A standing offer to everyone (regulars, lurkers, and doubters)

Teacher's Lounge
#8

I’m sure that some part of this is my mathematical training, but some part of this is just my personality and how I think.

Please do! Send me a PM and we’ll find some time to have a call together.

Yeah, I won’t be engaging with them in future. I learned a long time ago that you can’t satisfy these people. They’ll find some way to discredit you or shift the goal posts after the fact.

That’s exactly it. It’s fair that some decent people will have some reasonable doubts. Those people are welcome to contact me.

That’s what I’ve done. This post isn’t really for the trolls, it’s to invite the good people of this forum to contact me privately. I’ve been steadily decreasing my involvement in other forums and on social media for the past few years. This is the only place online that I’m still active. I like it here, I’ve had good public exchanges and private conversations with the members here. If people want to chat privately, see some of what I do, or share some of their own thoughts and ideas with me, I’d be delighted.

I should say also, I’ve gotten far more positive responses than negative, and I genuinely appreciate it. This place has been great to me since I joined in 2017.

I should really re-do those videos at some stage. They’re quite old, they don’t reflect my current understanding or mechanical preferences, and I had no experience with guitar teaching at the time.

Before the pandemic, every picking movement I had was some variant of RDT. The “Mode 1” style that I described back then is RDT with some rotation (incidental on the basic movement, and deliberate on string changes, etc). It was built for strict alternate picking and it works very well in that context.

Please do!

Honestly, that comment wasn’t upsetting at all, the video just wasn’t made for that person. Some people want short form content with less talking and exploration of ideas, and that’s cool, it’s just not me.

The anonymous trolls who call me a fraud, and who demand me to “prove” myself to them while they call me a “freak” or a “clown” are getting blocked.

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#9

The internet can be the most toxic environment in the universe, but it also allowed me to connect with this community and you in particular @Tom_Gilroy , who have helped me overcome my musical (and to a certain extent, mental) insecurities with a verifiable technique method, and I do appreciate that.

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#10

Tom, you helped me out big time - I will scream it from the rooftops. It’s seems there’s always a bottom feeder or two trying to drag a person down, eh? Heck with 'em. Keep on keeping on.

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#11

Thanks @steve506 , I appreciate you.

It might be a generational thing, but I’ve been much less comfortable in online spaces over the past few years. I miss the early internet that I grew up with. I don’t enjoy modern social media, and I struggle to see what’s “social” about it at all anymore. It’s just endless advertisements, bot accounts, algorithm chasing engagement bait content and AI slop.

Most discussion forums have died off completely. Everything has moved to Reddit, which only promotes “popular” opinion by design. If you say anything that disagrees with the “conventional wisdom,” you’ll be downvoted heavily.

There’s still excellent information available on YouTube, but only if you already know where to find it. It’s totally saturated, it has become almost impossible to find anything among the engagement bait and algorithm chasing content.

I first searched “guitar” on YouTube in 2005 before it was acquired by Google. There were 17 videos in the results.

I’ve only ever been anonymous on sites that specifically did not allow members to use their real names. Real name, screen name, same thing.

I appreciate you @Scottulus .

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#12

A post was merged into an existing topic: TC platform help

#13

A post was split to a new topic: TC platform help

#14

Hey Tom I think everybody’s already said the important stuff about ignoring the trolls. I bet all the guitar videos we see online have tons of negative comments, the creator just usually deletes them.

Just a small point but if you are doing any demonstrations as a regular part of your lessons, you can simply use zoom to record the lesson and if you ever happen to play something you’re happy with, you can go back through the lesson and cut out the clip. I know this isn’t a priority for you, but if you ever DID want to have some shareable documentation of the abilities without having to sit down and take time to record clips, that would be a fairly painless way to do it.

