Okay, my schedule did not permit me to go to the IGC, but it seems the site and the "Newest Lessons," are about and directed toward IGC. I respect the rights of those who attended the IGC to enjoy some post-event camaraderie and review, but it seems to have become the major focus of the Totally Guitars site. If I want to see something about the IGC, I can find it in the Main Forum. But now it is presented weekly front and center on the site under "Newest Lessons." And, Neil's role seems to be reduced to tired Beatles songs and easy classical pieces.
I am not griping. I've been a full member for some time and frequently recommend the site to others, but the format has changed and the frequency of Neil's posts has declined significantly. My first thoughts when he started focusing on simple classical pieces was, "oh oh, copyright problems," because that has happened on other sites.
I might be entirely off base, but enough has changed to start me wondering if it's time to move on. I've enjoyed TG and my guitar playing skills have improved, but before I pull the plug I wanted to get other folk's insights. Maybe I've missed something. I don't know.
Cheers!
Bill
Has The Focus Of This Thread Shifted? Bloody Hell Yes!! Totally Pirates!!!
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auntlynnie
- Posts: 37
- Joined: Mon May 14, 2012 5:31 am
- Status: Offline
Hi Bill,
I think that one could get the impression that things have changed, but I think that may be due to a convergence of a couple of happenings. The IGC open mic videos are being posted, and they are listed under "Lessons", so that could give the impression that the focus is more toward IGC, especially when looking down the latest lessons list. Perhaps TG could lump all of the open mic videos into a single lesson so that they are not crowding up the lesson list.
While Neil is currently doing a lot of old Beatles songs, my perception is that since Vanessa came onto the site as an instructor, the sheer number of lessons has increased to the point where I can hardly keep up. I don't tend to do the lessons as they are presented, but pick lessons out based on my interest at the moment.
There are definitely months when I don't use this site anywhere near as much as I could, but I stay because I like having all the features of this website - input from others, the Busking, the FOTW, Neil's wealth of Classic Rock history that he delivers with the lessons, and having the library of lessons to choose from. I've been a member of other lesson sites and Neil's lessons are the most accessible and thorough I've found.
Hope you stay.....
Lynn
I think that one could get the impression that things have changed, but I think that may be due to a convergence of a couple of happenings. The IGC open mic videos are being posted, and they are listed under "Lessons", so that could give the impression that the focus is more toward IGC, especially when looking down the latest lessons list. Perhaps TG could lump all of the open mic videos into a single lesson so that they are not crowding up the lesson list.
While Neil is currently doing a lot of old Beatles songs, my perception is that since Vanessa came onto the site as an instructor, the sheer number of lessons has increased to the point where I can hardly keep up. I don't tend to do the lessons as they are presented, but pick lessons out based on my interest at the moment.
There are definitely months when I don't use this site anywhere near as much as I could, but I stay because I like having all the features of this website - input from others, the Busking, the FOTW, Neil's wealth of Classic Rock history that he delivers with the lessons, and having the library of lessons to choose from. I've been a member of other lesson sites and Neil's lessons are the most accessible and thorough I've found.
Hope you stay.....
Lynn
Hey Bill, I will never be at the IGC but have a lot of fun see and hear what the attenders did there and there are some suprises on the way,the workshops I believe,, okay maybe the focus is on the IGC and on top of the forum but its the hardcore that is on the forum anyway,
I have a ton of lessons in the target program that keeps me busy, still have wishes but it seems to easy to give a lesson.
cheers
Willem
edit. Lynn says it better then me, and I also say.....Stay!!
I have a ton of lessons in the target program that keeps me busy, still have wishes but it seems to easy to give a lesson.
cheers
Willem
edit. Lynn says it better then me, and I also say.....Stay!!
Neil mentioned in the FOTW with Jase that he has cut down on new lessons, there's plenty already there, if you have reached your limit of new things to learn you'd be in small minority of expert players.
