I never understood how Brian didn’t burn out cranking out a new EP each week! I think the MLs are quite valuable and look forward to seeing more of them. And if it means fewer EPs that’s alright. I would even be alright if Brian only released something bi-weekly if it meant he wouldn’t get burnt out and stick around with us longer!

I think it’s a great idea. It’s a win-win.
I was hoping he would do something like this …as it’s much more realistic (for me anyway) to spend time on a microlesson everyweek rather than spend time on a lesson of another person’s solo (as valuable and all as that would be).

I am totally fine with Brian doing a ML every 2nd week. They are very valuable.

Personally I couldn’t keep up with learning a new EP each week anyway. I watch each new lesson both parts but I just can’t learn or play the entire content due to lack of time. Sometimes I even get frustrated that my brain can’t digest all of Brian’s teaching. But I try to take sth out of it. Besides, Brian also composes wonderful blues music pieces which sometimes makes it even more overwhelming.

And like John says, there is still a huge catalogue of lessons, not to mention all these backing tracks we can use to improvise.

Brian must stay healthy and not loose his joy for his business🙏🎸.
Denise

I could see Brian doing one EP lesson per week while he was building his catalog. But to assume that viewers would get bored unless a new lesson comes out every week might not be correct. If they are bored and can’t wait for the next lesson to come out, that implies they have already gone through the 600 existing lessons.

So what is the goal, to get more Youtube views or to get more viewers to become Premium AM members? I would ask questions like why would somebody want to become a Premium member? Is it because they get access to Part 2 of the lessons? That was not it for me. Sure, the lessons are great, but pretty soon I was good enough that I didn’t really need Part 2. But downloading the tabs was essential for me, and still is, but I see that many people now days don’t even bother to download the tabs. They just follow SoundSlice, so is that something to emphasize for wannabe members?.

What I liked most was the online community Brian has built, and the interaction with other guitar students. There is no other online teacher who has managed to do that. Lots of us check into the Forum every day just to see what’s going on. Yes, it’s addicting, but that curiosity is the basis for all successful social media.

Lately when people ask me why I’m recording myself playing and what is Active Melody, I tell them it’s like an online club. Right away they get what I mean, and they understand why I spend so much time in the AM environment. It’s fun, like a club. So to me, anything that could make AM seem more like a club might be a good direction to go. More Zoom meetings, or Zoom meetings on different subjects? Could Brian do more Zooming and less EPs? More encouragement to do collaborations? Helen and David have done some good ones lately. Craig from Oz did a great job organizing the AM Jammers.

As for the Forum web page, I wouldn’t change it at all. It’s super simple to navigate, which is especially appreciated by the many older members. By comparison, try to navigate through the Justinguitar forum pages – it’s a nightmare.

And here is a basic truth: Most guitar students don’t sing, including myself. They just want to learn to play a guitar. So if I don’t sing, why would I want to learn to play the guitar part of some Led Zeppelin or Beatles song, for instance? And yet, most online guitar teachers only want to teach you to play cover songs. The fact that Brian’s lessons are all for non-singers is kind of the elephant in the room, but I think it’s why all or most of us like the lessons so much.

charjo wrote:

I’m sure many of you saw this on YouTube but Brian didn’t post it on AM. I thought members should and would want to hear his thoughts.
I, personally, think more Microlessons would be valuable and anything Brian can do to stave off burnout and keep Active Melody fresh and alive is worthwhile.
John

Great idea Brian, we all care about you and want you to keep on doing what you and we love! I’ve been a member and student for a little over two years and I can’t tell you how much your teaching has done for me.
I read a comment under this post that pretty much sums up my perspective, that for me the deep dive lessons are hard to keep up on a weekly bases. At best I’m an intermediate level player and maybe for advanced players this isn’t an issue. Often I will pick and choose which ones I decide to completely review and practice and sometimes go back into your archive and focus on one of those lessons.
So don’t burn yourself out! Again your teaching is unique and amazingly “learnable”. But to me the most amazing thing is how you come up with original material every week! Did Paul McCartney and John Lennon write this many tunes?
Congratulation’s on 600 episodes! Excided to see what you come up with and again thank you so much for what YOU do!

Thanks for sharing that John. The quality and quantity of Brian’s work is unmatched by anyone! This week gave me a break to go back and play some older lessons. That alone helps with my technique. I am so glad to be a part of this community and as far as I’m concerned, Brian can take a week off any time he needs to recharge!

sunjamr wrote:

And here is a basic truth: Most guitar students don’t sing, including myself. They just want to learn to play a guitar. So if I don’t sing, why would I want to learn to play the guitar part of some Led Zeppelin or Beatles song, for instance? And yet, most online guitar teachers only want to teach you to play cover songs. The fact that Brian’s lessons are all for non-singers is kind of the elephant in the room, but I think it’s why all or most of us like the lessons so much.

That’s an excellent point. It was certainly one of the key things that attracted me to AM. To learn to entertain with just a guitar.

