This is my first video of myself playing. I will first say a couple of things that I think everyone says or thinks before posting a first. One, the recording quality is pretty bad. Two, the instant I clicked the record button the tension ratcheted up to 11. I am pushing through the urge to just delete this recording and wait to post something until I can do better. Part of why I am posting it is to motivate myself to improve. It is difficult for me to share this because it is embarrassingly bad, but I know enough to recognize that there is no good reason to be embarrassed. This is an accurate demonstration of where I am in my learning journey. I can only improve if I view this with the right attitude. I can either feel discouraged and walk away, or I can mark this as a waypoint on the journey and keep going forward with the knowledge that I will improve if I work at it.
You have absolutely nothing to be ashamed of in that video. You appeared to be very calm and collected. Your note changes were crisp and precise. As a guy in his first week of the journey, I hope to get to that point eventually
Hi Dave, I donāt think it was embarrassingly bad; I think that was a very good first AVOYP. Now that you have got the monkey off your back, I expect more from you The more you perform, the less tension you will feel. We are our own worse critics; donāt be so hard on yourself; you are making good progress. You kept that arm moving, and your chord changes were good. So well done on your first recording mate.
Bravo, Dave. Congrats on taking that first step, itās a biggie, and sharing a recording for the first time.
I can but agree with all the other replies ā¦ worst critic, not nearly as bad as you made out, recording getting less stressful the more you do it, making good progress with with left and right hand action.
Keep on keeping on.
Iād like to move this post and the replies over the AVOYP. There are times when I think a recording in your LL is appropriate but I think this one, as a full song play-through, would be more appropriately shared in AVOYP. But Iāll leave that to be your final call.
Keep on keeping on and I canāt wait for your next!
Dave, for what itās worth (pun intended) we all get the red light quivers and tense up as soon as we hit the record button.
For a first record that is a good bench mark and quite honestly it gets thumbs up and congrats on a job well done from me. All good and youāre doing the correct things correctly.
I wouls have liked to have heard the backing track more but thatās not to do with your playing.
Kudos and vibes for the marker in the sand.
Well done! I think this was very solid entry, just keep recording and you weāll see after some time how much you improved after 6 months, 1 year and so on .
Well done Dave and old school vibes for posting your first AVoYP.
Steady strumming and clean chords. Nothing there to feel bad about. Youāve created your āline in the sandā that you can progress from. I look forward to more in the future.
Morning Dave,
I see we share the same filing system and ever-so-slightly off-kilter glasses
Youāve had all the positive feedback and encouragement you need to go forth and multiply without fear of looking like a fool.
(You would have done better by setting the bar a bit lower, lowering expectations for your follow-up and increasing the sense of improvement each time!)
Seriously, congratulations for taking the plunge.
Enjoy the journey
After that intro I was expecting a right lash up ! Well that did not happen did it ? We are all our own worst critics but you were steady throughout and your changes were good. Those recording nerves take a while to get used to but the more you record the less you think about it. So that means get recording again asap and you will see an improvement in that in tension. We all go through it and now and again it comes back - well it does for me when I enter a new area of playing. So crack on with the next one !
Dave, that was great! I do get it about the stress increase, and perceived ability decrease, when recording though. I finally started taking videos over, and over (wash, rinse, delete) to try and get over it. I am not there yet but slowly relaxing. I think this is great first video.
Congrats @Dave911 I thought that was very good and itās clear youāve been following the lessonsā¦99% of the time you kept that arm strumming whether you were playing the strings or not which is absolutely key. Broadly speaking in time and whilst you changed your strumming pattern a couple of times it generally stayed pretty solidā¦ A solid first introduction to AVOYP.
Good job man, I thought that sounded fine. Clear chords and solid rhythm.
One piece of advice I would offer is that you currently have a very ālockedā wrist, and all your strumming motion comes from the elbow. I would try to loosen up a little bit in the wristā¦ eventually youāll want a lot of wrist motion and only a little bit of elbowā¦
Solid observation, thanks for alerting me to that. The locked wrist is a reflection of tension and nerves. Iāll pay attention to that because I know that if Iām able to keep the wrist loose it definitely helps keep everything else loose and helps me get into the groove.
Yep, I will be doing this, too. Also experimenting with where Iām putting my phone for recording, where I have the iPad running the app and backing track, etc.
Crack on, I shall! It felt like a right proper lash up to me, but as you say, we are our own worst critics. Thank you for the encouragement!
Off-kilter glasses? Itās not the glasses that are off-kilter, mate! Itās the rest of me! And fear of looking like a fool? Well, that ship done sailed a long time ago!
Thatās what pushed me to go ahead and post it - have to establish a baseline for comparison. And thank you for the old school vibes ā I am getting a sense that those vibes are a more significant form of recognition than the little hearts we have in the new Community.
Thanks for the encouragement and the feedback on backing track. Iāve got to figure out a way to position everything a little better, and may have to pick up a bluetooth adapter and push the backing track from my iPad through my amp. I usually use bluetooth ear buds for the backing track because the iPad doesnāt push much volume. Even sitting right in front of the iPad without the buds I was not able to āfeelā the backing track very well, and I know it didnāt record well at all.
Thank you, sir. You are indeed exceptional in your own right!
The monkey gonna have to get me off his back!
So you couldnāt see the strings attached to my elbows or the guy behind me working them to keep that arm moving? Thanks for the encouragement, Adrian! You are such a positive force around here, I really appreciate it.
Thank you, Dean - itās that never let āem see you sweat ethos! If my shaky performance gives you something to aim for then I am glad I shared it. I think it is a very achievable benchmark for anyone starting out - kind of like watching Nitsuj early lessons!
Thank Radek, I should have worked up the courage to record and post much earlier for exactly this reason. I know in my head that I can do things now that I couldnāt do as well 6 months ago, but itās one thing to know it, but an entirely different feeling to be able to see it. Now I hope to be able to look at this in some weeks time and SEE that Iāve improved.
Iām not sure if I was even aware of changing strumming pattern or if it was intentional or not! My primary goal was to keep the arm moving. I should pretend the strumming changes were intentional and say āyeah, I was trying to bring a fresh new feel to this old song!ā Somehow I donāt think that would fool anyone! Thanks very much for the encouragement!
Thanks Ross, indeed I hope to show continuous progress, soon!
If Iāve left anyone out, please know that I sincerely appreciate ALL of your encouragement. Iām glad to have drawn my first line in the sand. Iāve been encouraging others to post themselves and felt a little nagging sensation that I needed to post myself if I am to continue encouraging others to do the same.
Now, time to set aside the keyboard and do a bit more practicing!
Maybe. I think it is probably just a matter of getting into the habit of recording myself frequently so that I get into a routine, particularly as I experiment with different ways to set the camera, my chair, etc. Another thing that will help me is to just train myself to get into a more playful mindset. This is supposed to be fun, after all!
The more you perform, the less tension you will feel. We are our own worse critics; donāt be so hard on yourself; you are making good progress. You kept that arm moving, and your chord changes were good. So well done on your first recording mate.
And fear of looking like a fool? Well, that ship done sailed a long time ago! 
