The @DavidP story! Dig it. You are the man!
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Thanks Clint. 5 episodes ported, 20 more to come.
Now can I get that all done and dusted so that episode #26 My 5th JGversary can be posted in sequence on the day?
Luckily if it ends up being a belated post there are no consequences at all 
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#6 The onset of GAS
One of the things I always dreamed about when dreaming about being able to play guitar was to have a 12 string just like my friend at varsity who showed me my first chords. He played an Ibanez 12 string that sounded beautiful … warm and rich.
Looking back it was a fanciful dream and perhaps naïve in terms of a deeper appreciation of tones and 12 vs 6 strings, be that as it may …
So I decided to incentivise myself … if I stuck at the BC for 3 months and made progress … I know that is a bit of a loophole in terms of progress being subjective … then I’d level-up my guitar and get a 12 string.
One afternoon I dropped in at a music store on my way home from delivering some training at an off-site venue, which was conveniently at the point where I get on the highway to head home. I played a few 12 strings, all of which felt marvelous to play and sounded better than my Celebrity 6 string. At least based on the quick little noodle which was all I had time for as the shop was closing up. But I felt I had direction and the money seemed OK. I was ready …
And then I came across the specific 12 I was looking at in one of our local online shopping sites … came across … OK, I was looking to see if they were available and at what price. Cut a long story short they were and the price was better. Then one day those clever online marketers dropped the price and pushed me an email … and availability was low.
So I said “what the heck” and bought it.
To give you an idea … justifying my actions … it was about 45%-55% cheaper than what you’d pay in a music shop, depending on which one you went to (gotta shop around down here). Still more than if I do a straight comparison with what you pay over in the US or Europe based on current RoE and there’s not the same second hand market, judging by some of the discussions I’ve followed here. We definitely pay a premium on gear down in SA, our economy, demand, import duty policies … have sympathy.
It arrived within a couple of days, looked beautiful, played easily but … and here’s the big lesson … when I strummed the first chord I did get an immediate WOW … it was OK, sounded good … better than the Celebrity … but there was no spark of immediate love and connection. And knowing what I know now, I should’ve re-packed it and returned immediately. But I was new to online buying of anything other than commodities, second-guessed my feelings, didn’t want to lose face with the family (embarrassing one to admit that one) so I hung on to it.
And here it is …
Later I did more research and learned about woods and tone. It is a maple body, solid wood so bright and clear and beautiful, a big sound, lovely sustain on every note … just not the warmth I was looking for. Now I know why. And when I thought … hmmm … maybe I should return it, I was just outside the window … lesson learned, fortunately not too much money and not a bad guitar … just never going to be the “love of my life”
At about the same time, early March 2017 3 months in, I’d got hooked on the recording. And the messing around with the USB headset was annoying. So I started researching home recording. I’d learnt my lesson so did a whole lot more research this time. All about what was involved, the gear, the options. Not enough to be an expert but more than a vague awareness. I also consulted with Daniel. Ironically after the first conversation on this topic back in January, I’d said I couldn’t see myself buying this stuff … famous last words 
Anyway, cut a long story short … I settled on either FocusRite or Presonus and that a starter kit would make most sense. All dependent on what was available. Finally purchased a FocusRite kit, with DI, mic and headphones. Then went back to the store the next day for a mic stand … they ought to have asked me about that … service isn’t always top notch … hmmm, often actually dodgy. Anyhow, here it is …
Set about setting it all up and downloading the free DAW … Ableton Live 9 Lite. And soon as I was ready to make that first recording.
Here it is, played on the Ibanez and the vocal overdubbed as per suggestions received after posting my first two attempts.
Daniel and Verna had a good laugh at my change from “can’t see me needing that” to "hey, check out my latest recording in my “home studio”. And just like that the original wish to be able to play a little had become playing, recording, and more was to come.
But have to say, for all those of you wondering what is possible. I’m 51 years young and would’ve told you that you were taking something cool in January if you’d told me what I would be doing in March …
So have faith, practise, enjoy the ride and you may astonish yourself … I know I have 
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#7 Consolidation, Forum Contest, and starting BC Stage 6
At this point I was starting to get quite carried away. I’d been checking out the monthly competition entries (probably commenting) and decided why not enter … nothing bad could come of it and the feedback from Justin was a big incentive.
So I entered the April Competition with a another go at Walk the Line. I also decided it might be fun to explore what could be done with the DAW in terms of creating a MIDI percussion track … undeterred by lack of knowledge, I made a four track recording: guitar recorded simultaneously with builtin pup and mic, MIDI percussion and an overdubbed vocal.
Good feedback as always from the Community but in the end didn’t get feedback from Justin. I’d have to wait for that.
Somewhere around this time I also decided I’d consolidated adequately on stages 1-3 and should commence stage 4. This was a bit daunting as in all my years of dabbling chords like B7 and C7 had always been a bridge too far.
I concentrated on B7 (maybe a mistake not to work as hard on C7 at the same time…not sure). And after my practice drills I’d work on stage 1-3 songs.
During this time I was back and forth between overdubbing the vocal and playing and singing together. I also continued to learn more about mixing and for one of the songs posted a straight and mixed version, with general feedback confirming the mixed was a better version.
Mad World was a significant moment … I overdubbed the vocal and as I recall it was @redrhodie who encouraged me to just trust myself and rather just play and sing together. So a few days later I gave it a go and made a better recording for it.
St James Infirmary was another where my first version was an overdubbed vocal and I really struggled with the phrasing. A couple of weeks later it somehow clicked and I made a second recording playing and singing together that was significantly better. Still not perfect, but much better.
At that point I decided that posts to AVOYP should be simple recordings of me playing and singing, with light touch on the mixing.
BTW, I learnt a tremendous about mixing watching videos and reading on this site https://www.recordingrevolution.com/ If you are getting into this aspect of music then I’d recommend this site.
