Jump to content

DianeB

Moderators
  • Posts

    919
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    255

Posts posted by DianeB

  1. Hello, @Abe, and welcome to our forum. I saw your post in the new members section. Take some time to explore.

    Some background: the Guitar Gathering discussion board has existed as you see it for six and a half years. For about six years prior, going back to around 2012, it was operated as an adjunct to the Legacy Systems Learn and Master Guitar DVD Course which Steve Krenz created. Legacy also produced courses in piano, drums, and photography, but none of their online forums were as active as the one for guitar. DVDs were still popular at that time, and many of the early Learn and Master students, like myself, brought our questions and were rewarded with good advice and a delightful sense of community.

    By 2017, changes started taking their toll. Physical media plummeted in popularity as streaming took off. With DVD sales dropping, Legacy did not produce more courses. Steve's guitar course was a work for hire, so he did not own the rights to reuse the video and repurpose it for streaming. He needed to find his own niche.

    With no new students to keep it fresh, and no IT support from Legacy, the discussion board lost its vitality. Trolls and spammers started to infect it.

    But in its decline, hope emerged when one of our members proposed a weekend in Nashville just to meet, play together, and see the town. Steve noticed. He hurriedly arranged a meeting place, assembled some plans, and his annual conference — which had lost its sponsor, Gibson — was revived in 2015. There were 18 of us. The next year, about 70.

    Steve found a new service provider for a discussion board, and we migrated as much old content here as we could. He branded his new enterprise as Guitar Gathering. The annual summer conferences in Nashville have continued until this year, when Steve took a break to contemplate a new venue. He also produces the Fall Fingerstyle Retreats (this year's is sold out).

    As you may have noticed, he also streams a live lesson about every other Tuesday night, depending on his schedule. He's a busy guy, but the discussion board and the Tuesday night lessons are free. We're here to learn, share, and support one another.

    Participation on the forum has cooled somewhat since the first two years. There are multiple reasons, I think: the original cohort found what it needed and has largely moved on. Very few people these days seem inclined to take the time to construct complete sentences (like yours and mine), preferring instead to communicate in emojis, text-speak, and videos. That's where we are now.

    So, welcome again, from an old school, old timer. Make yourself at home!

    • Like 1
    • Thanks 3
  2. I'm not sure I understand your question. What matters is whether what you're learning is helpful to you. Of course, learning all the notes on the fretboard is a valuable skill — in general — but even that is not necessary for playing satisfying music for yourself or with others. By the way, jams come in many variations. You might have to visit several before finding one that suits your taste. I wish you good hunting.

  3. Last night, my (well-obscured) guitar partner Dave and I played an 11-song acoustic set at an open mic in Elkton, MD, to an appreciative room of patrons. We opened with "Old Time Rock and Roll" and closed with "Long May You Run," more or less taking turns with vocals and solos. There were a couple of hiccups, but we had our moments, too.

    image.thumb.jpeg.9c5e9e5e6723e0c6bc088f8e73e350ea.jpeg

    • Like 9
  4. From The Guardian:

    A Höfner bass guitar bought by Paul McCartney for £30 in 1961 has been returned to the former Beatle after a global search to find the stolen instrument.

    The distinctively shaped guitar, bought by McCartney before his rise to stardom and reportedly his favourite, was last seen around the time the Beatles were recording their final album to be released, Let It Be.

    McCartney paid £30 for the bass guitar 63 years ago, equivalent to about £800 at today’s prices.

    A search to find the missing violin-shaped bass, a German-made Höfner 500/1, was launched by the Lost Bass Project last year, and on Tuesday a student, Ruaidhri Guest, shared a photograph on social media of the elusive instrument…

    • Like 1
  5. @Nancy Lawing That's a good question for Steve on the Live Lesson, Nancy. By now he's probably the only one with any video from the Ustream, or earlier, eras. The old link has long been broken, as IBM acquired Ustream years ago. But I managed to snag a screen shot from (I think) October 8, 2013. I had been watching for just a few months, the late Pete Huttlinger was his guest, and Steve picked me to win one of Pete's video courses. Pete said, "Way to go, Diane," and you know the rest of the story.

    image.jpeg.60e1cae2861d17e9243dba558ca23547.jpeg

    • Like 3
  6. Here's a 60 year flashback to the cusp of the British invasion. The Beatles' debut on The Ed Sullivan Show would be February 9. Each week, WGH, the principal AM station in the Tidewater, Virginia market, placed a stack of these wherever records were sold. The station DJs, of which there were about a half dozen, took turns choosing a newly released single they thought promising, the "Wax to Watch".  I collected them from 1963–1965, asking my dad to steer us to a store where I could pick up the latest copy when we were out on errands.
    image.thumb.jpeg.073386fbb4afcc79a4699c39384de58d.jpeg

    • Like 2
  7. I've been wondering about her! From Vulture and New York magazine, this link might be active only a short time. She has a brief Wikipedia entry.

    Back in October 2020, months after Diondre Cole dared to inquire “What up with that?” to viewers at home, a pink guitar beckoned from the stage as Saturday Night Live returned to its normal studio programming. There, just off to the right and in the back of the opening monologue frame, was guitarist Maddie Rice making her debut as part of the show’s live band. Young, hip, and barely 30 years old at the time, the newest addition of the Saturday Night Live Band was notable for a few reasons…. 

