Hi David. Excellent video. Great advice.  I studied with you at NSGW some 30-years ago, when I was a middle-age pure beginner.  A vet of the bar-band and the singer-songwriter scenes, I stopped playing guitar 2-years ago when a growth in my spinal canal left me paralysed.  Thinking I'd never play again, I gave my finest guitar to my granddaughter, who was beginning to play. Then the miracle happened - I meet a surgeon who rebuilt my spine out of steel and after months in the hospital and a ton of rehab - I am playing again. I don't have full feeling or strength in my hands or fingers, but I am creating some beautiful sounds.  Getting back to basics, playing acoustic and electric solo blues, I am so happy to have found your YT channel. Its just what I need right know.  Many thanks.  Subscribed.

David is a natural teacher.

Great insight! To paraphrase: "When you hear someone playing a song you like, you're not hearing them IMITATE somebody else."

Thanks David!  Excellent advice.  My turning point in my guitar journey came when I was in my mid-30's and I made a list of 20 songs I wanted to be able to play end-to-end.  That list quickly shortened to 5 songs when I realized I was overreaching, but decades later my repertoire is over 100 and still growing. 🙂

Great revelation: When you take on learning a masterful, complex piece exactly as recorded by a seasoned professional, you're trying to take a shortcut to the culminated learning and accomplishments that took the professional his whole life (to that point) to attain. You're setting yourself up to fail.

Excellent, valuable discussion and lesson.

Fantastic lesson as always from my favourite teacher ! Thanks David, from the UK👍

This is an interesting channel. The thing that has bugged me most about online channels is they explain a lot about how to play but not much about how to learn. They, with a few honourable exceptions, never really talk about the amount of practice needed (it’s usually at least months) just to master technique or the enormous effort needed to really get to a point where you can take a piece of music and make it your own (probably years). This leads many people to give up too early. Trying to play like someone else is admirable especially if you love them but in the end you will only ever be at your best if you play like yourself

Ive been devouring your videos this past week and I cannot express my gratitude and thanks enough. I was feeling stuck in a rut with what I was playing and your "Guide to fingerstyle blues" showed up on my recommended. I dont think i've been playing this much guitar just for fun in years. Your videos are so articulate and well put together. Thank you David!

Such a well thought out lesson. I just found your channel while looking for examples of Trouble in Mind. Liked and subscribed. I think I’ll be watching a lot more of your videos over the coming weeks. Keep up the great work!

One more shout out to you David.  The best $5 I ever spent was to take a slide guitar workshop with you at the Fast Folk Cafe in NYC.  You taught me the technique of using the fingers behind the slide like a "bridge" to make it more comfortable to dampen the strings behind the slide.  No more fatigued sliding hand.  Brilliant!

I've watched so many videos but your's are the best.  I just like you....

You da man! Single, best explanation I've ever seen on how to improve one's guitar playing, I would call it the Unified Theory of Blues Guitar.

Fantastic lesson—can’t wait for the rest. My problem is that I spend so much time watching all your video presentations that I can’t find enough time to fully utilize all the tools and techniques that you give us.

New viewer saying thanks, David!

This really is such great advice. I’ve spent hours and hours trying to replicate people’s exact performances, but never stopped to think that I’m trying to learn someone’s entire life’s skill set in a couple days and (arrogantly) wondering why it’s so hard. I’ve been bingeing your channel and just really love your teaching style. Thanks for all your work!

I am really enjoying this channel. It fills in a lot of blanks that many don’t share. Thank you.

Great lesson, I just subbed to your channel after Tony mentioned it on Acoustic Tuesday and I am so glad I did. This is a genre of music I fail at miserably on acoustic and am so glad to find you. I am looking forward to future lessons.

These ideas are just wonderful! I learn to play a bit guitar and gave up. Now, after many years, in my frente time I'll take back the guitar and, with your help, learn the magical blues.
Thanks a lot.

Thanks Dave! I think this is one of your best teaching moments ever. Clear, simplified complexity, pace, and suscinct. Excellent. - JB