I'm a magician, my husband is a musician. We often combine our talents. Recently he put together a guitar course. He's trying out me So I can be one of his first testimonials before he publishes it. As a magician, I'll keep what you said about magic as I learn to play the guitar. 🎸
I'm so happy for you that you can play and enjoy making music. It's truly magical! 🪄✨🎶
Thank you Charlotte, I appreciate that, and welcome to my substack. You have an amazing story.
Best of luck with the guitar. Making music is like magic exemplified, and I like to think it pleases the unseen ;) Let me know how it goes and if your husband publishes I will support him.
I learned I can play the cornet in elementary and high school. Our music class learned how to play a variety of songs, thanks to the guidance of our music teacher. I remember her as someone who was into New Age type of interests. This was in late 70s early 80s.
She was disappointed I wasn't all that interested in playing music. So it goes. I haven't touched a cornet since then. No desire to do so.
If you want to learn a brass instrument, a cornet is one of the easier ones. Trumpets are harder to get a sound out of, and the tuba will test your lung capacity. Stay away from the french horn - they are a nightmare to play and keep clean.
If I find a cheap one used I might just give it a try at some point, but I'm content at the moment to see about progress with the guitar. Guitar is more practical, practicing the sax might not be as enjoyable for my parents, lol. Also, thank you for supporting me being into the arts.
No sax in our band, but there was one bass clarinet. I remember the guy who played it used to fool around by swinging the top piece round and round.
Our music teacher had arranged a music class trip to Toronto, which was a 6 hour ride by bus. They had the opportunity to meet professional musicians, and stayed in Toronto for 4 or 5 days. Kind of unprecedented in terms of scope. I was one of the few who declined to join, preferring to stay in class and not have to play catch up later. The trip turned out to be a bit of a debacle, thanks to the attitude of some of the students who did participate.
No regrets on my part - I just wasn't interested. Nerds like me aren't into the arts.
I love how you are giving a practical result of practicing real magic----and what could be more pleasing to the Muses for that result to be a guy learning to play (and sing with) his guitar!
I admire your persistence and courage in sharing this. I can’t remember where I was at after my first year of playing but I know I wasn’t yet singing, and you’ve got a nice voice to work with.
Anyway, this post was inspiring and gave me some nice heart feelings, man! A nice treat.
I’m about halfway through your video; very good! Did you play any other musical instruments growing up? How do you like your teacher -- I get the feeling they’re great.
I started guitar in 2019. I’ve spent most of my life playing violin and viola, so I had a bit of a head start, but not as much as I thought. Playing chords felt like doing calculus at first.
I had a teacher at first, but then spent a lot of time studying on my own. I could probably benefit from taking lessons again.
Thank you. I played the saxophone in 8th grade. One of my only regrets, that I didn't continue. My guitar teacher is Robb Justice, a local singer song writer with a lot of patience. I utilize some online lessons too, Marty Swartz at first and then random guys for specific songs.
Wow, big improvements! I really like the sound of that Yamaha guitar. And indeed, a warped neck or poor setup leaves the strings too far from the fretboard, making it difficult to play. I'm glad you have a good instrument now!
I think you should give yourself extra propers because your song choices are fairly difficult due to the altered chords (and lots of them). "Blackbird" and "Norwegian Wood" are not "beginner" songs, my friend!
I love the timbre of your voice, and you have good pitch. Some work on breath support using your diaphragm will make a huge difference in 1) hitting the high notes without having to scream and 2) holding longer notes with consistent tone. Working with the diaphragm will also give you many options for different tonalities and both control and variety in vibrato.
I like your fingerpicking; it seems to come fairly naturally to you. Is your guitar teacher giving you strumming exercises? If not, and he/she is not interested or able to teach that in a methodical way, I can give you some good right-hand technique exercises that will fast-track your song playing.
I hope I'm not coming across as a smarty-pants, because I genuinely loved watching you play and sing! I just can't help myself wanting to help streamline your process and "up" your progress.
Thanks! I meant to hit some light high notes on the last part of House of the Rising Sun, as I am fairly good at that after mimicking Jeff Buckley. My guitar teacher has been good about teaching me strumming and picking, though I am always open to new techniques to "streamline [my] process and "up" [my] progress.
