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I agree. 

You know, as far as Chordie goes, there are only a few ads placed in a few places.  Up top under the main navigation, and along the sides.  That's it.  If you are getting ad's covering pages or popping up randomly - it's not Chordie doing it.  You may have a virus.  If you need help with your computer, there's lots of folks here that will be happy to help with that too.  It's best not to hop on and blame the site that has people willing to listen and help.  Seriously - now a days there's ads on EVERY website.  If they're obnoxious, then it's not the site. 

Anywho - Quaz - I think it's good you came back. Usually when people make their first post a complaint, they don't.  So, as others have said, please let us know what it is you're having issues with - more specifically - and we'll be more than happy to help.    Irish - same thing.  Give us some specifics as to what your issue is, and we'll help.  There's really not any more ads on Chordie than there were on the old version of the site, so I'm really confused about the complaints there.

I agree on the whole strings thing.  I don't do bends or anything fancy like that.  I'm very simple, but I agree, .11's are too thin sounding.  When I don't use a pick, I'm strumming mostly with the side of my thumb (fleshy part, not the nail) and the tips of my nails (the back, where the nail polish goes).  I just wanted to clarify that, I DO know what you're talking about!   Of course finger picking is primarily with the nail or finger tip - depending on the sound I'm looking for.  I think if my nails were short on my right hand, it would be far more difficult to play and NOT hit the tops of the fingers "near the cuticle" area.

I find cutting the nails opposed to filing them tends to allow the nails to grow stronger.  But, I don't have wonderful nails either.  I do prefer a fine pro file to an emery board (no sand paper for me).  Those tend to tear the end of the nail up and just cause cracking, splitting, flaking.  Fiberglass nail wraps are great!  Ridge filler is great!  ALSO great, prenatal vitamins.  Man my nails were so beautiful when I was taking those.    The old wives tale about making nails stronger had to do with gelatin.  But I think that one's not true.

OH - Roger and TIGLJK - when you've decided, you can either post your song of choice in this thread, or send me an email with the song choice and I'll get the new thread for August started! 

Ditto Rogers Sentiment!

Excellent job Joe and Jan (and crew).    How nice to get a few others to join in with you Jan!!!

Joe as always, your playing is infectious.  It makes me want to grab my guitar and play along.  You're a true entertainer all the way around.  (I hope there was a pick in your hand.  If not, I can see why your poor finger tops are in so much pain!)

Quick nail anatomy lesson! 

The area of living skin around the top of the nail often referred to (improperly) as the cuticle area is actually called the Eponychium - also referred to as the "nail fold".  The cuticle is actually a very thin layer of dead skin on top of the nail that is often scraped and removed during a manicure (it should only be partially removed, not completely removed).  The eponychium along with the cuticle help to seal the nail from bacteria.  The area under this and below the nail (where you can see a white crescent) is where the nail is actually formed and is called the matrix.  Should the matrix become too damaged, the nail will no longer form. 

It's not good to damage the eponychium.  It's an area highly prone to swelling up like a balloon - rushing white cells to the area -  to help prevent bacteria from entering the nail bed and permanently damaging the matrix. You know, like... you get a scratch anywhere and - no biggie - but you get a scratch right along your eyelid and all heck breaks loose!  Natural defenses and all.  Be careful there. 

I don't know if you'd build up callouses there or not, I kind of think not though.  Possible infection in that area would cause a lot more pain and possible trouble down the road.  If you're playing that rough, you're scraping off small layers from the top of the nail too.  Eventually this could cause brittle nails, splitting, flaking, etc - making it difficult to grow the nails long enough and keep them there for finger picking.  I think - if you're doing a lot of strumming and hitting the strings with the tops of the nails - it might be a good idea to plop on a protective layer (Look for a nail ridge filler - it's generally fairly clear and matte). 

If you do opt for a Fire Engine Red topcoat lacquer, you'll be able to see very quickly how much damage is being done to the top of the nail as the polish gets scraped and scoffed off.  I try to limit myself to just a few songs that I strum without a pick, for the health of my nails (and rarely wear polish because it doesn't look good at all after an evening of  guitar playing). 

