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DianeB

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Posts posted by DianeB

  1. That was a fair, if not fully satisfying, answer. I suspect that if a guitar is tuned fully to perfect fourths, five- and six-string chords become difficult to finger. A demonstration would have been revealing. The human hand seems to demand a major third in there somewhere to get the harmonics. If your style doesn’t demand those big chords, a la Stanley Jordan, go for it and crank up those B and E strings! Recovering banjo player Carl Kress tuned in perfect fifths.

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  2. Epilog

    After seven days, 1,660 miles, ten pages of notes, and two lost picks I never needed, I’m back home. Thanks for reading, and for all your kind words. I appreciate them. There will soon be lots of pictures and videos posted by Steve and the guys. All the performances were recorded and Collin has videos on YouTube duplicating some of his lesson material.

    Don’t expect a Live Lesson this coming Tuesday. Our fearless leader will likely be collapsed in a lounge chair at home. His room was next to mine, and I could tell he was staying up late, getting up early, and in between working nonstop. All to make us happy.

    This week I've enjoyed the privilege of breaking bread in the company of warm hearted, generous, humble, and talented souls. For now I’ll leave you with a pic of one of them, Mark B, and me. If we’d had one more day for 11 more bars, we might have given birth to the New Brunswick Bossa Blues. Or something like that.

    Mark & Di small.jpg

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  3. Now the final, early morning chorus. Time to pack the suitcases and guitars and go down for breakfast. John Knowles, CGP, arrived for our last session as we queued up for pancakes. Some campers had already left for the airport; others were loading their cars and leaving. My table was finishing up and emptying, and I was on my last sips of OJ when John sat down between Mark and me. He was once a physicist, I was once a chemist. He is a Certified Guitar Player, I am a Catastrophic Guitar Player. Of course we hit it off.

    Mark and I eventually let him finish his pancakes and set up for his lesson. We assembled in the living room for parting thoughts from Steve: the last few days were magic; remember to put your guitar in your case before you leave (!); and what's with the crazy woman sitting over there staying up past midnight to post updates on the board?

    He introduced John, who offered a master class: turning ideas into songs, being aware of your body as you play, thinking chord shape - release - move - arrive. He was just responding to Steve's question, "Can you tell us about how you get your tone?" when a retreat employee in the front yard cranked up a leaf blower. Exit Steve for a brief intervention, then it was back to high tension nylon strings and a final song.

    As the applause faded, it was 10:30 and we had to be gone in 30 minutes. I said goodbye to former TI engineer John -- I mean, CGP John -- and Steve and Paulette, and everyone I could catch, in a flurry of handshakes, hugs, and hollers. I tugged my bags up the hill to the crunch of acorns beneath my feet and put them in the car. I flicked away the wet leaves and set off down the narrow, winding driveway as a chorus from The Sound of Music came to my mind:

    Nothing comes from nothing

    Nothing ever could

    So somewhere in my youth or childhood

    I must have done something good

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  4. Some days and nights you just want to never end. Never mind that it's turned chilly and rainy. This is one. We started this morning with a workshop on technique by Trevor Gordon Hall, then a session with Steve on chord inversions and extensions. After lunch, we again separated as Steve offered a tutorial on Phil Keaggy's "The Wind and the Wheat" while Collin covered another song with the downstairs group. We joined up in the living room for an open forum on what, and how, to practice.

    During afternoon recess, a small expedition set out in the drizzle for Artisan Guitars in nearby Franklin. I relaxed and chatted with Reg, briefly practiced my homework, and took a nap. The Artisan expedition returned just before dinner time, each with a freebie cap they scored, no doubt for being such great customers. That, or Dave now has some pull in this town.

    Phil Keaggy arrived as we awaited dinner. I watched him run his sound check from the comfort of an easy chair, quite oblivious to the name tag on my shirt. Satisfied with his sound, Phil got up, strode over to me and cheerfully extended his hand. "Diane, how are you?" He asked. "Uh, you remember me?!" I replied. What a charmer.

    After dinner the opening act was a drawing for some giveaways: an acoustic pickup, a preamp/DI, and the new rechargeable Fishman Loudbox amp. There go some happy campers.

    For the next two hours the living room echoed with the sweet harmonies of Phil Keaggy. He was dazzling: alternate tunings, multiple partial capos, seemingly impossible stretches. Trevor Gordon Hall returned, and we enjoyed another twenty minutes of crazy good improvisation from the master and the apprentice together.

