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  #1  
Old 04-24-2022, 04:59 PM
Martijn Martijn is offline
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Arrow Fingerstyle website

Hi everyone,

Today I have released my website about fingerstyle guitar: www.fingerstyle.com
Herewith I would like to invite you to have a look around the site.
I am very interested to hear your opinion about it, especially if you have any suggestions for improvements!

Martijn
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  #2  
Old 04-24-2022, 05:35 PM
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Nicely laid out, organized website. Give info on the website who you are, your background, and purpose for the website. Also explain what happens if you subscribe and what charges there may be.
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  #3  
Old 04-25-2022, 10:25 AM
Jamolay Jamolay is online now
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Looks great! I like the layout and presentation.

I only look a few links in and haven’t played video, but two things popped up.

When I click the three bars on the upper right it scrolls down to the lessons rather than opens a menu like I would expect.

You have a box to enter email and subscribe, which mentions getting 3 free lessons and tabs. But if I click on some of the lessons, they open up, no charge, so all the lessons appear to be free right now.

Did you intend that? Offering 3 free makes me think you meant to charge. If so, there is mo explanation of what lessons cost, what a subscription means and if lessons are “a la carte” or some other fee schedule.

I am a mid level beginner trying to learn finger-style and classical techniques and would be interested based on what I see. (Especially if free[emoji6], although I don’t mind paying if the value is good), but do need to know what I am getting into.

There is a lot of junk out there on the internets and your site makes me feel that you are legitimate and have it together more than most!
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Old 04-25-2022, 10:36 AM
Martijn Martijn is offline
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@rick-slo
Thank you for sharing your thoughts!
Yes it is a good idea to tell something about myself. Initially I thought this would not be of interest to the visitors, as the site is about fingerstyle guitar in general and not about me, but I will add a page with some background information.
I have removed the newsletter option, as this caused some discussion because apparently it looked commercial.


@Jamolay
Thanks for your messages! As you know I appreciate your input, we had a chat about it via PM while this thread was blocked.
Some explanation for others who are following this thread: I did indeed intend to make all the lessons available for free, as I don't want to make it a commercial website.
Currently there are about 60 exercises available, and over the next months/years I will expand this with new pages and new categories.

Last edited by Martijn; 04-25-2022 at 12:09 PM.
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  #5  
Old 04-25-2022, 11:29 AM
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Nicely laid out and great resources. Thanks!
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  #6  
Old 04-25-2022, 08:52 PM
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Nice, thanks for posting about this site.
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  #7  
Old 04-26-2022, 01:30 PM
generaltsao generaltsao is offline
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I really like the DADGAD exercise on your website! I'm currently working on a lengthy DADGAD piece (Renewal by Doug Smith), and am always on the lookout for shorter, fun pieces to play in this tuning.
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Old 04-30-2022, 10:19 AM
Martijn Martijn is offline
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Thanks for the comments everyone! A lot of work went into this project so I am relieved to see the positive messages.

@generaltsao, I am happy to hear that you enjoyed the DADGAD exercises!
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Old 05-04-2022, 11:32 PM
hatamoto hatamoto is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Martijn View Post
Hi everyone,

Today I have released my website about fingerstyle guitar: www.fingerstyle.com
Herewith I would like to invite you to have a look around the site.
I am very interested to hear your opinion about it, especially if you have any suggestions for improvements!

Martijn
Thanks for posting this. I just took a quick glance and I already like the layout. I appreciate how it's straightforward, simple, no talking. I'm also terrible at reading tabs so I always skip that part since I feel like I have to work twice as hard just to learn a passage. I think this layout makes it easy for both type of learners (tab and non-tab dependent). I really appreciate the slow motion version. The closeup shots are also nice. I will be checking this out when I get home.
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  #10  
Old 05-05-2022, 01:51 AM
pinkfloyd pinkfloyd is offline
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It's great that you can obtain this cool domain name. It's worth over $10k. The website looks neat! It works exceptionally well on mobile.
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  #11  
Old 05-05-2022, 03:28 AM
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I like the straight forward way your site is set out and the quality of the content.

Like Rick says above I am missing an introduction to the site saying who you are and how you came to create this site etc.

I know you have already acknowledged this but also I have just listened to and really enjoyed 'Masai Mara' among other of your recordings on Youtube and linking to your own music would put a 'face' to the person behind the site.
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  #12  
Old 05-05-2022, 04:21 AM
RJVB RJVB is offline
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Nice work, esp. the part where you keep everything free of charge AND of publicity (or is that because of my ad-blockers?!).

The layout is quite clear and doesn't seem to make the common assumption that everyone keeps their browser in full-screen mode all the time, kudos for that too!

