Announcing... RiffMasters!

@Jethro Rocker congrats! You are already on the points board, but will be ineligible for the big points in the Guitar Duels. Singles only! However, if you kill it in the main challenges, and maybe pick up some more in a surprise way, you will be competitive. I think overall consistency and winning a main challenge or two is going to be very important, not only for points, but to block others from getting the tastiest cheese.

But again, we all win via the fellowship, trading licks, learning some stuff, and all this fun banter back 'n forth.
 
Funny thing is? I joined in this for one reason and already it's paying off: I haven't really touched a guitar in months ( about 2 last I can remember). Just been a lot of crap going on between hating this new job that's got me spread thin, then problems around the house ( lots of repairs since a bunch of things went south almost back to back).

So, joining this was if nothing else, to get me back into a rhythm. Definitely rusty, no question there, but almost instantly started having fun again and actually WANTING to play for better or worse. So, thanks!
 
Clockworkmike said:
Funny thing is? I joined in this for one reason and already it's paying off: I haven't really touched a guitar in months ( about 2 last I can remember). Just been a lot of crap going on between hating this new job that's got me spread thin, then problems around the house ( lots of repairs since a bunch of things went south almost back to back).

So, joining this was if nothing else, to get me back into a rhythm. Definitely rusty, no question there, but almost instantly started having fun again and actually WANTING to play for better or worse. So, thanks!
Click to expand...
Indeed. Other than our Halloween show I haven't done diddly for ages.

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Clockworkmike said:
Funny thing is? I joined in this for one reason and already it's paying off: I haven't really touched a guitar in months ( about 2 last I can remember). Just been a lot of crap going on between hating this new job that's got me spread thin, then problems around the house ( lots of repairs since a bunch of things went south almost back to back).

So, joining this was if nothing else, to get me back into a rhythm. Definitely rusty, no question there, but almost instantly started having fun again and actually WANTING to play for better or worse. So, thanks!
Click to expand...
Same thing here. Playing on and off pretty much all summer. No real will to play.

The thing I like about these challenges is they tend to take me out of my comfort zone. Make me try new things.
This is the first time I ever used the D note on the high E (fret 22) in any kind of musical context
 
TVvoodoo said:
And so it begins *
Press Play!


NdGRTw9I_o.jpg


Most of us began our guitarman journey as young bucks! Perhaps you thought music would be a cool way to impress friends or gain yourself a little edge with the ladies. Maybe you just plain wanted to rock out, like bands you were diggin’, to release pent-up young man energy. Maybe you were just a dang musical prodigy!

Did you take lessons? A friend or older brother coach you? However it happened, as part of most every beginner experience, you eventually graduated to actually be able to stumble *almost* through a whole song. What a huge confidence builder! Soon enough, after more struggles, you managed another, then even another. Wowee! You kind of actually became a guitar player. Imagine that!

“Opening Act”

Your challenge:
1. Reveal to your TTR Brothers in a few sentences what inspired YOU to play guitar, how it all began. Maybe tell us about the first gear you had, a fledgling band fail, whatever. It’s all going to be of interest, pretty sure on that!
2. List the first three songs you can remember being able to play through, reasonably recognizable.
3. Choose ONE of those selections and give us a minimum 1:00 clip of how you’d play it now!

Bang it out on acoustic, or produce it up all you wanna. Audio, or audio/video. Your choice. Most of all, please have fun with it and enjoy your trip back into history! Five weeks to deadline from today.
*** COUNTDOWN ***
Click to expand...
* Opening Act: The Busker Stage! *

When I was a kid, I decided to pick up the guitar for namely 3 reasons: 1) My older brother had a cheapo Harmony Acoustic he got for Christmas and could play a few things on it. 2) Anything he did, I always seemed to follow in step to. 3) My dad was going through a mid-life crisis and wanted to start playing but was of the mindset " If I get better gear, I can instantly be better!". So on my 12th birthday, he gave me his Fender Tele and little Squirt Champ amplifier he got early in the year, as he had just upgraded to a Gibson Les Paul Studio and Peavey Bandit. He told me plainly " Happy birthday, now figure it out!"

