I’ve been half-following this community for several months and have finally decided to hop off the fence. I’m an aging - well no, aged would be much more accurate, guitar player who has entertained himself off and on, mostly off, for the past thirty or forty years. I’ve got the usual aches and pains that come with being close to seventy and had to take a couple of years off from the guitar due to a problem with the thumb on my fretting hand.
To come back I’ve had to develop a new style of playing. That’s fine because I never had much style in the first place. I find the vibe on this site to be one of the best I’ve ever come across and hope to make some connections that, I would hope, could be mutually beneficial.
I’m a big Beatles fan and have a couple of adaptions for solo acoustic from their songs. I’m also a big fan of country blues running from the 20s up to the modern day as well as a bunch of rock, including The Clash, Neil Young, and a host of others.
I feel a little isolated out here in the wilds of Belgium (got caught this side of the channel when Brexit struck and decided to stay) and am always on the lookout for how to adapt tunes to unaccompanied guitar and vocal.
My first task is completeing this introduction. My second task will be to post something suitable as a further introduction.
Hello Richard, from Richard. A very warm welcome to the community. If you’ve been lurking I’m sure you’ve taken a peek into the kennel housing all the old, growly and grizzled dogs. And AVOYP too which, it seems, you’re going to dip your toe into - I look forward to that. Arrangements of Beatles sounds fine by me.
Good to have you.
Cheers
Richard
I’ll put my poor selection of words down to my haste in getting something, anything, out rather than over thinking it. Truth is, I’m here because I want to be here and wouldn’t care to be anywhere else.
I’ve noticed you’re presence here before and would like to talk further. From what I remember you’ve got some skills and knowledge that would help me in the direction I’d like to go.
Welcome (back) to the forum! As one of those Grizzled persons out here, and one having spent ten years in my youth in your beautiful country (Actually in near to the Wilds of the Kaltmhoutse Heide), looking forward to seeing and hearing more from you in the not too distant future. Hope that your hand issues will resolve themselves. And great that you like the Country Blues, and would really like to hear some of the Beatles stuff, especially if its from the White Album or Revolver.
Hi Richard, welcome to the community. It is good you have some specific goals in mind; that can help you to concentrate your efforts in achieving them. On the other hand you can take look, if you haven’t so, at the many resources Justin provides to develop numerous guitar skills.
Richard, welcome to the community forum. If you are completely revising your guitar playing technique to accommodate a problem with your hand, you might consider going back to the beginning and quickly going through the foundational exercise with the new playing approach. I did that to retrain my 66 year old slightly arthritic hands and work on stretching, finger placement and finger agility. I look forward to hearing your songs posted on this website.
I agree and that’s exactly what I did. I started with Justin’s Beginner Course. It was one of the best things I’ve ever done.
Now I’ve got to concentrate on making connections to make sure the energy doesn’t dry up. Over the years I’ve become an expert at getting sidetracked and can quite easily lose a month or two of study just because I got distracted.
Hopefully, committing to posting progress will be one way to avoid that.
Richard, I’ve had the problem of forgetting to practice over the years, even with good intentions. Fortunately in retirement I found that grabbing the guitar when I first wake up and either playing a song or doing a couple of finger exercises ensures that I play at least some every day. It might not work for your schedule, but finding some time during every day keeps you consistent. It’s better to play 15, 20 or 30 minutes every day than to do a 1 -2 hour marathon practice session on the weekend. Good luck with your guitar playing.
A very warm welcome to the community. If you’ve been lurking I’m sure you’ve taken a peek into the kennel housing all the old, growly and grizzled dogs. And AVOYP too which, it seems, you’re going to dip your toe into - I look forward to that. Arrangements of Beatles sounds fine by me.