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#15

I’m only tempted here because I’d probably enjoy watchign you just rip for a while. :laughing: You’re the perfect example of what I value in a good discussion forum - I thought legato/fretting hand stuff was a “your body just figures it out” thing, you told me you disagreed, we had a polite discussion about it… and I realized I was wrong. :rofl:

I still think about your digital cycles stuff a ton, really value insight. I don’t know if I’ll ever play stuff fast enough for it to REALLY matter, but it definitely informs a lot of my fretting choices and I do try to avoid patterns where finger independence is going to quickly going to be a limiting factor for faster playing.

One of these days when life slows donw a bit (heh) I should do another lesson with you. :+1:

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#16

Looks like everything has more or less been said, but I’ll chip in. Tom helped me identify a picking strategy that helped me overcome 30 years of bad habits. I was under the impression that I had something “wrong” with my wrist. Nope. I just needed a good teacher, which Tom is. I can now rip EJ licks that I never thought I could play. Tom can definitely play, but his acumen as a teacher is outstanding. I believe he is a professor at the college level, teaching advanced mathematics. So he’s a professional teacher. We’re all fortunate he is willing to share a lot of wisdom for free on this forum. You’re asleep if you can’t recognize his nuanced knowledge of the guitar. Tom - I know you’re above it, but just post a clip of you crushing some Shawn Lane and shut these over 40 meatballs up.

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#17

I took quite a few lessons from Tom. The dude knows his stuff and can DEFINITELY back it up with his playing. Mind blowing technique and willing to share all the information. One of the best players and most thoughtful teachers I have ever worked with. Thanks so much, Tom. You are awesome, dude.

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#18

I’ve thought about this. In all previous lessons I’ve recorded, I’m made the explicit promise to students that I wouldn’t use any footage from their lessons for any other purpose, out of respect for their privacy. If I’m going to cut clips out, I feel like I should have made it clear that I wouldn’t use footage from lessons that could identify them.

I don’t keep videos from lessons locally, but this is something I could do going forwards. I might even offer a slightly discounted rate to students who are comfortable with appearing on video.

I’ve learned so much more since we spoke, everything is way past proof of concept.

I have to say too, I think seeing things demonstrated in a live lesson for the first time has a powerful effect, and I think it probably contributes to some of why I get a lot of repeat business.

I’d look forward to it!

This, genuinely, is the reason why I offer lessons. I care about how I can best help students to achieve their goals, and seeing students overcome their anxiety, self-doubts, mental blocks and technical limitations is what makes it worthwhile.

I appreciate you @Mcgaffer12 and it genuinely brightens my day when you send me clips of you nailing the EJ lines.

For clarification, I am a permanent (tenured) Lecturer in Mathematics at university level. In Ireland and the UK, the term “Professor” is only used for what Americans call a “Full Professor.” I would be some kind of “Professor” in the US, but I don’t know the details of the American system or the closest equivalent. This is easily verifiable online. If you Google “Thomas Patrick Gilroy” (my work name) and “Mathematics,” you’ll probably find my staff profile on the university website.

I’m also a Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under two of the most respected Black Belts in Europe. I am an assistant coach, so I teach physical skills outside of guitar also. Again, this is easily verified.

To my knowledge, this is the only place online that is receptive to this level of analysis, and I’m deeply grateful to Troy and the team for having a venue for this level of discussion.

I probably should. I’m getting married in June and I really don’t have the time to do it now. After the semester and the wedding, I’ll try to cut some lesson clips and share them here.

Thanks. You’re awesome too, dude.

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#19

Oh hell yeah, congratulations! That’s awesome news.

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#20

Congratulations! Please shred some Shawn Lane as part of the wedding reception!

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#21

Personally, I don’t feel compelled even to take Tom up on this generous offer–I fully intend to sign up for lessons (or at least A lesson) with him soon. The approach he takes to guitar and his fluency with sophisticated ideas have already been extremely helpful to me and have leveled up my own playing. My only reason for not signing up for lessons already is that I essentially don’t know what to even ask.

