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Englishman in New York (nearly)
Andrew Cockburn
Feb 6 2007, 08:49 PM
Moderation Policy Director
Posts: 10.459
Joined: 6-February 07
From: CT, USA
Hi All,

Thought I'd introduce myself :-) I am a 39 year old Brit, recently moved to Connecticut USA. I've been playing guitar for probably 30 years now, starting at school on classical, then teaching myself electric later. I have played in a few bands, and done a lot of home recording, but for the last 15 years I have been lazy and kind of plateau-ed out, rehashing the same old scales and licks. About 3 months ago I got myself a Line6 Variax 700, and it totally inspired me to become a better guitarist. First, I bought Kris's Video online - awesome ! But I became scared at how little I really knew about lead guitar. From there I found my way to GMC and immediately joined when I saw Kris was an instructor - hi Kris!

Now the hard work begins - I have to unlearn bad habits, and add to the 2 major and 1 pentatonic scales that have got me this far. On the one hand, I feel like I have to start again from scratch, but on the other hand, I feel inspired that there is still so much out there to learn !

Wish me luck ...

Regards,

Andrew

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Live long and prosper ...

My Stuff:

Electric Guitars : Ibanez Jem7v, Line6 Variax 700, Fender Plus Strat with 57/62 Pickups, Line6 Variax 705 Bass
Acoustic Guitars : Taylor 816ce, Martin D-15, Line6 Variax Acoustic 300 Nylon
Effects : Line6 Helix, Keeley Modded Boss DS1, Keeley Modded Boss BD2, Keeley 4 knob compressor, Keeley OxBlood
Amps : Epiphone Valve Jnr & Head, Cockburn A.C.1, Cockburn A.C.2, Blackstar Club 50 Head & 4x12 Cab
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Steelkonsum
Feb 6 2007, 10:08 PM
Member
Posts: 246
Joined: 11-January 07
From: Malmo, Sweden
QUOTE (Andrew Cockburn @ Feb 6 2007, 08:49 PM) *
Hi All,

Thought I'd introduce myself :-) I am a 39 year old Brit, recently moved to Connecticut USA. I've been playing guitar for probably 30 years now, starting at school on classical, then teaching myself electric later. I have played in a few bands, and done a lot of home recording, but for the last 15 years I have been lazy and kind of plateau-ed out, rehashing the same old scales and licks. About 3 months ago I got myself a Line6 Variax 700, and it totally inspired me to become a better guitarist. First, I bought Kris's Video online - awesome ! But I became scared at how little I really knew about lead guitar. From there I found my way to GMC and immediately joined when I saw Kris was an instructor - hi Kris!

Now the hard work begins - I have to unlearn bad habits, and add to the 2 major and 1 pentatonic scales that have got me this far. On the one hand, I feel like I have to start again from scratch, but on the other hand, I feel inspired that there is still so much out there to learn !

Wish me luck ...

Regards,

Andrew


Awesome! Welcome mate!

It's never too late to learn more about guitar, or anything for that matter. And you seem to have some nice experiences - if you have some material of yoruself playing feel free to upload it on the upload section to get comments and tips on how to improve! wink.gif

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Andrew Cockburn
Feb 7 2007, 02:01 AM
Moderation Policy Director
Posts: 10.459
Joined: 6-February 07
From: CT, USA
Hi Steelkonsum !

Yes, I'll see if I can find some guitar solos I'm not too embarrassed about and I'll post them for comment.

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Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!


--------------------
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Live long and prosper ...