    Paulette served up mini sausages and nachos for our late night snack as Phil and Trevor posed for pictures and signed autographs. After they said goodnight, a few of us pulled up chairs as Steve recalled his most memorable -- for better or worse -- live lessons. Facing an early start tomorrow, we called it a night, and the lodge went quiet.

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  5. I'm sleep deprived tonight but mostly coherent; that could describe most of us. After breakfast we all packed into the single meeting room for Steve's lesson on 3rds, 6ths, and 10ths. Next up was Collin, who got us started with false harmonics and cascading harmonics. This was all new to me, and Collin is an adept instructor already.

    In the afternoon, we divided up with Steve teaching "Here Comes the Sun" to the beginners like me, and Collin covered "Amazing Grace" with the more advanced players. Meanwhile, Greg Voros did setups and checkups in the dining room. Steve led a little fingerpicking jam, then it was time to chill. Somehow I won my first game of Carpetball.

    Today I wasn't the only one with a glazed look in the eyes, but I've shared several warm conversations with the guys already. That seems to come easily in a setting like this, where you share a roof together. It's a joy.

    After a nap and dinner I was more like myself. Tonight our student performers were Carol, Dommie, Mark C, and our youngest camper, Carson C, who is attending with his father Justin. Our featured artist was Trevor Gordon Hall, who shared his virtuosity with us for over an hour. Afterward he cheerfully lingered. He let me handle his guitar (!) as he explained to me how he uses Guitar Pro to get his musical ideas down. "Did I see this shape go by?" I asked, showing him one I learned from my tutor. "Yes!" he exclaimed, "I love that chord!"

    We had root beer and Coke floats on a mild Halloween night around the fire pit. Paulette found purple guitar socks for me (!!) and I had a slice of real, not metaphorical, cheesecake for dessert. All is well as we say goodnight on day two.

    Trevor GH.jpg

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  6. Day one ends with a lodge full of exhausted but happy finger pickers. I met Mark B early this morning at the airport as he arrived from Toronto. We had spare time, so it was off to Gruhn Guitars (visited Greg and waved at Dave), lunch at M L Rose's (craft brews and awesome burgers), and Carter's Guitars. Then on to the countryside west of Franklin and into the woods at Deer Run Retreat.

    Steve, Paulette, Dave, and Collin had already put out the welcome mat with snacks, sound gear, and the store when we arrived. Our lodge is cozy and inviting. We all have roommates. I'm paired with the only other woman, Carol. It's a bit, um, close, but we're all guitar family here. I'm in a bunk bed for the first time since college.

    We started off with introductions -- there are 24 students -- then a brief group lesson from Steve on hand position in the now crowded living room. Dinner, and all our meals, are served in the communal dining room. How nice it was to not have to split up and drive off to various restaurants as we must at the summer gathering.

    Show time. Performances from Steve, Collin, Robert Thompson (classical instructor ar Belmont U), Meagan Taylor, and the capper, a surprise visit from Joe Robinson. I ventured out back to chat around the fire a few minutes, then it was time to file this dispatch while I still can typppe. Tyyype. Oh, good night.

     

    Joe 3.jpg

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  7. Okay, tonight's report is technically not from the retreat. That doesn't start until tomorrow afternoon. Tonight I'm in my hotel in Cool Springs, just up the road from Deer Run, guitar at my side. Today was a perfect fall day for the drive along I-40 from Virginia. It was sunny and cool, and the tree foliage was colorful although not the best I've seen in the mountains.

    In June I didn't expect to return so soon, but I couldn't resist. I recently learned that I have a relative here in Brentwood. Tonight we saw each other for the first time since we were teenagers and went out for a terrific dinner to reminisce. Suddenly, or so it seems, I have family in Nashville, and that has changed my feeling about the place. Home away from home, just more guitars.

    Tomorrow morning I will take the back way to the airport to meet a fellow camper coming from Canada. Maybe we can find a guitar store where we can warm up before the lodge opens at 3:00. Until next time, good night to all from Cool Springs.

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  8. Triple-o, if it's an audio file, import it into iTunes on your Mac (corresponds to Music on iPad). A video can be imported into Photos. You can drag and drop to the respective icons in the dock. See the Help menu in those apps for tips. Allow time to sync, and the file should appear in those apps in all your devices. You can also use Dropbox to access mp3s and videos across your devices.