It's probably the fact that camp videos are appearing as 'New Lessons' which adds to the impression that there's been a shift. That's unfortunate but I reckon it's just a matter of perception.
I find there are enough new songs which excite me to want to learn them there and then, plus the back catalogue is an endless treasure hunt. I go back and look at things which didn't immediately grab me when they appeared, and find there are undiscovered gems all the time.
It wouldn't bother me if there was no new material for a year, I would still have my plate full, and I'm not a light user, I practice a lot and like the process of learning new songs all the time, and this is the only site I belong to.
Hope you stay btw.
It's probably the fact that camp videos are appearing as 'New Lessons' which adds to the impression that there's been a shift. That's unfortunate but I reckon it's just a matter of perception.
I find there are enough new songs which excite me to want to learn them there and then, plus the back catalogue is an endless treasure hunt. I go back and look at things which didn't immediately grab me when they appeared, and find there are undiscovered gems all the time.
It wouldn't bother me if there was no new material for a year, I would still have my plate full, and I'm not a light user, I practice a lot and like the process of learning new songs all the time, and this is the only site I belong to.
Hope you stay btw.
TG is a bit over 5 years old now, and as most things, it has 'changed'. I will go along with the fact the latest impression has been a bit of over abundance of IGC stuff with all the Open Mics coming out, and I have no clue as to how Matt and/or Neil made, or will make a profit on the Camps, both last years or the upcoming one. I have first hand experience putting on Poker "Camps" and all I can say is even in their prime, the Profit margin was slim if any.
As for the lessons, for myself, I will never get to what is here now, and I know that. Yet Neil and Ness (and others) still pile it on. Neil is now doing something that has been asked about since I can remember, a sort of 'factual' thing with the "Geography" deal. I applaud him for doing so.
I personally worry about my recent Forum post, I seem to be advertising yet that is in all honesty the last thing I intend on doing. I do have a real need to try, somehow, to include all of my friends here in the live music I get to enjoy when I can and found Concert Window along with folks like Dave Nachmanoff who do things like "House Concerts". I will again make this pledge, any and all profits we make from such will go to "Autism Speaks" as our eldest Grand Daughter has Asperger's Syndrome, a form of high functioning autism. I just now 'shared' a video of her singing Tears for Fears "Mad World" just after Dave finished, I have no clue how to go from Facebook to here but I may try later on. So those of you who are 'friends' of mine on Facebook can view this now.
Point is this, TG has, by design and to Matt and Neil's wishes, been driven by the customer. Those customers are heard here mainly on the forum, and I and others have watched the site steer towards the desires of us, the participants. I'm sure there are voices at the Support window who never are heard here (on the Forum) and so be it. I have never experienced two individuals who listen as well as they have to their customer base and will continue to do so. I can guarantee your opinion will be heard and taken note of.
Where else you gonna find that?
As for the lessons, for myself, I will never get to what is here now, and I know that. Yet Neil and Ness (and others) still pile it on. Neil is now doing something that has been asked about since I can remember, a sort of 'factual' thing with the "Geography" deal. I applaud him for doing so.
I personally worry about my recent Forum post, I seem to be advertising yet that is in all honesty the last thing I intend on doing. I do have a real need to try, somehow, to include all of my friends here in the live music I get to enjoy when I can and found Concert Window along with folks like Dave Nachmanoff who do things like "House Concerts". I will again make this pledge, any and all profits we make from such will go to "Autism Speaks" as our eldest Grand Daughter has Asperger's Syndrome, a form of high functioning autism. I just now 'shared' a video of her singing Tears for Fears "Mad World" just after Dave finished, I have no clue how to go from Facebook to here but I may try later on. So those of you who are 'friends' of mine on Facebook can view this now.
