NeilES335

The Speed and Agility Fretboard workout will definately help. I suggest you run through the exercises at slightly slower than you can cleanly and accuately play, then build up by smaller increments. A couple of times a day over a few weeks should do it. You dont need to run the video each time.. just use a metronome at your speed. (I use the SA exercises for warm up before every practice session.)

About a month now on S14...coming along quite well. Slides, bends to pitch pretty well done.. Octaves too, although playing along with jam track is a bit harder than it looks. (having an interest in jazz , I really want to get this down well) You need to know your scale hoizontally as well as vertically! The biggest part of the Session is memorizing the 7 Arpeggio forms played with hammer on' s / pull offs . This will take a little while longer.. (I jumped into S15 for a look and think I wont be there too long ?)

@gotto Great job Greg! I was wondering... playing in this kind of environment with people talking, eating, laughing etc.... Did you find the noise distracting? Or that (at least some people) were n't paying particular attention? I've personally not done any performing, so you're way ahead, but I can imagine there is a bit of nervousness, and wanted to prepare myself... I going to my first Open Mic/ Jam Night in a few weeks (there will be some pros there too).

You're right in that when you play the "fast " version along with the jam track, you have to be "on" ...and paying attention to get it absolutely on the beat and not flub anything... you'll do it I'm sure. (playing along with the track is certainly less forgiving)

Well Ron.. @matonanjin to answer your question , no I didnt find Johnnys E Blues particularly difficult...but then again I've played the "shuffle" 1-4-5 many times before for years. You"ll get it soon enough, then you can start experimenting with fills and licks interspersed with the melody, or play it in other keys like A. I'll leave a candle in the window...?

A very interesting /cool sounding chord (most often used in Jazz) especially substituted for the "1 " chord, or in this case say the Cmaj7. You could play the straight C6/9 and drop the #11 if you like, depending on the tonality you want. (ps I bet many Americans would be very surprised to find that many of their favourite songs where written and /or performed by Canadian artists)

I've taken a look at the course, and as @Eracer_Team-DougH says, you have to know at least a bit of theory to get along very far... So there may not be many others out there with you right now (I could be mistaken), but you @Wim VDare more than up to the job, I'm sure. All the Best!

Soon Maton will come out with a custom Tommy model without finishing on the lower bout (screwdriver marks and all) ...?

While you are there check out the Fender Blues Jr and new Bassbreaker 15. Similar for comparison.

@Steve Krenz I feel like this thread could be called, "Steve's Suggestion Box" ... maybe it could be a permanent topic or "pinned " so it's easier to locate? I had a thought.... because there are student members of all levels and interests, lessons or tips could be further categorized, into say, "Rooms" , like the Beginners Room, Intermediate Room, Advanced Room, Finger-style etc.... Or, maybe by genre' , like "The Blues Room" or, "The Jazz Room" and so on.... (Obviously I know there are Forum Topics already) Too complicated? Just throwing it out there...

It would help to know the info as others have said.. You will find a zillion reviews for amps on YouTube. I like Anderton Music UK for their very informative reviews . They have done several comparing home "practice" amps (including the Yamaha THRs and similar. I'd start there, do your research. Or take your guitar with you to a good musis store, try out several and see which one has the sound features and price you like best.

Tommy Emanuels's Maton looks "well loved" ... ?

BRAVO IAN!

All the Best for your Birthday Steve! Have a wonderful day?!

@jumiclads ditto... its a feel thing.... no real need to spend a lot, but not too cheap; they usually disappoint and end up in the closet. (if you have Godin guitars or one of their brands in your local store, have a look; great instruments, excellent value and alternative to Fender /Epiphone etc.)

@jumiclads I dont have one of these, but judging by the Boss review video this looks like probably has bit more than you need, right now, but l would be very good for jamming along with songs , recording yourself etc. It does handle 2 guitars, and is compact. As long as you get along with the digital "menus" idea it could be a good option. I believe there are some members here who have and use them. BTW; I have a Fender G-Dec amp (not produced any more) which has similar features, but I found the menus etc too complicated when I was getting started. .. I still dont really use all the features it has, but I'm slowly using more of them. Just a thought to maybe keep it simple. (You might consider a digital amp that has 2 imputs and less expensive than the Boss E-Band)

I agree... I;ve heard this before that while the members enjoy the guest artists, they really get a lot out of the "teaching" live lessons. BTW @ShadowBoxer86 George I recommend you get the Ditto X2 looper, which although a bit more expensive than the Ditto 1, has a dedicated START/STOP switch, which makes it much easier to use. It also runs on batteries if you want, and you can download saved loops too.

@Randy120 Sorry to hear about the mishap... I hope you can recover soon and get back to doing what you love. A good time to study theory concepts...

The thing is, that as you progress, you may see a topic or lesson that isn't relevant at the time, but looking back now, I see some lessons that are PERFECT for what I'm studying NOW... (like the jazz octaves lesson for instance) YOU MIGHT FIND THIS TOO...

Just wanted to draw attention back to this Forum topic; a valuable resource of about 40 previous quick lessons Steve has done over the years... I've got to have another look too!

@flobbadob Welcome to the Guitar Gathering Forum & Congratulations on your progress! As others have said, 2 yrs is pretty quick by most standards (I thought originally I'd be done in a year...woah was I wrong; that was about 5 -6 yrs ago... ) I'm currently studying S14 and S15 as well. I like your flash cards idea and i use that too sometimes as a refresher. By the time you get to S15 I think (as @Eracer_Team-DougH says) Steve assumes that you know how to read notation fairly well, and therefore you're left to read and know where the notes are on the fretboard too. I admit this is still a work in progress for me, but as they say the more you use it, the better you get. Short answer, yes its a okay idea; any trick that helps you learn better is certainly "" okay" (BTW..S14 is an important introduction to arpeggios, and soloing, incorporating early lessons on triads. I plan to spend some time there ( I can already play and have done most of S15 which is quite fun) to memorize these shapes (along with hammer on's and pull offs) so I suggest if you havent, dont rush it... )

@Wim VD As I may have mentioned before, your learning progress and playing is an inspiration to all of us, As with most learning paths, the course is just the price of admission to a newer bigger world. Sincere congratulations!

Congrats on both the great guitar and your retirement. May you have another 40 yrs to emjoy it!?

Of course just memorizing all the notes on the fretboard regardless of position is best, but a quick way I learned is this; Learn the notes on the 6th (low E)1string(the same notes) and 5th (A )... thats not that many, and it really helps with barre cords. Next, to find a note name on the 4th and 3rd strings, just find it on the E or A , skip over a string and up a whole step (2 frets) and voila, there it is again.(it works in reverse too) For the 2nd string just do the same thing from the 4th string to the 2nd EXCEPT go up 3 frets (1 1/2 steps). So you really only have to "memorize: the 6th and 5th strings, at first anyway. Beyond the 12th fret is just repeats as an octave higher.

@Wim VD Wow a fantastic accomplishment! Congratulations!