On a wider note, I’m looking forward to this new format and hopefully it will encourage me to take a deeper look into the Micro lessons already available too. I’m 100% in support of Brian making life easier on himself to support us for longer, but here’s a couple of reasons I think this new format would directly benefit me.

1) I’m not very disciplined and easily distracted by a new deep dive lesson coming out each week. e.g. I recently abandoned EP598 and set out to learn the EP599 but like almost everyone else can’t achieve that in a week. Along comes EP600 and I want …no MUST…do that. I end up doing none well. It’s not often that happens and I don’t try to do every lesson but a slower output of deep dive lessons would be less distracting and keep me more focused

2) If I do learn a lesson to recital standard, the licks and nuggets of improv gold seem to get ‘locked’ into that lesson and I don’t freely use them when improvising elsewhere. I think this is because those licks don’t get practiced outside the lesson context because I’m too deeply involved in learning the lesson. Micro lessons on the other hand, with their emphasis on a single or few ideas, are much more easily transferred into my improvisation trick bag.
Ofter nowadays, I will try to take away one thing only from each deep dive lesson for just that reason. So I’m treating them much like I would a micro lesson anyway.

This is great news. Thank you Brian for creating this wonderful community and library of lessons. To what Charjo said about ‘going back’ into the catalogue-it’s true. A favorite past time of mine is digging into the older rockabilly lessons or ‘in the style of’ just to discover a new lick or riff I can apply to my own playing. This is the way to study guitar. It’s like being a library/lick nerd. I also see the benefit of the micro lessons. I discovered them a little over a year ago and yes they are more digestible and useful. Wishing everyone the very best in the new year.

John

It was fun getting together on the Zoom and kind of brainstorming some of this with Brian and the community.
Some of the past MLs have made me pick up the guitar immediately to grasp a lick or chord structure…I think they e been great for that kind of quick learning when you don’t have the time to sit down and delve into a full lesson.
Cheers to Brian and the continued success of AM!

I think Andy’s No2 para about ‘licks being locked into a full lesson’ was absolutely spot on. I believe the Micro Lessons with independent grooves, vamps and licks that Brian teaches are more adaptable and moveable to other pieces let alone invaluable for future improvising.

I also echo Steve’s point regards the AM Website, it might have been around in this guise for quite a while but navigation is relatively simple. If you think Justin Sandercoe’s site is difficult, you should try to find a lesson in David Hamburger’s Fingerstyle Five, it’s an accomplished feat in itself.

Richard

My Active Melody membership does not hinge on new lessons being provided every week at all.
I view it as participating in a community and also as small way of thanking Brian for the wonderful gift he has given me.
I’ll follow his lead any time.
Ron

hey Brian
Been with you I think 14 years now
You are a very good person with a very kind heart

pete from japan
forum moderator

Fully support it. I love and miss the micro lessons. Thanks Brian!

Wow, Active Melody is beginning to feel a bit like a democracy, where ideas are discussed, consensus is reached, and conclusions are arrived at.

We debated this topic for some while with Brian at Manfred’s webinar meet-up. The consensus opinion at the meeting was in support of more Micro Lessons possibly in place of full deep-dive EP lessons.

Richard

Hi Brian,
I have been studying your videos for the past several years. I haven’t posted much if at all, but I want to thank you for all of the videos and lessons you have posted over the years. I have learned so much about how to play guitar in such a very short time. I think the micro lessons are a very good idea. Enjoy your well deserved vacation.

You have so many great lessons that I’m sure it will take many of us a long time to learn it all. I am looking forward to them. I am almost done working my way through the CAGED series where you teach us all of the scales, and arpeggios and how to use them. For the first time last week, I was able to figure out the solo on a song called “A fool such as I” written by Hank Snow and covered in a live concert by Rodney Crowell and Emmy Lou Harris by following the chords and using what you have been teaching. (Bye the way that solo would make a great micro lesson ) The acoustic guitar solo is fun to play and then Buddy Miller comes in with his amazing pawn shop guitar using third’s, 6ths and triads all the way up and down the neck. That could also make for a great micro lesson. Thanks again for your dedication to helping the average Joe learn
how to play like a pro.

It’s a lot of pressure to post a weekly lesson and I’m absolutely fine with fewer long lessons and more micro lessons. Come to think of it, it’s a lot of pressure to listen and try to learn a new lesson every week. So Brian can think of it this way; he’s doing us a favor by giving us more time to absorb, learn and practice.
I’ve gone back through some of Brian’s early lessons since I had a recent particular interest in the BB King phrasing. What is very evident is how the quality of the video and sound have improved, as well as Brian’s teaching. He has really grown as an online teacher. Plus he is an excellent guitarist! Great phrasing, musicality and technique and all without needing to be a show-off. Kudos!

congratulations to Brian for the 600 lessons. i wonder how anyone can be so consistent with a new composition every week for so many years.

i also searched the forum for that youtube video but did not find it.

yes,micro lessons are good. i have searched the micro lessons repository to see whether the topic i am looking for is available there as a quick input.

