Hello y’all!
I also wanted to take the opportunity to introduce myself, as I am glad to see an inclusive and friendly community here.
My name is Martin, I am from Germany and I’ve started playing guitar back in 2005 with the first Beginner’s Course and the 9 Minutes-something videos of Justin sitting on the floor and opening up a whole new world for me.
I was 15 then, bought a cheap Ibanez Acoustic and practiced for up to nine hours everyday regularly, channeling this energy one usually has at this age into something which seemed meaningful.
Fast forward to 2022 I am still playing regularly even though not visiting Justin’s site as often as back when I started. Also taught own students during my studies as well as quite recently during the pandemic, I feel like a Beginner mostly one time a day when I see what else is possible when playing our fine instruments.
My New Years resolution contains putting more effort in “presenting” my playing and actually doing a bit more with the skillset I was able to acquire other than just playing for myself at home because I felt this urge to utilize the time I put into this (if this makes any sense).
So this is me sharing this as well as the gratitude towards Justin and the team for actually being a “part of my life” for over 16 years now and taking me to the place where I am at now. Thanks!
I am trying to integrate myself into this community now to a) maybe being able to give something back from the lessons I learned and b) seeing where it leads me towards my New Year’s resolution.
Hello Martin. I hope your resolution does come true! In this techno age it really is so easy to share and there are people out there that would truly appreciate it! Carry on!
Welcome to the Community, Martin, glad to have you here. Sounds like you’ve got a lot of playing in your history, and Justin has been a big influence. Hope to see a post from you in AVOYP soon as you follow your New Year’s resolution
Hi Martin, it sounds like you may be in a great position to share experience and advice for the many of us who are in the early stages of this fantastic learning journey. Hopefully you will get a charge out of participating in some OMs or just sharing your stuff here.
Hey everybody,
thanks for the warm welcome, really appreciate it!
I have watched last OM‘s video now (have to educate myself with the community language still) and was fascinated by how you guy’s and gal’s just stand up there, having a great time, sharing your progress and cover’s. Honestly this level of boldness (I hope one can use this to express one‘s respect) is far more advanced then I would consider myself even after these years in this field.
Besides the imposter syndrome: yes I actually think about signing up for one of the next OM‘s as this is exactly the thing I need for my progress and will be happy to share some of the things that might be helpful out of my pocket.
Again, thanks for the support - even off one might have more hours under one’s fingers, you can also be limited by other factors. Let’s see if we can overcome some of our pain points together in 2022!
Hallo Martin,
Herzlich wilkommen noch einmal
It’s rare to get ‘veteran’ Justin students join in, esp. ones of such a ‘young’ age
I do hope you find enough in the Community to entertain you and help pass on what you have learned to those embarking on their journey.
I’ve noticed a couple of new names signing on from Germany. It intrigues me, as I lived in CH from '74-84 and did my schooling through German (well, that dialect thing they croak )
Some time ago, I persuaded one of the forum members @max_mue () to start a thread of German music that’s worth listening to and I enjoyed a lot of what he shared. Unfortunately it dwindled away…
Don’t be surprised if I suddenly start demanding cultural exchanges from you and your countrymen.
Regarding the performance side- even simple mobile phone recordings of your playing will find an interested, engaging audience, always offering encouraging feedback and criticism if requested.
I regard open mics more as a fun get-together than a performance, but I’m sure if I were more accomplished, I’d have higher expectations!
Anyway, das alles gilt auch fuer deine Landsleute, im Falle, dass mir die Zeit mangelt allen einzeln zu begruessen.
Bis bald
My New Years resolution contains putting more effort in “presenting” my playing and actually doing a bit more with the skillset I was able to acquire other than just playing for myself at home because I felt this urge to utilize the time I put into this (if this makes any sense).
Das Forum hier ist wirklich ein besonderer Ort und ohne die wahnsinnig freundlichen Leute hier wäre ich vermutlich nicht auf die Idee gekommen tatsächlich mal einer Open Stage in einem Irish Pub zu spielen - ich denke du hast einen sehr guten Ort für deinen Vorsatz gefunden Schick mir gerne eine Nachricht, wenn du Fragen o.ä. hast
Kurzgesagt:
I probably would’ve never entered the stage at an Open-Mic if it weren’t for all these great people here
Hi Martin and welcome. Great New Years resolution and hope to see you either at the virtual OM (Open Mic) or just sharing a video of you playing in the “Audio/Video of you Playing” section.
Welcome to the Community, Martin. Lovely to hear your guitar story, how much it has meant to you. I love the mindset and resolution you have in coming to the Community.
As others have said, you can share simple video (or audio only) recordings made with a mobile phone of your playing here
And once you have done that, become comfortable in the Community, then it would be great to have you play at an OM. “Bold” is a reasonable word, as I can’t lie that and see it wasn’t a little scary doing it for the first time. But we are all in a similar boat, learning to play, learning to play for other people, so you’ll not find a more supportive and encouraging audience, no safer place to give it a go.
Thanks Toby! I am thinking about starting a learning log today/tomorrow first so you’ll get some context to my “level” and my approach to get out of my ruts and the elements limiting me at the moment.
That said, it feels mostly like I am doing this to justify my “not-so-perfect” skills after this long time of playing - we’ll see.
Uploading something at the AVOYP section circles my mind since I’ve joined you people here as well but after seeing @max_mue’s stellar (!!) video of Don’t think twice it’s alright, I am questioning this a bit. (No need for support here, I’ll get along). This is also to show some of the newer folk here, that time in the game does not change the game necessarily.
Cheers!
I hear you. In my 8 years here I wish I had made better progress but I can look at those 8 years and compare them with the previous 17 and there is no comparison. Life sometimes gets in the way of progress and slows development down but not necessarily the passion to progress.
All our circumstances are different so comparing like for like is never what it seems. Look forward to both your Learning Log and you posting in AOVYP. Don’t start thinking about doing it or you will talk yourself out of it. Find something your are comfortable with for starters and yes label it as “this is my comfort zone”, we all have our go to songs. Take that first step and you won’t regret it.
Hello and a very warm welcome to the community Martin. There is lots of wisdom already stated in this conversation that I will leave mine as a simple hello.
)
) to start a thread of German music that’s worth listening to and I enjoyed a lot of what he shared. Unfortunately it dwindled away…