Interesting fact: It takes about 6 months for the body to repair the typical damage done by one poor nail service (ie, acrylic nail surface preparation generally includes filing the nail surface and the "cheapo" places tend to over do it.  Then women will also often peel the acrylic off once it starts to lift - taking additional nail surface layers off in the process).  These are your claws.  Protect your claws. 

Thank you, again, all of you! 

Ark, I do remember us discussing that once before.  It likely was around the time I wrote the other song (The Tears of Six Years - Gah... that was 7 years ago now!).  I'm so glad to hear that you were able to find the grave and get a headstone placed.  No doubt this has helped your wife's healing process.  Our daughter is buried at the foot of her grandfather's grave (my husband's father passed on many years ago, before I had the chance to meet him).  We just have that simple stepping stone that I painted as a marker, near his foot stone -  but I love it, and it's perfect. 

Pete, "dont worry  look at the moon and Daddy will be up there" - what a lovely thought to hold onto!

You all know what's really awesome?  No matter the beliefs - hope and love surely never die.    Thanks again everyone!

  Well I'm glad I could be an inspiration! 

No truer words.  The 3rd rock will continue to spin despite our beliefs or existence.  Enjoy what you cam while you can.  Very well done Mojo!

Ya know, I think anyone can music and enjoy music.  Sometimes there's a need to do it "correctly" and "well" and other times it's a matter of doing it for the fun of it.    Knowing how to play correctly and well certainly is a difficult point to get to, but makes the fun - down the road - more enjoyable.  It's just not always so enjoyable to start with. 

I figure someday I'll learn how to play "correctly" and "well".    In the meantime, I'm having fun and enjoying it.  So just remember, Scott:  sometimes it's practice to learn how to do it correctly and well - and sometimes it NEEDS to just be FUN.  Find a balance.  Push them when they need the push, and let them just have fun when they need a break from the practice grind so they don't get too flustered and throw their hands up in the air and quit. 

When I took voice lessons, I HATED listening to the recordings of myself singing.  The whole point of it was to POINT OUT what I was doing WRONG so that I could correct it.  It worked great, but it was painful. LOL!  When I'd had enough, I'd sing my heart out to some simple songs to keep the enjoyment aspect in there.  Same with the clarinet.  Every reed squeak was pain (to everyone listening).  After enough practice, it was time to just push the envelope and try to make the squeaks sound purposeful!

It's my opinion that people don't quit because it's too difficult, they quit because the difficulty makes it no longer fun and enjoyable.  THAT is what music is about after all, right?    Encourage, point out the improvement, point out when you see it getting "easier" because the muscle memory is improving, and encourage them to take breaks from practicing on perfection and just do something FUN.  Sometimes, those fun mistakes become amazing breakthroughs.  By purposefully causing a clarinet reed squeak, I learned better how to avoid it and I didn't even realize it.

hee hee... we all just wanted to see you and hear you talking!  That was really nice of you to do the vid for her Scott.

Thanks for sharing these with us!  That's it, you're officially in the IN Crowd with Chordie now.  LOL!    You'll have to join us in a few more threads, really great stuff Kev!

Happy Birthday to the lovely Dondra!

Dino - I may have missed yours.. if so, a very happy belated birthday to you as well!

I was feeling sad today. Coming here and listening to all these renditions of the two songs made me smile.   
REALLY GREAT JOB ALL OF YOU!  If this was a competition, I have no clue how I could possibly pick a winner! 

Roger's Down on the Corner sounds so FULL - that autoharp adds SO MUCH!  Mojo's version feels like he's RIGHT HERE at the Backyard gathering.  Graham's got the guitalele going and it brings such a unique voicing to songs!  That's only mentioning the most RECENT recordings posted!  You guys are amazing!  Thank you so much for participating and sharing your talents with us all!!!!!!!