DianeB

Oh, my, Maria, that’s disappointing news. And just when your finger had recovered. I’ll be thinking of you next Tuesday. It'll be all better, soon.

Happy birthday, Rick! Play on!

Dave, I'm not sure if this is what you're asking, but if you change from say, C major to C minor, the third of the chord is dropping a half step. In this example C major (C-E-G; 1-3-5) changes to C minor (C-Eb-G; 1-b3-5). We say the quality (major, minor, augmented, diminished) of the chord has changed. C minor is the parallel minor of C major; A minor is the relative minor of C major. See also: Parallel key.

Best wishes for quick healing, Maria. Here's a tune to take with you when you need a distraction

Doc64, In past years, Steve sent an e-mail survey to Gathering registrants a few weeks before the conference. I expect he will do the same this year, asking if you want to schedule a setup(s) with Greg, if you want to play in the student showcase, if you can help with logistics, and so on. He will likely do this when he thinks the list of attendees has stabilized.

Welcome, Colder! In every room, we’ll be surrounded by rows of chairs. An acoustic is probably more versatile for the workshops and jams. If you want to play your electric in the student showcase, there will be cables, amps, microphones, and a professional audio system. The main room will be locked and secure when we’re not there, so you can leave your gear. Make sure your guitar cases are well labeled; there will be a hundred black cases lying around -- in a black room. Other than the obvious (picks, tuner) I recommend bringing: a couple of pencils and a small notepad, business cards, a folding guitar stand, and cash for lunch, Greg’s setups, and other incidentals. I bring a pad of sticky notes, my chord block stamper, my foot rest and a small seat cushion. I think you can leave the music stand at home. If you have a specific brand of strings you want Greg to use, bring them with you, otherwise he will use D'Addarios. Go to the 2018 Guitar Gathering Facebook page and register. Steve will approve you. Trevecca has a very nice food service only a short walk from the music building. So lunch is easy, but bring cash. I think it was about $6 last year. In a few weeks, Steve will e-mail the registrants with a survey asking: Do you want to reserve a setup with Greg? Can you help with logistics (ride sharing, for example)? Do you want to play in the student showcase? From Steve’s program description, it sounds like the afternoon jam sessions will again be structured, with a pro to facilitate each one. Out in the hallway, though, anything goes. See ya there!

I've been playing for three years, I only play alone, as I wouldn't have the foggiest idea how to play with someone else even though I've attempted it several times which ends awkward and unmusical. Mike, I think you would really benefit from having someone to make music with. I did a quick search of guitar Meetups in your area, and I found the “Back Porch Music Jam” in Guilderland, near Albany, about 45 minutes from Sharon Springs. Another possibility is to check the music stores in your area for other informal ensembles, or even the SUNY campus. There are things about music that can only be learned by playing with others. It's a skill like any other: you get better with experience. There are guitar joys that can only be experienced in the company of others. Please do not wait until you think you are “good enough”; that day is already here. Go. Pick up your guitar, and get out there.

This is from a tour of the Nazareth, Pennsylvania Martin factory in 2016, showing installation of top bracing.

Welcome, Mike!

Mandy, that's quite a treatise you turned up! Thanks, I found it entertaining. I can't criticize it from the perspective of a social scientist or musicologist. But from the perspective of a physical scientist, I have major (not minor or diminished) concerns with what appears to be an exceedingly high level of subjectivity in the study design and interpretation. The only data quantified is the percentage of participants reporting a particular result, and tellingly the authors go out to four significant figures (Ex: "91.72%"), implying that a precision of one part in ten thousand is meaningful. Note that in the bios of the authors, there is no reference to experience with design of behavioral science experiments, or publication record, just one author "studied math and physics" at university. The subject itself is intriguing; I don't knock the authors for exploring it. But they need to enlist colleagues with a better grasp of experimental design. Take it for what it's worth: I say it's an opinion poll masquerading as science. See also: Confirmation bias.

Aw, Steve, I'm so sorry you can't make it this year. Yes, sometimes, life gets in the way. Keep the faith, and bring us a song in 2019.

Fascinating. As I scanned the keys, I thought, if Psychology Today magazine had been around in the 18th century, this could have been a cover story. Alas, as the author points out, equal temperament has largely leveled out the differences. Moreover, our almost universal standardization on A440 leaves few other than devoted musicologists with the awareness that music doesn't have to be like this. Great find, Nutty1.

Lately, I’m uncharacteristically messy. I have the organization gene in every cell. Grocery store surveillance cameras everywhere capture me straightening up produce bins. Next to the TV and Bose rests a random pile of CDs: Chicago II, Lake Street Dive, Gregory Porter, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Pink Floyd, a Ken Burns “Jazz” DVD. On my desk I see a scribbled chord block from last night: how is this a C11? Where’s the F? Oh, there it is. At my elbow, Berklee Music Theory Book 1 and my flash cards for keys. Behind me, two different scores and version, oh, 15.6 of a chart for “You’ve Made Me So Very Happy” for the neighborhood band. In my practice room, the music stand holds tomorrow’s fingerstyle homework for my tutor. On the floor is spilled the aftermath of today’s acoustic jam: charts, paper clips, folded up foot rest and guitar stand. The black cord for recharging my portable lamp traces a crazy path across the beige carpet to the receptacle. The washcloth for wiping the humidifier tank sits crumpled at my heel. I reach in my pocket for a tissue and two picks fall out. And the horn parts to “God Bless' the Child” keep ringing in my head. God bless this mess.

Amen to all the above. Congratulations, Steve! Thanks to everyone in our guitar family who made this possible. We’ve got a good thing go--, no, wait — we’re working on a groovy thing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYZL4PtmXlI

@Danny Robey I agree with Gerard. You could benefit from the introductory Speed and Agility workout as early as session 5. But I think your time at that pre-barre stage is better devoted to the course fundamentals and learning a few songs. Try it out. Around sessions 7-8, I strongly recommend starting the Major Scale Mastery workouts: these will help you learn the fretboard, intervals, and melodic patterns.

The relative humidity in my practice room is now steady at 40-50%. I suspect it took a few weeks for the walls and furnishings to become fully hydrated. With the temperature around 72 degrees, it's comfortable.

Mark, what a wonderful testimony. It reminded me of the 2014 documentary, Alive Inside.

Hi, Tpettygirl, and welcome to the forum and the course! It sounds like you are off to a good start. Chords can wait. You will get them. I think Steve introduced the C and G7 early as a taste of musical dessert to sustain the new student while she figures out the notes. As you start out, I recommend these two very short collections of valuable advice: First, Learn to Practice, by Tom Heany The Little Book of Talent: 52 Tips for Improving Your Skills, by Daniel Coyle

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of flat keys, I will fear no voicing: my barre and my capo, they comfort me. —Yours truly, upon attempting Blood, Sweat & Tears

Fred, unless you can find a good printed source, I think your best options are to listen carefully to the recordings, and watch any video of the Eagles, or YouTube lessons, you can find. I've been working on Eagles tunes since I was a teenager. Here's one printed strum pattern, from Acoustic Guitar magazine (May 2016) for "Tequila Sunrise".