to start on "Pretty Woman" rather than "Moon River" the other song in S8 just because it's a song I've always liked and I want to learn it. (The same way with Day Tripper! That was a lot of fun). But then I go distracted by working on songs for my weekly jam and some other stuff I'm working on. I keep saying that I am going to get caught up on The Song Hits and get them synchronized with L&M. But it hasn't happened.

Not 75, as you two are, but I'll hit the 7-0 next month. @The deuce, If you want to expand your "early age" range by a few years there are more than you might think on here. I wish there was a way we could sort the members list by age. But I think that you would be surprised by the number of us "advance" learners compared to the so called kids!

Oh come on people! Now over 1200 members. Of those not at the Gathering only revster, Wim and I are working some guitar materials at home?!?!?

" America is a British-American rock band formed in England in 1970 by Dewey Bunnell, Dan Peek, and Gerry Beckley. " https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/America_(band)

@NeilES335, you and I are neck & neck. OK, a slight edge to you. I've got all the check marks except "Johnny E Blues". I'm 96.43% finished with "Jamin" and will start "Johnny E" this week. I also had some distractions (medical, musical and domestic) but am getting back to S13, as I said, this week. Thanks for keeping us updated on your progress.

I am not recommending this. Let's be very clear. I have not purchased this nor looked at it. Jeff Scheetz has the title of "Director of Education" at TrueFire. And many of us here are familiar with TrueFire. (And some of us have purchased way more courses there than one can possibly ever get through). He has one course which is, rather than a technique type course, is a how to practice course, titled "Smart Practice for Guitar". I should have devoted more time to it but I did get some good ideas from it. I'm on Jeff's email list and just got notice that he has released a book, "SMART Practice - Rocket Fuel For Your Skills. A Systematic Approach To Get Better At Anything." Jeff is a guitarist but, as you can tell from the title, it is not just about a practice regimen for guitar but supposedly for improving at anything. You look. Make your own decision.

@revster, congratulations on retirement!! But the question is, if you're jealous, what are you doing this week? Are you increasing or otherwise changing your practice routine? Are you doing anything else with the guitar this week?

Besides @UncleHammy and me, who is at home wishing you were in Nashville right now? If so, what are you doing to ease the pain (and envy) of not being there? Guitar-wise of course! Whether you were hoping to go to GG or not, let's share what everyone is working on this week. 1) I am close to finishing Session 13. If not today, tomorrow I'm going to finish "Jamming The Blues", one of the two "play along" songs at the end of the session. I was practicing it a couple days ago and my wife walked by and commented on how it sounded good. Made my day!? I think it was @Triple-o that posted about "Johnny's E Blues", the other "play along" song, took him a while. I'm hoping I can knock it out this week. 2) "Learn All You Can". Since I am working "Playing the Blues", I am working a TrueFire course by Corey Congilio called "30 Beginner Blues Licks You MUST Know". (Appropriately enough Corey was one of the guest instructors last year). This is a great, fun course for a beginner. In addition to the licks, it gets one started on bends, hammer-ons, pull-offs, vibrato, etc. So I think, I hope, it's going to give me a bit of a head start when I get to the next session, Session 14, "Giving Your Playing Some Style". I am now on lick 13. I'm going to finish it and 14 by week's end. 3) I'm going to step up my practice schedule a little this week. 50% increase. Being old and retired I have the luxury of practicing almost all I want, limited only by the occasional "Honey Do". 4) It's not anything different or special this week but I am going to my weekly guitar jam tonight. I've commented on this before. This is a fun couple hours each week with a couple good guys. So what are you working? Anything special? Even if it is not not different this week, let's just everyone share what you're working on learning materials wise or anything you're doing guitar wise. We haven't done this for a while. Outside lesson? Jamming? Writing a song? Recording? Anything?

Yup. "wish I could have come this year but live got in the way." Please keep the updates flowing although it is going to make me (and maybe others) even more envious of your being there.

OMG, @UncleHammy that was horrible! Great job.!

If it makes you feel any better, @Plantsman13, mine as well.

Sometimes things don't go as planned. Sometimes a wife calls up and says "Take me to dinner!" ?

I guess this answers my question. Even Django Reinhardt used a POD HD500 ???

Wow! All great tips. And great idea for a thread @colder. And since you took what I think is the best one, " the ultimate practice tip was that if I can't play something, go slower and slower until you can play it perfectly", I'll fall back to my second choice. Have a plan for the practice day. A written, documented, stare you in the face, "What Am I Going To Work On Today" plan. We have to work on what is fun and that should be part of the plan. But, as Randy said above, get stuff in the plan that makes you struggle and improve. Get it out of the way. Then reward yourself and have fun. I don't know how well you'll be able to see it. Here is a "screen scrape" of my plan today:

And Doug it goes on to read "as long as there is room". I've gotten in arguments with people on other forums that seem to think that the airlines, due to the new travel regulations, have to provide one with space for a guitar in the overhead or under the seat. They do but only so long as there is room. And it's up to the airline staff to determine "if there is room". If you are not in early boarding "always be prepared to have them check it under the plane". Any more, when I fly, I just always check my Strat in luggage. I have a TSA compliant locking hardcase. I lock it up, close my eyes, and check it. The first couple times, because I was afraid, I put my "starter guitar" Yamaha Pacifica in the case and checked it. But the last times (10?) that I have flown I checked the Strat. So far. So good.

