Beginner Class of Winter 2021 - How is it going?

I have hit pause. Once I heal up from the surgery we’ll get back on track.

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M12 felt harder than the previous modules (just like M11 before it…). I can maybe say I got through three out of six of the fast workouts, but definitely need to return to Disco octaves, My Sharona and Red Clay. But it was a fun module, especially liked playing the two aforementioned songs, and Under the Bridge was fun too.

Now I have completed two thirds of the course (so to speak) in two months, but I’ll take the rest of the course slow and continue participating in the 50 songs challenge, plus probably keep revisiting the harder lessons. I’ll see if I can finish the course before June.

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Well done! Congratulations @BigRichieO!!! :partying_face:
I’m still hanging around in module 9 but that’s ok. Yes, please come over and join the 50 songs crowd, it’s so much fun!

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Hope you’ll get better soon, @Wombat-metal! We’ll still be here when you come back. :wink:

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Where can I read more about the 50 songs challenge? Thanks

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Check out the this thread and for a short overview the FAQs.

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Here’s wishing you a speedy recovery!!

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Thanks @Regina !!

I’m going to go back through the whole course just to make sure I got all the good information and tips. I bet you are doing it at a pace where you won’t really feel the need to do it again.

I plan on joining the challenge!! I have been working on Bad Moon Rising and on The Wall here and there to try and catch up. I’m a stuck trying to figure out how the recording works. I’ve seen many people have it done but I’m still confused how that all is going to work. I’m a little confused how to get all the tracks laid on top of each other and record a video at the same time and get acceptable audio. I’ll keep working on the songs though.

Thanks again for the Congrats!!

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Not really, I’ve already forgotten a lot. I think I will at least go through the more theoretical lessons again.

Don’t worry too much about that. A lot of people get a bit nerdy about it but the point of the exercise is to have fun and learn the song. If you can run the backing track through some speakers and record yourself on your phone, you are all set. If you want to go a bit more “professional”, there are some recording threads on the forum or join the Discord server for help. I figured it out pretty quickly using GarageBand (if I can, so can anyone). If you happen to be a Mac user, I can walk you through how I did it. It is a useful thing to learn, but I personally didn’t want to spend too much time on it at this point.

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Just use an amp and your phone if you want. No stresses.

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One month update - I’m on Module 10 L4 and it is going well. I had some panic about not knowing my fretboard and diatonic chords flawlessly during I Put a Spell on You, which I allowed to discourage me for one lesson, but I’m back on top!
The bass feels comfortable in my hands these days, the strings feel ‘softer’ and easier to depress. And my laziness with microshifting means my tiny hands are getting a lot of strength and stretching, which feels great!
I do feel like my attention is wandering a bit during the more complex theoretical lessons (for me that is time signatures and learning my chords), so I intend to go back and fully focus. Taking notes helps with focus for me, so I keep a notebook on hand.

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Great to hear that you are moving forward so fast, getting more and more confident and comfortable!

I’m still in Module 9, been having too many distractions lately. :wink:

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@dravernor - Glad to hear you are getting more comfortable with the bass. Took me a while too. @Regina - I’m sorta stuck too. April is a very busy month for me at work. Getting back to it, though.

Based on advice from @JoshFossgreen, I leave my bass in open view so I see it all of the time. I’ll sometimes just grab it for a few minutes as a break during the day (I work from home). We actually converted our dining room into a music room. We rarely used it as a dining room anyway and my wife plays sax, so we use the table for books and gear.

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Today I will finally be at the slap lesson… I’m excited and anxious at the same time.

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Good luck, @fosskers . . . :slight_smile:

Cheers
Joe

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Actual slap-like sounds coming out of my E string… :open_mouth:

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Amazing huh? Wait until you try the other strings :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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Sometimes, a short brake is not bad! :blush: Then you are motivated and ready for the more complex stuff.

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I’m now through modules 13 and 14!

M13 - I really had a hard time with slapping, and took my time with this module, but I at least I’m better at slapping now than I was before (meaning: had never slapped in my life). Definitely have to revisit this some day.

M14 - This was a pretty chill module compared to the previous one. Really enjoyed playing I Feel Good. One thing I noticed is that the backing tracks in the extras differ from the ones used in L3 - they have longer breaks.

Two modules left, and feeling pretty anxious to finish the course. Will take me a couple of weeks, I guess.

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I guess I’m overdue for an update here. I finished B2B about a month ago - it was a little anti-climatic to be honest. I haven’t bothered to do the self-test component just because… well… lack of patience I guess. I was a bit unsure of what to do next at first without structured practice I didn’t really know what to do. So I joined the 50 Songs Challenge and that’s been great fun and it’s awesome to learn some full songs. I recommend anyone who’s recently finished B2B join the challenge, you should have no problem catching up, or just start wherever the group is. If you’re worried about joining the challenge I’d remind you that you don’t need to post anything if you don’t want to but you can still participate privately, and I’d say the easy level songs are doable from as early as mid-way through B2B, if not earlier (if you’re not worried about disrupting your B2B progress).

I expect the 50 Songs Challenge to be my main practice focus until either I can find someone to play with in person (still untenable in my neck of the woods) and/or B2B2 is released.

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