In May I continued my experimentation with the DAW and MIDI tracks to record and produce a version of Stand By Me for the Competition. This recording had more percussion plus a short MIDI piano track for the instrumental interlude between choruses with the usual dual recorded guitar and over-dubbed vocal. There were a few moments where the timing was off but by now my policy was this:
No bad mistakes, like missed or incorrect chord changes … flaws in the vocal timing or delivery, the odd messy change … well that was acceptable. I also decided that I’d not get into editing tracks and splicing multiple takes etc to fix errors. I’m opting for a more faithful record of where I am, warts and all.
But I was really pleased with how this recording of Stand By Me turned out.
Seems like a good point to take a break … almost up to date
Then you’ll be glad to know that updates will be more frequent and much shorter
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#8 It’s not a linear journey
As time passed I found that I had gone from B7 is impossible to being able to start using it in a couple of songs. I picked Killing Me Softly and later added Dock of the Bay.
But I was starting to feel that things were a little too routine … so decided to start on BC Stage 5, even though I considered myself not done with Stage 4.
I found the new chords quite straight forward but this triplet rhythm … that was another story. After reading some posts I settled on counting at as 1 tic toc 2 tic toc which felt better than 1 trip let … no idea why. But it felt really wooden. What eventually helped me to get it was playing along with the lesson … seems obvious … but once I understood it I’d practiced with a metronome. It clicked into place all of a sudden playing along to the lesson.
Later in May I felt ready and finally declared Stage 4 done by recording the two songs. Given the historical struggles, it was a big deal for me to play these songs.
The next struggle was finding a song to play with the triplet strumming. Sure, lots of options in the BSB but just couldn’t get them to sound right.
And while I was struggling away at that I figured it was time to start Stage 6.
Now I am fortunate … the one thing I did get right in my earlier attempts along with basic open chords was F … the full barre chord. I’d also managed to get the “Old Faithful” rhythm when I took a few lessons with a work colleague. So Stage 6 was not a major stage for me. Stage 4 and 5 were far more challenging.
And then it was June Competition time. I picked a song that showcases Stage 6 skills, Neil Young’s Like A Hurricane. It was another multi-track projects with some backing created with the DAW’s MIDI Editor plus two guitar parts. One playing more of a riff than full chord rhythm pattern which I applied an amp effect to, aiming for it to have a rock feel and sound.
I was pleased with the results, despite finding getting everything to be in sync a big challenge … two guitars plus synth backing and the vocal … so it is a bit messy.
And to cap my month, I got wonderful feedback from Justin.
A fitting moment to end this episode…
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#9 A severe attack of GAS
In early July my wife and I went to a Music Expo. A most enjoyable day out looking, listening and a little playing … resisted the urge to buy anything more than a foot stand.
But I did pick up a business card for a shop that deals in collectibles and used guitars … that got me to thinking … maybe a used electric? Then another thought occurred … maybe such thoughts should be branded as dangerous and kept under lock and key … what if I sold the 6 and 12 strings? Maybe I’d be able to get a 6 for an affordable price that was a guitar that I could fall in love with … I wonder. Risky thing that “I wonder”.
So the following Saturday I went off to a Guitar Shop … well shop doesn’t do this outlet justice. I’d been to the local shops, which was fun but not spectacular … this place is spectacular. More guitars under one roof than I’ve ever seen before, even a stage to test out big sound systems for performing bands.
I got chatting, explained what I was thinking, the kind of sound I like and soon the lady was bringing me guitars … just sit, play and give me feedback. Really exciting, lots of fun and it was wonderful to play so many guitars that sounded better than 6 or 12 and were also easy to play.
And then the lightening bolt moment … just one strum and I was in love. A warm beautiful tone and even the chords that have never sounded that pleasing to my ear … specifically open D7 … sounded wonderful. I kept comparing but knew that if I was to upgrade this was the one for me.
During the week I researched selling the others … no deal … market to small and the used dude is smart … he doesn’t build up inventory and our market is small, not liquid. But by then I was decided, I would buy the new 6 and look to sell the others buy other means.
The next weekend I came home with the new 6 string. My missus took one look “not another guitar”. Luckily she can also play (is busy when time permits learning the bass). Quick as a flash I put the new guitar in her hands … phew … same response … “what beautiful tone and feel to play”.
Here it is … a Fender Paramount PM-1 Deluxe …
Playing wise I kept plugging away at stage 5 and 6 songs … I confess more playing than practising. And I kept making recordings of songs. As @Richard_close2u always says “Play songs Play songs Play songs”
I also decided that it was high time to look into stage 7. Lots of interesting stuff … strumming with a bass note, power chords and minor pentatonic. Power chords in particular a challenge … finger tip applying pressure but not a full barre … kind of confusing … but I know I’ll get it!
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#10 RC up to date, 8 month reflection
And that’s my journey … from a first Em in 1984 to starting the Justin BC on Dec 16th. Now I’m 8 months in and playing, singing and recording in ways I never believed would be possible for me.
It shows again that with disciplined practice, the right teacher and a willingness to try, get it wrong and try again learning an instrument does not require divine or genetic talent.
And this Community was equally unexpected and invaluable in the learning and experience.
There are too many people to list by name, who have encouraged me and offered sound advice … people who feel like friends even though we have only met here, sharing our common love of music and desire to be musicians.
As @LBro would say ROCK ON !!!
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#11 September songs and success
Couple of months since my last update and September was a big month for me … a month to remember and celebrate.
In August and September the Monthly contest returned to an open format.
In August I had a crack at David Gray’s This Years Love. For the contest I again dabbled with multi-tracks, over-dubbed vocals and use of effects in the DAW. Let’s say the results were mixed! But having spent a Sat producing the contest submission, I decided on Sunday to just do a “live & unplugged” version. I was quite pleased with how this turned out, a few mistakes but managed to get the time signature feel, a little more dynamics and accents.