My Stuff:

Electric Guitars : Ibanez Jem7v, Line6 Variax 700, Fender Plus Strat with 57/62 Pickups, Line6 Variax 705 Bass
Acoustic Guitars : Taylor 816ce, Martin D-15, Line6 Variax Acoustic 300 Nylon
Effects : Line6 Helix, Keeley Modded Boss DS1, Keeley Modded Boss BD2, Keeley 4 knob compressor, Keeley OxBlood
Amps : Epiphone Valve Jnr & Head, Cockburn A.C.1, Cockburn A.C.2, Blackstar Club 50 Head & 4x12 Cab
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Kristofer Dahl
Feb 9 2007, 03:45 PM
GMC Founder
Posts: 18.746
Joined: 15-August 05
From: Stockholm, Sweden
Hey Andrew - welcome! biggrin.gif

I see you have already contributed with some greats posts biggrin.gif Looking forward to hear more from you. smile.gif

Kris

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Andrew Cockburn
Feb 9 2007, 04:03 PM
Moderation Policy Director
Posts: 10.459
Joined: 6-February 07
From: CT, USA
Thanks Kris - I am loving GMC!

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net


Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!


--------------------
Check out my Instructor profile
Live long and prosper ...

My Stuff:

Electric Guitars : Ibanez Jem7v, Line6 Variax 700, Fender Plus Strat with 57/62 Pickups, Line6 Variax 705 Bass
Acoustic Guitars : Taylor 816ce, Martin D-15, Line6 Variax Acoustic 300 Nylon
Effects : Line6 Helix, Keeley Modded Boss DS1, Keeley Modded Boss BD2, Keeley 4 knob compressor, Keeley OxBlood
Amps : Epiphone Valve Jnr & Head, Cockburn A.C.1, Cockburn A.C.2, Blackstar Club 50 Head & 4x12 Cab
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Andrew Cockburn
Feb 9 2008, 09:08 PM
Moderation Policy Director
Posts: 10.459
Joined: 6-February 07
From: CT, USA
Wow, who was this guy???

Well I thought that since it was just past the 1 year anniversary of my arrival at GMC that I'd take some time and reflect on what I have learned over the last year - please indulge me smile.gif

When I joined GMC I was looking for a way to take my playing to the next level - I was completely bored with my playing. It was workmanlike, but not technically or emotionally inspiring, at least to me. Heres an example - I posted this a few days after I joined GMC:

Attached File  The_Work_Song.mp3 ( 1.51MB ) Number of downloads: 169


Ok, no bad notes, I used the right scale, but DULL and LIMITED. When I found Kris though freelicks, his DVDs then made my way to GMC I knew I had found something special. I immediately set about getting better. Now, a year later, I have boosted my playing for sure. I don't recognize the player I was then - I have so many more techniques to use, even though I am just starting out with many of them. In the last year just in terms of guitar playing, I have:
  • Learned about muting and cleaned up my playing
  • Started proper Alt picking
  • Learned about using a metronome
  • Learned the mechanics of sweeping
  • Improved my tone & phrasing
  • Boosted my Legato
  • Started Tapping
  • Improved the way I hold my pick
  • Changed my pick for a thicker one
  • Understood the importance of relaxation - lost a lot of tension in my playing which helps with fluidity
  • Upgraded my Vibrato
  • Moved out of 2 pentatonic and 2 major boxes and opened up the fretboard
  • Learned about the existence of 3 note per string scales
  • Started intentionally playing and composing with modes
But it doesn't end there when I started, most lessons were by Kris, and Pavel had started about a month earlier ... Kris very kindly allowed me to start contributing theory lessons, and over time gave me my very own forum, and eventually made me a Theory instructor, that was a day of deep honour to me - I felt (and still feel) that I am nowhere near the skill of players that Kris was by now recruiting to GMC - Marcus, Dave Walliman, Gabriel, but I did enjoy writing on aspects of theory and after a year we have a good library of lessons. Still more work to be done here, but now I can answer most theory questions with "check out such and such lesson" smile.gif

The funny thing is that I never thought of myself as a theory expert - I had had some training at school and picked up a lot through 30 years of playing, but sitting down and writing about it really crystalized a lot of theory I had in my head and I started to really understand things a lot better, which I hope I have communicated in my lessons. A seminal moment for me was when Tank finally got me to understand modes (thanks Tank!) - 3 weeks later I had written a lesson on modes as If I had been playing them for years - in fact I had, I just didn't know it, and I now had names for some of these wierd scales I had been playing smile.gif To this day, I get a warm glow when I manage to explain something on the boards and a light comes on in someones head, and they say, "Oh, I get it now!". So I say to all the people patiently working through my lessons, a huge thankyou!

