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GMC Forum _ PRACTICE ROOM _ Guitarist Levels

Posted by: DarkWaveRiffer Apr 8 2012, 06:07 PM

I think its safe to safe if you have a 1000 hours under your belt, you have a good understanding of what you are doing. I am going to be using this for my progress. I have come up with a fun way of reaching goals. I would like to invite the instructors to give their input, but I have come up with dividing up the hours from 0-1000 into 7 levels.

Hours Title
0-10 Guitar Hero Defector
11-50 Air Guitarist
51-100 Guitar Not A Zero
101-300 Ax Grinder
301-500 Shred N Butter Man
501-750 Guitar Virtu-So-So
751-1000 Guitar Hero

What I would like to know is given the average person what things should the know at the various levels? Do you think we could quantify? I like the idea of having a measuring stick to strive to meet, and beat. I have made the hours not to be too long between titles. People can get to Ax Grinder pretty fast. We could create a chart to show what kind of techniques, scales, chords, songs would be equivalent at this level. We could take this beyond 1000 hours, if others who are past this want to develop this further.

To me, its about the practice time, the good practice time. I can riff away aimlessly and not get better. I think if we record, observe, and evaluate our practice time. We will see great strides in progress. We all know its not how long you have owned a guitar, or had access to one, but how long you have been playing, and pushing yourself to get better.I would like to hear your thoughts. I think this could be a lot of fun.

Posted by: The Uncreator Apr 8 2012, 06:16 PM

I think 1,000 is actually low. Thats only 40 days or a little over I think. I have more than that, its not as much as it seems. If you play guitar for 24 hours in one week, just about 3 hours a day. In less than a year you have 1,000 hours.

I would think something like as high 35,000 - 50,000. Depending on age 100,000 even.

To answer the actual post, you should only ever know what you want to know. To me the purpose of guitar is not to play, but to compose. So I have learned based on how my writing has developed.

I am good at sweeping and alternate picking, but my tapping is not on the same level because it hasn't facilitated itself in my writing yet. I prefer melodic, vocal passages in lead work so I emphasize phrasing over technique.

I don't neglect the other techniques, I just focus on my strenghts, what is going to better benefit myself as a composer.

You never know enough though, and you will never know it all. Guitar essentially cannot be mastered and it has no master, it only has disciples seeking the highest amount of truth they can ( to put it so epically tongue.gif ). So if you reach that guitar hero stage, your a guitar hero in only a select few, and more often than maybe just one area.

A guitar hero in metal is probably a mediocre flamenco guitarist ( not always the case ) but you see my point


Posted by: DarkWaveRiffer Apr 8 2012, 06:37 PM

QUOTE (The Uncreator @ Apr 8 2012, 12:16 PM) *
I think 1,000 is actually low. Thats only 40 days or a little over I think. I have more than that, its not as much as it seems. If you play guitar for 24 hours in one week, just about 3 hours a day. In less than a year you have 1,000 hours.

I would think something like as high 35,000 - 50,000. Depending on age 100,000 even.

To answer the actual post, you should only ever know what you want to know. To me the purpose of guitar is not to play, but to compose. So I have learned based on how my writing has developed.

I am good at sweeping and alternate picking, but my tapping is not on the same level because it hasn't facilitated itself in my writing yet. I prefer melodic, vocal passages in lead work so I emphasize phrasing over technique.

I don't neglect the other techniques, I just focus on my strenghts, what is going to better benefit myself as a composer.

You never know enough though, and you will never know it all. Guitar essentially cannot be mastered and it has no master, it only has disciples seeking the highest amount of truth they can ( to put it so epically tongue.gif ). So if you reach that guitar hero stage, your a guitar hero in only a select few, and more often than maybe just one area.

A guitar hero in metal is probably a mediocre flamenco guitarist ( not always the case ) but you see my point


Yes, but we are talking about pure practice time, where you are pushing yourself to progress. Many people don't have 8 hours a day to put into practice. If you put in a good 1000 hours of practice, you will be pretty decent. 10,000 hours it takes to be an expert. I like to quantify things. That's one thing I see that is lacking in music in general. I know everyone goes at their own pace, but there should be a way to put a average time to learn a certain technique. Say for instance Vibrato...does it take 20,50,100 hours to have the technique down where you could be called proficient?

Some people just want to play songs they hear on the radio, some want to be in a band and play covers, some want to be in a band and make their own stuff up, and some want to learn it all. The common denominator is practice time, and learning the techniques.Our instructors are very good at teaching, given everyone get's the same instruction, and level of feedback people of similar level should learn a technique/concept in a range of similar times. What that range is...I don't know, and I suspect there hasn't been much research on it. I am not trying to squash creativity. I just want to make a road map for myself, and others can use on their way to learning guitar. If I have a 1000 hours of good practice time under my belt, I know I will be at a level where I have found my groove, and the habits I have developed will carry me through to getting better, and better.

Posted by: SirJamsalot Apr 8 2012, 07:01 PM

QUOTE (DarkWaveRiffer @ Apr 8 2012, 10:37 AM) *
Yes, but we are talking about pure practice time, where you are pushing yourself to progress. Many people don't have 8 hours a day to put into practice. If you put in a good 1000 hours of practice, you will be pretty decent. 10,000 hours it takes to be an expert. I like to quantify things. That's one thing I see that is lacking in music in general. I know everyone goes at their own pace, but their should be a ways to put a average time to learn a certain technique.

Some people just want to play songs they hear on the radio, some want to be in a band and play covers, some want to be in a band and make their own stuff up, and some want to learn it all. The common denominator is practice time, and learning the techniques.Our instructors are very good at teaching, given everyone get's the same instruction, and level of feedback people of similar level should learn a technique/concept in a range of similar times. What that range is...I don't know, and I suspect there hasn't been much research on it.


http://retirerichroadmap.com/blog/skill-mastery-takes-7-years-and-10000-hours/

haha. that might seem like span - sorry, but it's growingly accepted by those interested in the topic that it takes about 10K hours of focused practice to "master" a skill. Divide that the hours / day you are able to practice and you'll get a rough notion of how you're doing.

When you think about it, it makes sense too. I've posted this observation before, but I'll regurgitate it here. All the "young guitar wizards" began playing at the age of 10 or younger. Add 7 years, and you'll understand that 7 years seems right. They are young guitar wizards because they put in at least 7 years of focused practice.