One Sunday morning I was doing what I enjoy doing … checking out what was new in the JG Community before getting up and into the day … and there was Mari and her partner playing Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out. Mari was playing it in the EC Unplugged style. It sounded great and I wondered if it might be another option to explore to work on the triplet bluesy strumming.
I found some simple chords and surprised myself by being able to fit the vocal into the rhythm pattern (other than occasionally adding an extra half a bar in at one point) relatively quickly.
It is pleasing to feel that I appear at times to be able to learn to play a new song that sounds OK far more quickly than was the case earlier in the year. I recorded it and one day I intend to be able to play it like Mari does … that would be quite delightful.
Now in between working on the techniques of stage 5 & 6, I tend to be working on a couple of songs. At this point I was concentrating on Tom Waits’s Chocolate Jesus. But as they say, variety is the spice of life. So some evenings, I end up just flipping through my copies of the BSBs and noodling around with whatever catches my eye.
One particular evening the book fell open on Van Morrison’s Brown Eyed Girl … hmmm, I thought … earlier in the year I’d worked on playing the song, one I really enjoy. I went from struggling with the chords to being able to more or less play along with Justin when he showcases it at the start of the lesson. But the “pumping 8s” build up was a big problem and just couldn’t fit the lyrics in at all … hmmm, I wonder …
And on a second play through it was starting to come together … nobody more surprised than I was, given that I hadn’t given it any attention for months. Anyhow, the tempo is a little slow, the “pumping 8s” aren’t really pumping smoothly yet and I did have a moment in the best take where I almost choked myself, but all that aside I shall celebrate my progress as evidenced by being able to play it through in an OK way.
Back to Chocolate Jesus …
I’d been plodding away at trying to develop a way to play it that sounded OK. A bit tricky for the Beginner given that the Tom Waits version is an arrangement that isn’t one you can easily try and replicate on your acoustic and, of course, the classic Beth Hart rendition backed by Joe Bonamassa may be awesome and inspirational but not totally educational …
Again, better cut my long stories short … finally figured out a way to play it and decided to approach the September contest a little differently … deliver a “live & unplugged” that was representative of me at my best. Now that sounds fine, but somehow it was easier to submit entries that were stretch projects, more experimental … criticism of flaws easy to swallow.
But this one sounded really good to me … variation, accents, pauses, even some different chord voicings in the outro … what if my self-assessment was way off the mark?
Luckily the feedback confirmed my own self-assessment and this rendition serves as my personal best, something that I feel I can play for people with apologising for mistakes and flaws. And make no mistake, I’ll play it for anybody who shows a hint of interest
And on that note time to sign-off this episode …
Watch out for the next episode … the story has taken me to places I never imagined already, but little did I know what was coming next when I uploaded Brown Eyed Girl …
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#12 Going beyond my dreams
October was a month to celebrate in my guitar journey…three big memorable moments.
First up I thought it was time to have another go at Neil Young’s Like A Hurricane. For this go I played and sang simultaneously, at least that way my out of time singing and playing will be reasonably in sync. Using my condensor mic gives me a track that is both guitar and vocal … ideally I’d like vocal with a little guitar bleeding in but what I get is way beyond bleed. At the same time I also record just the guitar using the built-in pickup. Mixing this track I made some duplicates of the solo guitar, panned hard left and right with some amp sim plugins. I was aiming to have some of that NY distorted rock sound behind the acoustic. I was really happy with how the overall song turned out, evening throwing in a couple of melody lines. Sure, a few missed notes, changes and beats but that’s OK.
But October was really all about the collaboration project … beyond my wildest dreams and guitar fantasies …
After posting Brown Eyed Girl, I got a PM from Roman aka Schlaffenwagen … the master producer and deliverer of many awesome songs made with many different folk. He liked my cover and suggested a collaboration.
Goodness I thought … he’s losing his mind … I can’t play like the people he produces. So I politely thanked him and said one day maybe …
Then I got to thinking … what would my coach say to me … what would I say to somebody … be brave, be bold, trust his judgement.
So cut a long story short we started exploring the idea, picked a song and you’ve heard the final result … I was astonished … My My Hey Hey
It has to be said that I am very much the junior in this “band” … what a treat to be part of this with Roman and Kasper. I learned a lot and grew a lot through working on a song which had some parts beyond my play grade … OK, I never managed to play those parts well enough for the final mix but I can play them “badly” which is better than I could play them before … in due course I shall inflict my David beginner attempt upon a now forewarned community.
I also experienced first hand the wisdom of what Graham@Recording Revolution says in terms of producing a radio-ready song … cause my friends tell me this is radio ready. It is a 6 step process …
- Write a good song … we picked Neil Young’s classic … can’t go wrong
- Arrangement … this was interesting. After much discussion we agreed how we’d like to marry NY’s acoustic and electric versions into our cover … making it something different and interesting
- Record … getting a quality recording is a challenge, especially acoustic guitar
- Edit … I shan’t go into the details, but suffice is to say that Roman with some help from Kasper did significant work editing the various tracks to ensure a tight performance
- Mix … again loads of effort to get that song sounding the way it finally does. Now I am inspired to try and mix my own vocals to sound at least a little closer to how Roman made me sound
- Master … more significant when publishing a number of songs on an album and for different media.
What can I say, this project is a highlight and memory that will stay with me for the rest of my days.
And I can only say, an enormous thank you to Roman and Kasper … they were special in so many ways.
And I wasn’t done for October …
When I realised that it was approaching 8 months to the day since I made my first recording … verse 1 plus the chorus of Hallelujah, I though it was time to have another go … exactly how much have I learnt and improved.
The answer was clear … enormous. I’ve never set any long term goals or had any particular expectation … just want to be better and be able to say I can play. I never expected to get into recording and mixing and I have now dipped a toe or two into that ocean. My ears are also better … I can hear subtle difference between my straight and mixed versions of the song … at least in my mind I do. And after posting it I enjoyed the confirmation of my own opinion from those who listen and share their thoughts over in the AVOYP section of the Community Website. And being able to throw in some of the walk ups from C to G was cool.
