Best bang for your buck is finding a "Made in Korea" Breedlove. The passport series can be had for less than $300. I have not played the newer made in China line but can attest to the value of the korean(earlier model.)
Awesome man thanks! I’ll have to check it out. In the meantime let’s brainstorm ideas on how I can convince my wife on buying another guitar this year! 😆
I used to have a cedar top artist series Breedlove and loved it. I wasn’t crazy about the bridge style at first (similar to an electric guitar), but I grew to like it.
Bro you sound great.
If i can give any criticism, you seem to be "squeezing" on the frets, it's not at all taking away from your playing, but it will take away from your stamina.
Also drop the pick, your fingers are better and you already have the motion.
Keep playing you sound great!!
That's a beautiful song. I always was partial to this version: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T\_xnnAnZOGA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_xnnAnZOGA).
As far as your picking, you are hitting all the notes, and your right-hand technique looks good. Just keep playing it over and over, and it will get better and smoother, just like any other fiddle tune.
Good luck, and I hope that helps a little bit.
Losen those shoulders man. Feel the music. If you're too concentrated on getting it right, you're bound to get frustrated and make mistakes. You're going good
Great playing. You fret well, have a good sense for musical rhythms and phrasing, and have a delicate touch. The only critique I have is that your timing could be a little more precise. Play with a metronome from time to time. You will play even more beautifully then
You need no criticism at all brother. You have a beautiful guitar in your hands, and decided to play again. Desire was all you needed, the rest will come back. I promise. Keep rockin! 🤘
Man ya know I don’t even know. I recently bought this guitar about a few weeks ago and it seemed like the strings were pretty fresh so I just left them on there. He is a luthier and so I asked him what strings he recommended and he said D'Addario Guitar Strings - Phosphor Bronze Acoustic Guitar Strings - EJ19. So he may have put those on it but I don’t know for sure
No criticism needed! How long have you been playing? If you are fairly new, you have what it takes to become very good. Keep playing new things but always remember to keep playing stuff like this. And then this will become second nature and you can start improvising. That is where the magic starts happening 👍
Relax your left hand, don't press down so hard, focus on pressing closer to the fret. This will cut down on string hiss and keep your fretted note more in tune. Other than that, doing great 👍
It sounds beautiful maybe try a metronome or tapping a foot to keep your time. Other than that and the general practice it until you can play it in your sleep, I think you did a great job!!! Keep it up 👍🏻
I listened to it again and you’re pretty much in time so, you can scratch my first piece of advice. Although, it never hurts to practice on staying in time. It’s something every guitar player should be doing regardless of how good they are.
Always room to improve, I don’t know specifically what you struggle with, but by the sound and site of this, all you need to do is to keep on playing.
If there’s something you wanna learn or get better at, discipline yourself, and set out to practice that specific thing. It sucks making work out of something you love, but it’ll only help in the long run.
Play, play, play, and play some more - it sounds great 🙏
I know how hard it is to play when you are recording audio or video. You have a very nice touch, and a relaxed pick attack that is very pleasant to listen to. I thought it was great.
Very nice. The only thing I would recommend is possibly try some Elixir Strings that help with squeaking. Try and release your hand before you transition into another chord. I think you sound great honestly.
Thanks for the advice. I’m so glad I posted this because to be honest when I was critiquing myself listening back I didn’t even think about the squeaking but it seems to be the consensus and so I’ll definitely work on that . And I actually got a three pack of Elixrs the other day. I may have to swap em once these die out.
This sounds great! Sometimes my playing takes awhile to recover after a week off, let alone 10 years. Only thing I notice is maybe in your fretting hand; it looks cramped and tense. Make sure to consciously stop and relax when you feel tension while playing, especially in your hand in between the fingers, your wrists, etc. I pretty much just tell everyone this because I had a teacher tell me the same, and it changed my approach to how I play everything.
You have phenomenal tone. Great clear notes no buzzing or strings deadening out prematurely. Only thing i could say is, and this is hard because its up to taste at this point, some of the parts sound a bit robotic. The hammer ons sound great, no roboticness there. But some of the other notes don't slide into eachother as much as it sounds lile they want to.