So if you want o measure yourself, measure your progress in terms of discipline. Are you practicing every day? If so, expect in 7 or so years, you're going to be much better than you are today biggrin.gif







Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Apr 8 2012, 07:02 PM

Hey! This initiative sounds really good! It's always useful to set short and long term goals when we are talking about guitar playing. However I also think that we need more than 1000 hours of real practice to reach a top level. By the way you will notice a big improvement if you practice 1000 hours in 1 year.

Posted by: DarkWaveRiffer Apr 8 2012, 07:14 PM

QUOTE (Gabriel Leopardi @ Apr 8 2012, 01:02 PM) *
Hey! This initiative sounds really good! It's always useful to set short and long term goals when we are talking about guitar playing. However I also think that we need more than 1000 hours of real practice to reach a top level. By the way you will notice a big improvement if you practice 1000 hours in 1 year.


Guitar Hero is not top level. Its just top level in what I have come up with. Your journey has really just begun by 1000 hours, but by the time the 1000 hours comes up you will be well on your way. When they look back at where they started, and where they are in 1000 hours they will be amazed.

Sirjams, Thanks for the link!. I have seen mention of this 10K hours, but its not practical for people just starting. 10k hours is very daunting, and you can be very good long before 10K hours. You can be very good at 1000 hours. Can we safely say you will be an intermediate, or even advanced player will 1000 hours under your belt?

Posted by: PanicProne Apr 8 2012, 07:27 PM

It's an interesting idea. I've thought about this a lot lately, since I 've really started to practice and not "just play" the guitar. Ofc it things vary from person to person but it would be cool to have a somewhat level to expect in a certain area after a certain amount of time put into practicing. However, if this time-map/chart thing is gonna work I believe you will have to be very specific with what it is you're expected to achieve. Cool idea though.

Posted by: SirJamsalot Apr 8 2012, 08:39 PM

QUOTE (DarkWaveRiffer @ Apr 8 2012, 11:14 AM) *
Guitar Hero is not top level. Its just top level in what I have come up with. Your journey has really just begun by 1000 hours, but by the time the 1000 hours comes up you will be well on your way. When they look back at where they started, and where they are in 1000 hours they will be amazed.

Sirjams, Thanks for the link!. I have seen mention of this 10K hours, but its not practical for people just starting. 10k hours is very daunting, and you can be very good long before 10K hours. You can be very good at 1000 hours. Can we safely say you will be an intermediate, or even advanced player will 1000 hours under your belt?


Well, I guess it depends on our definition of good then smile.gif
If we're talking in terms of "able to do a lick at 200 bpm", then sure, you can probably manage that. But if you mean "good all around player" in only 1000 hours of practice, then I'm going to be the protagonist ~ show me the money! 1000 hours divided by 4 hours a day is 250 days ~ that's about a year. I know of no guitarists who have been playing a year who are "good" ~ all the ones I've run across are just getting to the point where they are able to inject "feel" into what they are doing, Their vocabulary is minimal at best, and ability to bend with control, weak.

In my experience, the mind must absorb information. You can throw a 1000 hours worth of information at the mind in a month, but the mind needs the full 1000 hours to make sense of it, and the body needs 1000 hours to burn whatever physical motions are required to play it, into muscle memory.

Anyways, I don't want to rain on anyone's parade ~ you should always strive for the hours, but I think you run the risk of going into depression if you set yourself up the expectation of becoming "good" in only a year's time. Everyone I've ever encountered has gone through some form of "I should be better by now ~ they've usually been playing about 2-5 years. I just think you run less risk of giving up if you know at the outset that you're in for the "long haul" when you pick up your axe. I know of no short-cuts. Discipline, long-term goals, patience, understanding that it's going to take you years, not months, to get into a reasonable sense of self-worth in your guitarmanship.

Focus long-term! Chip away at the block! Nothing wrong with counting hours, but remember the old saying "a watched kettle never boils". Record yourself always, and look back at how far you've progressed when you get frustrated.

Rock on!

p.s. I know you understand long term ~ and you're just looking for a short term- indicator since 10K hours seems too far in the distance. I think what I'm getting at is that people don't judge their ability in terms of time ~ they judge it in terms of ability to play to their own satisfaction, and our own satisfaction is very hard to accomplish. If you really want to find a meaningful guage of how good you are in terms of your own expectations, then pick a song you consider to be "good playing", then learn it! See if you can play that song "well" enough, to your definition of good, then you'll have reached your goal. I think that is much better guage than hours played and it gives you meaningful feedback! AND it will pave the ground for learning to compose your own songs because you will begin to expose yourself to song structures that you like (since you picked the song!).


Posted by: dark dude Apr 8 2012, 08:52 PM

Even if I could give you a number to settle on, every person is different and has different guitar needs, so it wouldn't matter. There are too many variables.

If you want the 'most efficient, mapped route' that everybody wants, then strive to practice as frequently as possible, with as much effort as possible. The assumption here, though, is that you're practicing correctly (i.e. not enforcing bad habits), so having somebody look at your routine every now and again is a must. Following this method, you'll reach the intermediate or whatever level of guitar you're looking for, as fast as you are able to.

Some people only need x amount of hours to become very skilled, others need more. It's irrelevant how long it takes others, focus on yourself.

--

However, if your question is simply: "What should an intermediate guitarist know?", then we can give our opinions, perhaps certain scales, certain chords, ear training, etc, but again, it comes down to the specific player's goals in question. As people have mentioned, it depends on what you, yourself want out of guitar.

Posted by: DarkWaveRiffer Apr 8 2012, 09:00 PM

This is just a path to 1000 hours, not path to Guitar legend. Its also just adding some mile stones to reach. It would be fun to record what people are reaching at various levels, and inject some level of competition. We can also see if given enough people, and data, gather some averages. We could also make it a contest. Its also not about mindlessly consuming 1000 hours of information. Its about focused practice. If you look at how efficient most people practice, you might get 20-30% efficiency, unless they are applying some of the principles I spoke about in my practice for success thread. 1000 hours of good practice. I think you will be surprised given your current level, if you record 1000 hour from where you are, the progress will be measurable. I was working on a segment where I had to do some upstrokes, and in my mind I was thinking it would take me days of practice to get it down, and in reality took me 2 hours of getting comfortable, tying it in and building some fluidity.We are not going to set ourselves up for disappointment. The milestones will be reachable, and each successful milestone builds on each other in confidence, and motivation.