    • Like 4
  8. image.jpeg.6afb1a424317143ae8c90668dc24192f.jpegWatch Live Lessons on the Guitar Gathering YouTube Channel HERE.  7:00 pm Central Time US 

    2024 LIVE LESSON DATES

    JANUARY

    2nd – How to Make 2024 the Best Guitar Year Yet

    9th – The Chords You Really Need to Know on Guitar

    16th - Strum Like a Pro

    FEBRUARY

    6th – Creating Fills Between Chords

    13th - From Real Book to Solo Fingerstyle Arrangement

    20th – Guitar Progress Q & A

    MARCH

    5th - How to Choose Your Next Guitar

    26th - The Belmont Guitar Ensemble

    APRIL

    2nd - Playing Sixths on Guitar

    16th - Playing Sixths on Guitar Workout

    23rd - Trevor Gordon Hall

    30th - The Top 7 Finger Patterns

    MAY

    7th - Collin Hill

    21st - Songwriter Allen Shamblin

    28th - Fingerstyle Patterns Workout

    JUNE

    5th - (Special Wednesday night program) Tommy Emmanuel

    18th - Cascading Patterns on Guitar

    JULY

    2nd - Make Chords Shimmer: Soulful Guitar Techniques

    23rd -  Freddie Green Jazz Chord Voicings

    AUGUST

    13th - Developing a Jazz Feel

    27th - Make One Chord Sound Like 10!

    SEPTEMBER

    17th - Where Do I Put My Capo?

    OCTOBER

    1st - Play This, Not That

    8th - Workout: Play This, Not That

    29th - Oh, the Wonderful Things You Can Do With Loopers

    NOVEMBER

    12th - The Belmont Guitar Ensemble

    19th - Ian Ethan Case

    26th - Improve Your Groove

    DECEMBER

    10th - Song Arranging for Guitar

    17th - Song Arranging for Guitar, Part 2

    JANUARY 2025

    14th - To be announced

    Future dates and topics to be announced.

  9. While reading about alternate tunings I was saddened to learn that musician George Winston died this summer, on June 4, 2023. He is best known for his solo piano compositions that helped define New Age music — although he preferred to describe his style as “rural folk piano”. He also played harmonica and acoustic guitar. I discovered George in the eighties and was fortunate to have a front row seat to see him perform in 2018. He was frail from his battle with multiple cancers, so I remember a poignant, graceful performance.

    • Like 1
    • Thanks 1
  10. @Cuong Dang Hello, and welcome to the forum. There are several guitar courses available from Udemy, but if it is using the Learn and Master course materials, it might be doing so without authorization and illegally. We have witnessed a prior instance of this, and Legacy quickly had the course removed. It's possible that since that time, Legacy has authorized such use to someone, but you should verify that so you are not contributing to the practice.

    Although Steve does not list the Blues or Fingerstyle courses in his store at this time, it's possible that he might still have a copy. You can ask by e-mailing him at: service[at]guitargathering.com. There is little demand for physical media these days, and the last I heard was that, as you report, Legacy has sold out of some courses.

  11. @AllThumbs Hello, and welcome to the discussion board! We should begin by noting that two editions of the Learn and Master Guitar course were published. One, the less expensive version distributed through retailers, does not contain the Bonus Resources book. This volume, still available separately from Steve, details the criteria, including bpm, for "You're Ready to Move On" after each lesson. If your copy of the course did not contain this, I strongly encourage you to obtain it.

    The Lesson book only describes the tracks on the jam along CDs as either slow, medium, or fast, as you describe. These terms are arbitrary and have no fixed meanings. One of our devoted students measured the tempos to each of these tracks some time ago and collected the results; I have attached a PDF that tabulates them all.

    If you would like to acquaint yourself with the terminology of tempo, this Wikipedia article is a good start. The traditional terms are not often encountered in guitar music outside classical and jazz genres.

    Jam Along Tempos.pdf

    • Like 1
  12. Hi, Jeff, and welcome to the discussion board. In the settings you describe, I suggest that your intro take into account factors such as where that song comes in the set (do you want a dramatic finish), the level of background noise from the audience (single notes might get lost), and how familiar the audience might be with the song (will they expect a certain lick).

    Some common tricks are to strum over the opening chord during a narration; open with the last four bars of the chorus (if it starts with the verse), or the first bar, or first few bars of the first verse.

    A good intro should blend well with the song and hint at what's to follow, so consider where the verse starts in the progression: on the I? the IV? the vi? Let your ear be your guide. If it pleases you, it will likely please your audience. I'm sure our gang will have other suggestions.

    • Like 1

About us

Guitar Gathering is a community of guitar lovers of all types and skill levels.  This is a place of learning, support and encouragement.  We are unapologetically positive.

If you've come here to gripe, demean others or talk politics then this isn't the place for you.

But if you've come to talk guitars, ask questions and learn from professionals and guitar learners from all over the world then come on in!

Get in touch

Follow us

facebook feed

×
×
  • Create New...