Hello everyone, I’m Coraline (Cora’s fine too for those who prefer, or get confused between Caroline and Coraline, which happens very often), 43 from the Paris area.
My love affair with music begun very early on and even though I was gifted an acoustic guitar when I was 10, my family couldn’t afford music classes so I just learned a few bits by ear, listening to my dad having fun on his own guitar and by listening to records again and again. Child from the 1980
Around age 25, I went to sing along with a group of friends who were really into rock and metal music as I was: they needed a singer so I tried my best to some Nightwish songs, rehearsing in a local studio. By this time I was also taking singing classes with a classical teacher to train my voice and learn the basics but it didn’t click so I eventually stopped, but kept on singing by myself (bathroom singers anyone?). I observed and listened to the guys a lot during our meetings and trained my ear a bit more along the sessions.
Moving forward 2024-2025: after some life’s twists and turns, I decided to get serious on learning guitar by myself and began looking for good tutorials online. I came across some really good stuff on Tomo Fujita’s YouTube Channel and in one of his video, he was talking about the quality of Justin’s tutorials so here I am now. I am also a huge admirer of Tom Waits and I was really happy to find Justin’s tutorials of his songs. I would say I’m somewhere between a false beginner and a grade 1 intermediate, note sure yet
For the practical details: I practise on a 3/4 Size Acousitc guitar a former bf gifted me a long time ago, which has a great sound, is quite bulky and also has a Giant Panda bear graphic on it… so far it hasn’t lure any animal around, we’re pretty safe around Paris when it comes to any kind of bears anyway
I also use an Epiphone Les Paul standard electric guitar who belongs to my dad who barely touched it so I wanted to give it a bit of life.
Voilà for the basics. I hope to make progress and hone my skills with the help of Justin’s lessons and you guys, connect with the community and share as much musical stuff as possible. See you around and à bientôt,
As I’m sure you’ll find, you can learn to play on any guitar type or style! If the giant panda guitar feels too “giant” or bulky, you’ll probably be better off practicing on the electric… the more comfortable you are, the less likely you are to let the physical aspect of your guitar distract you from your playing.
I hope you have lots of fun in the Journey ahead!!!
Good luck!!!
Thanks to GrumpyMac, Stitch and Tod for your welcoming messages!
To Tod: switching guitars is actually what I’ve been doing for a while now, especially when I’m tired. Still the sound is so nice that I like to use it but as you rightly said, comfort is really the key to be able to focus on playing. I will probably invest on a smaller one at some point but for now it’ll do. Thanks for your support and encouraging words!
I am also trying myself at Chocolate Jesus since a couple days and having a real blast learning it and feeling the vibe. Justin’s so right in his video: playing it definitely feels like wearing a “soft pair of leather shoes”. I’d say like a really old and worn out one
Hey Coraline, welcome to the community. It’s great that you’ve taken the step from wanting to play guitar to actually doing it. It’s certainly challenging at times, but the reward is so very worth it. Look forward to hearing more from you
Bonjour et bienvenue, Coraline
Any fan of Tom Waits is on the right path in my book
Paris, City of Love/lights-
I love it
Here’s a home movie of one of our family visits from way before you were born, but should recognise some of the sights
Hi Tony, thanks for your kind words. It is challenging for sure but music is such an important part of my life that it was an obvious step to take. It was just a matter of timing I guess See you around here!
Hi Carreta, I have to confess you’re right about that algorithm Landing on Justin Guitar channel was a beautiful discovery and I would like to take my time to browse through the platform, there are so many useful tools here and there! Feels like being a kid in a candy store, only the candies are guitar-shaped! I will definitely post a pic of my guitar for you guys to see, everyone’s always so surprised when I mentioned it!
Thanks again for your good wishes
Hey Brian, what a sweet family video Françoise Hardy’s song makes it a bit nostalgic but in a good way and actually I didn’t know that one! It looks like you were at the Jardin des Plantes playing around? It certainly has changed a lot since 1973 but it is so nice to see the surroundings back at the time.
Thank you Mark! Just saw on your profile page you began playing guitar at 60 and that you make them now, this is absolutely cool. Love this See you around on here!
Landing on Justin Guitar channel was a beautiful discovery and I would like to take my time to browse through the platform, there are so many useful tools here and there! Feels like being a kid in a candy store, only the candies are guitar-shaped! I will definitely post a pic of my guitar for you guys to see, everyone’s always so surprised when I mentioned it!