OK, so still not got the tempo right. In fact my friend Verna told me that it sounded good but after listening to Bon Jovi’s cover something seemed not quite right … yeah, playing it in 4/4 when the rest of the world plays it 6/8 will do that. But it’s fine … next time …
So next episode may reflect on take 3 of Hallelujah. Back to a fuller arrangement with MIDI tracks, guitar and vocal … and using the DAW metronome and backing will make sure I play it in 6/8.
Also closer to another blues classic …
As always, thanks to all of you who listen, comments, read and generally encourage me that I am getting better
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#13 My 1st JGversary
The avid reader will recall that I started BC Stage 1, Lesson 1 on Dec 16th, 2016 after decades of picking up, putting down and generally making next to no progress at learning to play.
A year has passed, in which I have practised and played in every week … some weeks more than others … no worries about that.
I started being unable to play in time with Justin as strummed through the chords of Three Little Birds … I mean the slowed up version when he is teaching the song, not the showcase version at the start of the lesson.
I finished the year posting recordings of Auld Lang Syne and Before You Accuse Me … both were significant to me.
I didn’t plan on submitting an entry into the Dec monthly competition. Then Mari encouraged me to try Auld Lang Syne … so typical of my experience of this Community: encouraging and helpful. As I began to learn to strum and sing it, I thought I picked up on a couple of notes of the melody. That lead me to try and transcribe it … another first. I got most of it and Mary filled in the gaps. I got a little more creative in the “arrangement” of this, including a play through the melody as an intro after starting the Big Ben chiming midnight … this being the traditional song to see in the New Year.
I’d been working on Before You Accuse Me for a while. Now I don’t post anything that is flawless … I can hear errors in everything I post, not to mention knowing that I have a long way to go to be really tight and solid on my rhythm playing. But the postings reflect progress, give me a goal to work towards and generate a sense of accomplishment.
But I was struggling with this song to get the quality of performance up to my usual (imperfect) standard. Then decided just to record it anyway … it is what it is. AVOYP is not about perfection, its about progress and learning. And if I am to be true to that message then a recording of this song was long overdue. So despite some flaws that were more more serious that usual, I posted it.
Trust the Community … they’ll hear it for what it is and be appropriate with the feedback … and I got some of my most encouraging feedback … despite the errors, the sloppy timing and some phrasing problems.
So I encourage you all … be brave to be vulnerable enough to post recordings of your playing once you get to the point of playing songs … which ideally is right there in the BC Stage 1 as soon as you can play those ADE chords. It’s been a big part of my achievements of this year.
Now what …
Well, I am busy in stage 7, concentrating on adding in the picking of a bass note into my strumming and the minor pentatonic scale. I’m on holiday again with more time and energy to devote to guitar. So working up a couple of recording projects.
Then I decided that this is my learning journey and should not be too rigid in how I work through the BC. While I have more time I decided that it was the ideal time to start in on finger-picking. So I’ve checked out the lessons and started last night.
Meanwhile, those more familiar with the BC may be wondering … “what about the power chords?” One of the things I got from my pre JG years was the ability to play full barre chords in E and A shapes from 1st fret up the neck. So this power chord thing of fretting the 6th string and muting 123 is proving awkward. I play only acoustic and decided for now, I’m not moved to master this. So I shall defer focus on power chords till later … maybe when I have an electric and want to start rocking a little harder … who knows … but that’s OK … not skipped, just delayed for a while.
Year one was an amazing journey. I went beyond what I imagined might be possible when I started. What is possible in year 2 … time will tell. But I know for sure…it will be fun and this time next year when I celebrate my second JGversary the player I will be then will be completely unrecognisable to the player I am now, who is unrecognisable to the player I was on Dec 16th, 2016.
Wishing you all the best, in life and in music … let’s rock on !!
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#14 18 month update
My Road Case has not been updated for quite some time … the system tells me more than 120 days. I had planned to update it last weekend and just didn’t get to it. So brace yourself, here’s a summary of the last 6 months.
At the start of year 2, I decided to focus on three elements from the orange grade of the BC: adding a bass note into my rhythm play, the minor pentatonic scale and finger-picking.
In a nutshell, I’ve made good progress on all, reflected in a number of recordings made.
I was quite anxious about starting on finger-picking. In my pre-Justin moments of trying to learn I’d tried once or twice and it felt so foreign that I just went back to bad strumming. To my surprise the very first night I tried I made more progress. It seems as if all the other learning has formed new neural pathways that already helped me to get started with finger-picking. Encouraged by that I stuck at it and now have posted three songs with finger-picking, two of which include singing while finger-picking.
One of the first songs I used to try to play previously was As Tears Go By. I made a multi-track recording of this song for the Contest. Three guitar parts being played differently over a drum beat. To my delight, my timing was good enough that it sounded OK, unlike attempts last year where I was so far out that it was just a mess. One part was finger-picked. I also decided to try my hand at a simple solo. Used the approach in which you follow the chords tones through the progression and I think it came out OK … my wife was astonished when she heard it the first time … completely unexpected.
Made a start on recording with bass notes added and would like to do better, but a good start made.
And most recently tried a recording approach to most closely simulate playing live and recorded two songs, knowing up front that however they came out on that first take is how they’d be posted.
During this period I suffered a couple of bouts of GAS …
While in the USA for work, I found the opportunity to buy an electric irresistible. Prices are far more reasonable as a rule but throw in a President’s Day sale … who can blame me. I came home with an Epiphone LP Pro in a quilted finish. Shortly after that I was able to sell my 12 string acoustic which funded purchase of an amplifier.
Just before my birthday I was looking at a FaceBook page of a shop that sells used … yup, risky business doing such a thing without anti-GAS medication. I spotted a resonator and it was already in my mind that I would need such a guitar one day … well why wait until later when you can GAS today. Came home from the recce with a Hohner resonator. My luthier (ok, the luthier that I use), gave it a good service and declared it to be in fine condition.