So having no idea what I was doing, I began banging away on the Tele, having my brother show me some basic chords to give me a leg up and an uncle ( who was quite phenomenal at playing) show me the glory of the power chord and my first lead riff: the solo to Highway To Hell ( although all I could only play pieces due to limited ability lol)

I think everyone's first riff would be Smoke On The Water or Iron Man played via the single 6th string and I am guilty of this too. But the topic stated to "Name the first 3 songs you could play through". So in that respect? Oh boy, I played a lot of stuff I wouldn't normally play today because it was both popular to other kids I could easily impress and easy to learn.

So using the Almighty Power Chord, the first real three songs I could play was
-Paranoid by Black Sabbath
-Machinehead by Bush
-Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana
( Obviously I don't regret any Sabbath but the other two? Eh lol)

After about 3 years I was arrogantly confident enough to attempt to start a band, "Stormbringer". Only problem was, I was fixated more on learning riffs than ever learning a solo so when I managed to grab a few other guys, we were left with two rhythm players when solos should have kicked in. Thankfully, the other guy on guitar was far better than me and gladly took over a lot of parts ( that would be @froman5150 ). However, I did begin to pick up on some licks and we would trade off. This culminated in our first paying gig at a rough-as-hell redneck bar a few towns over, that let us play even though we were underage. The part I remember most was absolutely BUTCHERING Night Moves by Bob Seger and a guy in a wife -beater and trucker hat, flung his pool cue across the table in front of us yelling, " IF YOU'RE GONNA PLAY SEGER, PLAY IT @#$&IN' RIGHT OR GET OFF THE STAGE!". We immediately stopped and dove into Cat Scratch Fever by Ted Nugent to cool the tensions lmao

Anywho enough rambling! I decided to pick an uncommon one from the 3 I mentioned and decided to go with Machinehead by Bush. I did the first 30 seconds on the first guitar and amp I had, using the same settings i did back when I learned it, to show how bad things were ( not that things have gotten any better obviously lol)
 
Clockworkmike said:
* Opening Act: The Busker Stage! *

When I was a kid, I decided to pick up the guitar for namely 3 reasons: 1) My older brother had a cheapo Harmony Acoustic he got for Christmas and could play a few things on it. 2) Anything he did, I always seemed to follow in step to. 3) My dad was going through a mid-life crisis and wanted to start playing but was of the mindset " If I get better gear, I can instantly be better!". So on my 12th birthday, he gave me his Fender Tele and little Squirt Champ amplifier he got early in the year, as he had just upgraded to a Gibson Les Paul Studio and Peavey Bandit. He told me plainly " Happy birthday, now figure it out!"

So having no idea what I was doing, I began banging away on the Tele, having my brother show me some basic chords to give me a leg up and an uncle ( who was quite phenomenal at playing) show me the glory of the power chord and my first lead riff: the solo to Highway To Hell ( although all I could only play pieces due to limited ability lol)

I think everyone's first riff would be Smoke On The Water or Iron Man played via the single 6th string and I am guilty of this too. But the topic stated to "Name the first 3 songs you could play through". So in that respect? Oh boy, I played a lot of stuff I wouldn't normally play today because it was both popular to other kids I could easily impress and easy to learn.

So using the Almighty Power Chord, the first real three songs I could play was
-Paranoid by Black Sabbath
-Machinehead by Bush
-Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana
( Obviously I don't regret any Sabbath but the other two? Eh lol)

After about 3 years I was arrogantly confident enough to attempt to start a band, "Stormbringer". Only problem was, I was fixated more on learning riffs than ever learning a solo so when I managed to grab a few other guys, we were left with two rhythm players when solos should have kicked in. Thankfully, the other guy on guitar was far better than me and gladly took over a lot of parts ( that would be @froman5150 ). However, I did begin to pick up on some licks and we would trade off. This culminated in our first paying gig at a rough-as-hell redneck bar a few towns over, that let us play even though we were underage. The part I remember most was absolutely BUTCHERING Night Moves by Bob Seger and a guy in a wife -beater and trucker hat, flung his pool cue across the table in front of us yelling, " IF YOU'RE GONNA PLAY SEGER, PLAY IT @#$&IN' RIGHT OR GET OFF THE STAGE!". We immediately stopped and dove into Cat Scratch Fever by Ted Nugent to cool the tensions lmao

Anywho enough rambling! I decided to pick an uncommon one from the 3 I mentioned and decided to go with Machinehead by Bush. I did the first 30 seconds on the first guitar and amp I had, using the same settings i did back when I learned it, to show how bad things were ( not that things have gotten any better obviously lol)
Click to expand...
Great song. Fun to play.
 
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