The worldwide community of guitarists and musicians is one of the main reasons why TrueFire is where it is today. With our students’ input and feedback, we stay motivated to continue to expand our library and improve our music e-learning experience. So, while we spend a lot of time highlighting our incredible faculty and content, we think it’s time to move the spotlight on some of our most passionate users.
In this Student Spotlight series, we’ll be showcasing a member of the diverse TrueFire community and sharing their thoughts with you. We hope you find yourself inspired. Ignited we stand!
Student Spotlight: LLLJr
Your Name:
Les L.
How long have you been a TrueFire Student?
3 years.
Tell us a little bit about yourself as a musician:
I started playing guitar at age 15 back in the 1970s and played in a band two years later with a few gigs here and there. I was also in art school and had to choose which way to go. Choosing an art career put my guitar playing on the back burner for decades. Now in my 60’s love for playing music and especially the guitar, never left me. When I decided to pick the guitar up again, I was frustrated. After spending some time on YouTube, I discovered TrueFire. I learned the CAGED system, and that opened a whole new world for me. In the past three years, I have dug into theory and technique and explored new genres, and have progressed so much further than I thought I could. I have learned so much about the blues roots of the music that I grew up listening to and have learned to enjoy country and jazz too. I even have picked up the bass and am gigging again. I live in Tomball, Texas.
What attracted you to TrueFire at first?
I first found some of the TrueFire videos on YouTube, and after doing the free trial was hooked.
What are some of your favorite TrueFire courses or lessons?
Right now, Jack Ruch’s course is doing a lot for me. I have also enjoyed several courses by Jeff Macerlain and Robbie Calvo. I have also enjoyed some of the song lessons. There is so much to dig into on the site.
How has TrueFire helped improve your playing?
In years past, I mostly memorized things that others showed me or what I could find. I ended up playing the same things over and over and getting bored. Now I know the whole fretboard and how diatonic harmony works, and can write my own songs and figure out how to play the things I want, and can improvise.
Why do you use TrueFire, and how often?
I used it several times a week to move me forward in my own guitar-playing journey. I love to learn, and with this resource, I don’t get bored.
What is your favorite feature of the TrueFire learning experience?
The interactive tabs and the ability to slow things down and speed them up as I learn something new. The new master class by Robben Ford is excellent too. I like courses that go into depth. The ones that don’t I don’t find as useful.
Who is your favorite TrueFire Educator and why?
He only has one course on TrueFire so far, but Jack Ruch. I like it when the instructors do a whole solo or song, and the whole thing is transposed. It gives me more context. Not just a short lick that gets played over and over.
What would you like to see more of at TrueFire?
More song lessons for jam nights.
Any other comments?
I like that you are adding some other instruments because many of us do dabble.
Join the TrueFire Community!
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