Point is this, TG has, by design and to Matt and Neil's wishes, been driven by the customer. Those customers are heard here mainly on the forum, and I and others have watched the site steer towards the desires of us, the participants. I'm sure there are voices at the Support window who never are heard here (on the Forum) and so be it. I have never experienced two individuals who listen as well as they have to their customer base and will continue to do so. I can guarantee your opinion will be heard and taken note of.
Where else you gonna find that?
Hey Bill,
I get why you think there may have been a shift in what Neil is teaching. He had promised to do some more easy classical and more fundamental stuff at some stage. He seems to be delivering on that promise to some extent now. If that's not your thing, and somehow Vaness's offerings don't work for you either, then I can only echo the suggestions of others that the best way to get lessons on the songs you want to play is to keep recommending them.
Personally, I (like Dean) also find that I can't keep up with the things I want to learn (I've been trying to keep up learning just one a week of Vanessa's, haha!
). I make some good progress and then there's another shiny cool offering a week later that has to be added into the list. Well I personally don't have the time I'd like to learn everything she's putting up (to the point for being able to perform), yet alone consolidate what I've learned already and continue to tackle all the stuff in the library that I've started and also that I have waiting on my to-do -list.
Actually I'm still finding stuff that I missed first time around. Just the other day I watched Inside Llewyn Davis and then started to learn Fare thee Well (Dink's) song. I soon found that Neil had a lesson on it, the folk version and Mumford & Son's version.
Regardless of my experience, just keep making suggestions about the songs you think would make good lessons. That's the best way to get what you're looking for.
I hope we see you posting a video of something real soon.
Happy playing.
Michele
I get why you think there may have been a shift in what Neil is teaching. He had promised to do some more easy classical and more fundamental stuff at some stage. He seems to be delivering on that promise to some extent now. If that's not your thing, and somehow Vaness's offerings don't work for you either, then I can only echo the suggestions of others that the best way to get lessons on the songs you want to play is to keep recommending them.
Personally, I (like Dean) also find that I can't keep up with the things I want to learn (I've been trying to keep up learning just one a week of Vanessa's, haha!
). I make some good progress and then there's another shiny cool offering a week later that has to be added into the list. Well I personally don't have the time I'd like to learn everything she's putting up (to the point for being able to perform), yet alone consolidate what I've learned already and continue to tackle all the stuff in the library that I've started and also that I have waiting on my to-do -list. Actually I'm still finding stuff that I missed first time around. Just the other day I watched Inside Llewyn Davis and then started to learn Fare thee Well (Dink's) song. I soon found that Neil had a lesson on it, the folk version and Mumford & Son's version.
Regardless of my experience, just keep making suggestions about the songs you think would make good lessons. That's the best way to get what you're looking for.
I hope we see you posting a video of something real soon.
Happy playing.
Michele
Hi Gang,
Fascinating thread about the TG Focus. I totally agree that recently the focus has shifted a little, let's explore. We started the Target Program about 5 years ago, end of April 2009, with 50 songs and a promise of 4 to 6 new lessons a month. We are now somewhere around 700 song lessons, 650 added over the last 61 months, along with dozens, maybe hundreds of theory/technique lessons. My main goal as a teacher has always been to teach students to fish rather than hand them a basket of fish. This should not be news to anybody who has been with us for a little while.
Recently a few things came together that contributed to a different balance on the types of lessons. I have been questioning my direction as a teacher with the constant flow of song lessons, wanting to focus on more important things like reading music and the developing series on understanding the fretboard. These theory lessons kept getting delayed by the perceived notion that the flow of song lessons could not be interrupted. Some of the recent Fly On The Wall lessons with distant TG members confirmed that we have many lifetimes of new material for most students. I have also been meaning to get to more advanced instrumentals, Villa-Lobos, Antonio Lauro, (even Steve Howe!), which require much more time in planning, analyzing, and even practicing.
I hope you can see that I am making some progress on these goals of mine for TG, even with the side project of adding the early Beatles hits, and there are still a lot of songs I am excited about doing lessons on, but the current plan is to get a better balance of lessons I think are essential for most students. New song lessons will still be in the mix.