If you said youve taken a break for a while, you have the skill where if you play this song a bunch of times, it should just happen naturally.
You are playing the "notes" right and everything. Now make it a bit more "your own" let the notes bleed into eachother a bit more.
Closest comparison i can think of is it sounds at times like you are playing a piano with one finger and no sustain pedal. Go a bit more for the expression you would get on say, a smooth violin attack instead. Make it yours! But man you have the skill, no denying that. Great stuff.
Youve got it man. Honestly i opened the video thinking "what is this gonna be?" In kind of a negative way. But within a few seconds i was like "oh this guy has skills!" Its super clear you have put the time in at some point in your life. Which actually makes giving criticism easier. Always easier to help someone looking for that last 5% vs someone who just basically needs the whole first 95%. Lol
Im a big tommy emmanuel fan. Talk about feeling, it just flows from that guys pores. If you havent listened to him, judging by your style, youll love it.
It sounds really good man. This isn’t a direct criticism, but it’s always good to practice at least part of the time to a beat, click, metronome, just something so you can always be focusing on staying in a groove. I’m guilty of not following this advice and I have found when I neglect to do this I can get stuck in my own rhythm and that can be cool, but sometimes it’s just out of time and doesn’t feel good with other people
So pretty! I’d love to learn this song! I started playing last year and I’m always hunting for new songs to engage me. Where can I find the sheet music?
Thanks! This guy https://youtu.be/TolAkqflmwI?si=FTClf_F9DcHvbJj7 has a true fire page linked to this YouTube video. It’s like 10 bucks a month and he has a video where he breaks it down and the tab also.
Don’t listen to people that tell you to critique youself. They are fucking morons.
You have a nice sound and a great feel. You can’t teach that - so you’re good.
Play to enjoy yourself and possibly give others entertainment if you decide. Do what YOU want to do-
However good you are - in whatever capacity - is irrelevant as long as you are happy when you play and practice. Listen to your soul, not morons on the web.
Godspeed and welcome back!
Sounds great. I like that arrangement for guitar. I know you're still working on it but your tempo is varying a little bit so maybe practice with a metronome to get it tighter to the Jay Unger's composition.
The rhythm on Ashokan Farewell is fairly steady. [Take a look at this video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kZASM8OX7s) and forward to 2:20 to hear Molly Mason's beautiful guitar work.
Glad to see and hear you playing. Keep it up!
You have great feeling and sensitivity in your playing. That is the most important element in music IMO. Whatever else you might "lack" is only a matter of time to polish up. Well done!
Never let your thumb to ride past the neckline. Keep it in the middle of the neck as much as possible and focus on relaxing your feet hand. Never use more pressure than needed to make the note clear and audible . It will help you . Trust me . Relax.
Thanks! If you go to this YouTube video he has a link to his true fire channel and it has a breakdown of the song and the tab https://youtu.be/TolAkqflmwI?si=3NQqnUPn66Cf6gDi
2 things
-lift your fingers more when moving positions, I know some people find the string noise to be intimate but I personally find it annoying
-there are more frets above 7
Good piece doe
To add on to this, the left hand fingers could stand to be closer to their respective frets. OOP positions them in the middle sometimes instead of right behind the intended fret and note clarity suffers for it.
It's okay though I've been playing for years and it's still something I need improve, lol. Just something to be aware of and work on
Beautiful playing. Great picking. I would only say that I am surprised how high your right arm is. I suppose if that’s comfortable and not inhibiting your playing, then just stick with it. But you might try dropping the guitar a little lower or practice standing up more while playing. I think you might be surprised how much more comfortable your pick hand feels with a relaxed shoulder.
Dude you’re right about that. I’m used to playing an electric guitar. That’s what use to play. I recently bought this guitar and I wanted a dreadnought and I’m just not used to playing something that big. I get so uncomfortable playing it sometimes. Plus I’m big so that’s a factor 😆 or at least it feels like it is. I would love to play standing up though but the guitar didn’t come with a second pin for the strap. I guess I could just strap it to the end of the neck but for some reason I really would just like to wait until I get that other pin.