But it doesn't end there - while I was still basking in the glow of my new instructor-hood, Kris was finding it harder and harder to keep the forum under control as it grew from a few active users to hundreds of posts per day. I was surprised and honoured when Kris asked me to help him with this, and as you know, since then I have also become the forum moderator, and have spent some time working on guidelines and trying to keep things organized so that Kris can concentrate on developing new instructors and working on the site. I have recently been helped in this by an awesome group of guys - the rest of the moderators who we introduced one by one - Micke, Uncreator, Tonymirro and most recently Smells - thanks guys you are doing an incredible job!

One of the great joys of moderating for me of course is banning members - and as a special one year anniversary present, Kris has greatly increased my banning quota so that I can ban up to 10 members a day, I'm really looking forward to it - I think I will start picking members at random this afternoon ... mmmmwwwaaahhhaaaahaaaaaa ...

Only kidding of course - one of the best things about moderating GMC is that it is so damn civilized that as moderators we rarely need to do anything, so a big thankyou to all in the GMC community - you guys all rock, and I am glad to know you all!

Which brings me to my final list - what else have I done through GMC?
  • Bought Several new Guitars
  • Met a lot of cool people from across the globe who I am honoured to call friends
  • Seen GMC grow from 1 lesson a week to 3 lessons per day
  • Learned about a bunch of cool new guitarists and boosted my music collection
  • Learned a lot more about different guitar types
  • Learned about tube amps
  • Built my own tube amp
So, here it is, one year on, and I now sound like this ... I am pleased about my improvement and looking forward to the next year of solid progress !

Attached File  Rock_Ballad_BT.mp3 ( 1.15MB ) Number of downloads: 195

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net


Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!


--------------------
Check out my Instructor profile
Live long and prosper ...

My Stuff:

Electric Guitars : Ibanez Jem7v, Line6 Variax 700, Fender Plus Strat with 57/62 Pickups, Line6 Variax 705 Bass
Acoustic Guitars : Taylor 816ce, Martin D-15, Line6 Variax Acoustic 300 Nylon
Effects : Line6 Helix, Keeley Modded Boss DS1, Keeley Modded Boss BD2, Keeley 4 knob compressor, Keeley OxBlood
Amps : Epiphone Valve Jnr & Head, Cockburn A.C.1, Cockburn A.C.2, Blackstar Club 50 Head & 4x12 Cab
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MickeM
Feb 9 2008, 09:15 PM
Born of NWOBHM, Moderation Team Leader
Posts: 8.562
Joined: 9-January 07
From: Stockholm, Sweden
Welcome new guy! smile.gif

I'll have a listen later... Swedish Eurovision song contest on the TV, I can't be distrurbed right now. wink.gif

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Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

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This post has been edited by MickeM: Feb 9 2008, 09:16 PM
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JVM
Feb 9 2008, 09:17 PM
Learning Roadie
Posts: 2.878
Joined: 2-June 07
From: Raleigh-Durham, NC
Awesome progress andrew! I think it's about time you started making your own video lessons tongue.gif

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Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

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Gear: Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster, Gibson '67 RI Flying V, Mesa Boogie F-30 112 combo, crazy pedals.
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Slammer
Feb 9 2008, 09:35 PM
GMC:er
Posts: 851
Joined: 26-April 07
From: The Sunshine State
QUOTE (Andrew Cockburn @ Feb 6 2007, 02:49 PM) *
... and add to the 2 major and 1 pentatonic scales that have got me this far...