While enjoying my time out in this treasure trove of musical goodies, I spotted vintage mics and more current models. Cut a long story short, picked up a Shure dynamic mic in the hopes that I’d be able to record vocals more effectively.
That worked out well. The last few songs were recorded using a condensor mic to record the guitar and the dynamic to record the vocal. Now I have a little bleed of guitar on the vocal track and vice versa but able to mix the way I want when recording “live”.
My mixing has also kicked on and acquired some commercial plug-ins that have made it much easier to mix in vocals and to record the electric guitar directly and add amp, cabinet and pedal effects in afterwards.
And I think that is pretty much it. Continue to enjoy the journey. I feel like I have made huge progress over the last 6 months or so.
If you stuck it out to this point … I hope that reading about my progress is encouraging to you. Yes, I still play a number of days a week, but am not (and have never) practised 2 hours a day, 7 days a week … which shows how much progress can be made with a very reasonable amount of practice.
So go to it and you too can live your musical dreams…no worries, keep fretting
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I hope you are taking a breather Mr P. Let me know when #20 gets dropped and I’ll go back for a longer read. Always good to see how old fiends got to where they are today and my aging braincells have purged much of this. And yes that was a deliberate typo.
Look out, David’s gonna break the new website before it’s launched 
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Yup, doing this in stages, Toby. “Old fiends”
In the trade we call it stress-testing, Maggie
But maybe your approach to produce a single consolidated first RC post was a better one. I’ve just gone the simpler, copy & paste route. And the fiend hopes that the story will be encouraging to similar folk getting started.
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#15 My first two original songs and winning the Community Contest
I have continued with the same practice routines focused mostly on finger-picking and scales. Since the last update I recorded a version of House of the Rising Sun, singing and finger-picking.
Continuing in the vein of recording songs that could be played through in a single take, even if not recorded with a first single take, I recorded Dylan’s The Times They Are A Changing.
But the big steps forward in this period are the producing of my first two originals. The first Song For Lesley was entered into the Community Contest and I was fortunate to win the Contest … an unbelievable moment with the privilege of a lesson with Justin.
The second Dear Johnny Blues was a simple 10 bar minor bluesy tune that featured rhythm double-tracked, one played with my acoustic and the other with the resonator, which made it interesting, bass and drums plus a short guitar solo.
Speaking of lead, when I was away in the South Sudan on business, I spend spare time on music theory and have made a start on Grade 3. I am now at the point there and in the Beginner Course, where the focus shifts from learning the scale patterns to trying to make some music. Or as Justin would say, using the scale alphabet to make up words and string those words together to say something musical.
So when Omar posted a first backing track to kick off a weekly jam, I decided the time was right. Since the first post I have now recorded a jam every weekend for 5 consecutive weeks. Posting the jam involves getting the track into the DAW, studying the relevant scales, some exploration to develop some feel for the time, rhythm and harmony to be able to produce something melodic that sounds good.
When I returned from South Sudan I downloaded Justin’s backing track in G. But trying to use the letters from G maj to say something was beyond me … the track just seemed so “busy”, I couldn’t make sense of it. Now, a month later, my latest jam was over that track.
This shows that with a combination of theory study, practical application and doing it regularly … which for me was weekly, not even daily … progress can be made.
And apart from all that, I have to say that playing lead over the backing track, expressing myself in what I play and the tones I choose, is great fun and somehow makes me feel more of a musician than playing covers does. Not that playing covers isn’t fun, it is and I will continue. But this addition plus writing a couple of songs, has been another giant leap forward.
I can only say what an amazing experience it was and gave me a the confidence to take a step forward into starting with the IM. According to Justin my E and A barre chords are already looking good, as a Beginner moving into Intermediate. So I’ve started work in a deliberate, disciplined way on 1/16 note strumming.
[ As I port across my RC, have to say that focus on 1/16th note strumming didn’t last long and RUST 2 is still on the to-do list]
We also discussed this matter of “talent” and long story short, agreed that for greatest majority it is about study and practice. I don’t consider myself talented, if I were then surely back in 1984 when I was shown the basic open chords and some songs I would have mastered playing them and been sounding good. But I didn’t. But in the last 22 months, through study, practice, playing songs and recording I have progressed to be able to play a range of songs, sounding OK, write a couple and play some lead.
If I can, you can … so dig in, have fun and keeping making music
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#16 First live performance and jam session
Another big week to remember as I approach my 2nd JGversary.
Firstly, I played 4 songs for a live audience. It came about like this.
I did a speech at my Toastmasters Club about what I have learned about learning, based on my almost 2 years learning guitar using JustinGuitar and with this Community. As I sat down a few folk wanted to know when I’d play for them.
Careful what you ask for …
I played for them this evening (2018-12-04) during the dinner break of the end-of-year Christmas meeting. Set list was:
Rodrigues - Jane S Piddy … because I always thought if I ever “performed” that would be the song
Fleetwood Mac - Don’t Stop … because it’s new in my repertoire and some different feel using barre chords for the chorus
Rolling Stones - Dead Flowers … because it was watching Keef that inspired me to get a guitar all those years ago
Bob Dylan -Times Are A Changing … because it seemed right to do that on my acoustic and it’s in 3/4 time, so a little different
And far too soon dinner was over. What can I say. Just great fun. Generous audience applauding and heard some singing along. Lots of positive comments afterwards. I reckon I could get to really liking performing for people, such a buzz.
But for now one more unimaginable moment to celebrate and savour. I’m full of gratitude for Justin and the Community who’ve helped so much to make the dreams real.
Secondly, I visited a work friend, who recorded some backing vocals for Song For Lesley. She and her husband are experienced musicians, who used to do a two man band show, playing over backing tracks thing as semi-pros. She plays bass, he plays guitar and both can sing. They have a room kitted out with a mixer/PA system, and a full drum kit plus a bass amp.