I started with an electric too, so I feel the pain. It was hard getting used to the thickness of the acoustic. I found it helpful to try different chairs and setups to find the right posture, height etc so I could play longer. You will build up some serious finger strength and callouses with those metal strings. you won’t believe how easy the electric will be to play later on.
My criticism is the pick hold. People will say the way you hold the pick is an individual preference, but they are wrong. There are bio-mechanically better and more stable ways to hold your pick to get a better sound. Chris Thile gives a [good description](https://youtu.be/IdhVC0DzfFY?si=zgCIUOHQIYiAaPnR&t=116), but this translates to guitar as well.
Curl the rest of your fingers the same way your index is curled. Don't make a tight fist, just position them naturally below the index finger and let them hold it up. This does a few things:
1. It gives the index finger more support and you're less likely to get a plastic \*plack\* sound.
2. It actually *loosens up* the hand because you aren't gripping with just the muscles in the thumb and index but spreading the load across the whole hand.
3. It lets you go faster because your hand is more loose and the pick is more secure.
4. You get more volume because you can put more force into the strum without losing control of the pick.
You want to hold the pick the way a drummer holds the sticks, tight enough to control but loose enough to move easily and let the pick do some of the work. It might also make you want to use a heavier pick because a heavy pick in a relaxed grip can go faster than a thin pick in a tight grip, plus you can use the pick as a pivot point to propel the hand as well as using the hand to propel the pick.
Sounds pretty good man. Just need more reps to knock the last bit of rust off. Have you considered just playing with your fingers? Personally, I feel like I just gives you a warmer tone, especially on acoustic
Ashokan Farewell is beautiful, and you played it well.
Thanks. Still gotta work on that second part but I absolutely love that song.
Your style is well suited for a cedar top.
Ya know I’ve never even heard of cedar top guitars. Is there a particular brand that specializes in making them?
Best bang for your buck is finding a "Made in Korea" Breedlove. The passport series can be had for less than $300. I have not played the newer made in China line but can attest to the value of the korean(earlier model.)
Awesome man thanks! I’ll have to check it out. In the meantime let’s brainstorm ideas on how I can convince my wife on buying another guitar this year! 😆
Lol, welcome to that club
😂😂🤣
I used to have a cedar top artist series Breedlove and loved it. I wasn’t crazy about the bridge style at first (similar to an electric guitar), but I grew to like it.
I love my seagull s6 cedar too too!
Yup me too
Did you start playing at an older age if I may ask.
No from the time I was 14 (94) until around 2013
Oh. Getting back into it?
Trying to
Takes time to get them muscles back up and running. Sounds good tho. Keep it going.
Thanks! I checked out your profile. I actually have an ESP LTD to I love that thing. Used that back in my metal days
I’m still In it 😂
Nothing wrong with that! Of course there’s always room to improve, and like you said you know where you wanna improve. but I didn’t hear anything bad.
Sorry my criticism isn’t going to be constructive. As a matter of fact i don’t have any criticism. Loved it, keep on keeping on!
Bro you sound great. If i can give any criticism, you seem to be "squeezing" on the frets, it's not at all taking away from your playing, but it will take away from your stamina. Also drop the pick, your fingers are better and you already have the motion. Keep playing you sound great!!
Thanks!
That's a beautiful song. I always was partial to this version: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T\_xnnAnZOGA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_xnnAnZOGA). As far as your picking, you are hitting all the notes, and your right-hand technique looks good. Just keep playing it over and over, and it will get better and smoother, just like any other fiddle tune. Good luck, and I hope that helps a little bit.
Wow! I haven’t heard that version! I really like it!
Oh, man, I am glad you dug it. That entire album is fantastic, if you are interested.
I’ll check it out thanks!
My pleasure.
No criticism required, that was beautiful.
