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Post by fatfingerjohn on May 13, 2023 9:13:16 GMT
So, the winner is the longest balance of one of their own guitars as per the image ... Rules include -extra points if guitar is worth more than £5k -walking round the room gets extra points -up and down the stairs gets double points -entries with banjos and ukes allowed provided they are dropped at the end of the timed trial -tuners, capos, allowed to improve balance but no straps FFJ Attachments:
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Post by fatfingerjohn on May 8, 2023 19:42:23 GMT
Prefer sound to bling so of no concern to me.
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Post by fatfingerjohn on May 2, 2023 19:01:49 GMT
Probably my all-time favorite singer-songwriter. Saw him about 5 years ago when he came to UK for first time in 30 years; voice had just about gone but was still doing 100 odd gigs a year at age 78. Won't be another like him.
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Post by fatfingerjohn on Apr 17, 2023 17:32:07 GMT
Someone sent this to me today and it seemed approriate to those lovers of tiny instruments ... Attachments:
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Post by fatfingerjohn on Apr 11, 2023 19:51:14 GMT
To answer your question honestly then the answer is no. I have an app called lyric pad which enables me play songs right the way through. I host an open mic night and teach guitar to beginners at a guitar school. So I get asked to play a wide variety of songs, so don’t really want to spend to much time trying to learn new songs. As an example I’ve been learning 4 to 5 songs a month, from Tears in Heaven to Sultans of swing to sex on fire. I might have to stop the students picking the songs 😂😂 Hi, I use Lyric Pad as well and it certainly does allow me to carry lyrics around without huge files; so is probably the nearest I get to singing something all the way through. Also, a bit like you I run a guitar group of old folk and I suppose this the the exception to me having to 'finish' songs in that we have a 'performance' repertoire of about 50 songs. But ... very few are songs i would want to play myself either for my own solo enjoyment or if I occasioannly play out. Theye are fine in theor own way bu more the singalong variety. Its the stuff I do for myself that I don't polish enough to the end. JOhn
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Post by fatfingerjohn on Apr 10, 2023 15:23:22 GMT
This may be a regurgitation of earlier threads so apologies if it is. But, do you ever REALLY finish a song that you're learning? By 'finish' I mean so that you can play it through pretty fluently ALL the way through, all verses, choruses, bridges, intro, outro?
I find this more and more an issue as I get older, largely I think because I can't remember the lyrics any more without having them written in front of me and I'm probably too lazy to dig them out or find them on the computer or wherever.
So I tend to play the bits I know, often the first verse and chorus but never get to the point of playing it all the way through often enough to crack it.
Is it just me or are there others out there who have dozens (hundreds?) of incomplete pieces that they play?
I suppose because I rarely 'play out' these days, the incentive to really get it ALL right has diminished and it becomes a vicious circle.
FFJ
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Post by fatfingerjohn on Mar 26, 2023 11:39:43 GMT
Mine's very simple and follows most of my excuses for being a rubbish player i.e. I'm physically not constructed to be a good player. My pinky is too short and other fingers not flexible enough/limited stretch to anchor the pinky; if I anchor the pinky I can't even touch the other strings most of the time, other fingers won't bend to do so. So I don't have to worry about it; job done! FFJ
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Post by fatfingerjohn on Mar 18, 2023 13:49:45 GMT
Would love to have the views of our Lutheran experts on this chap's theory. And which one of the guitar owners from the Forum is going to experiment with one of their favourite guitars?