Don't worry Andrew there are lots of Theory Experts here who will help you learn some new scales. laugh.gif

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net


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botoxfox
Feb 9 2008, 09:35 PM
GMC:er
Posts: 2.570
Joined: 20-February 07
Don't forget that in the last year on GMC, you also finally learnt how to spell definitely correctly. wink.gif

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MickeM
Feb 9 2008, 09:36 PM
Born of NWOBHM, Moderation Team Leader
Posts: 8.562
Joined: 9-January 07
From: Stockholm, Sweden
QUOTE (botoxfox @ Feb 9 2008, 09:35 PM) *
Don't forget that in the last year on GMC, you also finally learnt how to spell definitely correctly. wink.gif

Yeah, definately! wink.gif

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Andrew Cockburn
Feb 9 2008, 09:47 PM
Moderation Policy Director
Posts: 10.459
Joined: 6-February 07
From: CT, USA
QUOTE (botoxfox @ Feb 9 2008, 03:35 PM) *
Don't forget that in the last year on GMC, you also finally learnt how to spell definitely correctly. wink.gif


laugh.gif laugh.gif laugh.gif

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net


Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!


--------------------
Check out my Instructor profile
Live long and prosper ...

My Stuff:

Electric Guitars : Ibanez Jem7v, Line6 Variax 700, Fender Plus Strat with 57/62 Pickups, Line6 Variax 705 Bass
Acoustic Guitars : Taylor 816ce, Martin D-15, Line6 Variax Acoustic 300 Nylon
Effects : Line6 Helix, Keeley Modded Boss DS1, Keeley Modded Boss BD2, Keeley 4 knob compressor, Keeley OxBlood
Amps : Epiphone Valve Jnr & Head, Cockburn A.C.1, Cockburn A.C.2, Blackstar Club 50 Head & 4x12 Cab
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Andrew Cockburn
Feb 9 2008, 09:48 PM
Moderation Policy Director
Posts: 10.459
Joined: 6-February 07
From: CT, USA
QUOTE (Slammer @ Feb 9 2008, 03:35 PM) *
Don't worry Andrew there are lots of Theory Experts here who will help you learn some new scales. laugh.gif


Gee, thanks Slammer - you sound like a helpful chap, I look forward to getting to know you better wink.gif

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net


Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!


--------------------
Check out my Instructor profile
Live long and prosper ...

My Stuff:

Electric Guitars : Ibanez Jem7v, Line6 Variax 700, Fender Plus Strat with 57/62 Pickups, Line6 Variax 705 Bass
Acoustic Guitars : Taylor 816ce, Martin D-15, Line6 Variax Acoustic 300 Nylon
Effects : Line6 Helix, Keeley Modded Boss DS1, Keeley Modded Boss BD2, Keeley 4 knob compressor, Keeley OxBlood
Amps : Epiphone Valve Jnr & Head, Cockburn A.C.1, Cockburn A.C.2, Blackstar Club 50 Head & 4x12 Cab
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Slammer
Feb 9 2008, 09:53 PM
GMC:er
Posts: 851
Joined: 26-April 07
From: The Sunshine State
laugh.gif laugh.gif

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blindwillie
Feb 9 2008, 10:01 PM
GMC:er
Posts: 1.533
Joined: 28-March 07
From: Luleå, Sweden
QUOTE (Andrew Cockburn @ Feb 9 2008, 09:08 PM) *
So, here it is, one year on, and I now sound like this ... I am pleased about my improvement and looking forward to the next year of solid progress !

You have achieved a lot in one year Andrew.
Get a beer and put it o my tab, you have deserved it.

QUOTE (Andrew Cockburn @ Feb 9 2008, 09:08 PM) *
Met a lot of cool people from across the globe who I am honoured to call friends

The above is so true. It's rare to find a place online where people get along like this. I don't know you all really, yet there are alot of people here I think of as friends.

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Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

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Schecter C1 Hellraiser EMG 81/85, replaced with JB/Jazz (SH4/SH2n) w. coilsplit
Schecter Revenger HB-105, replaced with EMG 81/85
Stratocaster Deluxe Players Noiseless
Ibanez 2550z
Blackstar HT5H, Blackheart BH5H w. BH112, Laney LX35D, Line6 Pod XT, Marshall MS-2
Headphones: Sennheiser RS120

Stay tuned...
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Andrew Cockburn
Feb 9 2008, 10:03 PM
Moderation Policy Director
Posts: 10.459
Joined: 6-February 07
From: CT, USA
QUOTE (blindwillie @ Feb 9 2008, 04:01 PM) *
You have achieved a lot in one year Andrew.
Get a beer and put it o my tab, you have deserved it.