3 critical notes:
- the lesson text is a a bit faint; this might seem more relaxing for the eye (is it?) but for some it will have the opposite effect. I'd go with a larger contrast, or else provide a toggle for that in an easibly accessible place. (The site works fine with Firefox's reader mode but that removes the side-bars.)
- in the basics section (almost) all you say about the RH position is "It is important to find a comfortable position for your hand". Maybe you could develop a bit more on that, esp. since your 1st, basic-most video shows only part of the hand (that video suggests you seem to have a very classically-inspired technique, BTW). Maybe you can dedicate a video to showing what you think is the best RH position (including where you rest your arm) and how you suggest to pick the strings (you could say something about nail vs. flesh there, too).
- I know this will seem like searching for a stick to flog a dog, but since you asked.... The layout (and the use of wood textures) looks a bit ... dated, as if you set up the site with an old copy of site-building software aimed mostly at hobbyists. Not that I have an issue with that, I'd be likely to do just that myself so consider this curiosity rather than negative critique (I'll admit though that my reaction to the Beginner/Intermediate/Advanced "buttons" was something like "hah, cheesy cute")

Linking to performance videos of others is a nice thought. If you indeed intend to keep your lessons free you could also link to selected lesson content by others (could as in it won't hurt your revenue stream). Justin Johnson has a few very useful ones for people starting out to finger-pick for example (I still use his exercises in my daily warm-up routine). And re: nail vs. flesh: Michael Watts has a nice video about this, and his approach to manicure

I also think you should provide a page about yourself. It's always one of the 1st things I look at when I find lessons that look interesting - think of it as "who's this person and what could I learn from him/her (beyond the evident basics?)"
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Old 05-05-2022, 12:07 PM
Deliberate1 Deliberate1 is offline
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Martijn, perfect timing. I suspect that I am part of your target audience. I have just been looking for an online resource, having taken several months of fingerstyle lessons. Seems like one of the hardest things to find is a site that has "a plan," and not just so many options you do not know where to start, or move to. I like that your site does. Frankly, sometimes having fewer options is better.

I particularly appreciate the level-approprite exercises. I grew up playing clarinet with method books that took you through mechanical exercises which I think are invaluable for both learning your instrument and the structure of scales. One of the challenges I have faced is learning the fretboard. To sit down and try to memorize it has been only partially successful. But learning it in the context of reading the notes of apreggios (with the tabs as a placement guide) may be just what I need.

It is very generous of you to make this content available at no charge, knowing or at least guessing how much time it took to create.
Thank you for your efforts.
David
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  #14  
Old 05-05-2022, 12:50 PM
RJVB RJVB is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Deliberate1 View Post
learning it in the context of reading the notes of apreggios (with the tabs as a placement guide) may be just what I need.
Good point I missed in my earlier message: the scores have fingering in them too. I find that more useful than tabs and often I (still) spend a lot of time figuring them out for a new piece, so kudos!
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  #15  
Old 05-26-2022, 03:11 PM
Martijn Martijn is offline
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Thank you for the comments! Nice to see the positive notes regarding the content of the lessons, especially from @hatamoto and @Deliberate.
I am also relieved to see the comments about the responsive design. It was quite a lot of work to make specific designs for the varying screen sizes of mobile, tablet and desktop users, but I am pretty satisfied with how it turned out.


Quote:
Originally Posted by pinkfloyd View Post
It's great that you can obtain this cool domain name. It's worth over $10k. The website looks neat! It works exceptionally well on mobile.
Yes I am indeed very happy with the domain name! As a fingerstyle player who likes to share fingerstyle content, this was the most desirable domain name that I could imagine.


Quote:
Originally Posted by RJVB View Post
Nice work, esp. the part where you keep everything free of charge AND of publicity (or is that because of my ad-blockers?!).
3 critical notes:
- the lesson text is a a bit faint; this might seem more relaxing for the eye (is it?) but for some it will have the opposite effect. I'd go with a larger contrast, or else provide a toggle for that in an easibly accessible place. (The site works fine with Firefox's reader mode but that removes the side-bars.)
- in the basics section (almost) all you say about the RH position is "It is important to find a comfortable position for your hand". Maybe you could develop a bit more on that, esp. since your 1st, basic-most video shows only part of the hand (that video suggests you seem to have a very classically-inspired technique, BTW). Maybe you can dedicate a video to showing what you think is the best RH position (including where you rest your arm) and how you suggest to pick the strings (you could say something about nail vs. flesh there, too).
- I know this will seem like searching for a stick to flog a dog, but since you asked.... The layout (and the use of wood textures) looks a bit ... dated, as if you set up the site with an old copy of site-building software aimed mostly at hobbyists. Not that I have an issue with that, I'd be likely to do just that myself so consider this curiosity rather than negative critique (I'll admit though that my reaction to the Beginner/Intermediate/Advanced "buttons" was something like "hah, cheesy cute")
Thanks, these kind of comments are very useful for me to improve my website.
- I have increased the contrast of the text, so this issue should be solved now.
- Good point regarding the position of the hand. I have made a note about this, as I am planning to improve the videos over the upcoming months I will also include more examples/explanation regarding this.
- I can definitely understand that the design might not be everyone's taste. But most of the modern website designs nowadays are very characterless in my opinion, which is not what I wanted for my own site. As I don't have much experience in graphical design I found it difficult to find a better layout unfortunately.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Deliberate1 View Post
Seems like one of the hardest things to find is a site that has "a plan," and not just so many options you do not know where to start, or move to. I like that your site does. Frankly, sometimes having fewer options is better.
This was actually one of the things that triggered me to start this website. Obviously, there was already a huge amount of fingerstyle content available on the internet, but for starting fingerstyle guitarists it is very difficult to find songs and exercises at a suitable level.
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