David @BurnsRhythm
Not sure I agree with your last sentence, I think almost everybody can improve their singing, ok you may not become a really good singer but you can improve.
If anybody had a recording of my first singing lesson I would be embarrassed, it was terrible, I am sure the teacher thought I would not be coming back but I did, ok I am no singer but I do try and one day I might be passable.
Donāt give up on vocals, if you have an unusual range make the most of it.
Michael
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@MAT1953
Yes, we could all improve our singing with practice but Iām stuck with the voice I was born with.
Some people were born with a Fender or Gibson voice. Mine is more like a Woolworths Special!
Even the top singerās voices deteriorate with age and they know how to practice. Thereās little chance of me improving much by starting now, so Iām being realistic and focusing on guitar. Iāll leave singing to the singers.
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youāre putting it in a very funny way!
David if you change your mind, please just sing for the fun of it, like anything else, imitation is more than enough, we donāt need to know all the theory and technical stuff behind it. Like any other baby you learned to sing way before learning to speak, only you donāt remember going like ālalalallallalalla 
ā 
Can you please tell me where I find such tests? I have no idea of what my vocal range is 
oh yeeesss! But that means you will have to keep on singing, even if silently in your mind 
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Hi Silvia!
When I was a baby a long time ago
I sang like an angel but now itās real lowā¦
Iām not giving up on it altogether, just not giving it much priority.
I can hear songs and singers in my mind and I sound like each and every one of them but when I do it for realā¦
I agree about the theory. I was going to buy the theory course over a year ago but then I got busy with work and later, busy getting back to guitar. I already understood quite a bit of theory and I pick up more going through Grade2 and here in the community. Iām in no hurry now to buy the course and I think ear development is far more important and useful. Itās more fun too! 
The vocal test that I did was at
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Thanks for the link David! Iām having a lot of fun to find out my vocal range is, but want to try on different days and songs to see the information I get is something I can rely on.
Happy to read this, and it also makes much sense to me
It often happens to me as well with certain songs, it actually takes sometimes to learn to hit as many right notes as possible and be happy with myself, a lot of listening and a lot of trying tooā¦my privileged moment for singing is while ironing, not seriously focusing on the task actually makes me feel more relaxed and just try and have a little laugh at the wrong notes and try to correct myselfā¦Sometimes I feel like a teenager, listening to the same song kind of countless times in a row 
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@SILVIA
Ha ha! So now I have an image in my mind of āSilvia the ironing singerā
I guess your ironing is in time with the music too! Best not hold the notes too long though or youāll burn your best dress. 
Repetitive listening is good, it will ingrain the song in your mind and then come back out through your voice and or guitar.
I looked up Lee Marvinās Wandārin Star from the musical Paint Your Wagon. Itās in the key of E ā and has 14 different chords, most of them barre chords! Hardly Grade2 material!!
Iām going to have a look at Justinās song lesson for The Gambler - Kenny Rodgers. I know the song well from way back, so that should be a better start.
January 2024 - 2 year update
Itās 2 years today since I decided to knuckle down and follow Justinās structured learning path, and Iām still doing itā¦sort of !
The first year was fairly straight forward - but this last yearā¦well, far from it. A lot of changes in life have meant guitar has taken a back seat and practice has been more off than on.
Somehow though, Iāve managed to stutter and stumble to the end of Grade2.
Itās a good grade and has introduced me to different genres and different styles of playing. Although I didnāt do much with fingerstyle, the rest has all been relevant.
My favourite is the Blues module and itās opened up a way forward. Take the swing out of Blues and itās Rock. Add in some bouncing bass and itās Country Rock. I like me a bit of Country Rock!
So Iām thinking that learning to play the Blues will help with learning other styles of music as well.
Iāve also found a new way of learning - visualisation/audiation. I dismissed it as being a bit geeky when I first heard about it but Iām sold on it now.
I started using it when I was learning the Beginner Blues Solo and Iāve recently used it to learn the Vari Shuffle Climb in the Blues Studies module. Itās a great learning tool and it also aids ear development. A combination of visualisation/audiation and playing it on guitar accelerates my learning of a piece and memorising it. I soon learned to play the Vari Shuffle from memory, although polishing it up is still a work in progress.
Iām learning the Lickin Riff in the Grade3 blues module at the moment. It ties in nicely with the shuffle riffs.
