NeilES335

All the best with s5 Dan! Remember , the metronome is your friend and there's nothi gthing wrond with reviewing past sessions. N.

@dan0725 check back later in the " Downloads" section.

@kenneth Congratulations on your progress so far; you're doing great! Alternate pickking vs. all down strokes....I beg to differ slightly with my collegue DianeB on picking technique. I believe in the early stages (like where you are) it's best to develop a solid downpicking technique focusing on this first. I don't believe Steve K mentions this in the LMG course, but here's what I mean. You're observation on tone and picking technique is spot on. Upstrokes do tend to be weaker and more "trebly" than downstrokes. When you donwpick, work on getting a solid clear tone, and use a 'rest stroke", meaning, pick "thorough the string" ie inwards and down vs vertical and outwards. Briefly rest your pick on the next string below, before picking the next note. If you practice this you'll notice a definate improvement in your tone and finger control. Don't rush it... get used to the downstroke and "rest stroke" technique. There's nothing wrong with alternte picking, which is, as @DianeB says is essential for speed, but in my humble opinion your current technique needs to be corrected now before it becomes an issue later. You can add alternate picking to your tool kit later on. I hope that helps! N

@kenneth Please don't feel bad about your progress so far! You're doing well and trust us, thousands of folks who learned guitar this way likely had the same experience; so it's normal! Just be patient, persistant, and practice regularly (daily 1/2 hour -1 hr achieves great results) and you'll get it! As Doug says, the time frame is just a loose guide and Session 4 is pretty big with a lot of new skills and concepts to absorb. So take it steady and learn it thoroghly. All the Best N ps just forget about looking at YouTube and all the other so called teachers... just focus on the course!

“Whether you think you can, or you think you can't – you're right,” - Henry Ford

Shovel guitar? I can dig it... Oil can? That'd made for some smooth licks... 😉 (So much for "tone woods" ...)

@Wim VD1 I noticed the string noise too, but your playing was as good or better than ever so I didnt mention it... I tried those strings and took them off because I didnt like the feel or the noise. I found Martin Sp much better on acoustic. I actually like Flat Wound strings (like D'Addario Chrome jazz light) the best on my archtop acoustic /electric because of the mellow warm tone, smooth feel and NO string noise! There are some products like Tone Finger Ease Lubricant that could help (i havent tried it.) Otherwise just experimenting with different strings is about all i think you can do.

We all have days /practice sessions like that... not to worry; just brush it off and go back to it the next time with a clear head. N

Interesting @DianeB (was that a co-incidence or was he talknig about you? 😉) Here's a summary from this Podcast; Brent tells his story. Stop comparing yourself to others. Focus on your personal record. Play from where you are not from where you want to be. This means accepting where you are at on your musical journey all while working towards improvement. Don’t put all of your self-worth into music. You’re worth so much more. Don’t make this mistake. Remember that if music stops being fun for you, it means you took a wrong turn somewhere. Step back and re-evaluate. While I'd love to think I will eventually play like my jazz guitar hero's like Wes Montgomery, Joe Pass, or Frank Vignola, I know this isn't very realistic. These artists started very young and dedicated their lives to it. I do have goals and am always striving to be better. But I try not to "get down on myself" and remember that this is for me a passionate hobby, and if it's not fun then it's time to take a short break and refocus in a not so serious vein. "Be in it for the journey, and not the destination". - Brent Vaartstra

Excellent.

I've found that a foot rest to elevate my right leg (I'm right handed) helps a lot too to get a proper and comfortable positsion while playing seated (as I do most of the time). I use the folding type classical guitarists use. https://www.long-mcquade.com/1754/Guitars/Accessories/Yorkville_Sound/Guitar_Foot_Stool.htm

@Oldjock @Popeye. thank you gentlemen for your kind comments 😊 It has been and is quite a journey down this jazz learning path Im on. I think I'm getting a bit better at reording so I hope to do several more in the near future.

@Jason B Hi Jason; You're in the right place! Welcome to Guitar Gathering. Please continue to post your progress, and other members will engage, and encourage and sometimes advise. And don't forget to join us on our Guitar Gathering YouTube site (link is above) most Tuesday nights for Live Lessons with Steve Krenz (yes it's really live!) from Gruhn's Guitars of Nashville. (you need a free YouTube account to live chat there) Congratulations on your progress on the LMG course... Lesson 17 in only 13 months is spectacular progress! (many of us took much longer - years) . You're right at the stage where the Blues Course would make sense. It's true there haven't been a lot of post on that course here, but please go ahead. There are many I'm sure that are working on it and dont post yet. Hope to hear from you soon All the Best; Neil ( co-moderator)

My lastest playing and recording of "Sunny" by Bobby Hebb I enjoyed recording it; I hope you enjoy it too...Thanks for listening. "Sunny" is a soul jazz song written by Bobby Hebb in 1963. It is one of the most performed and recorded popular songs, with hundreds of versions released. BMI rates "Sunny" #25 in its "Top 100 songs of the century".[1] It is also known by its first line: "Sunny, yesterday my life was filled with rain".[2] After some searching and experimenting, I found a "Jazz tone" plug in that is more suitable for me and fitting for this song. The recording is my own work both rhythm and lead tracks. Recorded with my ES-335 direct to Reaper 6.0. with Voxengo Boogex plugin amp model.