suggestions on improving my style

mphilbr137418114
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Sun Oct 27, 2013 3:34 pm

Greetings,

I have been "playing" for about 40 years -- picking up the guitar every few months, playing consistently for a few days or weeks, then putting it back in the case. I have gravitated towards strumming and simple picking. I enjoy taking something I hear, trying to figure out the chords and then turning it into a progression I can work on. In particular I like open chords and variations. I am not much for memorizing an exact technique. This has resulted in very few songs that I can play start to finish. At this point I really want to learn a set of songs that focus a bit more on rhythm than picking (although some picking is fine) and I would like to be able to play with or without vocal accompaniment. It would be fantastic if I could end up with 20 or 30 songs I know very well.

Attached is a file that is a representation of my style.

Any suggestions on where I should begin? Artists? Particular songs? Thanks.

Michael


jayswett
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Sun Oct 27, 2013 4:34 pm

I didn't see any file to open, so will comment only generally. If your goal is to learn 20 or 30 songs that you can play well, have a look at the free lessons and see if any songs there interest you. If not, consider havnig a look at the content available for a price, and choose a song or two that captures your interest. See if Neil's teaching style works for you, and if so, join the Target program and get all the content for one price. I have no financial connection to the site, but can say confidently that you won't find a better website, with so much content, for a better price. Good luck.


plantman
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Sun Oct 27, 2013 7:12 pm

Michael,
Not too long ago, I was in the same boat. When getting together with others and they asked me "what do you have" I had nothing. So I committed, by picking a few that I really liked and learned them front to back. Now I'm building my list - it was not that long ago for me, but now I could play 8 to 10 songs without hesitation - it may have taken me 2 years. I started with artists I liked and was most familiar with (the ones I grew up listening too in the 70's) and ones I had a shot at singing adequately enough to get through, even if it was only for my benefit. Check the song list and even in the free section, I'm sure you'll find a few. I frequently needed to break a song down into sections and learn one section at a time. If you get stuck on one, put it away and start on another. When you go back you'll be surprised that it seems easier.
Just a few thoughts, best of luck, but just dig in and start.


alberts
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Fri Jan 17, 2014 10:04 pm

Michael -- it's hard to recommend songs because they have to be tunes that appeal to you -- that make you happy to feel coming through you. But I'd hazard to suggest that Neil's generous motherlode of Neil Young lessons are a great place to look.

The one specific thing I'd urge on you though is to push yourself that little extra it takes to get a song "all the way through" -- and often that little push means giving yourself permission *not* to master every subtlety or fill or flourish, but to just strum a suitable fill chord over a passage that has thwarted you. I can tell you, if you're among friends (as you should be, preferably with food and drink), they aren't going to care if you don't get the whole riff of 'Wild World' flowing like water -- you're just going to enjoy the tune.

THere's a real satisfaction to "playing a whole piece" - and it will boost you confidence and after you work through other songs, at some point you'll come back to that intimidating section and find that it's now within your grasp, like plant man said. But if you just feel like you just have a bunch of broken bits of tunes, it's easy to become discouraged.

"Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good."


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