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  #1  
Old 06-02-2017, 06:49 PM
newplayer_nyc newplayer_nyc is offline
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Default greetings from NYC: quick introduction

hi all. glad to have found this place.

i'm a middle-aged person who started playing guitar just a bit more than a year ago, in May 2016. i have zero musical training but had wanted to play my whole life.

i started with an acoustic, a new full-sized Taylor, and then about five months later, a vintage Strat (73.) just last week i traded the Strat for a '64 Jaguar, which i find much easier to play.

in any case, i'm way more comfortable on my acoustic than my electric and freely admit i enjoy it more.

i take lessons very regularly from local pros (every week religiously if they're not travelling on tour) but am not learning to read music at all - in fact i can barely read tabs. my goal was to learn to play the songs I love fast, so i lean on videos on YouTube, learn what i can, then go in to a lesson and have my teacher fix/explain what i couldn't figure out myself, or what i figured out wrong

The good news is you can learn a lot pretty fast this way. The bad news is, you don't develop an ear at all. I'm starting to address this now.

i'm a lifelong lover of rock music, but since starting to learn to play i've found my taste has expanded dramatically, which has been a very pleasant, unexpected side benefit.

i have some friends who are also amateur musicians and we have performed at open mics a couple of times. my first-ever performance was 6 months after picking up a guitar for the first time, and needless to say, it was scary as hell. it's a bit better now, provided i don't know anyone in the audience, which is usually the case - my friends aren't allowed to come

anyway, that's my story. i've already come across many nuggets of wisdom in perusing this board, so thank you in advance for the community and mutual assistance!

Last edited by newplayer_nyc; 02-04-2018 at 02:23 PM.
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  #2  
Old 06-02-2017, 06:56 PM
tonyo tonyo is offline
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Location: Tyalgum New South Wales, Australia
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Great stuff! I started playing 5 years ago in my early 50s after dreaming about it all my life. Similar to you, I do far better on acoustic than on electric. It's so much fun.
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  #3  
Old 06-02-2017, 06:58 PM
newplayer_nyc newplayer_nyc is offline
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thank you! i wonder why this is true with the electric... my suspicion is that i'm just so concerned about sounding like crap that i really resist sounding like crap LOUD. i'd rather suck quietly.
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  #4  
Old 06-02-2017, 06:59 PM
Kerbie Kerbie is offline
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Welcome to the AGF! We're glad to have you.
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  #5  
Old 06-02-2017, 07:43 PM
reeve21 reeve21 is offline
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Location: Central Connecticut, USA
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Welcome, and kudos for playing in public so soon!

Spending time on AGF will both educate and inspire you.
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  #6  
Old 06-03-2017, 05:48 AM
Ze. Ze. is offline
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Good to hear you have performed so quickly ...they all say its the way forward to improve
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  #7  
Old 06-03-2017, 11:17 AM
newplayer_nyc newplayer_nyc is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ze. View Post
Good to hear you have performed so quickly ...they all say its the way forward to improve
Couldn't agree more. I'm extremely motivated by the desire to not stink in public!
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