Thanks smile.gif

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net


Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!


--------------------
Check out my Instructor profile
Live long and prosper ...

My Stuff:

Electric Guitars : Ibanez Jem7v, Line6 Variax 700, Fender Plus Strat with 57/62 Pickups, Line6 Variax 705 Bass
Acoustic Guitars : Taylor 816ce, Martin D-15, Line6 Variax Acoustic 300 Nylon
Effects : Line6 Helix, Keeley Modded Boss DS1, Keeley Modded Boss BD2, Keeley 4 knob compressor, Keeley OxBlood
Amps : Epiphone Valve Jnr & Head, Cockburn A.C.1, Cockburn A.C.2, Blackstar Club 50 Head & 4x12 Cab
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mattacuk
Feb 9 2008, 10:21 PM
Lets go fishing!
Posts: 5.526
Joined: 21-December 06
From: illinois
Fantastic post Andrew! Heres to you, my good GMC buddy wink.gif You have looked after me in times of need, supported me in my thirst for theory knowledge and most of all been a really good friend !!

I hope we will be good friends for many years to come biggrin.gif

PS. Does anyone feel like singing a Sting song? laugh.gif laugh.gif laugh.gif

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mysql> SELECT * FROM master_name WHERE ((firstname = 'Paul') AND (lastname = 'Gilbert'));


"The Fundimental Difference between Paul Gilbert and Buckethead is that Paul Explores the Good side of the force, while Buckethead Explores the Dark Side of the Force" :)
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Andrew Cockburn
Feb 9 2008, 10:23 PM
Moderation Policy Director
Posts: 10.459
Joined: 6-February 07
From: CT, USA
QUOTE (mattacuk @ Feb 9 2008, 04:21 PM) *
I hope we will be good friends for many years to come biggrin.gif


Of course smile.gif And thankyou for setting such a good Theory example smile.gif

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net


Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!


--------------------
Check out my Instructor profile
Live long and prosper ...

My Stuff:

Electric Guitars : Ibanez Jem7v, Line6 Variax 700, Fender Plus Strat with 57/62 Pickups, Line6 Variax 705 Bass
Acoustic Guitars : Taylor 816ce, Martin D-15, Line6 Variax Acoustic 300 Nylon
Effects : Line6 Helix, Keeley Modded Boss DS1, Keeley Modded Boss BD2, Keeley 4 knob compressor, Keeley OxBlood
Amps : Epiphone Valve Jnr & Head, Cockburn A.C.1, Cockburn A.C.2, Blackstar Club 50 Head & 4x12 Cab
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DeepRoots
Feb 9 2008, 10:27 PM
Get to da Chopper!
Posts: 2.700
Joined: 18-March 07
From: South Wales, UK
Andrew- i would still be on the Am pentatonic if it weren't for you!

Not only have you showed me lots of awesome theory lessons and have been mighty patient with me on PM but you also inspired me to take theory in to my own hands and absorb as much as i possibly can!

Its thanks to you that im earning a couple of extra £ a month teaching theory to beginners, and starting next week ill be giving my first guitar lesson to somebody twice my age smile.gif

Life is good- and you got the ball rolling- cheers Andrew!

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fkalich
Feb 9 2008, 10:41 PM
GMC:er
Posts: 2.789
Joined: 12-February 07
From: People's Republic of Lawrence Kansas
song was really nice. and I mean really nice. very precise, but not mechanical, had a lot of feeling. I don't hear a lot of uploads so lacking of flaws. and it is just as hard to play slower like that as fast. very hard to hide flaws, guys playing fast have a much easier time doing that.

My flattery this does not mean I want you to go easy on me when I do eventually upload My Grandfather's Clock. However, I intend to make it as perfect as yours here, except more likely to set my dog's hair on fire.

edit: typo

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This post has been edited by fkalich: Feb 9 2008, 10:42 PM
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