K9kaos

Very nice Maria! Quite relaxing and calming!! Hope everything is going well! Stay safe!

Not too much of a change for me, except more hours are working from home than before. I try to stay on task but there are a lot of distractions at home (the furry four legged ones are the main distraction, lol!). We are definitely staying home more and I try to get more practice time in, but not sure I'm actually getting more done. I have a few fingerstyle songs that I am trying to learn, and I really should get to concentrating some quality time on those!

Congrats on the new tele! I picked up a used MIM tele and its definitely a favorite of mine!

Cool! I thought I had heard something about this but couldn't find a link. Thanks for posting this Dave!

Looking forward to this! Just last week I started to revisit your Major Scales workout series! Level 1 was nice and familiar, and the basic on level two.... now I am at the intermediate and well.... seems I have forgotten a bit since I last did this workout! Lol!

Sounds like you are making a good decision. Hope they'll be able to replace it for you!

@kenneth As the folks above have said, your progress sounds totally normal. Remember, you are doing multiple things at once now: your eyes see the written note, your brain translates it, sends the signals to your fingers, your fingers go to the right fret and your other hand picks the right string. That will become more automatic as you go on. There will be less times through before a new piece sounds better. Take your time and have fun learning! If you want to see how far you've come, go back and revisit an earlier session and you will see how much easier that material is!

For the printing, I saved it as a pdf and printed it from the pdf version and it came out just fine. I'm very excited for the next lesson! I've been working on the triads up and down in the different keys, and finding them in 4ths as listed in the lesson handout. It has already begun to sink in and get easier finding the forms going up and down the neck! It was certainly a bit slow at first, as I tried to rely on just finding the forms on my own rather than reading the chord blocks, but I'm gaining speed! Tonite I start practicing the I - IV - I forms. I'm hoping to be ready for the next one!! Great lesson series Steve!! 😎

Thats a pretty interesting video!

Congrats on the new additions Ben! You have quite an impressive collection!! That new tele you have is nice looking!

Hey Rob! I'm just over the mountain from you in Pahrump! It is very very dry here. I have had the same struggle with humidity. I thought about those humidified cabinets but when I saw the prices.... well those are out of budget. I resisted at first getting a room humidifier, but ended up with a small inexpensive one. So my current setup is: a humidifier in my office/music room, my instruments in a cabinet from Ikea, with some aqua stones (little ceramic globes that sits in its own bowl of water, along with a few containers with wet sponges. It was a bit of trial and error to get it to where I needed (45-50%), but I've finally got it! Well, at least for now, lol!

Oh no!!! Paul was such a sweet person. A truly kind soul.... he will be missed by many. May he rest in peace, and prayers for his family at this difficult time....

I'll be there as well! Road tripping it this year Can't wait!

Thanks for posting that! A very good and straightforward explanation! Although I memorized the key signatures when going through the L& M course, I really do find it helpful to look at all different angles of explanations for theory! I think looking at the circle of 5ths really does show the relationships between the keys

That sounds like an amazing tool! Especially the customized tracks. I like the ability to customize, and come back and change it later! These could be very handy especially if there aren't a lot of folks to play with! My town is not that big, and although I play bass with our local ukulele group, i haven't found anyone yet to play guitar with.... this may help fill that void! Thanks for posting this!

These look interesting! I still need to work on the fretboard. A while back, I went back to session 2 - 4 and re-learned the exercises and songs in the fifth position. It was initially awkward to say the least! It did definitely help ease my total lack of confidence anywhere above the fifth fret, but I haven't really practiced that in a while. I'll give these a try tomorrow! Thanks for sharing these Neil!

Welcome back Marty!!! Im sure you'll be putting that new amp to good use!! It really does come back quickly! Have fun playing again, and Best wishes for good health and happiness in the coming year!

I've had difficulties with that particular chord too. Now I'm at the point that I can form it, just not quickly enough to use it suitably in a song.... I also used the technique Triple-o suggested. I believe I started at maybe the 6th or 7th fret where it was easier (still awkward, but easier), and move down a fret every few days.

I am very glad to see I'm not the only one with canine challenges!!! Lol!

Wow! Looks like you have a great system going there! We've lived in NY, Tennessee, and Florida (northeast) before settling out west here in Nevada. Each location definitely has had its challenges with humidity. Now living in the Mojave Desert, this is by far the biggest challenge! When we moved here, I knew I would need some system to humidify. I started with a cabinet from Ikea - I'd rather spend the $$ on guitars rather than a big fancy cabinet, as some of them are quite pricy! Using humidification devices inside the cabinet has helped but has not really gotten me to where I want. My guitars (and other instruments) are all in my music room which I keep closed if I'm not in there. But when I am, I have two very persistent dogs who believe I have entered into a danger zone if I dare close the door and they bang and scratch the door until they 'save' me.... lol! Recently I got a small, fairly inexpensive room humidifier at Home Depot. Just using that small humidifier has solved my issues at the moment. Still storing my instruments inside the cabinets, even though the room humidity may vary more, the cabinets are staying fairly consistent at 45-50 %. That is amazing for me being in the desert. Before this, I was getting maybe 30 - 35% inside the cabinets. Its a balancing act for sure!

Fun song to learn!! Thanks for posting these!! And thanks Doug for that pdf! I find having some kind of written material so helpful!!

Interesting! I'll have to take a look at that! When I first wanted to start learning, I wasn't sure whether to try left or right handed. I was left handed until I had a bad break to my left arm in grade school. Being in a bulky cast for three months was no excuse according to my teachers (and parents) to not do my schoolwork. So I learned to write with my right hand. And do a good portion of daily tasks too. End result - I don't know if I'm left or right handed, lol! I do different things different ways. Writing - right, eating - left, guitar - right, miniature golf - left, bowling... apparently neither I'm equally bad no matter what I try, lol! When I started guitar, I sat in the music store for a while trying both left and right handed guitars. Neither felt particularly awkward, but I thought right handed was just maybe a bit more comfortable. And the guy in the store said if i had no real preference, there would be more inventory to choose from on the right handed side. I think this will be quite interesting to watch!! Thanks for posting it!

Well, I never really paid too much attention to this until now... I just measured and it seems to be a little different on each finger. Looks like it is around 2/16 for the most part, but on my ring finger it is a bit more. Then again, my fingers may be smaller overall. I think my ring size is between 7 and 8. I generally just try to find the 'sweet spot' where I'm not muting the adjacent string. But I'm sure my form can use a bit of adjustment for the better, lol!

It sounds like you are doing well! Taking it slow and steady is so important! As well as working with a metronome! It is a great feeling when you start getting songs and exercises up to the faster speeds. The bonus material adds another dimension to session 4, so definitely get the main material down. Maybe even just start taking on a few exercises at a time for the bonus ones. There may be one or two that will be a challenge - I remember one or two that were for me. Once you get to that point, if there are one or two that are just holding you up but the rest are good, remember you can move on to session 5 and still use those as warmup exercises. Have fun learning and practicing!

Beautiful tune Maria! That really is a lovely guitar!! And how nice to enjoy such a beautiful fall day with your pup by your side!