Scott Paul Johnson
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Community Challenge 101 | C Major (new Patrons welcome!)
🕑 Added 2025-06-24 17:00:05 +0000 UTCWhere to Start • Lesson Archive • Recommended Lesson Plan • Book a Private Lesson
Hi Everyone,
For Community Challenge 101, I thought I'd hit the refresh button and welcome new patrons.
Have you joined recently? Have you been a member for a while, but ignoring the weekly Community Challenge? Are you feeling intimidated by these things?
Let me tell you something:
Writing music is the single best way I know of to get all the things you're learning here deep into your brain and into your muscle memory. Music isn't about knowledge. It isn't about passing tests or getting good grades on quizzes. It's about being able to DO what you know.
Learning music without writing music is like learning english without talking. It's like reading recipe books without cooking. It's like learning how to fix your car without learning how to drive. It doesn't make sense.
These Community Challenges are here to CHALLENGE YOU (obviously. Its in the name) but they are also here as a resource. You don't know what questions to ask until you start taking risks and getting stuck. Writing music brings up so many questions, so much curiosity, and - most importantly - so much self-driven progress.
The day you write something you like that you can't quite play will be the most exciting, frustrating, and empowering day of your guitar life. You'll practice like you never have before to play that cool thing thats just out of reach. And then you'll write something else you can't quite play and the whole process will start over. Before you know it you'll be getting better at guitar AND becoming more creative without any outside help. It's magical.
I'm telling you - from the bottom of my heart and from my 24 years of teaching experience: try these challenges. Try writing music. Just dive in. Make a mess. Waste some time. You'll be so glad you did.
This week the challenge is: Write Something in the Key of C Major
Submit your 5 second voice memo, your napkin sketch, your project you spent 50 hours on, your project you spent 2 minutes before bed on, your best effort, whatever effort you had available at the moment - WHATEVER - submit it to this post on the Community Forum.
Keep in mind, you can always participate in past community challenges, any time.
Comments
Scott Paul Johnson
It's a fine place to ask - I don't have any specific lessons on fingerpicking, but I think ask me about it in the next Office Hours, or check the archive for mentions of fingerpicking in an Office Hours post
Bill Murray
Hi Scott. Maybe not place to ask, but searched lessons for getting started with finger picking. Does such a lesson exist in the archive? Thanks!
Scott Paul Johnson
Good catch - hopefully I said it more than once in the video?
Gregree
Hate to be that guy, but you just said at 3:46 that the major scale is W-H-W-W-H-W-W, but it's W-W-H-W-W-W-H, right?
Scott Paul Johnson
Finishing the series will be immensely helpful, but this Community Challenge is also a lesson that will help you participate
Owl Willows
I've been really wanting to try the community challenges, but I thought I had to finish the music theory course first?