My plan for this year is to mostly stick with the Blues. Iāll focus on the Grade3 Blues module for now and then go back to the Blues Studies module.
After that I want to start on the Blues Lead Guitar Essentials module.
For variation Iāll slowly work my way through Grade3 lessons.
Well, with my pace, that lot should keep me quiet for another couple of years!
Okay, so after a year of practice being very sporadic, Iām starting to get back to a more regular routine now. For the last two weeks or so, Iāve practiced every day. Itās my longest spell of sustained practice throughout 2023.
Funny what a difference a year makes. It was this time last year that things started to go pear shaped and now theyāre starting to pick up again!
Ah well, Iām enjoying learning the Blues and itās motivating me to get back to guitar. Hopefully, 2024 will give me more time to play and practice.
Happy New Year to you all.
2024ā¦.Here we goā¦
David
P.S. All that singing stuff up above - forget it - Iām not a singer!
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David @BurnsRhythm
Two years in and you seem to have arrived at point where you know musically which direction you want go and Justin sort of indicates that it is likely to happen round about this stage in the journey.
I will not mention singing and little grey tractors, whoops I mentioned them!
All the best for 2024.
Michael
PS Donāt overlook finger style it adds a new dimension to your guitar playing.
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Hello David @BurnsRhythm . I just started reading your log and though I didnāt go through it all, I got through the first part and then the last. I am pleased you have stuck with playing and powered through when most have quit. I have personally put the guitar down and picked it back up several times. I look forward to keeping up with your progress.
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Thanks Michael.
Yes, I think Iāve found my direction. It would be unrealistic at this age to try to learn everything.
Fingerstyle playing is good to listen to so I donāt dismiss it altogether but itās not on my radar for now.
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Hello Michael, thanks for checking out my log.
This is my second go at learning guitar, the first one went nowhere 20 odd years ago. Iām sticking with it this time. I hope you do too!
Best of luck!
Good to hear things are picking up, David, and youāve made some progress. You are so right about the significance of the blues in other genres like rock n roll, country etc. If singing is not for you and enjoy the blues studies in grade 2 then finger-style blues is a cool style to gravitate to in the long run. Still worth getting through the other areas in the first three grades from a foundational perspective.
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What is this?
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Firstly happy new year to you David and congratulations on the two year guitar anniversary. It sounds like you have been making steady progress over the year albeit with the guitar having to take a back seat from time to time. Itās good to see that youāve also found focus in your learning adventure through the blues which has kept the learning engine burning through those down times. Wish you all the best for 2024.
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Thanks David.
I understand what youāre saying about the foundational things. Iām not skipping Grade3, Iām thinking though that it maybe a good idea to pick out parts that are more relevant to what I want to do. I can always come back to the other stuff at a later date.
Fingerstyle will be a come back to thing. I had a go at it in Grade2 and it was ok. I didnāt like the sound of it though, playing with the finger pads on electric guitar. It was a dull sound and uneven on different strings. I know, I know - practice - but I thought better to move on to something else.
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Hey there Stuart, visualisation/audiation is a technique I use to help me learn things when Iām away from the guitar.
I have the tab on my phone, I read it and imagine playing it. I visualise the fretting and imagine the sound of it in my mind. Next time I pick up guitar, I try to play it from my mind.
Itās not the whole thing at once, just a bar or two at a time.
I could go into more detail about how I do it if you or anyone else wants to know more about it.
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Thanks James.
The Blues route seems to be a well trodden path around here. We probably all recognise how itās influenced the music of our lives.
Not sure about keeping the engine burning, more ticking over I would say. Maybe I can rev it up a bit this year.!
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Not thought of that but sounds like a simple idea. Might give it a go althoughā¦
ā¦this may be more of a problem 
@Stuartw
I find it a very useful technique Stuart.
Iām using it to learn the Lickinā Riff (just the first chorus so far). I learn it a bar or two at a time, āplayingā it over and over in my mind as I look at the tab, visualising the fretting, and imagining the sound of it. Then when I pick up the guitar, I can play those couple of bars from what Iāve already imprinted in my mind.
Give it a go - it works for me but I canāt say whether or not it will work for you.
I know from posts around the community that you struggle with sound but I also detect that itās improving for you. Thatās great!
Try thisā¦
Play two or three notes from the major scale. Make them into a simple one bar phrase. Play that phrase over and over - then stop playing. Can you imagine the sound of it when you stop playing?