Neil
Fascinating thread about the TG Focus. I totally agree that recently the focus has shifted a little, let's explore. We started the Target Program about 5 years ago, end of April 2009, with 50 songs and a promise of 4 to 6 new lessons a month. We are now somewhere around 700 song lessons, 650 added over the last 61 months, along with dozens, maybe hundreds of theory/technique lessons. My main goal as a teacher has always been to teach students to fish rather than hand them a basket of fish. This should not be news to anybody who has been with us for a little while.
Recently a few things came together that contributed to a different balance on the types of lessons. I have been questioning my direction as a teacher with the constant flow of song lessons, wanting to focus on more important things like reading music and the developing series on understanding the fretboard. These theory lessons kept getting delayed by the perceived notion that the flow of song lessons could not be interrupted. Some of the recent Fly On The Wall lessons with distant TG members confirmed that we have many lifetimes of new material for most students. I have also been meaning to get to more advanced instrumentals, Villa-Lobos, Antonio Lauro, (even Steve Howe!), which require much more time in planning, analyzing, and even practicing.
I hope you can see that I am making some progress on these goals of mine for TG, even with the side project of adding the early Beatles hits, and there are still a lot of songs I am excited about doing lessons on, but the current plan is to get a better balance of lessons I think are essential for most students. New song lessons will still be in the mix.
Neil
Thanks everyone for schooling me in the value of connecting with other musicians through this forum. As you can see by my stats I'm not a frequent poster or reader in these forums. You've helped me realize the value of doing so. I appreciate your taking the time to share your insights.
And thanks,Neil, for the clarification. There is nothing on the internet like TG so I will continue to put my faith in your vision and guidance.
Cheers,
Bill
And thanks,Neil, for the clarification. There is nothing on the internet like TG so I will continue to put my faith in your vision and guidance.
Cheers,
Bill
TGNeil wrote:
So "Crack on Neil" I'm right behind ya. Really looking forward to the new series in Guitar Geography that you started. That'll be good for me.
Scott
Well, what ever direction your going, " I'm with ya dog"! Even when your posting lessons that I really don't want to learn, it gives me time to work on the things that I do want to learn. There is no way to keep up with it all. However, now that I've been around a few years, It doesn't take me as long to learn songs as it once did, because of all the work I've done on Techniques over the years.Hi Gang,
Fascinating thread about the TG Focus. I totally agree that recently the focus has shifted a little, let's explore. We started the Target Program about 5 years ago, end of April 2009, with 50 songs and a promise of 4 to 6 new lessons a month. We are now somewhere around 700 song lessons, 650 added over the last 61 months, along with dozens, maybe hundreds of theory/technique lessons. My main goal as a teacher has always been to teach students to fish rather than hand them a basket of fish. This should not be news to anybody who has been with us for a little while.
Recently a few things came together that contributed to a different balance on the types of lessons. I have been questioning my direction as a teacher with the constant flow of song lessons, wanting to focus on more important things like reading music and the developing series on understanding the fretboard. These theory lessons kept getting delayed by the perceived notion that the flow of song lessons could not be interrupted. Some of the recent Fly On The Wall lessons with distant TG members confirmed that we have many lifetimes of new material for most students. I have also been meaning to get to more advanced instrumentals, Villa-Lobos, Antonio Lauro, (even Steve Howe!), which require much more time in planning, analyzing, and even practicing.
I hope you can see that I am making some progress on these goals of mine for TG, even with the side project of adding the early Beatles hits, and there are still a lot of songs I am excited about doing lessons on, but the current plan is to get a better balance of lessons I think are essential for most students. New song lessons will still be in the mix.
Neil
So "Crack on Neil" I'm right behind ya. Really looking forward to the new series in Guitar Geography that you started. That'll be good for me.
Scott