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That's a great story, thanks for sharing Robert!!

Thanks Andrew!

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Thanks for the request - I have that exact video on my Guitar Synergy channel

Thank you Joel!!

Thanks George! Ah, that's a nice memory of being at Woodford. I hope to come back there someday. Cheers! Joe

haha cheers Jim!! You and me both!!

Hi there, search Joe Robinson Studio Tour, the video is a year old but I use the same recording equipment now

Record yourself and listen back. I find once I do that it's easy to see what I need to adjust (e.g. I'm cutting off melody notes too short, need the melody to come out more in this part, slowing down/speeding up, etc)

Yes, I think recording is probably the best way of exposing problems/weaknesses - I have lots of those; I’m sure I’ve got somebody else’s share by mistake! Red light syndrome is a harsh taskmaster too (if guitars were cheaper/I was wealthier I’m sure I’d have smashed a few by now). I find that slowing right down can be useful sometimes. It provides an opportunity to micro-manage finger position and where the thumb is planted, in order to facilitate smooth transitions once you come back up to tempo. So with that in mind, and having played the piece an unearthly number of times, how do you nail down the reason why it doesn’t appear to be possible to get a good take, let alone deliver it consistently clean? It seems some days that the more I play it the worse it becomes 🤪. Could be that I just need more repetitions, and I’ve wondered if I’m losing focus because I’ve played it so much it’s starting to make my eye twitch. Maybe poor technique or that the piece is simply on the edge of being too difficult (although aren’t they all when you first start learning them). Maybe it’s all of the above, or something else. Maybe I’m just bad at it and there’s no hope for me. I’ve learned that perfection doesn’t really exist and that pro’s are extremely proficient in covering up/playing through their flubs/fudges. Joe’s playing is incredibly clean, though, and I want to know what witchcraft is involved. If I had a soul I’d have swapped it for chocolate or cakes by now, let alone guitar skills.

​@@parsnipfingers Totally agree with Ryan on recording and listening back. Your question is really about playing and not arranging. Check my playlist of videos about fingerstyle playing. I have a few thoughts reading your message. The first is, what is your goal? Once we identify the goal we have something to work towards. A great goal could be playing x number of gigs or recording x number of videos or anything really. Then it's a case of preparing the best you can, then getting out there and doing it. By doing it, you learn what works and what doesn't and you try again! You work on visualizing what it is like to perform or play well and you keep refining your practice. That's how I do it. When i read the phrase 'maybe i'm just bad and there's no hope for me' - I think that is absolute nonsense. You're right that perfection doesn't exist - to me music is about joy, and I love sharing it with others. You can drive yourself nuts in the practice room if you don't have something you are practicing for. And practicing for the love of it is a GREAT reason. I hope that makes sense!! Rock on and thanks for the question

@@Joe_Robinson thanks for taking the time to respond like this. I also agree with Ryan about recording, which is great apart from that as soon as I hit the record button I become incapable of playing anything without messing it up. "Your question is really about playing and not arranging" - yes it is, and now I feel bad that I should have asked about this on a different video. I'm sorry about that. "What is your goal?" - The goal is to play the piece I've learned consistently clean at tempo. Day after day working on the same piece without any apparent improvement becomes demoralising after a while. It’s probably a case of refining my practice, as you said. I think I’ve lost focus when I probably should focus in closer on particular areas.

​@@parsnipfingers I took a look on your channel and listened to the happy birthday arrangement, you sound great, beautiful chords. My main suggestion would be to work on getting the left hand to loosen up, i think that will really help with accuracy. Your phrasing and tone is really nice

I have an in depth arranging masterclass in my coaching community, which reopens tommorow. You can join here: www.invisibletechnique.com/coaching-community

Yeah kind of and the open chords too😢

Thanks Dennis, i put a Guitar Pro screen recorded video on my Guitar Synergy Channel explaining how i use it. Guitar Pro is more limited than Finale or Sibelius but it's optimized for TAB and much less expensive. So it's popular with a lot of guitarists. Cheers!