Hi folks,
Just joined Target last night.
I'm in my early fiftys and finally started playing guitar about ten years ago when our babysitter told me "its easy - just a few chords and away you go". Well I resolved there and then to do, and I did. But ten years on I would still class myself as a beginner. I've flitted from acoustic to electric and back and with different styles and never stuck at anything long enough to really learn it. Inevitably there have been long gaps in playing. I have had a few teachers never felt that I was getting an all round education.
But recently I feel I have come on a lot with the help of youtube and that of course led me to here.
I'm really excited about it and feel that I now have the determination to stick at it in a focused way.
There is so much on this site - are there any recommendations for a structured approach? I dont want to just hop from song to song or is that the best way? Any guidance would be great.
Looking forward to chatting with you all.
Hi from Ireland
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Music Junkie
- Posts: 0
- Joined: Fri Mar 13, 2009 7:17 am
- Status: Offline
Welcome aboard longboarder! Glad you found us here! A great place to start is with the Musical Genius Series. Go through them and garner what you can. Take a look at the lessons and maybe pick something in the 3-5 range and give it a go. See how you feel. If it is too easy, try a higher number. If you have any questions, make a thread, and I can guarantee you will get more answers than you bargain for.....lol. Lots of good folks here, and tons of info. There are also tons of groups that hold lots of information as well, so be sure to check them out. Also, if there is a song that you would like to see covered someday, make sure to request a lesson in the "Recommend a Lesson" section. No guarantees there, but if it is a good one and it gets the votes, you will more than likely see something on it.
Have fun!
Jason
Have fun!
Jason
Top o' the mornin' to you from rainy Seattle, Washington. I did a bike ride a few years ago through your lovely country, and I've had a warm spot in my heart for Ireland ever since.
Everyone has his/her own guitar goals, but you can't go wrong starting at the beginning withe Acoustic Genius series. That'll teach you music theory as it relates to the guitar fretboard -- a great thing to know, especially if you're ever going to pick out leads. You might also jump in to the lessons. It's likely the first of the beginner lessons will be too basic for you, but feel free to skip ahead to a lesson that picks up where your experience level leaves off. Finally, find a song whose demands are just slightly ahead of your skill level so that you can learn a new technique. Watch Neil's play-throughs to find a song that challenges you. While it's fun to just learn any new song that you happen to like, and there's certainly value in doing just that, you'll get more out of a song that takes you to new places skill-wise.
Good luck...and enjoy TG. You did the right thing.
Everyone has his/her own guitar goals, but you can't go wrong starting at the beginning withe Acoustic Genius series. That'll teach you music theory as it relates to the guitar fretboard -- a great thing to know, especially if you're ever going to pick out leads. You might also jump in to the lessons. It's likely the first of the beginner lessons will be too basic for you, but feel free to skip ahead to a lesson that picks up where your experience level leaves off. Finally, find a song whose demands are just slightly ahead of your skill level so that you can learn a new technique. Watch Neil's play-throughs to find a song that challenges you. While it's fun to just learn any new song that you happen to like, and there's certainly value in doing just that, you'll get more out of a song that takes you to new places skill-wise.
Good luck...and enjoy TG. You did the right thing.
Hi Longboarder and welcome to TG from New Jersey. You've found the spot on the net to hone your playing skills. I agree with MJ, starting out with the Musical Genius lessons is the right way to go. I found it really helpful even the basic stuff that I thought I already knew. There's a lot of content on the site and more coming every week; you'll be busy for a long time to come.
Tom
BTW all my relatives came from Ireland. I need to make a visit sometime.
Tom
BTW all my relatives came from Ireland. I need to make a visit sometime.
Welcome Longboarder to TG, again from NJ. This is a good place to be. You will learn many things and meet nice people, they are the best. My wife and I have been to Ireland twice, you have a beautiful country. Some of her relatives still live there.
Kenny
Kenny
Hey Longboarder, big welcome to the program from Oregon! We're glad to have you with us and we always need more members from Ireland. Where do you live in Ireland? One of my grandmothers family is from from County Cork (Kelly). So I am proudly a quarter Irish!