Posted by: dark dude Apr 8 2012, 09:06 PM

Take a look at Ben's Bushido tasks. It's not about being able to play the task perfectly by the end of the week, it's about showing how much progress you can make in a week.

You could sift through REC threads and look at how people have improved throughout the months, but even then, unless you interview the people in question, your data won't be as detailed as you'd like.

Posted by: SirJamsalot Apr 8 2012, 09:16 PM

QUOTE (DarkWaveRiffer @ Apr 8 2012, 01:00 PM) *
It would be fun to record what people are reaching at various levels, and inject some level of competition. We can also see if given enough people, and data, gather some averages. We could also make it a contest. Its also not about mindlessly consuming 1000 hours of information. Its about focused practice.


Hey I LIKE this idea!


Posted by: Ben Higgins Apr 9 2012, 11:01 AM

This is a very cool and interesting thread !

In a light hearted way, this is how I look at the levels of guitar playing (and any other activity)

First level - you know nothing
next level - you know nothing
next level - you know nothing
next level - you know nothing
and so on..........

laugh.gif

Joking aside, I think it's very interesting about the amount of hours approach. I remember reading a quote somewhere that said it's not how many years you've been playing, it's how many hours.

I don't think everyone needs to play 8 hours a day. In most people's lives it's not healthy or practical. However, the only thing I know with any certainty is that the only way of I've ever found answers to the questions I've had is by asking the guitar. In other words, keep playing and seeing what answers come out from the work being put in.

There's been so many times where I thought I'd found 'the way' and then a few days later I'd change my mind because I'd discovered something else. Then maybe years later I'd rediscover the value of something I'd learned and discarded before. Sometimes your steps will take you forwards, backwards, sideways but it's the steps being taken that are important.

I see it like we have a perfect statue in us, encased in a huge boulder of rock. Practise is the process of picking a hammer and chisel and chipping away at the rock to reveal the statue underneath. Sometimes, our focused bouts of practise will reveal a portion of the statue, sometimes it won't. But regardless of the results, the rock is being chipped away regardless.

So even when it feels like you're not making progress, you are progressing and getting closer to your answers just by the very fact that you're trying. Giving up is not progressing. Anything other than that is progress smile.gif

I bet that if we all cast our minds to all the things we've done in our lives or even the jobs we do or hobbies we have, we can find an example of something that we had to learn and eventually we improved at. Cooking, art, some sort of creation.. the only path to progress is toil. More toil = more answers revealed.

Posted by: JaxN4 Apr 9 2012, 11:39 AM

Great Thread.

Awesome answers by DarkDude, I totally agree..

And Ben, very well put, as you mentioned earlier about the statue idea, it really works for seeing your progress on an instrument, because your believing there is a perfect musician inside and all you need to do is keep working on chipping away at it...

All i'll add (apart for the above answers from DD and Ben) is that alot revolves around your attitude and motivation... Ypu also have to know which path forward is the right one for your specific playing...

With that in mind you can move forward and enjoy your time more....as you will see results quicker.

Have a look at this quick video for former GMC Instructor David Walliman, he bring up some excellent points...



I like the idea of having a plan before you sit down at your guitar, espically the way you right notes and points etc, at the end of each session... I find, that it helps the next day to read over the notes you made from your practice session and think about it during the day, visualising everything... but maybe that's just me cool.gif

Cheers

Posted by: DarkWaveRiffer Apr 9 2012, 11:10 PM

I would probably double my practice time if I didn't read, and reply to the forum so much. lol But it does fuel my desire to play.
Great points, and I am going to, and do practice regardless of levels, and titles. I just thought this would be a fresh, and fun way of approaching practice, and also see how hours practicing really make a difference. I am an engineer by trade, but I have a strong creative streak, and I often times feel like the black sheep there. I approach my engineering creatively, and I also see merit in bringing some engineering methodology to my music endeavors. I know from a pure technique stand point, applying those principles can have you practicing more efficient, and progressing faster.

My mind asks the question, all things being equal, such as skill, access to information, and feedback, two guitarists learning hammer on techniques, both applying the techniques they learned from the same instructional exercise, how many hours would it take for them to play the exercise at cleanly, and what would the BPM of the exercise be at. Controlling such conditions, given enough data points, you would definitely see a trend.

Let me be clear on my motives, through my own journey of learning to play guitar, I want to analyze how do I practice, and progress efficiently, and steadily. Also by my experimentation, and asking these questions will get others to think about these things as well.

Where it becomes tricky is the creative application of the techniques, but by controlling your practice, you develop your vocal vocabulary so you can have more to apply, and experiment with. We all want to express ourselves, and all of us here have chosen guitar to express ourselves. It really about developing the tools to express yourself the way you want. Some do it more organically. They learn a song, or part of a song, play it to the point where they learn some of the techniques, pick up more songs, more techniques, and given enough desire they continue through the rough spots, if they selected a really hard song, where most would have likely given up.Or you can define the variables you can control, tweak them, check the results, compare them to your expectations, tweak them, and come up with something a little more predictable.

Ben, I like your analogy of guitar to a the perfect statue, or perfect guitar player all of us are, but we need to chip at it (practice) and reveal it. Things changed for me, when I realized, and made up my mind that guitar would be a life time thing for me. Its where I find comfort, and often revelation. So a lot of the answers to our questions about guitar lie in playing, and listening to what your guitar tells you.

I guess to sum up the whole reason for this thread. I like milestones. Short term, and long term. Creating some common milestones that people can competitively reach for, gives extra motivation to practice more, and also its nice to share the journey. Which is why most of us are here.

Posted by: DarkWaveRiffer Apr 12 2012, 01:29 AM

So I am going to be adding to my signature my current title. Which will be Air Guitarist. Seems fitting. I am logging my hours, so it will be interesting to see my journey, and at what hours things start opening up. I have a theory that you reach critical mass at a certain point, where learning becomes easier, and easier because the time put in translates to time playing the guitar, getting coordinated, comfortable, and picked up some good habits along the way. Since I am very critical of my playing, and analyze it to no end. Also with the help of the great instructors mentoring me.I am hoping that this will shorten my time to critical mass. If others want to join, they are more than welcome. The only reward for now is hopefully taking a closer look on how you practice, and how your spend your time. Which in the end should bring progress that much faster.


