GUITAR: Give up or keep playing? - How to get "competent" FASTER

[@LesGibby]

I always played for fun.....since I was 14.....I put a detailed 3 ring binder and hand wrote all the chord figures and all chords within each key..learned tabs.. I was competent enough to meet up with friends...I played in different garage bands...Now approaching 60 and I have the onset of arthritis biting my hands and fingers....Imagine being 14-15 drooling over Fenders...Gibsons...Gretsch...Ric.. Martin guitars never ever thinking I would own any of them.....Go into a music store just gazing....Well....I made a good buck after college and started to indulge myself in all of them. even tho I was never meant to be more than a "bedroom" player...I just love guitars!

[@RobertCassard]

Right on, Les. Thanks for your email, too. You have a beautiful collection of Gibson's for Mr. Gibby!

[@charliejaffe8712]

The fun of it for me is always just trying to learn something new and improve. I may never be as good as the fingerstyle guitarists I admire, but it sure is fun trying. It helps me to look at it like this - I don’t know who said it first - it’s not the destination, it’s the journey.

[@RobertCassard]

I agree 100% Charlie. kzbin.info/www/bejne/sKWpqpqgfN2Aj6M

[@charliejaffe8712]

@@RobertCassard Thanks for the link. It should be required viewing for everyone who plays, or wants to play.

[@RobertCassard]

@@charliejaffe8712 Thanks so much and amen to that, Charlie. We all can use some inspiration to continue or climb "up the mountain." Please share it with any fellow guitarists - newbies or not!

[@sketchartist1964]

I never thought I'd learn how to play guitar but I did. Many years ago when I was a teenager some friends of mine and I were invited to join a group of girls who sang in the Church. I knew absolutely nothing about playing guitar but went ahead and joined the group anyway. All the girls played guitar and it looked hard although they were just playing basic open chords mostly. They let us borrow guitars that belonged to the church but most of them were warped and hard to play on but that's what they had and that's what we used. It took a while to learn the chords and how to change chords during the songs but eventually I caught on and was able to learn the basics. The barred F chord was the most difficult chord to play on those warped guitars but we managed. My friends were already familiar with the guitar because they came from a family of musicians, but for me it was all new territory. Anyway, that's how I learned how to play guitar and from there my career in garage bands is history!

[@RobertCassard]

Amen, @sketchartist1964! Sometimes church is the best place to pursue the divine inspiration of music. I'm glad you stuck with it, despite the warped guitars. My first guitar was a "reject" guitar, paid for in Green Stamps. The strings were about 1/2" off the freats!

[@MarkRobinsonMusic]

Love you keeping John's music alive, and that is a FANTASTIC version! Brilliant, Robert 👏

[@RobertCassard]

Thanks so much, Mark. I clearly need to do a “What I Learned from John Denver” video to go with my James Taylor and Cat Stevens videos.

[@MarkRobinsonMusic]

@RobertCassard That would be great, Robert. John is still massive, and most of the work I get is playing sets of his music, with a few of my own songs added (because it's my show and I can!). I think it would be very popular - be sure to tag the fan groups, too

[@RobertCassard]

@@MarkRobinsonMusic Thanks for that suggestion. So...how do I find and tag the fan groups?

[@JonNewquist]

​@@RobertCassardYes please to making this episode!

[@RobertCassard]

@@JonNewquist Thanks for the encouragement!

[@JonNewquist]

Amen to this!

[@RobertCassard]

I’m glad you agree, Jon!

[@JonNewquist]

@@RobertCassard I've been asked to teach so many times over the decades since I taught myself. I'm not a good teacher, but I always say, "play whole songs, it will inspire you to keep learning." The second bit of advice is always to play with people better than you. That was easy for me at church in the '70s. I often wonder if that's still a thing today. It's a practice I follow to this day, because there's always more to learn.

[@RobertCassard]

@@JonNewquist You're giving good advice! I'm also mostly self-taught on guitar - it's always a learning experience to play with "experts."

[@nopeguessnot]

Just now discovered your channel. Good to see you again , old friend. Greetings from Grand Rapids.

[@RobertCassard]

Hello there, Scanner Darkly. By what name would I know you from scanning my deep dark past?

[@nopeguessnot]

Bill. Who else would have guitar instruction videos popping up on his KZbin feed? I’m happy to see your channel is doing so well.

[@RobertCassard]

Hebert! You might enjoy this nugget from 5 years ago. When I changed the strings on my 1889 Martin from steel to nylon: kzbin.info/www/bejne/l6nHqYyBr8mgbsk

[@nopeguessnot]

I’ll check it out. Thanks, my man! Tell Bara I said hi.

[@nopeguessnot]

Just watched it and made a comment. Cool guitar! How did you even find that thing?

[@joeshmoe7967]

Hopefully after playing for going on 45 years, and currently having 200+ songs in my memorized repertoire. (including Country Roads) I can consider my self competent. if I get hired back to play, does that count? I do still entertain doubts of my ability, I fear admitting I am 'good' out loud. My goal is to spread joy through music, and have done that, so maybe I can admit, I am competent. - Cheers

[@RobertCassard]

Yes. Getting hired back to play is a definitive confirmation of competence, @joeshmoe7967! We all wrestle with doubts, and we'd all do well to follow your lead and aim to spread joy through music. If you've achieved that goal, you've attained that highest status in my eyes. Cheers and thanks for exploring my channel!

[@jasper_north]

🔴Here is an interesting topic you almost never see on the internet and or KZbin. Perhaps something for your next episode; How about 0.14 gauge strings on a Dreadnought Guitar. Good or bad idea. If not a good idea, how about downtuning the guitar ½ or 1 step in that case? Many downtune their guitar anyway… Thanks, just my 2 cents.

[@RobertCassard]

That IS an interesting topic, Jasper. In the early 70s, I routinely played Heavy .14 gauge strings on my '64 Gibson J-50, combined with a medium gauge pick. It had a full and rich tone for sure. Then in the late 70s, I got an intense 5-night-a-week, 5 hours-a-night solo gig at a restaurant/pub. The heavy gauge strings were too hard on my hands. So I experimented with string gauge, first switching to Mediums (.13-.56). To my surprise, the slightest bit of added bass EQ on the PA system completely compensated for the tonal difference. And the highs were more brilliant. So I tried Light Gauge (.12-.53) and it was like a revelation. The guitar felt SO easy to play, and I could bend strings and play with more expression. And again, by adding some subtle bass boost, the guitar sounded better than ever. (And I was having more fun.) I've tested different gauges in the studio, too. Because of some upgrades I made to my J-50 over the years (documented in this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fmrTnodqqttlpaM) to my ear, it truly plays and sounds best with Light gauge strings. Thankfully! My HD-40 Martin dreadnought sounds best with .13-.56 Medium Gauge. But everything I just said is when tuned to standard pitch. If you're tuning down, each guitar may have a different sweet spot in terms of gauge. And don't forget to experiment with pick gauge, too. Sometimes pick thickness and material has even more impact on the sound of a guitar than the strings. My second Guitar Discoveries video (over 5 years ago!) demonstrated the effect of pick gauge: kzbin.info/www/bejne/n4W6h5V4aJt2o9k

[@jasper_north]

@@RobertCassard great answer Robert. Wow. Impressed. Thank you. Will make a screenshot. Interesting.

[@RobertCassard]

@@jasper_north I figured you'd appreciate a detailed answer since I'm not likely to do a video right away!