Not afraid to be a fool…

Seamus OReally

Seamus OReally

Well-Known Member
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That’s the motto of the Robben Ford Guitar Dojo, and today I lived that truth in spades.

I made a 3 minute video of me playing the blues and mailed it to Robben for his evaluation.

When he gets back from touring (with Kieth Carlock on drums!) in a few days, he’ll watch it and send a video back with his suggestions for what I should be working on, etc.

I might have to throw up. I just about can’t believe I did it.
 
Seamus OReally said:
That’s the motto of the Robben Ford Guitar Dojo, and today I lived that truth in spades.

I made a 3 minute video of me playing the blues and mailed it to Robben for his evaluation.

When he gets back from touring (with Kieth Carlock on drums!) in a few days, he’ll watch it and send a video back with his suggestions for what I should be working on, etc.

I might have to throw up. I just about can’t believe I did it.
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Awe…c’mon man…we’re all just humans…there’s bound to be better and worse out there. Sure, I’d take the suggestions presented to me in reference to possible areas of focus, but I wouldn’t allow anyone to “judge my worth” in my artistic endeavors. I’m me, and the s#!t I produce is mine…like it or not…I’m more practiced today than I was 2 days/weeks/months/years/decades ago. Arguably, the most important factor in guitar playing (IMHO) is the ability to recognize the need, and have the ability, to keep your guitar in tune.(at least with itself)

That said…it is pretty cool that you did that.
No puking please.
 
Oh, I’m not hanging my self worth on this. But it WAS nerve wracking. I had to start over several times. Hard to get out of my own head playing for someone who’s playing I so admire.

And this is an ongoing thing. I get to send a video every month, and at six months we’ll do a half hour Zoom lesson.
 
Seamus OReally said:
I thought the same, but I’ve decided I wanna be like Pablo Casals, who, when asked at age 88 why he still practiced every day, said, “I believe I’m beginning to see some improvement.”
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Very nice! We can share in this!
Playing a bit tonight, I came to the realization that some of the “current crop of riffs” is becoming more second nature now. It’s been a slow road of late, but a fun one for me. I’m always happy to realize/recognize progress…plus I was inspired to whip out my first pedal build, a Tycobrahe Fuzz build. It still works too…mostly(I’ve kicked the little octave switch too many times…seems to feel “weird” now).
 
Thatbastarddon said:
Playing a bit tonight, I came to the realization that some of the “current crop of riffs” is becoming more second nature now. It’s been a slow road of late, but a fun one for me.
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Exactly. Difficult but fun is what I’m getting from the Dojo. But the most significant thing I’ve picked up is the Zen wisdom of “not afraid to be a fool.” Like a true Sensei, you kind of pick this up by osmosis through talking to Robben. “When a great leader leads the people they say, ‘It happened to us naturally.’”

It’s given me a whole new attitude about my current skills.
 
Seamus OReally said:
I thought the same, but I’ve decided I wanna be like Pablo Casals, who, when asked at age 88 why he still practiced every day, said, “I believe I’m beginning to see some improvement.”
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That is awesome!

I love to see that kind of attitude with older people. It's refreshing and inspiring.

Good on you, @Seamus OReally , for taking the emotional risk.
 
Well there's plenty of foolishness in my playing so I've got that part covered...fear or not. :ROFLMAO:

Good for you for being brave and putting yourself out there for critique. I've heard enough of your playing to know you've got nothing to fear. While I'm sure Robben will have comments, you're already coming from a place of strength. Looking forward to hearing about his feedback.
 
Mouse said:
Well there's plenty of foolishness in my playing so I've got that part covered...fear or not. :ROFLMAO:

Good for you for being brave and putting yourself out there for critique. I've heard enough of your playing to know you've got nothing to fear. While I'm sure Robben will have comments, you're already coming from a place of strength. Looking forward to hearing about his feedback.
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Thanks, man. I truly appreciate it.
 
I just listened to "Snuffles" for the 4th time and I remembered this thread. Did you receive a response from Robben or is he still touring?
 
Seamus OReally said:
I thought the same, but I’ve decided I wanna be like Pablo Casals, who, when asked at age 88 why he still practiced every day, said, “I believe I’m beginning to see some improvement.”
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Till the end of their touring, Neil Peart was still working with a guy (coach). He never stopped practicing and trying to get better. Neil Peart?? Drummer god. Still learning!!!!
 
Thatbastarddon said:
This (IMHO) is super cool. I, probably, should seek a bit of this type of help…but I’m not worth the trouble ;)
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Over 50 years into this thing of trying to play guitar, some years ago I came to understand I screwed myself by not taking lessons in the beginning. I needed someone to hold me accountable for my own learning of the craft. Today I play well enough for my own amusement.... but I could be so much better had I taken lessons.
 
iblive said:
Over 50 years into this thing of trying to play guitar, some years ago I came to understand I screwed myself by not taking lessons in the beginning. I needed someone to hold me accountable for my own learning of the craft. Today I play well enough for my own amusement.... but I could be so much better had I taken lessons.
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I've listened to many great players who were self taught. Don't be so quick to sell yourself short.
 
Sargeant Preston said:
I've listened to many great players who were self taught. Don't be so quick to sell yourself short.
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I get that. But in my case as I said.... I needed someone to hold me accountable. Keep me on task. The learning curve would have been much better. I would have had to practice between lessons. Practicing has been my downfall.
 
iblive said:
I get that. But in my case as I said.... I needed someone to hold me accountable. Keep me on task. The learning curve would have been much better. I would have had to practice between lessons. Practicing has been my downfall.
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Fair enough, but It wouldn't surprise me in the least that a majority of exceptionally good/great guitar players here at TTR are self taught players.
You're retired with plenty of time on your hands to practice. Love your guitar and it'll love you in return. ;)
 
Sargeant Preston said:
I just listened to "Snuffles" for the 4th time and I remembered this thread. Did you receive a response from Robben or is he still touring?
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Yes! I got a GREAT reply. He said, (and I’m paraphrasing from memory) that when I said I was just going to play the blues in E, he thought “oh, here we go, a bunch of blues cliches, but you played some really surprising notes, GOOD notes. You were playing some real music, not just licks… I enjoyed it.” So he told me to stick with the intermediate lessons, because that’s where you learn about tri-tone substitutions and start to expand your harmonic knowledge, which is my stated goal. But, yeah, super encouraging, a swell outcome. Over the moon, I am.
 
iblive said:
Over 50 years into this thing of trying to play guitar, some years ago I came to understand I screwed myself by not taking lessons in the beginning. I needed someone to hold me accountable for my own learning of the craft. Today I play well enough for my own amusement.... but I could be so much better had I taken lessons.
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Well - depends on the lessons to some degree IMO.
Sometimes they teach you stuff you just don't care or need to learn for your playing style. Even though it is all guitar and all knowledge, no point spending mucho time on things you will ultimately deem to be useless.
Play for fun and enjoy yourself!!
 
Seamus OReally said:
Yes! I got a GREAT reply. He said, (and I’m paraphrasing from memory) that when I said I was just going to play the blues in E, he thought “oh, here we go, a bunch of blues cliches, but you played some really surprising notes, GOOD notes. You were playing some real music, not just licks… I enjoyed it.” So he told me to stick with the intermediate lessons, because that’s where you learn about tri-tone substitutions and start to expand your harmonic knowledge, which is my stated goal. But, yeah, super encouraging, a swell outcome. Over the moon, I am.
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Is there a recording of said performance that can be shared with the class? :D
 
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