Blackbird was not part of my plan, but I watched a guy online teaching about it and I was like, I can do that! My guitar teacher helped out, after he was like WTF??. Then my GT said, you should try NW, a song I had never thought about, and it turns out I love playing and singing it. Those and Lady May (which I am now finally figuring out) and lately Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain, make me feel like I can actually be a real guitar player. My goal of late is this version of BECR, though all the online teaching versions are of Willie Nelson.
Just last week I told my guitar teacher - "I can't count worth a **** while I play and sing!" We worked with me on Norwegian Wood exaggerating the first beat dum-du-du dum-du-du dum-du-du dum-du-du
Well, "Norwegian Wood" is written in 12/8 time, which means 12 beats in each measure counted in eighth notes. Not exactly an easy song to count without at least some education and a lot of dedication, haha! (But it's certainly easier than counting the Allman Brothers' tune, "The Whipping Post," which is in 11/8 time🤪.)
And "Black Bird" switches between no less than THREE different time signatures: 3/4, 4/4 (known as "Common Time"), and 2/4.
In other words, those are very very VERY challenging songs to play, sing, and count properly. So give yourself a break 'cause you're doing okay!
Some musicians don't "count," they basically latch onto the rhythm feel of the song. That works fine and dandy until needing to count "pick-up" measures, using a metronome during practice, playing with other musicians, or being in the recording studio with a click-track in headphones!
You know I'm just ribbing you a little. Ya gonna be fine, my friend. But I will email you some RH technique stuff soon. I will include a couple of important tips.
My GT said 6/8 time, but that might be because I am quite a bit slower than 12/8. I listen to the original version and I'm like, man, they blast through that! It is like Lady May, he used to play it slower, now he plays it about twice as fast as I do. Blackbird too, I listen to it regularly and I'm like, well, I get a little closer every day. 11/8 time sounds like a whipping post....
Also, btw, I like that BECR version because it is chord driven and a bit more upbeat.
I'm a magician, my husband is a musician. We often combine our talents. Recently he put together a guitar course. He's trying out me So I can be one of his first testimonials before he publishes it. As a magician, I'll keep what you said about magic as I learn to play the guitar. 🎸
I'm so happy for you that you can play and enjoy making music. It's truly magical! 🪄✨🎶
Thank you Charlotte, I appreciate that, and welcome to my substack. You have an amazing story.
Best of luck with the guitar. Making music is like magic exemplified, and I like to think it pleases the unseen ;) Let me know how it goes and if your husband publishes I will support him.
Thank you very much! Thank you for making magical music! I'll let you know when he finishes it. Blessings to you! ✨🤗✨
I learned I can play the cornet in elementary and high school. Our music class learned how to play a variety of songs, thanks to the guidance of our music teacher. I remember her as someone who was into New Age type of interests. This was in late 70s early 80s.
She was disappointed I wasn't all that interested in playing music. So it goes. I haven't touched a cornet since then. No desire to do so.
If you want to learn a brass instrument, a cornet is one of the easier ones. Trumpets are harder to get a sound out of, and the tuba will test your lung capacity. Stay away from the french horn - they are a nightmare to play and keep clean.
I played the sax when I was an 8th grader. One of my only regrets I didn't stick with it.
You sure you not meant to be a sax man? Not too late to resume what you left in the 8th grade...
If I find a cheap one used I might just give it a try at some point, but I'm content at the moment to see about progress with the guitar. Guitar is more practical, practicing the sax might not be as enjoyable for my parents, lol. Also, thank you for supporting me being into the arts.
No sax in our band, but there was one bass clarinet. I remember the guy who played it used to fool around by swinging the top piece round and round.
Our music teacher had arranged a music class trip to Toronto, which was a 6 hour ride by bus. They had the opportunity to meet professional musicians, and stayed in Toronto for 4 or 5 days. Kind of unprecedented in terms of scope. I was one of the few who declined to join, preferring to stay in class and not have to play catch up later. The trip turned out to be a bit of a debacle, thanks to the attitude of some of the students who did participate.
No regrets on my part - I just wasn't interested. Nerds like me aren't into the arts.
I love how you are giving a practical result of practicing real magic----and what could be more pleasing to the Muses for that result to be a guy learning to play (and sing with) his guitar!
I admire your persistence and courage in sharing this. I can’t remember where I was at after my first year of playing but I know I wasn’t yet singing, and you’ve got a nice voice to work with.
Anyway, this post was inspiring and gave me some nice heart feelings, man! A nice treat.
Keep it up!