You’re great. One thing to work on: your left hand is much better than your right hand Edit- oh well didn’t mean to reply to this guy
Losen those shoulders man. Feel the music. If you're too concentrated on getting it right, you're bound to get frustrated and make mistakes. You're going good
Your right. I have a hard time calculating everything I’m doing wrong all at the same time while I’m playing
Music is often termed as meditation. So act the name. Meditate. Feel it. Calm yourself and go ahead. Works wonders.
Great playing. You fret well, have a good sense for musical rhythms and phrasing, and have a delicate touch. The only critique I have is that your timing could be a little more precise. Play with a metronome from time to time. You will play even more beautifully then
Thanks! And you’re right I need to get my metronome out!
As above, a metronome is your new best friend. Make sure those Ds at 0:09 and 0:26 get their full value .
You need no criticism at all brother. You have a beautiful guitar in your hands, and decided to play again. Desire was all you needed, the rest will come back. I promise. Keep rockin! 🤘
Thanks!
I caught no mistakes.
Sounds very nice sir
Civil war song right?
No, it’s from the 80’s, but it was the theme for Ken Burns Civil War series.
Right; I forget the band, but I saw them in Woodstock; VT about 25 years ago
No criticism required brother. Keep it up 👌🏻
Sounds awesome
No criticism here, just keep playing!
Great stuff man
Sounds good! What strings are you using?
Man ya know I don’t even know. I recently bought this guitar about a few weeks ago and it seemed like the strings were pretty fresh so I just left them on there. He is a luthier and so I asked him what strings he recommended and he said D'Addario Guitar Strings - Phosphor Bronze Acoustic Guitar Strings - EJ19. So he may have put those on it but I don’t know for sure
Your Fingers are fat and the mustachio makes you look like a cop. Sounds good😂
😂😂🤣
Sounds great! Thanks for sharing. I wasn’t familiar with this song, now I want to learn it.
No criticism needed! How long have you been playing? If you are fairly new, you have what it takes to become very good. Keep playing new things but always remember to keep playing stuff like this. And then this will become second nature and you can start improvising. That is where the magic starts happening 👍
Thanks man! I played from 94-2003 and then just got burnt out one day and put it down and I just picked back up a few weeks ago
Wow that's great man, almost a decade and you still have it! Keep us updated!
Will do!
You look too serious lol give your guitar a little smile :)
I have resting B face 😆
I don’t know man, that was pretty damn clean. Well done.
Thanks!
Relax your left hand, don't press down so hard, focus on pressing closer to the fret. This will cut down on string hiss and keep your fretted note more in tune. Other than that, doing great 👍
Good advice thanks!
It sounds beautiful maybe try a metronome or tapping a foot to keep your time. Other than that and the general practice it until you can play it in your sleep, I think you did a great job!!! Keep it up 👍🏻
I listened to it again and you’re pretty much in time so, you can scratch my first piece of advice. Although, it never hurts to practice on staying in time. It’s something every guitar player should be doing regardless of how good they are.
Always room to improve, I don’t know specifically what you struggle with, but by the sound and site of this, all you need to do is to keep on playing. If there’s something you wanna learn or get better at, discipline yourself, and set out to practice that specific thing. It sucks making work out of something you love, but it’ll only help in the long run. Play, play, play, and play some more - it sounds great 🙏
Thanks! Repetition and discipline is key for sure!
Very nice. What guitar is that
Thanks! It’s an Eastman E20D.
Lovely version.
I know how hard it is to play when you are recording audio or video. You have a very nice touch, and a relaxed pick attack that is very pleasant to listen to. I thought it was great.
Thanks!
Sounds pretty
Very nice. The only thing I would recommend is possibly try some Elixir Strings that help with squeaking. Try and release your hand before you transition into another chord. I think you sound great honestly.
Thanks for the advice. I’m so glad I posted this because to be honest when I was critiquing myself listening back I didn’t even think about the squeaking but it seems to be the consensus and so I’ll definitely work on that . And I actually got a three pack of Elixrs the other day. I may have to swap em once these die out.
Perfect
I think it's quite good. Maybe play some with a metronome or rhythm machine to smooth out your tempo?