Posted by: Todd Simpson Apr 12 2012, 04:35 AM

Great post! I000 is a great achievement! If you take those number and do a X10 then you get roughly what many neurologists see as the time it takes to achieve a level of "Mastery" (just a level of, not complete mastery) . And this applies to anything, sports, music, etc. About 10,000 hours of practice and VOILA your good at whatever you've been doing for all that time. smile.gif

To that end, here is a handy slider to help you work out your practice schedule. Hours per day, days per week. For reference.

if you practice

3 Hours a Day
7 Days a Week

it will take guess how long until you reach a level of Mastery?
ABOUT 9 YEARS

(Click on the graphic to adjust the sliders)
http://www.ryac.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/10000_hours.swf

The point here, is of course that (though it sounds cheesy) It's more about learning, much more than it's about having learned. It's easy to get caught up in the goal to the exclusion of the process of achieving it. This actually hinders the process itself which is counterproductive.

BEN HIGGINS has made all kinds of killer posts on this very topic. It comes up quite a bit as you might imagine. My only point is to embrace the entire experience. And no matter what your endeavor or current level of skill, not to judge yourself too harshly. Every student here can say with confidence that you're a great guitar player in training just like me and the rest of the instructors. We are all still in training as well, it never stops. But who would want it to? Milestones are important, in anything, so relish them as they come wink.gif Just don't let the goals overtake the process itself.

 

Posted by: Mudbone Apr 12 2012, 04:52 AM

Well I have good news and bad news for you. The good news is someone has been working on something similar to this for a couple of years now. That person is me wink.gif

The bad news? don't expect anything special to happen when you get to 1,000 hours.

I have been documenting every hour I practiced, and how much time I have dedicated to a particular skill, song, or riff. This project of mine is called Evolution of Zero. I even have a http://www.evolutionofzero.com, but so far there is nothing on there. I'm currently trying to get out of engineering school as fast as I can, so what little free time I have goes to practicing. I simply don't have the time construct a website to be what I want it to be. Hopefully this summer I'll get it up and running. I have so much information to share, but it is beyond the scope of a simple forum post.

So, why is it called "evolution of zero"? We all start of at zero. You, myself, and Malmsteen. We all start of at the same point. No one was born with a natural talent to play guitar, piano, or become a professional athlete. We all had to learn our skills. But why do some people excel while others lag? What does one group have that the others don't? This is a complex question, and the answers is more obvious than you think.

Getting from zero to hero isn't a step by step process. Its an evolution. There are no stages that indicate your progress. Every day there are micro improvements happening. By the time you have learned what you wanted to learn you'll feel like you have always known it. As far as the physical aspect of playing, there are no eureka moments. You'll know that you have reached your short term goal when you forget how hard it was to get there.

Even though I have a clear, quantifiable goal - 10,000 hours - conquering this massive hour count isn't the primary objective. It is simply a conduit to carry me on my journey.

I don't want to drag this post on too long, but I will give you some tips. Forget about milestones, they will only disappoint you. Right now your only objective should be to practice perfectly. Speed is not important, and making your fingerwork sound like music is not important. If what you're practicing sounds like music, you're playing it to fast wink.gif What you're doing now is programming your muscle memory. Thats it. You'll never be able to play what you feel if your fingers can't operate on their own.

Anyhow, check out my signature. For well over a year I have been posting how many hours I have practiced. I consider it my Zero to Hero rating. I do have to update it though, as I have added some hours to it biggrin.gif

Posted by: JaxN4 Apr 12 2012, 05:20 AM

Todd, that is a great graph, thanks for the share.... I agree, and what's more it's 10 years of fun and learning, enjoy the journey!

QUOTE (Mudbone @ Apr 12 2012, 01:22 PM) *
. But why do some people excel while others lag? What does one group have that the others don't? This is a complex question, and the answers is more obvious than you think.


Very simple IMO... Motivation to be constantly dedicated to moving forward.....

Posted by: Ben Higgins Apr 12 2012, 09:28 AM

The thing about the 10,000 hours theory is that it can only apply to one specific task, surely ?

10,000 hrs doesn't mean mastery of the guitar.. it can only possibly refer to mastery of one specific task. So that would mean we need another 10,000 hrs devoted to any other technique we want to master ???

Let's take alternate picking, which is the most common target for guitarists. Does 10,000 hrs even mean mastery of picking or just mastery of one specific type of lick, like outside picking ? What about inside picking ?

To be honest, I think it's a little bit of outdated science, because what if 2,000 hrs of that was crap repetition and poor technique ? Let's face it, if you practice 8 hrs a day you're not keeping up the quality all that time, you just aren't. The brain can only do so much.



QUOTE (Mudbone @ Apr 12 2012, 04:52 AM) *
Speed is not important, and making your fingerwork sound like music is not important. If what you're practicing sounds like music, you're playing it to fast wink.gif


I'm going to respectfully disagree here Mr Bone, making it sound musical is always possible with lick drills etc. In fact, I would encourage it to ward off boredom. If we're only practising hand mechanics without any melody or music we're making it harder on ourselves I think, because we're still going to have to employ the musical side of things anyway. Say if you practised only robotic licks for 5 yrs, now you've gotta start from scratch with melody etc. Better to encompass it all together from the start.

It's possible I misunderstood you.. or it was a typo on your behalf ?? wink.gif

Posted by: PosterBoy Apr 12 2012, 09:53 AM

Like Ben was saying our goal is to play music, music is the goal not practice.

What I like about a lot of the lessons on GMC and especially Ben's, they create a piece of music to practice a certain technique.

Take the Land of Legato, it's not just random trills, but a sequence of legato patterns that create a musical piece. This not only makes it enjoyable to learn and practice but gives insight into the musical application of the technique.

Posted by: JaxN4 Apr 12 2012, 11:20 AM


, making it sound musical is always possible with lick drills etc. In fact, I would encourage it to ward off boredom. If we're only practising hand mechanics without any melody or music we're making it harder on ourselves I think, because we're still going to have to employ the musical side of things anyway. Say if you practised only robotic licks for 5 yrs, now you've gotta start from scratch with melody etc. Better to encompass it all together from the start.

[/quote]

+1


Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Apr 12 2012, 12:05 PM

Mates, there's another thing here which should be taken into consideration. Only practicing will not transform you into a musician and it will not guarantee you will be able to perform on stage as well as you do it in your practice room.