I agree with all the advice you've received so I won't repeat it. The challenge of this site, with so much information and opportunities, is to stay focused. We've had many discussions about how many songs to work on at any given time. I still recommend finding a handful you enjoy and want to learn and then practicing them to death. Get them committed to memory so you can play them in your sleep.
As you get a song mastered, move on to another, always finding time to drop back and stay proficient with the songs you've added to your list. Neil will tell you the definition of an Intermediate guitarist is we know dozens of songs but never play any of them all the way through. Guilty as charged! lol!
If you are like the rest of us, you will become frustrated by all the new songs that come out every week and will reluctantly come to the conclusion that you just can't learn them all. For example, Neil recently gave us 10 Eric Clapton songs in about a week! There is no way to even consider learning that many songs. So all I can do is tell myself- someday! The TARGET program is an embarrassment of riches.
But maybe the most important thing, after Neil's great teaching, is the opportunity to connect with so many guitarists, most of us with similar abilities, from all over the world. Use this forum as a powerful teaching aid and you will get wonderful feedback on just about any challenge you face!
Good luck and cheers! :cheer:
I agree with all the advice you've received so I won't repeat it. The challenge of this site, with so much information and opportunities, is to stay focused. We've had many discussions about how many songs to work on at any given time. I still recommend finding a handful you enjoy and want to learn and then practicing them to death. Get them committed to memory so you can play them in your sleep.
As you get a song mastered, move on to another, always finding time to drop back and stay proficient with the songs you've added to your list. Neil will tell you the definition of an Intermediate guitarist is we know dozens of songs but never play any of them all the way through. Guilty as charged! lol!
If you are like the rest of us, you will become frustrated by all the new songs that come out every week and will reluctantly come to the conclusion that you just can't learn them all. For example, Neil recently gave us 10 Eric Clapton songs in about a week! There is no way to even consider learning that many songs. So all I can do is tell myself- someday! The TARGET program is an embarrassment of riches.
But maybe the most important thing, after Neil's great teaching, is the opportunity to connect with so many guitarists, most of us with similar abilities, from all over the world. Use this forum as a powerful teaching aid and you will get wonderful feedback on just about any challenge you face!
Good luck and cheers! :cheer:
G'Day Longboarder from Chas in New Zealand, although a Scot. Good decision, as has been said there is a wealth of material here and if your not careful it willbe difficult to stay focused but in a good way . This site has it all great tuition, great friends to make on the Forums, Great advice also from the Forums, good info to be found in the Community Groups and also once a month a Live session with Neil where we can ask questions. Where to start, Acoustic genious with a selection of songs from the ever increasing library, to find your level try one from each of the areas beginner, Intermediate and advanced, although they are so grouped you may find a song in the advanced section you like and that helps in learning, but nothing wrong with a refresh and learning something form the beginners area if thats you.
Just enjoy the site mate and keep in touch through the forums
Chas
Just enjoy the site mate and keep in touch through the forums
Chas
Hello Longboarder from New Hampshire. Welcome to the site. It's great to have you here. You've gotten some sound words from everyone else so I'll leave it at that. Surf around the site for a week or two and then you'll know what you want. Looking forward to hearing and seeing you on the review forum.
MarkM
MarkM
Hi from Sydney Longboard. I think you'll be more than happy that you joined up and amazed at how quickly you'll be able to progress in just a few months. I love it here and I'm sure you will too.
I suggest that you also check out each of the short technique tips and other lessons under the Beginner Lessons and Intermediate Lessons links in the target menu. I know you've been playing on and off for a while, but Neil has a wealth of fantastic advice in there and you may not have picked some of the up yet. You might even find that you need to unlearn and relearn some things to lose bad habits and ensure that you can learn more difficult stuff efficiently down the track. THis may not apply to you, but I had to relearn how to hold a pick.
Have fun and be sure to post a video soon.
Michele
I suggest that you also check out each of the short technique tips and other lessons under the Beginner Lessons and Intermediate Lessons links in the target menu. I know you've been playing on and off for a while, but Neil has a wealth of fantastic advice in there and you may not have picked some of the up yet. You might even find that you need to unlearn and relearn some things to lose bad habits and ensure that you can learn more difficult stuff efficiently down the track. THis may not apply to you, but I had to relearn how to hold a pick.
Have fun and be sure to post a video soon.
Michele