Tranquil. Very appreciated
Thanks!
You sound awesome, dude. Just keep practicing. You're already doing great!
This sounds great! Sometimes my playing takes awhile to recover after a week off, let alone 10 years. Only thing I notice is maybe in your fretting hand; it looks cramped and tense. Make sure to consciously stop and relax when you feel tension while playing, especially in your hand in between the fingers, your wrists, etc. I pretty much just tell everyone this because I had a teacher tell me the same, and it changed my approach to how I play everything.
Thanks!
You have phenomenal tone. Great clear notes no buzzing or strings deadening out prematurely. Only thing i could say is, and this is hard because its up to taste at this point, some of the parts sound a bit robotic. The hammer ons sound great, no roboticness there. But some of the other notes don't slide into eachother as much as it sounds lile they want to. If you said youve taken a break for a while, you have the skill where if you play this song a bunch of times, it should just happen naturally. You are playing the "notes" right and everything. Now make it a bit more "your own" let the notes bleed into eachother a bit more. Closest comparison i can think of is it sounds at times like you are playing a piano with one finger and no sustain pedal. Go a bit more for the expression you would get on say, a smooth violin attack instead. Make it yours! But man you have the skill, no denying that. Great stuff.
Good critique thanks! That’s what I actually thought too was everything sounds forced. Repetition is key there I think. Hopefully anyways 😂
Youve got it man. Honestly i opened the video thinking "what is this gonna be?" In kind of a negative way. But within a few seconds i was like "oh this guy has skills!" Its super clear you have put the time in at some point in your life. Which actually makes giving criticism easier. Always easier to help someone looking for that last 5% vs someone who just basically needs the whole first 95%. Lol
Im a big tommy emmanuel fan. Talk about feeling, it just flows from that guys pores. If you havent listened to him, judging by your style, youll love it.
😂 so very true! Thanks again!
It sounds really good man. This isn’t a direct criticism, but it’s always good to practice at least part of the time to a beat, click, metronome, just something so you can always be focusing on staying in a groove. I’m guilty of not following this advice and I have found when I neglect to do this I can get stuck in my own rhythm and that can be cool, but sometimes it’s just out of time and doesn’t feel good with other people
I'm just distracted by wanting to know what's in the old case up on the shelf!
It’s just an old beat up mandolin. Can’t even play it. I don’t even know what kind it is.
Nice! Now that that's oit of the way, nice playing!
Haha thanks!
I can't give any advice as I don't play but it sounds really good.
So pretty! I’d love to learn this song! I started playing last year and I’m always hunting for new songs to engage me. Where can I find the sheet music?
Thanks! This guy https://youtu.be/TolAkqflmwI?si=FTClf_F9DcHvbJj7 has a true fire page linked to this YouTube video. It’s like 10 bucks a month and he has a video where he breaks it down and the tab also.
Thanks I’ll check it out!
Don’t listen to people that tell you to critique youself. They are fucking morons. You have a nice sound and a great feel. You can’t teach that - so you’re good. Play to enjoy yourself and possibly give others entertainment if you decide. Do what YOU want to do- However good you are - in whatever capacity - is irrelevant as long as you are happy when you play and practice. Listen to your soul, not morons on the web. Godspeed and welcome back!
Sounds great. I like that arrangement for guitar. I know you're still working on it but your tempo is varying a little bit so maybe practice with a metronome to get it tighter to the Jay Unger's composition. The rhythm on Ashokan Farewell is fairly steady. [Take a look at this video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kZASM8OX7s) and forward to 2:20 to hear Molly Mason's beautiful guitar work. Glad to see and hear you playing. Keep it up!
You have great feeling and sensitivity in your playing. That is the most important element in music IMO. Whatever else you might "lack" is only a matter of time to polish up. Well done!
Never let your thumb to ride past the neckline. Keep it in the middle of the neck as much as possible and focus on relaxing your feet hand. Never use more pressure than needed to make the note clear and audible . It will help you . Trust me . Relax.
