Neils Guitar

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timpaul56
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Sat Sep 18, 2010 7:03 pm

I am a beginner to acoustic guitar and one thing I have noticed going through the lessons, which are outstanding by the way, is that I get lost sometimes trying to see which fret Neil is on. His acoustic guitar is unlike most acoustic guitars I have seen at Guitar Center in that you can't easily identify which fret number he is on. There are no dots or double dots for the 12th fret so I have trouble sometimes trying to quickly identify the fret number. Maybe he could paste dot's on his guitar for us less experienced. I may be the only one with this problem.


BigBear
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Sat Sep 18, 2010 8:23 pm

Neil plays an Ed Claxton koa guitar. This guitar is about as high end as you can get unless you want to start inlaying gold, silver and diamonds on it.

He has had occasional complaints about the lack of fret markers. Sometimes he plays his Santa Cruz with large large fret markers but usually, about 95% of the time, he plays the Claxton.

The only thing we can do is pay very close attention!! It's tough cometimes, but you do get used to it and Neil is very good about announcing what fret he is playing!

Cheers! :cheer:


haoli25
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Sat Sep 18, 2010 10:08 pm

RD44, if you had an Ed Claxton guitar would YOU put little stick-on dots on it? :) :) Rick is right, Neil does a good job of telling what frets he is playing, but if all else fails, pause the video and count the frets. Your effort will be worth the reward.


Bill


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TGNeil
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Sun Sep 19, 2010 10:16 am

Hi Gang,

Thanks for the questions and comments about fret markers. I have mixed feelings about them, which is why I try to always mention what fret I am at. Part of it is that I want students to be aware of what fret they are at, and eventually equate each fret with the name of the note there. I think there is danger in using the dots as reference points- meaning thinking, "This is where I have to get to the 3rd dot", or the double dots, or whatever.

I also think that if you can only learn by seeing, rather than hearing as well, you are likely not to understand the whole picture as completely. The best learning methods combine multiple paths, and even though most people are stronger at one over the others, it is in your own best interest to work on the weaker paths to try to get a better balance overall.

As a teacher I usually try to teach to a student in the terms they understand best, at first. Then as time goes on I start getting them to try other methods, sometimes making them a little uncomfortable- for a short while. Pretty soon they are learning everything much faster.

Just a small glimpse into the inner workings and madness methods usually kept secret... don't tell anybody.

Neil


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TGNeil
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Sun Sep 19, 2010 10:37 am

Thanks for the reply. Just kidding about the fret markers to see if I would get a response. Guess people actually do participate in the forum.


AndyT
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Mon Sep 20, 2010 12:06 am

TGNeil wrote:
"I also think that if you can only learn by seeing, rather than hearing as well, you are likely not to understand the whole picture as completely. The best learning methods combine multiple paths, and even though most people are stronger at one over the others, it is in your own best interest to work on the weaker paths to try to get a better balance overall.

As a teacher I usually try to teach to a student in the terms they understand best, at first. Then as time goes on I start getting them to try other methods, sometimes making them a little uncomfortable- for a short while. Pretty soon they are learning everything much faster."
One hundred percent agreement from me. Yet its also the very thing I myself am guilty of in my own practice. LOL


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