Popeye

Congrats Wim! A milestone indeed.

Bruce- Welcome aboard and to the family! A few words of advice: 1. Enjoy the journey of learning to play guitar- it is not a race. You will get frustrated during the journey and the process, please realize that this journey is best accomplished with PATIENCE, CORECT PRACTICE AND PERSISTENCE! 2. Follow along with "guitar gathering.com website. Plug in to the "Live Lessons". Do not be afraid to ask questions and learn from all the students mistakes and lessons learned.....these are invaluable. When you hit the wall (which you will) don't get frustrated at yourself, remember, we have all been where you are starting and we have all experienced the rewards and pains. Everyone is great at sharing and helping. This is what makes this forum so valuable! 3. Realize that you are your own unique self and that we all have opinions and learn lessons with a different time frame and perspective....one size does not fit all. Use all the tools and don't be afraid to experiment. Steve emphasizes to learn from all the resources you can. Caveat here.......have a plan for success and follow the plan making necessary adjustments along the way. Above all, try and keep it FUN remembering that you wanted to learn guitar to play MUSIC. There are a million rabbit trails that you can get involved in during this journey. There will be a correct time to venture off and learn the other dimensions of music, i.e., Recording music, writing songs, finger picking, jazz, blues, rock, folk, bluegrass, etc....you get the picture! Ask questions and others will help guide you. 4. Goooooooooooo Sloooooooooooooooooooooow when you are first learning new concepts and disciplines. Speed will come with time and practice. This course has been designed to give you the foundation to build your musical chops. Take your time and do it right. Try not to take short cuts. At the same time there is a balance of practice, skill levels and shifting gears. There are times when you will wonder when to move on to the next skill or lesson. Steve gives you bench marks, when you have theses levels under your belt, do not be afraid to move on. We all seems to want to perfect the skills at the lesson level we are in and sometimes that hampers us from moving forward. Remember that the foundation is being laid as you move from one lesson to the next and you will continue to hone your skills as you move forward. 5. Slay the dragon Bruce, don't be afraid to take the adventure, and above all HAVE FUN MAKING MUSIC. There is so much more.......How did the man eat the elephant? One bite at a time! Enjoy my friend! Mike (aka Popeye)

Steve- Knowing you, I would never have a problem following your rules, standards and guidelines!

I'm with K9- A TAB at the top with little drop down menu for different tutorials of "How To's" would be a lot of help. I don't post a lot and I have to stop and figure out everything from scratch again, plus my memory is slipping more than a 200,000 mile clutch!

Thank you all for taking the time to provide feedback and positive comments. Great to share with guitar family.

CONGRATS DAN on completing the GL&M Course as well as a great song, playing and recording! Great job!

Picked up a used 2013 Fender Strat Standard with Fat 50's pick ups and Fender Locking Tuners. This was a case queen and looks brand new with no pick marks, swirls or blems. Always wanted a white Fender Strat. Getting used to the feel and sound. So far, so good! She is a beauty.

Love my tele....even though it is a frankenstein build! Enjoy and have fun. It is much more than country!!!!!!!!

Welcome home Dan! Glad your back.

Rest In Peace Mr. Roy Clark. I used to watch you on Hee Haw and was amazed at what you did on the guitar, banjo, mandolin. Such a great entertainer, musician, artist, comedian, an ambassador of country music and a gentleman throughout your life. Well done my friend and farewell. Your music will live on!

Muncie 4-spd tranny with Hurst Linkage and deck was forward of shifter with white shift knob and 4-spd pattern on top. I had to maneuver around shifter also to load and eject tapes. Sorry Neil......I couldn't resist!

'55 Chevy with a Craig 4/8 track floor mounted tape deck!

In a lot of circles, Roy Clark never really received the credit he is due as a guitar player. Maybe it was because he was on Hee Haw and it was a musical comedy and people did not take him as seriously? I do not know! Watch this video to see left and right hand, picking, strumming, rhythm.......etc...etc....etc..

Man oh man.....That makes me feel really good knowing that I bought that album as a teenager and ................................ Man oh man....That makes me feel really old knowing that I bought that album as a teenager and ........................