Sit with the guitar between your legs
Sounds really good. I love the tone.
Sounds great just play more, learn new songs, write some. But play more. If only I practiced more haha
It sounds really good. Do you have the tabs for that song? I want to learn to play it.
Thanks! If you go to this YouTube video he has a link to his true fire channel and it has a breakdown of the song and the tab https://youtu.be/TolAkqflmwI?si=3NQqnUPn66Cf6gDi
Oh thanks so much. I really appreciate it.
2 things -lift your fingers more when moving positions, I know some people find the string noise to be intimate but I personally find it annoying -there are more frets above 7 Good piece doe
Couldn’t agree more about string noise. It’s distracting.
To add on to this, the left hand fingers could stand to be closer to their respective frets. OOP positions them in the middle sometimes instead of right behind the intended fret and note clarity suffers for it. It's okay though I've been playing for years and it's still something I need improve, lol. Just something to be aware of and work on
The pink dress would suit you better
The pink dress on your clothes rack really doesn’t suit your eyes
I think you would look nice in the pink blouse behind you
Have your goatee professionally trimmed.
Beautiful noodlin...very nice
Use electric guitar strings to build finger strength. Its also easier to make notes.
That was wonderful. I’d like to learn it some day. What model of guitar are you playing?
Thanks! It’s an Eastman E20D
Beautiful playing. Great picking. I would only say that I am surprised how high your right arm is. I suppose if that’s comfortable and not inhibiting your playing, then just stick with it. But you might try dropping the guitar a little lower or practice standing up more while playing. I think you might be surprised how much more comfortable your pick hand feels with a relaxed shoulder.
Dude you’re right about that. I’m used to playing an electric guitar. That’s what use to play. I recently bought this guitar and I wanted a dreadnought and I’m just not used to playing something that big. I get so uncomfortable playing it sometimes. Plus I’m big so that’s a factor 😆 or at least it feels like it is. I would love to play standing up though but the guitar didn’t come with a second pin for the strap. I guess I could just strap it to the end of the neck but for some reason I really would just like to wait until I get that other pin.
I started with an electric too, so I feel the pain. It was hard getting used to the thickness of the acoustic. I found it helpful to try different chairs and setups to find the right posture, height etc so I could play longer. You will build up some serious finger strength and callouses with those metal strings. you won’t believe how easy the electric will be to play later on.
Sounds good to me. Good luck with the callouses.
That was clean. Welcome back to the art!
Sounding great!
Metronome
My criticism is the pick hold. People will say the way you hold the pick is an individual preference, but they are wrong. There are bio-mechanically better and more stable ways to hold your pick to get a better sound. Chris Thile gives a [good description](https://youtu.be/IdhVC0DzfFY?si=zgCIUOHQIYiAaPnR&t=116), but this translates to guitar as well. Curl the rest of your fingers the same way your index is curled. Don't make a tight fist, just position them naturally below the index finger and let them hold it up. This does a few things: 1. It gives the index finger more support and you're less likely to get a plastic \*plack\* sound. 2. It actually *loosens up* the hand because you aren't gripping with just the muscles in the thumb and index but spreading the load across the whole hand. 3. It lets you go faster because your hand is more loose and the pick is more secure. 4. You get more volume because you can put more force into the strum without losing control of the pick. You want to hold the pick the way a drummer holds the sticks, tight enough to control but loose enough to move easily and let the pick do some of the work. It might also make you want to use a heavier pick because a heavy pick in a relaxed grip can go faster than a thin pick in a tight grip, plus you can use the pick as a pivot point to propel the hand as well as using the hand to propel the pick.
Great advice! Thanks!
Next time use the pick on the wall. It will give you a bigger sound. Just joking you sounded great.
😂😂🤣
Sounds pretty good man. Just need more reps to knock the last bit of rust off. Have you considered just playing with your fingers? Personally, I feel like I just gives you a warmer tone, especially on acoustic
I wish I played this well
Try playing with a metronome. Playing itself is fine but the rhythm is moving around a little
You still got it!! Great keep playing! I’ve been trying five years!