Thank you Bryan. Heartfelt words :)
I’m about halfway through your video; very good! Did you play any other musical instruments growing up? How do you like your teacher -- I get the feeling they’re great.
I started guitar in 2019. I’ve spent most of my life playing violin and viola, so I had a bit of a head start, but not as much as I thought. Playing chords felt like doing calculus at first.
I had a teacher at first, but then spent a lot of time studying on my own. I could probably benefit from taking lessons again.
You have a good singing voice!
Thank you. I played the saxophone in 8th grade. One of my only regrets, that I didn't continue. My guitar teacher is Robb Justice, a local singer song writer with a lot of patience. I utilize some online lessons too, Marty Swartz at first and then random guys for specific songs.
A great lesson and a great performance. Keep going.
Thanks David. Keep up the good work yourself.
Wow, big improvements! I really like the sound of that Yamaha guitar. And indeed, a warped neck or poor setup leaves the strings too far from the fretboard, making it difficult to play. I'm glad you have a good instrument now!
I think you should give yourself extra propers because your song choices are fairly difficult due to the altered chords (and lots of them). "Blackbird" and "Norwegian Wood" are not "beginner" songs, my friend!
I love the timbre of your voice, and you have good pitch. Some work on breath support using your diaphragm will make a huge difference in 1) hitting the high notes without having to scream and 2) holding longer notes with consistent tone. Working with the diaphragm will also give you many options for different tonalities and both control and variety in vibrato.
I like your fingerpicking; it seems to come fairly naturally to you. Is your guitar teacher giving you strumming exercises? If not, and he/she is not interested or able to teach that in a methodical way, I can give you some good right-hand technique exercises that will fast-track your song playing.
I hope I'm not coming across as a smarty-pants, because I genuinely loved watching you play and sing! I just can't help myself wanting to help streamline your process and "up" your progress.
Thanks! I meant to hit some light high notes on the last part of House of the Rising Sun, as I am fairly good at that after mimicking Jeff Buckley. My guitar teacher has been good about teaching me strumming and picking, though I am always open to new techniques to "streamline [my] process and "up" [my] progress.
Blackbird was not part of my plan, but I watched a guy online teaching about it and I was like, I can do that! My guitar teacher helped out, after he was like WTF??. Then my GT said, you should try NW, a song I had never thought about, and it turns out I love playing and singing it. Those and Lady May (which I am now finally figuring out) and lately Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain, make me feel like I can actually be a real guitar player. My goal of late is this version of BECR, though all the online teaching versions are of Willie Nelson.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1Fnp7VShac&pp=ygUcYmx1ZSBleWVzIGNyeWluZyBpbiB0aGUgcmFpbg%3D%3D
I think I'll like your version of BECR better than that one! You have a much sweeter voice (not to disparage him at all).
How are your counting skills when it comes to playing music? I'm thinking of which RH technique exercises would be appropriate for you.
Just last week I told my guitar teacher - "I can't count worth a **** while I play and sing!" We worked with me on Norwegian Wood exaggerating the first beat dum-du-du dum-du-du dum-du-du dum-du-du
Well, "Norwegian Wood" is written in 12/8 time, which means 12 beats in each measure counted in eighth notes. Not exactly an easy song to count without at least some education and a lot of dedication, haha! (But it's certainly easier than counting the Allman Brothers' tune, "The Whipping Post," which is in 11/8 time🤪.)
And "Black Bird" switches between no less than THREE different time signatures: 3/4, 4/4 (known as "Common Time"), and 2/4.
In other words, those are very very VERY challenging songs to play, sing, and count properly. So give yourself a break 'cause you're doing okay!
Some musicians don't "count," they basically latch onto the rhythm feel of the song. That works fine and dandy until needing to count "pick-up" measures, using a metronome during practice, playing with other musicians, or being in the recording studio with a click-track in headphones!
You know I'm just ribbing you a little. Ya gonna be fine, my friend. But I will email you some RH technique stuff soon. I will include a couple of important tips.
My GT said 6/8 time, but that might be because I am quite a bit slower than 12/8. I listen to the original version and I'm like, man, they blast through that! It is like Lady May, he used to play it slower, now he plays it about twice as fast as I do. Blackbird too, I listen to it regularly and I'm like, well, I get a little closer every day. 11/8 time sounds like a whipping post....
Also, btw, I like that BECR version because it is chord driven and a bit more upbeat.