@Nassor Tafari @Toby Derbyshire I’m very happy personally to have you both join! We want you all to feel welcome! We have more that are going to be joining us. I want this to be a place we all build together, in our own way. Everyone brings something! @Nassor Tafari has his own guitar instruction community here, called Guitar Alchemy and he’s put a lot of focus into understanding the guitar via intervals, he has a YouTube channel and is currently doing a deep dive into Hendrix. He has a very chill laid back vibe and I’ve enjoyed getting to know him! He’s humble and teachable, and very unselfish. I look forward to hanging out more with him here! @Toby Derbyshire is… man where to begin? So he’s the guy @Elliott H and I met last weekend in Kerrville. Elliot bought his Moser from him! While we were driving there, we spoke over the car audio to him for hours. Then the guitar purchase was made, so what did we all do? We talked for hours! And Hours! Just get to know him, I don’t have enough room in this post to list everything! This guy is… man, how do I explain? @Toby Derbyshire just post some pictures of your guitars, then we can talk about all the famous dudes you’ve hung with, played with, know on first name basis, and then get into the stories…. The stories. Oh and the snakes… yeah.. snakes too. Salt of the earth guy, generous to no end. We got talking so long in the freezing cold, finally we said, man let’s break bread… dude paid for all our food! He’s a real one. Just building good upon good here. One member at a time

*Disclaimer - This is a post I made on a forum a very long time ago... rescued it as the places/communities are all closing down now. If anyone is interested we can run the idea of improving our solo's (I have a box account full of stuff from that time with challenge tracks and stuff and we can do a collab box) or you can just read it and see* The solo. Two little words, that when used together, inspire fear and loathing in many a guitarist/musician still on their musical journey. It is usually accompanied with things along the lines of "Well, I would if I could", or "I'm not good enough" or "I wish I could solo like you/him/her/famous artist". In three words or less, "That is bullshit!"... kind of has a nice ring to it. We all have to start somewhere, and you can only get better the more you do it. If your song calls for a solo, then do it you must. Pitfalls - You think you suck - Almost every guitarist starts with getting jam tracks... you know who you are... you have 4 minute or 5 minute jam tracks and think this will magically solve all your problems - You think you need modes cos they will also magically solve all your problems - You think you need to know a shitload of scales - You think every chord needs a new scale - You think you need to have monstrous speed and technique If any of these fall into your span of thinking (and as time goes on with updates to this thread, there will be more points), then you are waging war with your creativity. Let's tackle these things one by one: You think you suck This is the worst way to go about anything. This, alone, stifles creativity to the point of killing it off for good. You have come this far in your journey, so why create a mental barricade? What you have achieved to this point in your musical journey is a milestone in itself. You have your current knowledge and current creativity level, so use it. Use it to its breaking point. What happens at breaking point? Well, a new development occurs... a new level is achieved, another tier to conquer... brand new possibilities in all its forms. How can that ever be a bad thing?

@Chris Lawrence @Matt Wilson @Ricardo Ponce @Cameron Buchholz @Bayleigh Lynch I’m very happy personally to have you all join! We want you all to feel welcome! We have more that are going to be joining us. I want this to be a place we all build together, in our own way. Everyone brings something! @Chris Lawrence and @Matt Wilson have guitar instruction communities here and are doing their own thing in their own unique way. Both are great people, and if you are so inclined, go check out what they are doing! Their communities have great people as well! @Ricardo Ponce is building a Guitar Repair community and I’m looking forward to learning more from him and working with him. Me and @Elliott H got to meet this fine gentleman yesterday, in San Antonio and I love what he’s doing! Super cool guy with a unique gift and drive! Exactly the kind of people we want here! Just building good upon good. One member at a time.

Lately, I have had an epiphany, a sudden realization and that is, when it comes to learning music: A lot of things in music, are boring. And it’s not fun. And it takes too long, and it asks more of Me than I want to give And when it is explained it’s almost immediately confusing. And I think that’s why many people don’t do it. Does this click for any of you? Am I on the right track with how I’m thinking?

I’m testing out and figuring out the classrooms, it’s just work in progress, I haven’t developed the content fully, just placeholders. I went crazy with the whiteboard in the studio tonight! Some of you that have been through Notes on The Neck may recognize a few of these things. So you know the story that’s coming up! I’m looking at making it an audio file as well as making it a readable transcript. I’m trying not to be a perfectionist, but that whiteboard is really making Me twitch “get it out of here! Delete delete delete!” I’m holding steady. My visions have always been bigger than my abilities! 🤣