NeilES335

Steve replied in chat this morning that he and Paulette are fine.

Greetings friends; Another happy co-incidence... I happened to be working on a tune who's best known recording is by The Beatles! My rendition of "Till There Was You" Till There Was You, sung by Paul McCartney on the With The Beatles album, was written by Meredith Willson for 1957 musical The Music Man. It also appeared in the 1962 film of the same name. McCartney, however, heard the song through Peggy Lee's 1958 version. I always loved this song, first hearing it when I was a kid back in 1963, on my transistor radio! I played both the Rhythm and Melody tracks recorded directly to my DAW (Reaper 6.0, basically clean, very little effects) using my Godin 5th Ave Kingpin archtop (p90). I hope you enjoy listening 🙂 It was fun (and challenging) to do. https://soundcloud.com/neiles335/till-there-was-you

At the risk of sounding old...I guess there are lots or younger touring musicians playing concerts today, but I really couldn't tell you who they are or much about them. Those of us "mature" folks grew up in a Golden Age of music, the 1950's through the !970's, and many of those artists are now in their 70's and 80's. So, with all the related health issues associated with this, it's not that surprising that they're willing but sometimes not able. Even the younger artists are making careers out of singing /performing songs or music styles made popular before they were born. Where the music industry goes from here is anyone's guess. I don't think I've really heard much "new" music that interests me much at all in maybe 20 yrs or more... Sidenote; A brother/sister duo recently earned a "Juno Award" (that's Canada's equivilent to a "Grammy") writing, performing recording their song by themselves at home, (with an interface, mixing board, a few mics and a computer) and promoting it on "social media" and YouTube. So much for record companies...

@Wim VD1well done👍 This a very challeging song to play. (oh yes, the birds are tweet...)

Bigger isn't always better! Another contender was this "little" guy; Amazing tone, really straight up with basically no more than volume and tone knob (that's it) but what a sound! Fender Pro Junior IV https://www.long-mcquade.com/98823/Guitars/Guitar-Amps/Fender-Musical-Instruments/Pro-Junior-IV-15W-1x10-Tube-Combo-Amp---Lacquered-Tweed.htm The Blues Junior IV is also really good too... but everyone knows that.https://www.long-mcquade.com/98825/Guitars/Guitar-Amps/Fender-Musical-Instruments/Blues-Junior-IV-15W-1x12-Tube-Combo-Amp---Black.htm

Besides being one of the best acoustic players alive, Tommy Emanuel is a pretty wicked electric blues player too... 😉 If I'm not mistaken he started out playing the Blues in a band with his brother in Austrailia.

@matonanjin "Necroposting" ? Thats a new one on me...;-) To pick up this thread is kind of interesting to read what I wrote about 14 mths ago about this. I finally did decide on the FSR (Fender Special Run) '65 Fender Princeton Reverb Re-Issue amp, in a very attractive wheat colour tweed and with a 12" Cannabis Rex (that's hemp folks... ) speaker. @Eracer_Team-DougH Doug H helped me play several amps, back to back to decide. They other amps were the regular 65 Princeton (10" speaker), the regular 68 Princeton (10" ) and Traynor YGL-1 and a couple of other "small" tube amps. I was looking for a really warm, clean, "jazz" tone, but still with some versatility in tone. This model of 65 Princeton was far and away the best sounding to my ears, (and Doug's... I think he wanted one too) delivering on all fronts. The Eminence 12" CR speaker REALLY made a difference here. There's plenty of "headroom" and it sounds GREAT at home studio/bedroom level at about 4 on the Vol dial. It can get LOUD if you crank it up (I had a sales guy do that in the store with a Tele and it was terrific tone and plenty loud enough for a small stage!). It's my first tube amp, and I'm super happy with it. I have have barely touched my "old" amp (Fender G-DEC 30) since I got the Princeton about 5 months ago. I haven't really explored all the tones it is capable of yet. I just found the warm mellow "jazz tone" I wanted (bass up a bit tone rolled back a bit, a little reverb ) and barely ever touch the dials. No pedals required for me... Maybe one day I'll dive in a bit deeper but this suits me just fine. Highly recommended! BTW... this amp isn't "just" a jazz amp.. any style will be very well suited. Heres the link to the store...https://www.long-mcquade.com/71239/Guitars/Guitar-Amps/Fender-Musical-Instruments/FSR-65-Princeton-Rev-Tweed-w-12---Cannabis-Rex-Speaker.htm

I think this video is from the Joe Bonamassa "Keeping the blues alive at sea cruise " ... (I found it on YT)

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.

@matonanjin Caution my friend... a bad case of pedalitis could insue....for which there is no know cure! 🙂 N

@Randy120 Good point Randy. While striving for perfection, we can lose track of what we've accomplished so far. The added stress we put on ourselves can block our creativity. So in those times it's best to take a step back and refocus. After all, learning guitar is for most of us a (passionate) hobby, and it's supposed to be fun! N