I arrived and added my amp to the mix. All singing done through the PA to have any chance of being heard over the 2 guitars and a bass. I wonder what the neighbours thought, as it was pretty loud. Must say playing the electric loud was fun, though not easy. So kept the tone pretty clean. They were quite impressed with the sound produced by the Blackstar.
The afternoon was spent playing songs. Some from my repertoire and others that I know but hadn’t played before. Trying to remember the progressions plus get the changes and feel on the fly, song after song was a challenge. I can concur with all who’ve said playing in a band will really accelerate your learning. I struggled a fair amount, but was never totally lost and at times it all sounded not too bad.
Couple of the highlights …
Hotel California. Not the typical 3 or 4 chord tune I usually play plus strumming that is more than my usual chugging away with Old Faithful or similar. And to be playing rhythm with the bass and hearing the solo over the top, just like off the record. Well it felt proper.
Cortez the Killer. Duncan opted to play drums for this one. Singing and playing with live bass and drums, need I say more. Only thing better would’ve been to have Duncan cloned and playing a lengthy solo at the end.
Rocking in the Free World. I ended up just singing over those classic rock riffs. Getting the feel right at times on that was a kick.
All in all a fabulous afternoon hanging out and playing.
What can I say …
Rock on !!!
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#17 My 2nd JGversay
As you may have seen from my posting of Three Little Birds over in AVOYP, today is the day I commemorate and celebrate my 2nd JGversary.
There have been so many highlights this year, most recently written up in updates to the RC. So I decided to do this update a little differently and reflect back on the whole journey. And as they say “a picture is worth a thousand words” so you’ll be glad to get a a picture rather than (another) thousand words from me.
But when reading back over my RC this caught my eye, when reflecting on my thoughts before going to see a Rolling Stones concert film that inspired me to want to do more than just listen to music:
I’d heard Satisfaction on the radio back in the school days and Ruby Tuesday (a song for my “want to play that someday” list) and recall a magazine article all about Keith, Anita and drug addiction. Didn’t know much more that but opted to go along anyway … a change from a night of beer and darts.
I guess my “someday” arrived when I posted a rendition of Ruby Tuesday a few days ago.
All I can say if you want to learn to play is to stick with Justin’s programmes: be patient, be a good disciple (study and practice deliberately) and get into sharing recordings, which provides invaluable feedback and encouragement and you will succeed.
I’m not a special talent. I love music and at times in my life listened a lot, so I suppose I have some sense of things from that. But playing wise, I am not special, just another guy who wants to play and sing. And two years later … I have to say, with all humility, I can play and sing, to a degree. Not like a pro, not ready for paying gigs, but good enough to play and sing some simple songs in a simple way for an audience.
Special thanks to Justin, I’m proud to be a part of his dream (to teach the world to play) and thanks to all my friends here, who’ve educated and encouraged me for nearly two years; I’m eternally grateful.
Enjoy the timeline
Keep on rocking and rolling !!
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#18 First Open Mic and setting up my Playroom
Quick as a flash, 8 months whizz by and an update is quite over due. Every time I thought about posting one update, something else was just around the corner … guess there’s a lesson in that.
So it has been another period full of fun, learning and some big milestones.
On the learning/playing front, I started on the first couple of patterns of the Advanced Folk Fingerstyle module. I had started focusing on the 1/16 note strumming but quickly became absorbed by the finger-picking. Who would’ve thought that the element of the BC that I feared the most would become one of my favourite things.
The crux of course, is to be able to play songs using the technique. And despite some suggestions, I never latched onto a song as I began to make progress. Then came the first contest of 2019. I had planned to enter the original I was working on at the time. Inspired by the rocking original tunes that LBro produces, I wanted to record something different to my usual style. But that song, which became a lament about the state of the world with more echoes of Black Sabbath (to my ears) than perhaps the AC/DC-esque sound I was originally thinking about, didn’t fit the contest theme.
So I decided to write an original, David’s Summer Sonnet, which I entered in the Contest. Subsequently, I just posted up the hard rocker, Two To Midnight, in AVOYP.
[ Edit - I will be re-visiting David’s Summer Sonnet in due course and eventually sharing it on my channel. Two To Midnight has been remixed and released on my channel ]
While I was busy loving the picking, Maggie posted a rendition of We Are Going To Be Friends. For me that is an all time great song, just everything about it. But it sounded way beyond me. Maggie encouraged me, to try it. That shows the power of the support and encouragement from friends here. She had more confidence in my ability and capacity to learn than I had in myself, but with her encouragement I gave it a go and eventually was able to learn to play it. It is one of my favourite recordings now.
By the time I was ready to record that I’d also decided to try making videos, rather than just audio only recordings. Turned out to be not too tricky to do … to record the audio the way I always do, strip the audio from a video recorded with a phone and sync up the audio rendered from my DAW with the video. I had posted a couple of videos before, so had a YT channel, and have now posted a few videos.
Here’s a link to the channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCG2X_TlNs7agW-U0EBCDdbw
I am blessed to have a wife, Lesley, who is also musical and able to play. We began to play a little together, one thing led to another and we recorded a first song together as a duo. I really am a fortunate man to be able to play music with my wife. And again, if you missed that … Bruce Springsteen's Hungry Heart ... take 2
My most recent milestone was to play at an Open Mic. A few people had listened to my recordings, watched the videos and were encouraging me to take this next step, telling me that I was ready. Previously I’d looked for such opportunities and not found any. But searching again, I finally found just the right opportunity. TJ’s Acoustic Music Club puts on regular shows, at which they invite people to play but once a month they also have an open mic event.
So I went along to have a look see. Just a recce, so to speak. Long story short … the music was wonderful. People all above my play-grade. But the organisers were encouraging. Told me not to worry about that and just to come along and give it a go.
