Whaddup Synners?! CJ here (one half of your current Rockstar Students, the other half being @Alicia Willis)!
We need to talk....like seriously......
Today I was reminiscing about this GEM of a Site and how much I have grown thanks to it (that being the real gift). And on top of that I actually won an Award for my growth?! NO WAY…this is too good to be true.
Before I start ranting, lemme tell you a little about myself. I found this site thanks to this Youtube video:
I would like to believe you all are familiar with it.
Back in the summer of 2018 I hit a wall with my playing and it seemed like divine intervention when this video popped up. I could not (and still not) believe that this site exists…and it’s FREE?!
I watched the videos and got to the intermediate level and noticed that there were gaps in my playing. So, I took it upon myself to retake all the lessons I took up to this point and use the site the right way! I bought myself a notebook and watched every lesson and wrote as much down as I could for every lesson. Drew chords and scales, replayed the videos once or twice to see if I wrote everything down (or at least as much as I could…literally these lessons are full of KNOWLEDGE & WISDOM).
In the few cases I did not understand something of the lesson I would access the lesson discussion forum and almost immediately get a response from my beloved Synners and even @Brian Haner Sr. and @Syn Gates !
Whenever I had a question outside of the lessons I ventured into the forum and I got always immediate responses…mainly by Swiss Army Man @Ed Seith , Gypsy Jazz player Extraoirdinaire @Ids Schiere or even from our beloved Admin, The Queen Cat of this School @Jak Angelescu.
When it came time for me to post something on the Riff section..I was scared shitless. “Are they gonna laugh at me, tease me, give me destructive criticism?” I thought to myself. I partook in a Riff challenge and posted it….and the Response blew me away. Nothing but praise and CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM….For the first time in my life as guitarist I felt appreciated.
After that I started engaging even more with the site. I posted more on the forums, responded to people’s questions and saw videos of my fellow peers.…because If you saw the video mentioned above…Syn says it:
“We want to see you passionate!”
Syn also mentions that he encourages us to give back to our peers, by that encouraging us to share our knowledge and insights, adding to this site and community.
Then our Admin issues the Rockstar award…and I was in complete awe….”You mean I can win more?!”
Like this site is already a gift…but I can actually be rewarded for my work?!
I asked myself what I could do to give back, and show what I learned thanks to the lesson.
So I started making my videos on the lessons. My CJ’s 2 Cents series (even learned basic Video editing to make them kind of funny and entertaining I might say?).
And seeing the comments of fellow students who learned from my videos that I only do for the site…brought me Joy.
The videos were not a means to get the Award. The end was to give back to this site and community….And I won.
Being the Rockstar Student gave me some perspective on this site.
Guitar is a lifelong hobby, if you take it up for the wrong reasons just leave it. This instrument means so much to me. It is always there for me and gives me joy, I consider it my happy place.
Being proficient on this instrument takes A LOT of hard work. Your fingers are going to hurt, your arms are gonna be sore, but at the end of the they all this work will allow you to express yourself in such a profound way that no language can compare (just listen to Comfortably Numb by Pink Floyd).
Like my Father said to me many years ago: “From nothing comes nothing.”
Learning this instrument is not cheap. The guitars are expensive.. and lessons are not cheap either.
Therefore encountering a FREE site made by one of my guitar gods was such a godsent.
People this is a GIFT, cause in this world, nobody does something for free…
Because it is FREE, I want you to do a couple of things:
WORK HARD!
If you genuinely love this instrument, you owe it to yourself to grow on it. Have 15 min a day at least and practice. The journey is the gift. Celebrate every victory, no matter how small, because YOU did it. Nobody practiced for you, you did it all by yourself, BE PROUD!
I lied back there…the most important part is to have FUN, but you get the gist, I hope.
Anyhow. I hope you get that my little story was a way to show you how to get the most of this wonderful place.
Have a nice day and keep rocking!
We need to talk....like seriously......