In my opinion. alongside practicing, it takes a lot of stage experience and playing in front of people and with other people, to be able to fully express yourself. When you are subdued by pressure and stress, in the first years on stage you are most likely not going to be able to shine as you know you can. Pressure does that to us in most of the cases. I am not saying it is a rule, but it's a situation which occurs pretty often and should be thought upon.


Posted by: Mudbone Apr 12 2012, 02:43 PM

QUOTE (Ben Higgins @ Apr 12 2012, 04:28 AM) *
The thing about the 10,000 hours theory is that it can only apply to one specific task, surely ?

10,000 hrs doesn't mean mastery of the guitar.. it can only possibly refer to mastery of one specific task. So that would mean we need another 10,000 hrs devoted to any other technique we want to master ???

Let's take alternate picking, which is the most common target for guitarists. Does 10,000 hrs even mean mastery of picking or just mastery of one specific type of lick, like outside picking ? What about inside picking ?

To be honest, I think it's a little bit of outdated science, because what if 2,000 hrs of that was crap repetition and poor technique ? Let's face it, if you practice 8 hrs a day you're not keeping up the quality all that time, you just aren't. The brain can only do so much.





I'm going to respectfully disagree here Mr Bone, making it sound musical is always possible with lick drills etc. In fact, I would encourage it to ward off boredom. If we're only practising hand mechanics without any melody or music we're making it harder on ourselves I think, because we're still going to have to employ the musical side of things anyway. Say if you practised only robotic licks for 5 yrs, now you've gotta start from scratch with melody etc. Better to encompass it all together from the start.

It's possible I misunderstood you.. or it was a typo on your behalf ?? wink.gif


Its not a typo biggrin.gif But I'll try to elaborate a little bit for now, and I'll come back to it when I have time to type more.

I must confess, I am not the one to develop the concept of extremely slow practicing. It is a system that is taught at the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spartak_Tennis_Club in Moscow and the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meadowmount_School_of_Music in Upstate New York. Spartak has produced more world class tennis players from the years 2005-07 than all the Tennis clubs in the US combined did within in the same time frame. For hours everyday they practice all the motions very slowly, without a tennis ball.

The students at Meadowmount learn a years worth of music in about seven weeks. A core element of their training technique comes for practicing everything very, very slow. The following passage is from the book "The Talent Code" by Daniel Coyle.

Why does slowing down work so well? The myelin model offers two reasons. First, going slow allows you to attend more closely to errors, creating a higher degree of precision with each firing - and when it comes to growing mylelin, precision is everything. As football coach Tom Martinez says, "It's not how fast you can do it. It's how slow you can do it correctly." Secondly, going slow helps the practicer to develop something even more important: a working perception of the skills internal blueprints--the shape and rhythm of the interlocking circuits.

If you're not familiar with myelin, it is the sheath that wraps around your neurons. The more wraps there are, the faster the pulses flow through the neuron. Practicing builds myelin.

But you're right Ben, not all practice is equal. You can widdle away for hours on end and not achieve anything. I would like to discuss more topics from that book that touch on this particular subject, but I have to go to class right now biggrin.gif I sense I'm leaving more questions than I am answering wacko.gif Anyhow, read the book. It will definitely change your perspective on many things. I will be doing a book review on it after the end of this semester.

Posted by: Ben Higgins Apr 12 2012, 06:35 PM

QUOTE (Mudbone @ Apr 12 2012, 02:43 PM) *
Its not a typo biggrin.gif But I'll try to elaborate a little bit for now, and I'll come back to it when I have time to type more.

I must confess, I am not the one to develop the concept of extremely slow practicing. It is a system that is taught at the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spartak_Tennis_Club in Moscow and the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meadowmount_School_of_Music in Upstate New York. Spartak has produced more world class tennis players from the years 2005-07 than all the Tennis clubs in the US combined did within in the same time frame. For hours everyday they practice all the motions very slowly, without a tennis ball.

The students at Meadowmount learn a years worth of music in about seven weeks. A core element of their training technique comes for practicing everything very, very slow. The following passage is from the book "The Talent Code" by Daniel Coyle.

Why does slowing down work so well? The myelin model offers two reasons. First, going slow allows you to attend more closely to errors, creating a higher degree of precision with each firing - and when it comes to growing mylelin, precision is everything. As football coach Tom Martinez says, "It's not how fast you can do it. It's how slow you can do it correctly." Secondly, going slow helps the practicer to develop something even more important: a working perception of the skills internal blueprints--the shape and rhythm of the interlocking circuits.

If you're not familiar with myelin, it is the sheath that wraps around your neurons. The more wraps there are, the faster the pulses flow through the neuron. Practicing builds myelin.

But you're right Ben, not all practice is equal. You can widdle away for hours on end and not achieve anything. I would like to discuss more topics from that book that touch on this particular subject, but I have to go to class right now biggrin.gif I sense I'm leaving more questions than I am answering wacko.gif Anyhow, read the book. It will definitely change your perspective on many things. I will be doing a book review on it after the end of this semester.


Sounds good. I definitely agree with this principle of slow practice, practising perfectly. I've been saying for a long time about 'giving yourself time to get it right' but it seems these guys take it a lot further. Very interesting stuff smile.gif


Posted by: DarkWaveRiffer Apr 13 2012, 03:57 AM

Great stuff Mudbone! I am going to be adapting this into my practice! I will be checking out The Talent Code. So much to respond to, but I need to practice. I will be replying in more detail over the weekend. Btw I have to believe that after a 1000 hours of practice you are noticeably better.

QUOTE (Mudbone @ Apr 12 2012, 08:43 AM) *
Its not a typo biggrin.gif But I'll try to elaborate a little bit for now, and I'll come back to it when I have time to type more.

I must confess, I am not the one to develop the concept of extremely slow practicing. It is a system that is taught at the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spartak_Tennis_Club in Moscow and the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meadowmount_School_of_Music in Upstate New York. Spartak has produced more world class tennis players from the years 2005-07 than all the Tennis clubs in the US combined did within in the same time frame. For hours everyday they practice all the motions very slowly, without a tennis ball.

The students at Meadowmount learn a years worth of music in about seven weeks. A core element of their training technique comes for practicing everything very, very slow. The following passage is from the book "The Talent Code" by Daniel Coyle.