Fully in agreement. There is so much here on Active Melody to keep each one of us busy and fulfilled with always more to learn and perfect at the same time. I always look forward to the weekly lessons but never have time to fully work through each one so there is plenty of material here to keep my subscription going for years to come. More micro lessons would of course be amazing as well.
Many thanks Brian for all that you do so well

I agree with some here that Brian should avoid burn out by cutting back on his weekly lessons. A bi-weekly lesson would be just fine and I would happily pay the same price. I feel overwhelmed sometimes with all the content and find myself falling behind as the lessons come so often. The introduction of more mini-lessons may be a step in the right direction.

For me, the value in Brian’s lessons is learning improvisation. I can learn any song by logging on to ChordU or some such site. When I sit down and pick up my guitar, I want to channel all of the decades of blues and rock I grew up with, but in my own voice. Currently I am cherry-picking Brian’s lessons that teach “by yourself” stuff such as call and response or chord progressions with tasty blues licks that I can simply let the creative juices flow. I’m no expert, but if some micro lessons dove into this type of by yourself improve, then I’m all in.
Thanks Brian for my first year of great fun!

I agree with everything said. Really, it’s totally up to Brian.

I reckon two full EPs and some MLs a month will keep us all resubbing, and also still attract new subs (which may- or not be important, I dunno). Changing the pace might well open up new ways of presenting the material. Change is good, usually.

If it were me I would have folded long ago, being a Gemini with Aries rising and Mars in Scorpio, according to my darlin’ wife 🙂

I think MLs would be more useful for us but the EPs are a big part of Brian’s business.
Lessons are coming out to fast for me, so I rarely use them unless its one that I really like or needed for the challenge.
When I started AM I was checking EP lessons every week since I discovered monthly challenges.
I like the monthly challenges best because it makes me work harder to learn and apply Brian’s stuff.
I like making my own compositions and my own touch when I use an EP.
I am sure Brian will do the right thing for him staying healthy.
CONGRATZ BRIAN ON THE 600TH.

AndréM

As for me, I don’t need a new lesson every week. I always find something in the back catalog that appeals to me or that I like.
Basically, I think it’s great that Brian is trying something new and taking care of himself. We all don’t want him to overdo it. We want to have something from him for a long time to come.
We talked at length about new ideas at the last Zoom Meetup and I’m pleased that we also encouraged him to try out new things.
I also find doing more micro lessons appealing and interesting.
What I would find interesting is if EP and subsequent micro lessons were somehow thematically linked or built on each other. I would also like to see a specific topic for several weeks, like a mini course. Brian has already done this in various ways, e.g. the CAGED series.
But no matter what, I’m excited to see what will come and that way we’ll have enough material to talk about here in the forum.

I’m fairly new to active melody and only a few lessons are completed. The backlog of lessons will keep me busy, so an occasional new lesson and some micro lessons for inspiration would be fun. Even short lessons on style licks or setting a tone with amp/pedals would be interesting. Brian could even talk about favorite albums or guitars and I would partake. I love the solo guitar lessons that have me learning a song with no accompaniment. All good stuff.

I think more Microlessons would be good for all especially beginners like me. I picked up the guitar in a dorm room about 50 yrs ago then and it was in storage until Dec 2022. I found AM and have been playing hours a day ever since and I am actually learning how to play. Most of what I play I have made up and could not have done it without AM.

I think Brian is an awesome person and I can’t imagine how he does a lesson each week and probably has gigs elsewhere.

At any rate, his playing is way beyond my “pay grade” as they say. I just cannot follow these full lessons and keep my attention span locked in long enough to learn much of even one of them. I was going to take a break from the membership because of the above and may still do that. I was planning to come back as a member once my speed skills improve. For me everything needs to be explained much more slowly.

I’d very much like more micro lessons. A 10 to 20 minute micro lesson is fine with me. I’d also like everything explained slowly. Perhaps explain how the triads come out of the caged system and then use triads to explain what’s being played. Going from caged to playing the piece works but it also seems to take longer than just going direct to the triads to explain what’s being played. I find myself converting everything to triads anyhow.

I’d also be fine with 2 micro lessons a month. For me a new full lesson every week is total overload. The price for even 2 micro lessons a month is just fine with me as it is. This is a very, very reasonable price for a site of this quality.

Please do NOT take this as criticism…it is not, I’m that just sharing some ideas. I have a few days left as a member so I have some decisions to make. Thanks for your patience.

Love the concept!!! Congrats Brian!!

I wanted to share my thoughts on your plan going forward I’ve been a member since 2012 and have enjoyed your lessons. I will bee turning 80 next month so I welcome more micro lessons since my memory for long lessons isn’t as sharp as it use to be. I even shorten some of the full lessons when I could. Anyway congratulations on reaching 600 lesson.

Joe

Doesn’t he ever take a vacation?