Nutty 1

I am glad that your daughter liked hers, there are still a few around here in the UK. I understand that you are really busy as is anyone who plays in church or any other band. I enjoy reading about your musical adventures. Happy Christmas!🎊🎄🎁

Thank you Randy, Merry Christmas.🎁🎄🎊

Thank you Wim, Merry Christmas to you too!🎄🎊🎁

Thank you @Fretless, I really appreciate your kind words. I know that the encouragement and advice that I have received from you and others has really helped me to progress. Yes I bought that guitar because it is easy for someone with small hands to play and crazy sparkly. It appealed to my sense of humour I do not usually go for "girly" pink stuff . It does look amazing in the right lighting. Anyone out there who wants a guitar for small hands should not be put off by the brand Daisy Rock, they are Schecter "in a skirt" and they are not all in "girly" colours. 🎸

Here is me having a go at 'Last Christmas" by Wham. I am playing with my delay pedal here on "Shimmer", it fills in the sound but perhaps it is a bit too weird. I don't know, you decide. Any comments would be gratefully received. .

That's right. The challenge is a personal one for us all. 🎸Can we pick a song (or even just a small part of a song) from the suggested category and practice it and record it and post it in just 1 month? 🎸 😎Everyone who enters is a winner because they did it. 😎 I know that doing this really helped me to improve my playing.🎉

Hello Dan, thank you for joining the Challenge. You play really well, your notes are good and clean and your timing is really good. I was singing too!😎👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

Hello All. Unfortunately the original recording challenge has disappeared, @matonanjin and Steve K are investigating. This months Recording Challenge topic was suggested by @Wim VD1, he said "The most wonderful time of the year is coming, so I suggest to have Christmas songs as the new challenge." Here are the entries we have had so far (please let me know if I have missed anyone out). 1) @Fretless, he said "L&MG session 2 includes Jingle Bells. I wanted to do something different with the tune and so used a (sort of) bossa rhythm which makes me think of being on a beach in Rio de Janeiro on a hot summer's day, a complete contrast to the snow in the song." 2) @Wim VD1, he said "This is a bluesy arrangement of It Came Upon a Midnight Clear". Wim.https://soundcloud.com/wim-van-damme-401299565/ep337-it-came-upon-a-midnight 3) Dan0725 playing "Noel" please see the post below for the video. 4) Nutty 1 playing "Last Christmas"

Welcome back Marty. I am sorry to hear about all of the medical problems that you have endured. I wish you all of the very best luck for the future. Look after yourself and enjoy playing your guitar. Keep in touch with us. Best wishes Mandy

Hello Ning It could help you to feel the beat. I use the strap across my rib cage mostly. It is best on a part of the body that does not move. I myself can not tap my foot to the beat because I live in a house where the ceilings seem to be made of cardboard and my hubby is usually in the room directly underneath.

Lovely video Maria, it was great to hear you play and see and hear your beautiful new guitar. Your playing is superb and the guitar sounds so very sweet. A match made in heaven I would say.💕

In the UK we have music licenses that companies have to pay for if they want to play copyrighted music to the public. I am guessing that cover bands have to have one of those in the UK. I wonder a lot about copyright from the point of view of posting cover songs on youtube. I always do mine as unlisted because I do not think that you can legally do that without permission.🤔

@Texaspackerfan I am pleased that you have treated yourself to a new Fender Tele. You deserve a treat after the fire and all that it entailed. I can't see the picture on my iPad it just says "image preview " in a big white square. I hope you will do a video of you playing it, would love to hear it too! Congratulations and enjoy!😎🎉🎸 EDIT..... My computer has finally shown me your pictures. WOW TURQUIOSE! My favourite colour! Turquoise metallic if I am not mistaken, great choice!

I love "the one that I went back again for" stories Yours is a lovely story Maria, and that guitar looks good on you! Congratulations and enjoy, it was meant to be. As others have said, your smile says it all.❤️

Thank you Maria.😊

Great advice Maria! It is a good way to make sure that you really do know something as opposed to just thinking that you know it. I see you have a Daisy Rock amp. Do you have any of their guitars? I do, I find them easier to play as the necks are just right for me. To anyone with small hands reading this Daisy Rock guitars are "Schecter in a skirt " and are made especially for people with small hands, these guitars also weigh less.

Thank you Wim.

I loved this song from the first time that I heard it. The Joe Bonamassa fans amongst you will probably have heard this because Beth and Joe have done some superb concerts together. "Baddest Blues" by Beth Hart.

@sleepingangel It is great to hear from you again Maria, I am so sorry to hear about your Dad. My thoughts are with you. I had to give up the course myself because of my osteoarthritis and I also now have trigger finger (one on each hand). Although I have a surgeon who agreed to operate on them the operations have had to be postponed due to another ongoing health problem. This means that I can only play guitar with the middle finger of my fretting hand locked but luckily I can strum chords in the key of G as long as I substitute B7 for Bm. I really admire your true grit Maria, and how your strong determination has pulled you through the bad times. You are an wonderful musician and you have a beautiful voice. I am so very glad that you are back playing again. I hope that your music will help you through this sad time and that your hands will soon become pain free. Sending you lots of love Mandy xxx

Wow that was superb Danny, you played it magnificently! Very enjoyable.😎👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

Wow, what a beautiful Harmonica! Hey Barbara, if you ever join any of Ben Hewlett's classes you could post this picture in the Q&A section, I am sure Ben would like to see it and he may be able to tell you a little about it. He is Harmonica man. I think maybe a chromatic tuning app would be able to tell you if it is in tune. @NeilES335I have adjusted the gap on one or two of my Fender Blues harmonicas (starter set), you can make the gap bigger by sliding a piece of paper under the reed, there are videos on Youtube about it. But you have to be careful not to break the reed.

Yes, it is all about the constantly frequent sales on Udemy, I like Ben Hewlett's courses and the app will help a lot. I really should practice more myself.🤔😁😎

Definitely! Beautifully played Wim, you have just the right touch. I love it. 😎👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

Wow! I just looked it up. They decorated the Christmas Tree with Harmonicas! Hey you could do that, perhaps not with 50 but with one of each in a different key and a few in minor keys and harmonic minors. Then after Christmas you could use them, it would save on Christmas Decoration storage space.😁 Good choice on the Lee Oskar, they are my favourites! A is a great one to have as you can do blues in E. As for bending I can do hole 1 but am still pretty unpredictable on the rest. I have some courses on Udemy, by Ben Hewlett, which are really good. If you want any of his courses wait until they have a sale on, they usually go down to about £12. I admit that I don't practice enough. Yes music theory helps a lot. Enjoy!

A lot of the learning materials for harmonica are in the key of C so most people start with a C. Enjoy!😎