So I did. I have to say that of all the steps taken since starting on the adventure, this was certainly the most scary. We talk often about the red light syndrome … how you play fine until you press record. Well, when I stepped up at the OM I new this was a one shot deal … there’s no second take. I got through it, with only losing my way once. Importantly, I was able to just keep playing. This is an important lesson I think … just keep going … get back on track. And at the Open Mic, the audience was just supportive so no issue, no criticism.
Make sure you have water handy … who knew a mouth could become that dry. Between songs I could feel the shaking and tension in my arms, the tightness in my chest and shortness of breathe. But somehow, once I started to play, it was OK. And when it was over, I felt on cloud 9 … pumped up.
You’ll find videos of the 4 songs on my YT channel.
I went back a month later and did it again. It went better. So now I am hooked on performing 
The other big news in this time period is how I am now setup to record here at home. Lesley’s Mom was staying with us. It was a blessing and pleasure, although demanding as she aged and became frail. And it also meant that the PC was setup in my son’s room. She passed away earlier this year … sad but a blessing and relief, both for her and us at the time. Since then we have converted her room into a room for the PC, to record and in time for Lesley to sew.
I mentioned how blessed I am … well, another of Lesley’s abilities is wood-working. She made up a desk with a shelf for the PC. GAS struck at I acquired some Yamaha monitor speakers. We now have a music-room all set up, and, again better to let the pictures speak.
It was my pleasure, to treat her to an early birthday present on Saturday … the ukelele that joined our instrument collection.
I think that is all the major happenings in the last 8 months. There have been a number of other recordings along the way, while working the finger-picking. All posted on AVOYP and still up on my SoundCloud.
[ EDIT - My SoundCloud channel is no longer in use ]
As always, thank you to every person here, Justin’s lessons and this Community truly is a wonderful way to learn to play, pursue your dreams, make friends, have fun.
Keep picking and strumming, rocking and rolling !!
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#19 My 3rd JGversary
And here we are, another year draws to a close.
Today three years ago is the day I took out the dusty old guitar and started Justin’s BC. Happy to reflect on how far I have progressed in learning to play. And at risk of repeating myself, find myself reflecting on having done things that I never imagined as being possible when I started up.
Yesterday, to commemorate three years spent learning and having fun, I posted up a couple of recordings. And the feedback was (as always) wonderfully encouraging and complimentary.
And I got to thinking that it is fair to say that we are wired for Community, to be social beings. And for me I feel a deep connection and sense of belonging here, so much care and support from everybody for everybody. When I made my first post just over 4500 post ago, I had no idea just how important the Community would prove to be, both in terms of enabling the learning and also in terms of life in general, in terms of the many friendships I have made here through our shared love of music.
Music wise, the last few months since the last update have passed by in similar fashion.
I have now played a total of 4 Open Mic sessions. Three of those are posted up in the live performance area, unfortunately to date haven’t been able to get the video of the forth performance from Lionel who records everything. For the record I performed the following songs at that event: Blowing In The Wind, Killing Me Softly and Before You Accuse Me.
I missed the final event of the year, being away for work, and am now thinking about the next Open Mic at the end of January. I have performed the last three sessions without using song sheets, either paper or on a tablet. I do feel an extra pressure and stress to remember the lyrics, so am considering using the music stand again. My thinking being that being less under pressure to remember lyrics may help reduce mistakes, be more relaxed.
The other highlight was completing another full production of my fifth original song, Free. You can listen to that in the latest Contest.
So performing, recording original songs, finger-picking … all things that were impossible to imagine when I started. I was particularly anxious about the basic finger-picking part of the BC and it turned out to be something I really do enjoy.
In the last few months, I’ve made more progress on the Finger-Style Module and am practicing a pattern that uses the high e string plus some bass walks between chords. So far have not identified and settled on a suitable song. maybe time to look at some of the easier Dylan finger-picked songs, though singing his lyrics is not always so easy.
As I said in the reply to comments on yesterday’s post in AVOYP, I am feeling motivated to work a little more on my strumming, more wrist to get better control and accuracy … a little more like how Loefgren plays. Then maybe try and get to grips with two of my favourite songs: Norwegian Wood and Needle and the Damage Done, which both need more pick accuracy than I can currently manage.
I also dream about maybe one day playing or busking, perhaps the local coffee shop just up the road … maybe they’d be open to somebody performing in their garden on a Sat or Sun. Then I’d need an acoustic amp with a channel for guitar and mic, perhaps some pedals to achieve similar sound live as what I can achieve now in my DAW when I record myself playing and singing. A man can dream
Who knows.
I do know enough now not to limit myself as to what might be possible as I continue the adventure. An Open Mic was a fantasy, even as recently as the start of this year … now I am a regular.
So who knows.
Speaking of Open Mic, the music club that hosts the event also host shows where 4-5 acts, sometimes solo sometimes a full band, perform. Apart from maybe one day being invited to perform there, I am also interested in perhaps getting more involved with the sound engineering on the night. With my experience mixing productions on the DAW I think maybe I could get into live engineering. And it sounds like fun.
As I say, who knows where the path leads, what opportunities will present over time. All I do know is that I can’t imagine life without my guitar, recording and performing.
The learning, the progress, the achievements, the friendships … in this context, life doesn’t get any better.
Once again, I wish you all everything of the best. Keep at it, follow Justin’s lessons, be active in the Community and I am confident you too can achieve your musical dreams.
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#20 5000th Forum Post and 4 Keys to Learning
Today is a good day for a Road Case update. I happened to notice a couple of numbers the other day and they seemed to be lining up to make this fitting:
30 YouTube subscribers … while I am not on a mission to become a YouTuber with 100s and 1000s of subscribers, it seems human nature that having put oneself out there, one hopes that people watch. So I do enjoy the fact that I have more than just my brother subscribing, but shan’t be investing time in building a subscriber base by getting out there on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and others that I couldn’t name.
40 months of musical adventure … a well rounded number of months since starting off with Lesson 1, Stage 1. How time flies.