  9. For October, I’ll nominate this bit of sweetness from the Allman Brothers’ “Melissa”. It’s an Emaj7 (1-3-5-7; E-G#-B-D#) with the B doubled (066400). Two frets down, let’s call it F#m11/E (1-b3-5-b7-(no 9)-11; F#-A-C#-E-(no G#)-B). How these escaped the list of Money Chords in E, I can’t imagine (!) but Steve did include another mellow F#m11 (2x2200). Has anybody encountered these shapes in other songs?

    Emaj7.png

  10. Thank you, Mike! You made my day, big guy. And you don’t know how much I owe to you. Hope to see you in Nashville next summer! ?‍♀️

    Members who are relatively new to the forum might not be aware that it was the initiative of Mike that revived the guitar gatherings in 2015. The gatherings were on hiatus when Mike proposed that we find a hotel in Nashville, get together to play, and maybe Steve would stop by.

    The buzz on the board increased that spring until about ten of us expressed serious interest. Then Steve joined in. He scrambled to find a hotel and assemble a program. On arrival, as I tugged my luggage down the hall to my room, I passed a door with a big poster plastered over it — a handwritten welcome to the gathering from Mike — with his cell number in case of questions.

    There were only about 20 of us, including spouses. Now we have over 80 attending, thanks largely to the vision of Cap’n Mike, in the back row on the far right.

    Gathering 2015.jpg

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  11. Dave, I’m still using the long-ago orphaned application Music Journal (shown). I’ve yet to find anything equal to it in the ever-opaque App Store. Sadly, it is 32-bit and the developer abandoned it two or three years ago. I would really like to find a suitable replacement. The closest I’ve found is Praxis: Music Practice Journal, but those who’ve tried it report that it’s not as good as Music Journal. Sigh.

    ATracker looks straightforward, and the price is right, but it seems to lack subcategories or a folder hierarchy for tasks. And I'm pretty sure there's no metronome. But you will find that the ability to visualize your practice time -- in some form -- is indeed a great incentive to keep going.

    Timeline.jpg

    Week.jpg

  12. Neil, I believe you are correct. The VII in G is F# half diminished (= F#m7b5). The IV in C is F major. I use the term “passing chord” here ver-r-ry loosely because in this section the bass is descending under Am. The chords are held a full measure, not the way we normally think of a passing chord.

  13. By popular request, from Neil! As long as we're squashing fifths, we'll keep it up for September. Here's a passing chord from "As My Guitar Gently Weeps" that can't be passed over: F#m7b5 (F#-A-C-E = F# half-diminished 7). You can go the "Autumn Leaves" route, 202210 (as shown) or take my cheap shortcut, xx4210. Just make sure the bass player gets the memo.

     

    As My Guitar Gently Weeps.jpeg

    F#m7b5.jpeg

  14. I’m pleased to say the Major Scales Workout is not quite as tough as quantum mechanics.

       Mmm, true, but a high uncertainty Steve would go for that.

    I used to cry every few months over my slow progress. After two years on the Speed and Agility Workouts, I’m much faster. Now I cry at least once a week.

       Ewww, that didn’t come out quite right.

    With the Speed and Agility Workout, you can use out-of-network physical therapists.

       Or maybe not. C’mon, girl, Steve needs some cheerfulness and optimism here.

    Steve’s Major Scale Mastery Fretboard Workout has markedly improved my skills in three essential areas: melody lines, soloing, and fretboard geography. The graduated lessons will benefit the beginner through intermediate student. The Speed and Agility Workout is similarly designed to improve finger strength, dexterity, and independence. You might find similar tutorials elsewhere, but it’s unlikely you will find such a great value from so outstanding an instructor.

       Better. But now you’ve done it: he's going to expect you to play a solo at the next Gathering. Get your scaly carcass to the woodshed.

     

     

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  15. Darin, that's impressive on all counts: melody, lyrics, guitar, vocal articulation, and the entry of the keyboards. I liked the stronger "Alright" in the later choruses, and the bridge is just right. The only weak spot I heard was the final "Alright" where there's a brief, awkward silence between the last guitar note and the final keyboard chord. But, wow, you're hitting on all cylinders these days. ?

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