This was exactly was I was thinking when I read @Dave White's post. It is damp humid in the summer here (and brutally dry in the winter). Even with the air conditioner running I still need a dehumidifier in my music room/office in the summer.

I can see where that speed trainer could be very useful. I just used it for the first time. But rather than having to keep stopping and resetting the speed, just set the incremental increases and go! I set it for 3x at each speed and increases of 5% and it worked fairly well. I can see my using this more.

Wim, I remember over at L&MG someone calling being close to finishing the course "in rarefied air". That's exactly where you are at, "in rarefied air". I can count on one hand the number of people that I know of that have finished L&M. Wim, you are an encouragement for all of us.

That's what I thought she probably did. A modeler into the house PA. (Although I've never heard the acronym FOH ?)

I'm sure that this is far more common than I realize. This is, after all, a 3 year old article. But when I read it it somewhat shocked me. How many gigging musicians are going sans amp? My wife and I first saw Joanne Shaw Taylor on the Keeping the Blues Alive cruise. A great guitarist and she put on a tremendous show. But I was sure that I saw her plugged into an amp. Going out the door a couple weeks ago for a trip to Chicago I randomly grabbed a handful of magazines for the 8 hour drive. One of them was this Guitar Techniques from January, 2015. Having become a fan of Joanne I naturally gravitated to this article. I was somewhat surprised to read the sentence that I have underlined in red, when referring to amps she said, "I don't use them too much live anymore...." So obviously she is using a modeler. What other musicians do you know, famous or otherwise, that are giving up amps? Perhaps I shouldn't be to surprised. I had posted over at L&MG the video about setting in with that blues band practice. I had gone back a couple times and the lead guitar player is using only a POD HD500X. But I reasoned that's just a local band and this is just practice. (I later saw them at a show and that is what he is using). I still vacillate between my pedal board and my POD HD500x. @Six String has been trying to drag me into the 21st century for months, probably longer. Right now I'm using the POD just for an OD, Chorus and a Delay into my Blues, Jr., amp. This is a silly waste of its potential. If I'm going to do that I should use my OD, Chorus and a Delay on my pedalboard and sell the POD! Or use the POD into my guitar interface and sell the amp and pedalboard! But again, what gigging musicians do you know that are ampless? What are you using?

@guitarben, I haven't had a chance to look at this yet. I'm sure this is close to what I want to do. Thank you.

A lot of great TV viewing on AXS TV Saturday (when we should be practicing. But you can't practice ALL the time!) From the AXS website: "The house will be rockin’ this Saturday! This week, our Saturday is dedicated to those who truly know how to shred the axe! This all-day lineup features performances from the best of the best including Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Clapton, B.B. King, John Mayer and of course, Carlos Santana! We start our guitar gods lineup with the history of Stevie Ray Vaughan’s incredible influence and revitalization of Texas Blues. His impact on the genre is examined using rarely seen footage, interviews with historians & biographers, and commentary from musicians who performed with Vaughan. Then, we reveal the full, previously untold story of Stevie Ray Vaughan’s glory years from the period between the release of his debut album to his tragic death in a helicopter crash in 1989. Next, get ready for a few heavenly performances! Eric Clapton is up first, and his show features special guests J.J. Cale, Derek Trucks, Doyle Bramhall II and Robert Cray. This concert was a highlight of Clapton’s 2007 world tour and saw the late, great J.J. Cale perform alongside Clapton on five songs! Up next, we have the king of blues, B.B. King. This renowned blues master makes every note count while performing on stage with Terrance Howard, Solange, and Richie Sambora! But wait, there’s more! John Mayer captivates the crowd with soulful lyrics, convincing vocals, and of course his guitar mastery! It’s performances like this that have gained him worldwide fans and Grammy® Awards. Mayer serenades the audience with hits like “Your Body is a Wonderland” and “Clarity.” Finally, we end the night with an epic Santana concert! Captured on stage together for the first time since 1973, this energy-packed show features classic Santana songs from the first four albums, including “Black Magic Woman,” “Oye Como Va,” “Evil Ways,” “Soul Sacrifice,” and many more." What really looks interesting to me is the documentary from 11 AM to 1:30 PM (Central Time) called "Stevie Ray Vaughan: Rise of a Texas Blues Man 1954-1983.", which is, obviously a biography. And it is followed at 1:30 PM -3:30 PM with "Stevie Ray Vaughan: LoneStar" which described as about his glory years. They should be interesting.

Welcome back and best of luck to you. You almost finished the course! It should come back to you fairly quickly but perhaps a little review would be in order? Certainly you don't need to review session 1 and probably you can sneak through the notes (sessions 2, 3,4) very quickly. But starting with Open chords, session 5, devote a week or two or so per session until you're caught up. Obviously any area that you are a little rusty on would get a little extra attention. Then you could finish up the last two sessions. Perhaps when you get caught up you could look at a specialization course in whatever genre you like to work concurrently while you finish. To keep it interesting and fun! You could look at Steve's Blues Course or Fingerstyle or any other one of interest to you. Again, Welcome Back!