Why does slowing down work so well? The myelin model offers two reasons. First, going slow allows you to attend more closely to errors, creating a higher degree of precision with each firing - and when it comes to growing mylelin, precision is everything. As football coach Tom Martinez says, "It's not how fast you can do it. It's how slow you can do it correctly." Secondly, going slow helps the practicer to develop something even more important: a working perception of the skills internal blueprints--the shape and rhythm of the interlocking circuits.

If you're not familiar with myelin, it is the sheath that wraps around your neurons. The more wraps there are, the faster the pulses flow through the neuron. Practicing builds myelin.

But you're right Ben, not all practice is equal. You can widdle away for hours on end and not achieve anything. I would like to discuss more topics from that book that touch on this particular subject, but I have to go to class right now biggrin.gif I sense I'm leaving more questions than I am answering wacko.gif Anyhow, read the book. It will definitely change your perspective on many things. I will be doing a book review on it after the end of this semester.


Posted by: Ben Higgins Apr 13 2012, 08:28 AM

QUOTE (DarkWaveRiffer @ Apr 13 2012, 03:57 AM) *
Btw I have to believe that after a 1000 hours of practice you are noticeably better.


Then that's all that matters. It all comes from belief first ! smile.gif


Posted by: JTaylor Apr 13 2012, 11:25 AM

QUOTE (Todd Simpson @ Apr 11 2012, 11:35 PM) *
Great post! I000 is a great achievement! If you take those number and do a X10 then you get roughly what many neurologists see as the time it takes to achieve a level of "Mastery" (just a level of, not complete mastery) . And this applies to anything, sports, music, etc. About 10,000 hours of practice and VOILA your good at whatever you've been doing for all that time. smile.gif

To that end, here is a handy slider to help you work out your practice schedule. Hours per day, days per week. For reference.

if you practice

3 Hours a Day
7 Days a Week

it will take guess how long until you reach a level of Mastery?
ABOUT 9 YEARS

(Click on the graphic to adjust the sliders)
http://www.ryac.ca/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/10000_hours.swf

The point here, is of course that (though it sounds cheesy) It's more about learning, much more than it's about having learned. It's easy to get caught up in the goal to the exclusion of the process of achieving it. This actually hinders the process itself which is counterproductive.

BEN HIGGINS has made all kinds of killer posts on this very topic. It comes up quite a bit as you might imagine. My only point is to embrace the entire experience. And no matter what your endeavor or current level of skill, not to judge yourself too harshly. Every student here can say with confidence that you're a great guitar player in training just like me and the rest of the instructors. We are all still in training as well, it never stops. But who would want it to? Milestones are important, in anything, so relish them as they come wink.gif Just don't let the goals overtake the process itself.


Todd, that is too cool! I now see if I practice 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, I can be a master in just over a year! I hope I don't have to take any bathroom breaks! laugh.gif Seriously though, very neat reply you gave there! smile.gif

Posted by: Todd Simpson Apr 13 2012, 10:09 PM

Ben brings up some great points here. The 10,000 hour thing is just one study by one guy and is a very general sort of thing. I only use it to illustrate my actual point, and the point of some other posts here. The road ahead is long and truly without end so getting to focused on the mile markers on the highway might just make you crazy and unhappy. So like the other guys are saying embrace the road, not the exit ramp. It's good to be able to see progress happen. It usually happens slowly and we almost don't notice until we look back.

I can't tell you how many students I have had over the years that get almost obsessed quantifying their progress and while it's important to know how you are doing (REC is great for that) and important to stay motivated (GMC in general is great for that) it's most important to try to enjoy your practice sessions as the most important thing you can do is this....

NOT QUIT.

That's at the root of everything else. If you keep learning how to practice, keep learning about how you learn, you'll formulate your perfect plan on the way as you go. So keep learning and keep practicing and above all DON"T QUIT PLAYING! smile.gif
Todd


QUOTE (Ben Higgins @ Apr 12 2012, 04:28 AM) *
The thing about the 10,000 hours theory is that it can only apply to one specific task, surely ?

10,000 hrs doesn't mean mastery of the guitar.. it can only possibly refer to mastery of one specific task. So that would mean we need another 10,000 hrs devoted to any other technique we want to master ???

Let's take alternate picking, which is the most common target for guitarists. Does 10,000 hrs even mean mastery of picking or just mastery of one specific type of lick, like outside picking ? What about inside picking ?

To be honest, I think it's a little bit of outdated science, because what if 2,000 hrs of that was crap repetition and poor technique ? Let's face it, if you practice 8 hrs a day you're not keeping up the quality all that time, you just aren't. The brain can only do so much.





I'm going to respectfully disagree here Mr Bone, making it sound musical is always possible with lick drills etc. In fact, I would encourage it to ward off boredom. If we're only practising hand mechanics without any melody or music we're making it harder on ourselves I think, because we're still going to have to employ the musical side of things anyway. Say if you practised only robotic licks for 5 yrs, now you've gotta start from scratch with melody etc. Better to encompass it all together from the start.

It's possible I misunderstood you.. or it was a typo on your behalf ?? wink.gif



QUOTE (JTaylor @ Apr 13 2012, 06:25 AM) *
Todd, that is too cool! I now see if I practice 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, I can be a master in just over a year! I hope I don't have to take any bathroom breaks! laugh.gif Seriously though, very neat reply you gave there! smile.gif


BINGO! That was the entire point of the post. smile.gif And yes, nearly everyone ramps it to the right first thing. HOW LONG TIL I"M A GUITAR GOD! THIS "PRACTICE" THING IS TAKING FOREVER! smile.gif Now go lock your bathroom door!

QUOTE (Ben Higgins @ Apr 13 2012, 03:28 AM) *
Then that's all that matters. It all comes from belief first ! smile.gif


I"d agree all the way smile.gif Quite a bit better hopefully! And again at 2k, 3, 10, even 100k (f we are lucky to live that long)!

QUOTE (Cosmin Lupu @ Apr 12 2012, 07:05 AM) *
Mates, there's another thing here which should be taken into consideration. Only practicing will not transform you into a musician and it will not guarantee you will be able to perform on stage as well as you do it in your practice room.

In my opinion. alongside practicing, it takes a lot of stage experience and playing in front of people and with other people, to be able to fully express yourself. When you are subdued by pressure and stress, in the first years on stage you are most likely not going to be able to shine as you know you can. Pressure does that to us in most of the cases. I am not saying it is a rule, but it's a situation which occurs pretty often and should be thought upon.