Today I was reminiscing about this GEM of a Site and how much I have grown thanks to it (that being the real gift). And on top of that I actually won an Award for my growth?! NO WAY…this is too good to be true.
Before I start ranting, lemme tell you a little about myself. I found this site thanks to this Youtube video:
I would like to believe you all are familiar with it.
Back in the summer of 2018 I hit a wall with my playing and it seemed like divine intervention when this video popped up. I could not (and still not) believe that this site exists…and it’s FREE?!
I watched the videos and got to the intermediate level and noticed that there were gaps in my playing. So, I took it upon myself to retake all the lessons I took up to this point and use the site the right way! I bought myself a notebook and watched every lesson and wrote as much down as I could for every lesson. Drew chords and scales, replayed the videos once or twice to see if I wrote everything down (or at least as much as I could…literally these lessons are full of KNOWLEDGE & WISDOM).
In the few cases I did not understand something of the lesson I would access the lesson discussion forum and almost immediately get a response from my beloved Synners and even @Brian Haner Sr. and @Syn Gates !
Whenever I had a question outside of the lessons I ventured into the forum and I got always immediate responses…mainly by Swiss Army Man @Ed Seith , Gypsy Jazz player Extraoirdinaire @Ids Schiere or even from our beloved Admin, The Queen Cat of this School @Jak Angelescu.
When it came time for me to post something on the Riff section..I was scared shitless. “Are they gonna laugh at me, tease me, give me destructive criticism?” I thought to myself. I partook in a Riff challenge and posted it….and the Response blew me away. Nothing but praise and CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM….For the first time in my life as guitarist I felt appreciated.
After that I started engaging even more with the site. I posted more on the forums, responded to people’s questions and saw videos of my fellow peers.…because If you saw the video mentioned above…Syn says it:
“We want to see you passionate!”
Syn also mentions that he encourages us to give back to our peers, by that encouraging us to share our knowledge and insights, adding to this site and community.
Then our Admin issues the Rockstar award…and I was in complete awe….”You mean I can win more?!”
Like this site is already a gift…but I can actually be rewarded for my work?!
I asked myself what I could do to give back, and show what I learned thanks to the lesson.
So I started making my videos on the lessons. My CJ’s 2 Cents series (even learned basic Video editing to make them kind of funny and entertaining I might say?).
And seeing the comments of fellow students who learned from my videos that I only do for the site…brought me Joy.
The videos were not a means to get the Award. The end was to give back to this site and community….And I won.
Being the Rockstar Student gave me some perspective on this site.
Guitar is a lifelong hobby, if you take it up for the wrong reasons just leave it. This instrument means so much to me. It is always there for me and gives me joy, I consider it my happy place.
Being proficient on this instrument takes A LOT of hard work. Your fingers are going to hurt, your arms are gonna be sore, but at the end of the they all this work will allow you to express yourself in such a profound way that no language can compare (just listen to Comfortably Numb by Pink Floyd).
Like my Father said to me many years ago: “From nothing comes nothing.”
Learning this instrument is not cheap. The guitars are expensive.. and lessons are not cheap either.
Therefore encountering a FREE site made by one of my guitar gods was such a godsent.
People this is a GIFT, cause in this world, nobody does something for free…
Because it is FREE, I want you to do a couple of things:
- Cherish it. It is a gift, so use it wisely and responsively (ASK,POST&ENGAGE!)
- Be respectful to your fellow peers.
- Please disable AdBlock and help keep the lights on (This being free, it’s the least you can do).
WORK HARD!
If you genuinely love this instrument, you owe it to yourself to grow on it. Have 15 min a day at least and practice. The journey is the gift. Celebrate every victory, no matter how small, because YOU did it. Nobody practiced for you, you did it all by yourself, BE PROUD!
I lied back there…the most important part is to have FUN, but you get the gist, I hope.
Anyhow. I hope you get that my little story was a way to show you how to get the most of this wonderful place.
Have a nice day and keep rocking!
