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William MG
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Joined: 03/08/19
Posts: 1,648
William MG
Full Access
Joined: 03/08/19
Posts: 1,648
12/17/2022 11:16 pm

Hi Paul and welcome as this is your 1st post.


Your outline looks good but I think you need to define an end goal or goals.


The best way for me to define this is to speak to my own during my 3 years of learning the instrument.


My 1st goal was to learn a song... any song. At 56 I still had the same guitar I bought when I was 17 and hadn't learned to play a thing. 


2cnd goal was to write a song. This pushed me into learning some theory. Not much, just some basics like what chords sound good together. What notes or scales will work with my chords so I can write some licks. 


Then I wanted to learn how to jam. Sit down with others or a jam track and have some fun. Jeff McErlain (True Fire) has some excellent tutorials on how to jam to the Blues. All basic stuff that can be used over and over again and good to have in your tool kit. Bread and butter licks.


So now 3 years on, here is where I am at:


I have a good general concept of how music is put together. I would say I have functional knowledge. I have and can sit down and write a song and the parts "make sense" with each other.


I can jam with friends or to jam tracks as long as I know what key we are in. It's not going to win any awards but this is for kicks and giggles.


But now more than anything I just want to learn my favourite songs.


Music, as I have learned, is an immense study, or at least can be. I think if you define a goal(s), it will take you down a path of self directed learning and things will begin to make sense. Stand alone exercises like chords, scales are important but putting them into music is what it's all about. 


Good luck.


This year the diet is definitely gonna stick!