AWESOME POST! This is CRITICAL and should be included in any PRACTICE regimen. How often do you get up in front of actual people and play? Because the first few times most people play live, your last several years of practice will somehow evaporate and you'll struggle to play stuff you nailed alone at home.

Playing live, standing up, with lights in your face, a crowd to entertain, and no room for error, is entirely it's own thing and to get any better you have to do it a TON.

Getting your "STAGE LEGS" is crucial. After all, playing live is one of the best experiences one can have.

QUOTE (Mudbone @ Apr 12 2012, 09:43 AM) *
Its not a typo biggrin.gif But I'll try to elaborate a little bit for now, and I'll come back to it when I have time to type more.
"The Talent Code" by Daniel Coyle.

Why does slowing down work so well? The myelin model offers two reasons. First, going slow allows you to attend more closely to errors, creating a higher degree of precision with each firing - and when it comes to growing mylelin, precision is everything. As football coach Tom Martinez says, "It's not how fast you can do it. It's how slow you can do it correctly." Secondly, going slow helps the practicer to develop something even more important: a working perception of the skills internal blueprints--the shape and rhythm of the interlocking circuits.

If you're not familiar with myelin, it is the sheath that wraps around your neurons. The more wraps there are, the faster the pulses flow through the neuron. Practicing builds myelin.


This is great stuff wink.gif If you listen to players that do play fast, they will all tell you that you need to start crazy slow. If your technique is improper and your getting in your own way, then speeding that up will yield gibberish. Doing almost anything slowly, methodically, repeatedly, will help the brain develop pathways for that specific action. After a while it becomes almost a "Meditation". Your brain waves will actually change and time will seem to pass quickly. But only once you get to that spot. In the same way that Yogi can meditate for hours on end and it will seem brief. But that is something at the extremes, I"m not suggesting everyone learn to meditate while playing guitar. Just that you embrace playing slowly, methodically, purposefully and repeatedly. wink.gif



Posted by: SirJamsalot Apr 13 2012, 10:37 PM

QUOTE (Cosmin Lupu @ Apr 12 2012, 04:05 AM) *
Mates, there's another thing here which should be taken into consideration. Only practicing will not transform you into a musician and it will not guarantee you will be able to perform on stage as well as you do it in your practice room.

In my opinion. alongside practicing, it takes a lot of stage experience and playing in front of people and with other people, to be able to fully express yourself. When you are subdued by pressure and stress, in the first years on stage you are most likely not going to be able to shine as you know you can. Pressure does that to us in most of the cases. I am not saying it is a rule, but it's a situation which occurs pretty often and should be thought upon.


spot on!

QUOTE (JTaylor @ Apr 13 2012, 03:25 AM) *
Todd, that is too cool! I now see if I practice 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, I can be a master in just over a year! I hope I don't have to take any bathroom breaks! laugh.gif Seriously though, very neat reply you gave there! smile.gif


I practice on the potty ~ but, no one want's to hear that, I'm sure tongue.gif

QUOTE (Todd Simpson @ Apr 13 2012, 02:09 PM) *
Ben brings up some great points here. The 10,000 hour thing is just one study by one guy and is a very general sort of thing. I only use it to illustrate my actual point,


The study takes into consideration all the aspects of the subject in general, subject meaning "craft". I first read this topic as it relates to becoming a pro-football player, not just a pro at passing to the 10 yard mark on the side-line. But all points considered, if you sit there staring at the clock in hopes you've reached an hour-milestone, then I think general reason for the study is being overlooked ~ you're not alone if you've been playing several years and aren't pro-material yet ~ understand it takes time, and a long time at that! Enjoy what you do, don't stare at the clock and you'll be a happier person cool.gif

Posted by: DarkWaveRiffer Apr 14 2012, 12:16 AM

Lots of great points here. I agree its not about watching the hours, but it is about optimizing the practice during those hours. People who document their progress have a higher change to succeed than those who don't, because I think its because those who do document, analyze the way they play, and make adjustments sooner, than those who have a more loose way of practicing, and playing. I heard an old saying. "A man without a plan, is still a plan to fail." I don't believe in absolutes, but I know having a plan helps immensely. Before I started documenting my progress, I would have grossly over estimated my time in practicing, but now I know, and I see how fast I am improving. So it eliminates the feeling that this is taking forever, which is counter to what you would think (watching grass grow). When in fact its like isolating everything, and focusing on improvement. I can tell you at the exact point where it no longer felt uncomfortable to up strum. I can tell you where I had committed learning the G major Scale to memory.I am documenting my journey. Also by analyzing, usually we regularly test our limits for success, and near successes.I am not bashing people who do things more organically, or driven by a need, they have an idea for a song, but they lack knowledge. So they learn what they need to, to make that song. So they are motivated by need to create, and that drives their practice. Practice should be fun. If its not, then find a way to make it so.

Another concept to practice for success is Replay Value. I am referencing thetalentcode.com:

Though the motivation feels internal, in fact replay value doesn’t come from the user; it comes from the design of the game itself. Games that provide lots of roles, lots of paths, lots of possible outcomes have high replay value — people love to play them, and get addicted. Games with few roles, few paths, few outcomes have low replay value; people play them once and then quit.

If you look at the practice routines of high performers, you’ll find they have high replay value. They are designed in such a way that you naturally want to do them again, and again, and again. For example:

Bubba Watson, who won Sunday’s Masters golf tournament with an “impossible” curving shot from the woods, learned to control the ball by hitting a small plastic ball in his yard when he was a small boy. The game young Bubba invented was to see if he could go around his house clockwise, then turn around and do it counterclockwise.
Earl Scruggs, the greatest banjo player who ever lived, practiced his sense of timing by playing with his brothers. The game went like this: the brothers would all start a song, then walk off in different directions, still playing. At the end of the song they’d come together to see if they’d stayed on time. Then do it again. And again.
Pretty much any skateboarding or snowboarding practice has a high replay value: think of how the sides of a half-pipe or ramp literally funnel the athlete into the next move. No wonder they learn so fast: the replay value in most gravity sports is off the charts.

The larger pattern here is that practices with high replay value tend to be practices the learners design themselves. One of the reason the learners can’t help but repeat them over and over is that they have a sense of ownership and investment — they’re not robots executing someone else’s drill; they’re players immersed in their own fun, addictive game.