4999 Forum Posts … this was the number that caught my eye. And I watched carefully, like a batsman in the nervous nineties (apologies to those west of the Atlantic, to whom a cricket metaphor is likely to be lost and I suppose to everyone else, everywhere else to whom a cricket metaphor is lost), having decided that this update would be my 5000th post.
So here it is. But truth be told, haven’t got much of an update since my 3rd JGversary episode posted 4 months ago…
A few more covers posted. A few more Open Mic performances.
Still working on the picking pattern but have started working on an original song, rather than learning one of Dylan’s.
I have started working on the first basic exercise Justin recommends when starting to develop picked finger style. Working on it with a lack of regular attention that suggests it may be a while before I starting using it in even an incredibly poor emulation of Neil Young.
I have also started working on the palm-muted strumming technique. I have decided to produce an original song using the technique and the typical Oasis chord grips I have watched Johan aka Loefgren use so often.
Oh and the odd dabble and noodle over a Guitar Challenge backing track … to really improve that would require some focus on the Blues rhythm and Lead courses … don’t feel inclined right now.
I suppose, in a nutshell, I am consolidating post the Beginner Course, with the E and A shape Intermediate barre chord shapes thrown in and the introductory folk-finger style modules. But mostly consolidating to improve the level of my basics: playing and singing, recording and performing live.
Most importantly I continue to have fun, feel slow improvement and enjoy hanging out here with all the rest of my Forum Friends.
Not much of an update, so decided to share something a little different …
As you may know I am also a Toastmaster. A few weeks ago I found myself in a position where I needed to give a speech with almost no notice, no time to prepare. So I resorted to talking about something special to me that I thought might serve as generally inspiration to the audience … it was before confinement, so an actual in-the-flesh audience … my guitar adventure.
That journey from wishing and dreaming but believing I lacked the talent to make the wishes come true, to the dreams becoming reality.
I refined the ideas to deliver the speech again on Sunday evening. I thought perhaps some of the folk new to the Community, maybe those like me who’ve already chalked up a 50 years of living, and wonder if it is possible.
Well I believed it wasn’t in me … that I lacked dexterity, coordination and the most basic feel for rhythm. And yet here I am. And I can simplify it to 4 keys, 4 keys to unlock the shackles and take the journey to this point where I think it is fair to say I can play … not like my most loved Neil Young and the rest, not like some of the people who’s postings I listen to with great appreciation … but play play to an OK level, I never imagined possible.
And it matters not. If I am now as good as I am going to get then I will continue to live the dream, actually more than I ever imagined when I started.
So the 4 keys …
-
Find the right teacher. Here we are, students of Justin Sandercoe. No arguments on his qualities as a teacher. And he was the right teacher for me.
-
Adopt a growth mindset. This was important for me, given the limiting beliefs I held about my lack of talent that make learning to play in any decent fashion impossible. I forget where I first read of the Growth Mindset. I do remember Maggie aka Batwoman posting this infographic which sums it up better than my prose can:
And if you’d like to know more, then you can always read Carol Dweck’s book “Mindset”. If a book is too much reading, try this blog post: Carol Dweck: A Summary of The Two Mindsets. And if that is still too much reading then watch one of her TED Talks.
Changing my mindset, and striving to adopt the growth mindset certainly played a part.
- Deliberate practice
Now this topic of talent and practice surfaces here periodically. Often based around Malcolm Gladwell’s famous/infamous (depending on your own point of view), best-selling book, “Outliers”. Now when giving the speech, I ask the audience who may have read it, heard of it. Usually only one or two have. But ask how many know of the “10,000 hour rule” and the majority know all about it. That makes a point in itself. And I have no intention to open the discussion here. But it is disconcerting how little people need to know to adopt such a statement as their truth.
Moving on from the conceptual ideas about success and mastery expressed by Gladwell, I think one can find value in the idea of deliberate practice. I think, stand to be corrected, that Anders Ericsson did the research and writing. I recently came across this blog post, which I enjoyed on the topic: The Beginner's Guide to Deliberate Practice - James Clear
And if one sets aside the counting of hours, for me it really doesn’t matter. I find this notion of deliberate practice to be empowering. I can’t say how many hours I have invested, how deliberate my practice was. But for the proof is in the pudding and I can play now like I never could before, having made a few attempts over the decades since starting off as a 19 year old student.
But if the matter of hours remains important to you, take a look this article shared here, possibly by Majik or maybe Stitch, I forget: https://www.6seconds.org/2018/02/09/the-great-practice-myth-debunking-the-10000-hour-rule-and-what-you-actually-need-to-know-about-practice/
And this would suggest that nature and nurture have some influence on your ability and capacity to learn something. At this stage, I aspire no more than to continue to learn and improve, primarily for my own enjoyment and satisfaction. So I am not too fussed. The truth of these theories is of little consequence.
- Quality feedback.
I think it may have been Brian who pointed out that the Forum serves to address a potentially serious limitation in online learning. That of not having a teacher who can observe and provide you feedback. Without feedback you will not know for sure that what you are doing is well done, solving problems can be difficult and knowing what needs to be worked on to improve. I say limitation as I am sure you can serve yourself to a degree, some maybe more than others.
For me the feedback from the Community was invaluable. First and foremost encouragement. It works for me to know that I am not alone. The confirmation of improvement has been invaluable. I think I am getting better, but it helps me when others also say so. And finally the pointing out of things that are not quite right, that need attention.
With these 4 keys, I have come along way. As I have said many times before, I don’t consider myself to be innately talented. The 4 keys plus desire and the discipline to take instruction from the teacher and follow the programme, will lead to learning and greater levels of mastery … a degree of mastery. I may never attain a world class level of mastery, but I can achieve levels more than sufficient for the average hobbyist.
If you are still reading, I salute you and hope you have gleaned something of value and even inspiration from my thoughts and experience.
And with that, let me press “post” on this 5000th post
See you round for more magical musical adventures!
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