John Wells

Damnit, Deuce, stop looking at the "end of life's journey." We'll get there when we get there. Heaven is my home, but I ain't homesick. Lotsa luck.

The vocals were by Dan Peek, who passed in 2011 at age 60. Lotsa luck.

Hi there, young Deuce. I'm 86 and I jam with the best guitarist in this business. And you want to know why that is? It's Steve. That's why his course includes "The Jam Along" CDs. So, here's my suggestion. From today until the reunion, practice 30 minutes each day with Steve on your Jam Alongs. And remember, this reunion is among friends. Lotsa luck.

Steve's Jam Along CD's for Session 5 have three version: Slow, Medium, and Fast. In the course material he doesn't mention any bpm, but if you can play the CD you can get a count of each. As always, Listen to Steve. Lotsa luck.

Looking back several years, I ask myself what was it I needed or wanted that would have improved my learning situation. The answer is that I needed two things that I had to go outside this wonderful L&MG course. The first was to have a “pre-guitar knowledge” to prepare me. Of course, at the time I was at the highest point of enthusiasm I would have until several years later, so I was ready to plunge on and get to playing. Then, Steve, your course whetted my appetite for theory, so I bought “Eddly’s Musical Theory for Practical People,” and commenced studying while I continued to practice, and the insight improved my enjoyment. I didn’t want to have the detailed knowledge of a music major, but I did wish to know the why’s and wherefores. So, the first advice I can give is that L&MG write, publish, and provide something like “Eddly’s,” with the explanation that it is for studying apart from learning to play guitar. The one thing I’d add that “Eddly’s” is short of, is a glossary of musical terms and symbols, such as that on the Mormon Church website (If you don’t love music or like to sing, the Mormons excommunicate you). The other thing I learned was that learning to read music is a skill apart from learning to play guitar, so I located a website called www.musictheory.com and found online drills of identifying notes. These drills facilitated my practice routine beyond the progress I would have made without them. So, Steve, I think a video game of practice reading music would be a great addition. With or without these enhancements, your L&MG is a wonderful course. Lotsa luck.

Your so-called "Death grip" seems a habit formed while learning barre chords and has to be broken as one of the final things we have to learn in order to play with them. Breaking a habit is difficult, but the rewards are stupendous (Allus like to use dat word). Keeping a straight wrist, placing the thumb on the back of the neck opposite the middle valley between the first and second knuckles ought to do it. Don't expect miracles overnight; learning to play guitar takes the Three P's (Practice, Perseverance, and Patience.) Lotsa luck

Enjoyed it. Lotsa luck.

My Taylor 712-ce, which I've had for--must be ten years. It's opened up as it's aged. Lotsa luck.

Well, Tprettygirl, you've been at this for about three months, and by now you've probably mastered these first open chords, no? We've all learned that progress takes the "Three P's: Practice, Persistence, and Patience." If you're like most of us, after we get that muscle memory down, we begin working on our fretting mechanics, which means a straight wrist, our thumb placed on the back of the neck opposite the space between the first and second finger knuckles, our fingers approaching the fingerboard at a right angle, and fretting just behind the fret wire. The sign of correct fretting mechanics is that the size of the calluses on our fingertips become progressively smaller until they disappear, leaving our fingertips inured. All of this takes time, and that's why the most important P of the three is Patience. Lotsa luck, young lady.Keep on keeping on!

I bought my first Taylor, a 712-CE, more years ago than I care to remember, and one of the perks was a lifetime subscription to Taylor "Wood & Steel." This ecological thing about preserving tone woods in foreign jungles is nothing new to Bob Taylor; he's been at it for years. While ebony is the preferred wood for fingerboards, I have a custom Tele with a solid maple neck, and a maple fingerboard is as durable and comfortable as my ebony ones. I can remember when lignum vitae (ironwood) was used in ship propeller shaft bearings. Tempus fugit! Lotsa luck.

Did somebody say drummer?

In 1954 I reported to my first ship in San Diego, and Hwy 101, the Pacific Coast highway of its day, ran north along the coast. About half-way to L.A. at San Juan Capistrano there was a wicked curve, and a bus carrying children crashed with fatal results. Roy and Dale adopted several children, and as I recall some of the victims were among their adoptees. Good old Leonard Slye and his wife were wonderful people. Gene Autry didn’t like Roy because Roy claimed the title “King of the Cowboys,” and Gene was jealous. During the forties, the Saturday matinees with Western cowboys were favorite attractions. We didn't much care for Roy because he had girls in his movies; I was more of a Charles Starett, aka "The Durango Kid," fan although I didn't have the slightest idea where Durango was--and I still don't. Lotsa luck.

Long time ago and makes me scratch my noggin. As I recall, Gregg was "Born a Ramblin' Man," before Duane jjoined the band. They wuz good! Lotsa luck.

Yeah, I saw that commercial, and winched. When did it become popular for all these gals to become viragos? Remember the song "The Boys Are Back in Town?" Hated it. Lotsa luck

You have a bad pot. Spray won't make it good. Replace it.Lotsa luck.

Haven't named any of my guitars, but there are times I call them by one or other of several epithets. Lotsa luck.

Seldom have I ever listened to a more abject, boring presentation with such sophomoric analogies. I’ve been around this place for some time, and I’ve noticed that one of the most challenging skills we students face is learning to play with the “gnome,” that dreaded clicking monster. Let’s face why. We’re learning to fret and strum, and now we have to keep time (rhythm) with a humongous distraction of sound. The best way to keep time is with our tapping foot (left or right, just pick one). The problem is that our tapping feet aren’t calibrated in beats per minute. Fortunately we have two ways to overcome this inability. If we set a gnome to the b.p.m. we wish before we begin playing and get our foot in sync with it, then we can ignore the clicking sound and feel the beat with our feet. I use this method lots of times. If we play with a group, the beat is set by either the drummer or the bassist, and we can tap along with him. The other method is a commercial metronome called a Peterson Body Beat, which has a pulsing transducer we stick in our belt or shoe so we can feel its set b.p.m. I have one, but I’ve sorta gotten used to the first method. Now, I’m no guitar teacher like Steve, with whom I have an agreement: I won’t teach guitar and he won’t engineer designs of Navy ships; both students and our armed forces smile at this arrangement. I don’t own any Peterson stock, but as a student I do endorse the Body Beat. ‘Nuff said, and maybe too much. Lotsa luck.

I have a Taylor 714ce and love it. My dream acoustic would be a MacPherson (with the off center hole), but I have too much money tied up in guitars already. But ahhhh, the tone of a MacPherson. Lotsa luck.