FFJ
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Post by fatfingerjohn on Mar 17, 2023 18:33:11 GMT
Anyone who likes Ralph McTell and can get to South London in May... he's doing 5 nights at the Half Moon to celebrate their 60th anniversary as a music venue. On one of the evenings he's going to playing through the songs on two of his (IMHO) best albums: "Easy" and "Not Till Tomorrow". I already have my tickets! (And if anyone here decides to go, message me - it would be great to say hi) I also saw from his mailing list email that he is head-lining at Costa Del Folk in Portugal in October. I know people who go to these festivals and rave about them but have never done so myself. But, on the spur of the moment (VERY unusual for me!) we've just booked to go, as we will be needing a holiday away later this year. 6 days of pure folk music enjoyment with Ralph, Show of Hands, Wishbone Ash, Smith and Brewer and loads more. Here's the link for anyone interested and who needs a bit of sun and music in Autumn. www.costafestival.co.uk/costa-festival-portugal/
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Post by fatfingerjohn on Feb 14, 2023 21:17:43 GMT
I suppose what we're talking about is 'do you need an outlet' for your playing; or are you fine just playing to yourself and the dog. To me its both. I'm fine in my own company generally and playing with no-one around, whether it's learning new stuff, redoing old, or just noodling around on different guitars are all very satisfying. But I have always wished for a bit of an 'outlet' as well; not to become famous (no chance!), but just to give a bit of purpose as well. In my early days I played with a mate around folk clubs and the occasional gig for charity and that was good. But when I took it up again in my 60s I tried the folk club route as a soloist and was just too damned nervous to enjoy it. So I generally gave up on that as an outlet. Too much stress. My outlet came when my nearby village started a u3a about 11 years ago. I put my name forward to 'teach/lead' other oldies to be able to pay guitar. Most were beginners or had done a wee bit 40-50 years ago which enabled me to show them slowly what to do. Jump forward 11 years and there are 17 in the group, a small waiting list,we have around 70-80 'performance songs, have played around 50-60 gigs to audiences of between 25 and 400. We've 'entertained' over 2,000 people now. The pleasure the group get out of having learned how to make music is probably (discounting family) the best thing I've done. If anyone is interested I've put a link below onto the website which I developed; you can't get into the members area which has all our songs, resources etc but shows a lot of pics from our gigs. That's my Outlet and mixed with my playing on my own is a perfect balance. Both challenging, both enjoyable, both rewarding. If anyone wants to try something similar I'd be glad to share our journey. www.u3acousticravenshead.org.uk/
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Post by fatfingerjohn on Feb 10, 2023 19:22:24 GMT
When I retired, having not played much for 30 years I purposely decided after a few months to put my old file of songs from previous guitar life away and not play any of them for an unspecified but lengthy period (turned out to be over a year. That forced me to look at new stuff instead of just regurgitating well-practiced but imperfect pieces, many of which I'd played in a duo. I also found that YouTube was just a new ray of light to loads of stuff. I play most days, very often just trying something new from YouTube where I have 100s of 'favorite' sites with lessons bookmarked. I am a total believer in having my guitars within reach of where I sit during the day. I'm about to move house and my only requirement was to have a comfy chair within reach of my guitar stand and a small table for my laptop and in sight of a big TV for the sport. Not worried about how many bedrooms, power points etc.
Probably my biggest fault is that I always have at least 30 songs I'm working on at one stage or another, none of them finished so that I can play them well and most won't get finished.
Happy days!
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Post by fatfingerjohn on Feb 1, 2023 11:06:53 GMT
I agree there is a bit of a feeling that Taylors are not the 'real thing' once you are in the somewhat higher price bracket; and I do find that some of their marketing blurb is a bit anal and over-indulgent. But I've had my 310ce now for about 10 years and continue to love it. As a dreadnought it is a great strummer; I tend to use it as my workhorse when strumming is the main requirement. The neck profile and string spacing is just right for me and I have copied this with my lovely hand built Lacey from Francis. I find Lacey is a bit nicer on fingerstyle and slower stuff. No doubt variation on string type affects this as well.
So I'm in the 'love my Taylor' camp. Yes, they may be more mass produced and the promotion guff a bit fanciful, but the build quality shines through.
FFJ
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Koa
Jan 25, 2023 9:40:19 GMT
Derick likes this
Post by fatfingerjohn on Jan 25, 2023 9:40:19 GMT
I have a Koa 6-er from Turner guitars. Really lovely tone and playability. Its quite a dense wood and, although t sounded great straight away it probaby took a year or teo to really open up. Worth the weight.
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Post by fatfingerjohn on Jan 23, 2023 18:20:11 GMT
Excellent video thanks for posting. For someone with a bad back, stiff wrist and allergy to bar chords I was pleased to see that I do most things right per your advice; I hate playing standing up. So my general inetness is due to other causes. One thing I'd add to the sitting position and keeping your back straight and as near to 90 degree angle is that, with my sort of wretched back (previosu slipped discs and some fused vertibrae at teh bottom, then some lunber support to the very base of the back is a must. This allows me to avoid leaning forward to take the strain off. I just use one of those cheap slide-on lumber suports on a normal chair. mediaserver3.abnfinest.co.uk/2382-thickbox_default/car-seat-office-chair-lumbar-back-support.jpg
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Post by fatfingerjohn on Jan 16, 2023 17:24:09 GMT
Thea Gilmore is soooo gooood! I first came across her music about 10 years ago when she did a tour performing Sandy Denny songs, many which Sandy had never recorded. She has recorded a CD of these songs as well, worth a listen.
FFJ
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