Which leads to an interesting question: how else can we raise the replay value of our practice? Here are a few ideas.

1. Keep score — and I’m not talking about on the scoreboard. Pick exactly what you want to learn, and count it, or time it. Musicians could count the number of times they play a passage perfectly; soccer players could count number of perfect passes; math students could count the time it takes to do the multiplication table — just as they do in addictive math-learning apps like Math Racer and Kid Calc.
2. Provide multiple roles. Basically, switch places a lot. Everybody should periodically trade positions, to experience it from a new angle and come to a deeper (and more addictive) understanding. Batter becomes pitcher; salesperson becomes client; musician becomes listener.
3. Set near/far goals. The most effective goals have two levels, one near and one far. The near goal is today’s immediate goal; the far goal is an ideal performance far in the future which serves as a north star. Putting both goals out there (as video games do so well) add a dose of sugar to the practice process, and keeps people coming back for more.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We invest in the lessons here at GMC because we see how it will make us better guitar players. I challenge anyone to find a guitar exercise that has no musical application, it can't be done, because it's all connected. If someone practices a scale for 50 hours, I guarantee they will know it. Ask them to play some notes within that scale, and guess what? You will hear melody. Same thing with rhythm patterns put the time into rhythm patterns and now you can take that play a couple of simple chords and sound amazing. I know amazing is a strong word, but I have seen it done Steve Stine from Rock Guitar for Kids showed some great examples of this. Someone once said "it doesn't matter how much you know on guitar, but what you do know. You know very well." This is something I am just learning. I need to give myself time to make the lesson a part of me, because then once I do, I can then apply it, and grow my skill as a guitarist.Where I see the disconnect is when people practice aimlessly, and don't give it enough time to get the gains from the practice that they could have, had the put more time in. They will play a piece of tab here, struggle with it, something else will than grab their attention, try that, struggle with it. Mean while reaping very little benefit had they just focused on one thing, and knowing it well.

So my whole reason for this thread, was to show people when you become more aware of the hours you put in, you make adjustments sooner, and your perception of your progress isn't distorted by what you think you put in. Also makes you more aware of how you practice. I believe you can double, maybe even triple your progress this way. Also I think you realize when you employ proper technique, guidance/feedback that you are progressing faster than you think. You build momentum, and helps you get through the rough spots. I am enjoying my journey. So far I have put 28 hours into my practice since re-joining GMC. The progress I have made in the couple weeks I have been here has been very noticeable to me, and my instructors. So the 1000 hour goal I have made for myself, and using the methods of practice that I have discovered (I didn't invent) I believe will allow people to actually be performing as if they have put in 2-3000 hours in. I don't know, but I am excited to find out, by making me the first case study. I have no shame in saying that I currently suck at guitar, but what fuels me is this desire to express myself musically, the great feedback I get from GMC instructors, and community, and the methods of practice I am now using.

Oh and Mudbone, I believe you said something about micro improvements, that they are hard to notice, so counting hours doesn't have much value. I have to disagree, and if I misunderstood, I apologize, but I knew instantly when I got it, because I was no longer thinking about it. It was becoming a part of me.

I have been playing about 9 seconds of Metal Rhythm with Octaves over, and over, and over, I have the hours logged, but not handy. So I will guess I have put in many hours, and also I am fine tuning my practice, and the methods I am using. Where it started to click for me, is when I took the video converted in audio, and with the instructor, and backing track I used a program to slow down the tempo. So i would play along with it at different tempos. Had I did that from the beginning I would have progressed much faster, but that's ok. Any ways just by playing the first 9 seconds of the song has yielded gains in timing, and rhythm. I am trying to reach a point of critical mass, or momentum. Where once I have learned that part really well, the other parts should be easier to learn, because I have focused one one part and I have absorbed what I could learn from it. Up/down rhythmic strumming, timing, octaves (finger placement), slides, and working on speed. All of this I am sure will have a direct benefit on when I go on to learn something else. Usually I will try to learn the whole thing, and I don't give myself enough time to really know a particular element of the song, and it sabotages my efforts. I learned this from project management. take a project, and divide it into small doable chucks. Same thing with a song.

OK..I could go on, but I want to go play guitar. See ya!

Posted by: Todd Simpson Apr 14 2012, 03:03 AM

QUOTE (SirJamsalot @ Apr 13 2012, 05:37 PM) *
spot on!
if you sit there staring at the clock in hopes you've reached an hour-milestone, then I think general reason for the study is being overlooked ~ you're not alone if you've been playing several years and aren't pro-material yet ~ understand it takes time, and a long time at that! Enjoy what you do, don't stare at the clock and you'll be a happier person cool.gif


Bingo smile.gif Well said.


QUOTE (DarkWaveRiffer @ Apr 13 2012, 07:16 PM) *
Lots of great points here. I agree its not about but ... So they are motivated by need to create, and that drives their practice. Practice should be fun. If its not, then find a way to make it so.
...



WOW! THIS IS JUST A KILLER POST!

FRAN PLEASE PLEASE ADD TO THE WIKI!

You really have some killer info here. You clearly read every post and put serious thought in to the reply. Well done. And best of all, YOU GET IT! Balancing progress with enjoyment, using tools/goals/procedure to enhance results and realizing their are not results in an of themselves, YES YES AND YES!

Well done wink.gif

Posted by: DarkWaveRiffer Apr 16 2012, 07:57 AM

IF it wasn't for gmc, and everyone's unique perspectives, I would have never really examined closely why you should log your practice hours, and come up with the observations that I have. This is an awesome community!

QUOTE (Todd Simpson @ Apr 13 2012, 09:03 PM) *
Bingo smile.gif Well said.
WOW! THIS IS JUST A KILLER POST!

FRAN PLEASE PLEASE ADD TO THE WIKI!

You really have some killer info here. You clearly read every post and put serious thought in to the reply. Well done. And best of all, YOU GET IT! Balancing progress with enjoyment, using tools/goals/procedure to enhance results and realizing their are not results in an of themselves, YES YES AND YES!

Well done wink.gif


Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Apr 16 2012, 11:47 AM

Thanks on behalf of everyone mate! smile.gif You seem to be a very concerned player and your progress is showing off each time biggrin.gif Keep up the good work!

Cosmin

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