I have wrestled with this topic at times and heard discussions here on the Forum. I just read this from Griff Hamlin and thought it was worth passing along. Imagine you have to give a speech to a roomful of people who are all watching you to see what you will say... I don't know about you but for most people that pretty much puts them in instant panic mode! But let's say that you found out 2 weeks ahead of time that you were going to give this speech... and it was going to be at your best friend's wedding so you had some time... Would you prepare something or would you just "wing it" and just make something up when they called your name? My money is on you preparing something ahead of time... just how much you prepare depends on how comfortable you are speaking in front of a bunch of people you don't really know. Now let's think about that for a quick sec... you're talking, right? Speaking your native language using words and phrases you've known and used for your whole life (well, most of it....) So you should be TOTALLY comfortable with that... why should you need to prepare anything? And if you need to prepare something simply to speak, then how would it be possible to just make up something on your guitar unless you were as comfortable with music as you are with speaking? That, my friend, is the biggest myth I've ever seen when it comes to playing guitar - that you can just somehow "make it up as you go along." Or as I like to say - "improvising really isn't..." Even Miles Davis (yes... that Miles Davis, the famous trumpet player) said in an interview I read that most of the stuff he plays isn't really improvised but is really ideas he came up with before that he re-uses. And I've heard Clapton and many other guitar players say the same thing... if you want to play the blues you start by re-stating what has come before you first. Then you turn it into your own thing once you've really got it down. But the biggest key is to learn it well - start to finish. Just finish something and learn it well. The journey of that will be worth more than the destination, I promise. Talk soon, Griff Take Care, Mike

Outstanding reporting from our newscaster Diane here at KMUSIC!

Diane- Learn alot, enjoy the retreat and thank you for sharing with all of us!

Diane- Your words are so kind.........you owe me nothing! Your friendship is all that is important. I hope to make it next year! Take Care. Mike

Now that is awesome! Playing two years and take the stage with no fear under those circumstances! WOW and WOW backwards!

Diane- Hello Lady. How are you doing. I have been monitoring your progress and music journey, such a delight to witness the growth and development you are displaying and sharing with our Guitar Gathering Family. Such fun to be part of seeing you (ah hm) several years ago when our heads and hands were not musically communicating as harmoniously as they are now, to the artist and musician you have become. ? I knew I could count on your music talent, superb education and teaching prowess for an accurate and rewarding answer! ? Thank you. Take Care and have fun at the Finger Style Retreat! Mike

Thanks for the responding Blue Dog. The Beatles Complete song book is amazing and I am always in awe of how many songs they wrote (especially Joh & Paul) and the composition of music and lyrics. They are very special musicians and artists in my mind. I have been trying harder to make time and get back into the swing of things with music and my guitars.. Like everyone else here, life goes on and you roll with the punches; loss of loved one, health issues in the family, work and then work. I have been popping in and out of the site at least every other day and reviewing my unread content. Get to watch the live lessons, usually on youtube sometime that week when timing is better. The lack of a consistent schedule and not taking enough time has taken a toll on my guitar progress. Stuck in 14 & 15 LMG. All the songs I have learned along the way, sound the same and all the theory feels like mush in my head. The lack of devoted time, quality guitar practice and fun playing time as well as the constant conflicts in time management have equaled hitting one of those learning walls that has kicked my butt physically, emotionally and psychologically. So, I have dusted everything off and picked back up and taking it slow to get back to basics and try and smooth out the bumps in the road. Never give up! Thank you for asking and the best to you and yours. Mike

I ran across a book titled, "The Beatles Complete Scores" by Hal Leonard. It is a book of every song written & recorded by the Beatles with a full transcription from the original recordings. While perusing through the contents, there was a page that was "A Guide To The Music". The page states that a great deal of effort had been put into presenting these performances in musical notation that is as faithful as possible to the original recordings. Then I found a paragraph that stated- "Note that the male vocal parts, as well as the parts for the guitar and bass, are written an octave higher than the sound on the recordings. On the other hand, the piano parts, as well as as other keyboard instruments, are all written in the same octave as the sound on the recordings." My question is, why would the Hal Leonard Corporation transcribe everything as close to the original, but change the male vocal, guitar & bass one octave higher?? Anyone? Mike

Had a '55 Chevy Baby Blue with dark blue tinted windows, no front bumper and frame cut with only the front grill. 283 w/holly 4brl, munci 4spd w/hurst shifter. Black carpet and diamond tuck upholstery. Craig 4/8 track stereo. American Mags. Changed out steering wheel to black with chrome spokes. Even had the chrome dimmer foot and gas pedal. Lol......Cherry car and lots of memories!

Cars and guitars.......If only I had more money!!!!!!!!!!!

Diane is a musician!