Greetings from new member

joachim
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Greetings from new member Mar 22, 2014 3:12:18 GMT -6

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Post by joachim on Mar 22, 2014 3:12:18 GMT -6

I wanted to introduce myself as a new member on the forum.

I am Dane - 40 years old, and I bought my first guitar around Christmas time. At first, I bought an acoustic guitar for my 8 year old son, and after realizing how much fun guitar-playing is I bought an electric guitar for myself. I did take mandolin lessons 30 years ago, but whatever experience I might have gained, probably wore off by now

I bought the BYCU books a few months back, and I absolutely love them - the studies give me the feeling of playing music right away, and the sense of accomplishment after being able to play them is terrific (plus my son thinks I am cool!).

Right now I made it to the string bending lessons, which are really taking their toll on my fingers! But I keep at it and I enjoy playing at night after the kids are tugged in. After I finish the string bending lesson, I think I will go back and try to make recordings of some of the early lessons - some feedback would be great. One thing I noticed is that pressing the 'record' button messes with you - some sort of stage-fright... Others mentioned that here on this forum as well, so I guess it's not uncommon at first.

Thanks for the all the great BUCY material (and for a friendly and helpful forum), which I am really enjoying so far!

Cheers from Denmark
Joachim

TommyD
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Posts: 133

Greetings from new member Mar 22, 2014 6:16:05 GMT -6

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Post by TommyD on Mar 22, 2014 6:16:05 GMT -6

Hi Joachim,

Welcome to the forum. There are lots of friendly folks here with a wide range of talent and knowledge. Best of all John G. actually joins in the conversations and answers questions.

Your story sounds similar to mine. After buying my son a guitar I started picking it up and playing it myself from time to time. I had taken lessons for a short time 35 years earlier, but did not stick with it long for various reasons. I found myself toying with his guitar more and more often, so I bought a guitar for myself and started taking lessons from the instructor my son used. While I can't say I'm any good at it, I sure do enjoy playing and rarely have a day that I don't pick up the guitar. My normal routine has at least 30 minutes of playing each morning, and then again at night. With the amount of practice I get in it you'd think I'd be better, but I suppose it takes a while for old dogs to learn new tricks.

Tom

Last Edit: Mar 22, 2014 17:37:02 GMT -6 by TommyD

bluesbruce God Posts: 2,513	Greetings from new member Mar 22, 2014 9:23:48 GMT -6 Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top Post by bluesbruce on Mar 22, 2014 9:23:48 GMT -6 Welcome, Joachim. That string bending will toughen up those fingers! When I was first learning, I put some really light gauge strings on my guitar, then worked back up to a "regular" set. Good luck! Bruce

joachim
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Posts: 1,820

Greetings from new member Mar 22, 2014 15:45:08 GMT -6

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Post by joachim on Mar 22, 2014 15:45:08 GMT -6

I spend the afternoon revisiting lesson 1 and did a recording:

soundcloud.com/joachim-dahl-1/blues-you-can-use-texasrock

It took me awhile, and the recording is a bit unforgiving - the B7 chord is definitely not my favourite one; lot's of muted strings. And the rhythm seems a bit staccato when I listen through the recording.

Nevertheless, it was fun to get it recorded (and probably good practice). I used an Ephiphone Les Paul standard pro with the neck pickup on a Fender Super Champ x2 clean channel via the USB interface (so the amp is pure emulation). Whenever my amp is connected to PC via USB, I get zapped regularly playing the guitar - probably due to difference in potential between the amp and the PC. When the weather warms up, I will move my recording sessions outside and stick my toes in the sand to see if that helps...

Any thoughts/advice on the recording?

Cheers
Joachim

Phil
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Posts: 3,563

Greetings from new member Mar 22, 2014 16:08:27 GMT -6

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Post by Phil on Mar 22, 2014 16:08:27 GMT -6

Joachim,

Welcome to the forum. I just listened to your recording and it sounds very good. Your rhythm is spot on. That B7 chord will get cleaned up in no time at the rate you are going. That is incredible progress for someone who has only been playing for 3 months. Those mandolin lessons you took 30 years are probably having a much greater effect than you think.

We are in the same time zone. I live in Spain.

Phil

There's a difference between having 30 years of experience and having 1 year of experience 30 times.

joachim
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Posts: 1,820

Greetings from new member Mar 23, 2014 0:50:59 GMT -6

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Post by joachim on Mar 23, 2014 0:50:59 GMT -6

Many thanks for the encouragement, Phil!

The first couple of lessons were hardest for me - many chord changes aren't in muscle-memory yet. The studies based more on variations of the minor pentatonic scale seemed easier to me.

But practicing every study is fun for me, which is all that matters.

Last Edit: Mar 23, 2014 14:56:12 GMT -6 by joachim

joachim
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Posts: 1,820

Greetings from new member Mar 23, 2014 14:56:04 GMT -6

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Post by joachim on Mar 23, 2014 14:56:04 GMT -6

I added a recording of lesson 2:
soundcloud.com/joachim-dahl-1/bluesrocktune

There are a few botched chords. I especially have trouble getting the transitions to E7 chords fast enough - that's something I have to work on.

Last Edit: Mar 23, 2014 14:56:49 GMT -6 by joachim

Greetings from new member

Post by joachim on Mar 22, 2014 3:12:18 GMT -6

Post by TommyD on Mar 22, 2014 6:16:05 GMT -6

Post by bluesbruce on Mar 22, 2014 9:23:48 GMT -6

Post by joachim on Mar 22, 2014 15:45:08 GMT -6

Post by Phil on Mar 22, 2014 16:08:27 GMT -6

Post by joachim on Mar 23, 2014 0:50:59 GMT -6

Post by joachim on Mar 23, 2014 14:56:04 GMT -6