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#22

My 2 cents, I’ve consulted you,Tom, at least 40 times in the last 3 and a half years, and asked you for analyses and tips, mostly about the right hand but also left hand issues, you could help me with everything, you’ve demonstrated each exercise and gave me very important insights with your outstanding understanding of anatomy and your experience. Thank you very much and forget these people.

See you soon.
Robert

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#23

I deal with this attitude A LOT when it comes to my observations on EVH with regard to the actual playing and his use of tuning offsets, even though I have mountains of evidence for everything. One guy trolled me for almost ten years saying I didn’t know what I was talking about. About a month ago he made a post in which he apologized for not understanding and that he has finally seen the light and he apologized. Which I appreciated…it takes a big person to admit something like that.

But that’s a best case scenario. The overwhelming majority of doubters and people that you just can’t break the comprehension bubble for are just doomed to remain ignorant. You just do your best to help and then move on…that’s what I do at least. The presence of these doubters is one of those perverse signs of breaking through on the Internet or into the general consciousness of the audience you are trying to reach…I say “Huzzah!” for you and me. More haters and doubters means we’re getting somewhere!

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#24

Objectively speaking… if you’re going to offer advice about guitar… and you’re a guitar teacher on youtube … its usually followed up with a demonstration? That’s not that hard to accept is it? At least not for me.

If you can’t demonstrate your ability on the instrument… and you’re trying to teach something on the guitar… then you shouldnt be surprised about a degree of skepticism

#25

Y’all need to develop thicker skin lol.

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#26

With everything that’s happened over the past couple of days, I forgot about this thread completely.

I’m not arguing against the practice or value of demonstration.

I am neither a YouTuber nor a YouTube guitar teacher.

The videos that were posted on YouTube were made essentially as video CTC video comments before I started teaching privately, when I was very uncomfortable in front of a camera.

I can demonstrate everything I’ve discussed, as every student of mine who has commented here has said.

I don’t post clips or demonstrate in YouTube lessons because I don’t want to. I don’t know how to record or edit video professionally, nor do I have the time or incentive to learn these skills. I am not trying to build a YouTube channel or a following on social media.

I do not want videos that are shot in one continuous take without any editing to be judged in comparison to the highly polished and edited (and often outright faked) videos that are the standard on YouTube.

I am a private teacher, and I demonstrate in private lessons. Live and in real time, without any editing or fakery. That is all I am obligated to do. Every student who has taken a lesson with me has been satisifed by my ability to do so, as testimony here plainly shows.

Yes, some degree of reasonable skepticism is fair and acceptable. To outright me of being a fraud, or to insult me on a public platform is not reasonable. Anybody who is respectful is welcome to contact me, and I will happily demonstrate what I do. Everybody else is free to ignore me, I don’t owe them anything at all.

I’ve been commenting here for nearly a decade. Whatever respect and recognition I have earned here has come about organically based on the strength of my writing and analysis, and my willingness to help others. A few persistent people here asked me to begin offering lessons, so I began offering lessons. Student testimony was positive and my reputation as a teacher and player developed.

I was approached by Troy and the team about the possibility of creating a series of seminars, which I kept quiet about until plans were announced here. I’ve been sitting on a significant amount of work and lesson material specifically because I didn’t want to undercut those projects. I was absolutely not “angling” for this opportunity when I joined here, in fact I was initially quite hesitant.

This weekend, I discovered that my work had been plagiarised on Instagram by somebody in a deliberate attempt to mislead viewers and potential students. I was reminded of all of the reasons that I have avoided these spaces the past. It’s also hardened my resolve to get my work out there in the right ways.

Thank you Robert. Your continued support over the years is much appreciated.

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#27

I think you’re letting the trolls get to you, you have spent quite a lot of energy defending yourself but is it really necessary? If you’re confident in yourself than no need to give the troll what he wants.

Because this thread seems to be the definition of feeding the troll if that troll is trying to get a rise out of you. Just saying.

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