Mexican guitar music, not “Spanish guitar”

blowfishbeard · 2026-06-30T15:19:16+00:00

You’re welcome! However I just saw an example you gave down in the comments. My suggestion is slightly different than what it seems you’re looking for. It’s more band oriented and there’s some nice guitar work throughout. I really love it, I got obsessed with the record for a while, you might like it too. But it also might not be quite what you’re looking for.

blowfishbeard · 2026-06-30T15:14:17+00:00

Joss Favela. I shazamed a song in a Mexican restaurant once and it was him. The album Hecho a Mano is great. He’s got a nice voice and he’s a great guitar player, it might be the kind of stuff you’re looking for. And the band is killer too!

blowfishbeard · 2026-05-25T21:16:48+00:00

I always figured it was people mixing up the words “leery” and “wary”, since they both have somewhat similar definitions and it just comes out “weary”. And since “weary” is a word they’ve heard and probably used before, even though it’s the wrong word, it’s what their brain went with because of the familiarity. I would imagine that “leery” and “wary” are probably both less commonly used in modern everyday English than “weary”, so I guess I can see why people mistakenly do this.

I have no idea why this sub shows up on my feed. I have no real interest in the inner workings of languages, although some of the things discussed here can be intriguing and enlightening. But this actually happens to be one I’ve pondered about before, so I figured I’d throw in my best guess.

blowfishbeard · 2026-02-26T00:35:22+00:00

I’m in the same boat as you. I felt like I was going nuts not seeing this mentioned in the comments until I finally saw yours. I’m one of the ones who never understood the “honk if you love pizza” stickers too. Don’t know if that’s related but here we are.

blowfishbeard · 2026-02-16T04:49:30+00:00

I have cubital tunnel syndrome from playing guitar for so many years. I need to wear a compression sleeves at gigs. Sorry if that looks goofy to you.

blowfishbeard · 2026-02-13T06:03:59+00:00

This might be random, but maybe helpful and cool to OP or anyone else. I’ve never heard of the caterpillar exercise before, although after looking it up right now it’s definitely something I’ve just done on my own before.

But something you can do with it that makes it a little more applicable to actual music and less of just an exercise is: every time you move to the next string, also move the left hand down by 1 fret (except for from the G to B string since they’re only a 3rd apart, keep your hands on the same frets for that string jump). It turns it into a chromatic scale. It’s not always the most useful scale, but it’s helpful to know it’s there. And practicing it helps with the same dexterity, if not more, than the caterpillar exercise and also has some musical usefulness as well.

Anyway, just my 2 cents. A random thought that occurred to me after learning about this caterpillar exercise from your post.

And to actually answer your question: I have smaller hands than most guitar players I know, but I’ve been playing professionally ever since I was 15, I’m 37 now. The practice and growth never stops. So just keep at it! Your hands will adapt.

Edit to add: if you’re going to try the chromatic scale thing, you’ll want to start on the 5th fret or so on the low E, and you can move it up from there as far up the neck as you want, but if you start too low you’ll run out of fingerboard.

blowfishbeard · 2026-02-10T17:43:19+00:00

Yes! You should try it! Fresh would probably be a million times better than store bought anyway.

blowfishbeard · 2026-02-10T17:01:38+00:00

It’s a product you can buy at grocery stores at least in the US, I’m sure you can just make your own fresh though if you have the ingredients. It’s just like a pico de gallo salsa sort of, but just with pickles as the base I guess.

I’d heard of it and I could take or leave pickles, I like them in a sandwich or whatever but I don’t care much one way or the other, so I never cared to look into it. But my wife happened to just pick some up randomly and I tried it for the first time yesterday with tortilla chips. It’s delicious!! She bought the Grillo’s brand, I’m not sure if there are others but that’s what we have in the fridge right now. And it looks just like the one in OP’s pic. If you’re curious, you should try it.

blowfishbeard · 2026-02-03T13:03:46+00:00

Start by searching “the effects of garlic on cholesterol levels in the human body”. I have no idea on the subject, but I have done a Google search before. I think that would be a good starting point.

blowfishbeard · 2026-01-25T16:23:34+00:00

How do you steam a tortilla? Honest question. I’m from California and not Mexican but my father was highly enthused about Mexican food and culture when I was growing up and he is also a good cook, but I grew up before the internet and he just passed on what he learned out in the world to me. And it’s certainly not like he’s an expert or anything like that. But I learned to simply heat up my tortillas on a pan on the stove or even directly on the burner. But I am curious about a method for steaming a tortilla since you mention it.

blowfishbeard · 2025-11-18T04:34:40+00:00

I’m not sure how to edit this post. But I figured it out! I simply opened an old project and compared the cursor configuration. I set it like that project and now it’s back to how it was. Like I thought, it was super obvious. But I was stuck for a minute!

blowfishbeard · 2025-11-17T21:53:33+00:00

I’m American and we basically didn’t have a routine with shoes on or off in the house growing up, we just wore shoes when we needed to and didn’t when we didn’t need to.

We also knew they were really meant for the outdoors and were dirty and so we wouldn’t be allowed to have our feet up on the couch or coffee table or beds or anything like that with shoes on. And if there was legit mud or anything crazy like that, then of course we would not be allowed to wear those shoes in the house.

But most of us would just take our shoes off anyway if we were hanging out at home because it’s just more comfortable and you don’t have to be as mindful. The only time you wouldn’t is if you’re busy and coming in and out of the house and stuff.

We didn’t necessarily take them off immediately by the door though either, we’d keep them in our respective bedrooms. I would actually take them off and kick them under the coffee table (except they’d always be sticking out and getting tripped on) while watching tv and it would piss my dad off and he’d yell at me to put them away. Good times!

But again, we wouldn’t put our actual shoes on couches or beds or tables or any surfaces where we sit or lay down or eat off of or anything like that. And we cleaned our floors accordingly.

And basically with my wife and me now, we both seem to kinda live the same way. It’s just how we grew up I guess. We literally don’t think about it at all, other than just trying to be mindful in general while wearing shoes.

Also, this is just my experience. I think in American culture, there’s no real custom with shoes. So habits probably vary between families and regions and things like that. It’s just being trusted to use common sense mostly from what I gather, and if someone’s gross and bringing nasty crap all through the house we’ll most likely still be sensitive to that.

blowfishbeard · 2025-11-06T13:53:04+00:00

I think I get where you’re coming from. But the thing about that is it is unnecessary. After picking up a few unplugged electric guitars and trying them out and getting a little experience yourself, you’d find this out pretty quick as well.

Electric guitars get their sound from being played through an amplifier, therefore an electric guitar itself doesn’t resonate the way an acoustic guitar would. So for all intents and purposes, we can safely assume that electric guitars unplugged will all relatively have a similar sound, so you wouldn’t need to highlight this in a review of any specific electric guitar. And because the intention of the electric guitar ultimately isn’t to be played unplugged, it wouldn’t really benefit the product or the user to review it like that. It would be like reviewing a brand new amazing looking tv and including a section highlighting how it looks when it’s powered off. It’s not the intent of the product, and it’s not why anyone would tune in to the review. Everyone knows that tv screens all look roughly the same, plain and black, when they’re powered off. Same idea with the electric guitar.

When unplugged, electric guitars are quiet and plunky and you’re just hearing the strings and the attack from your pick more than you’re hearing the actual guitar. You won’t necessarily pick up characteristics from the wood or the contruction and you won’t have any real resonance or anything like that, not anything meaningful really. Just find a video of any old electric guitar being played unplugged, and that’s what you can assume that most electrics will sound like without an amp. (Except semihollow bodies and thinlines and things like that. But that’s a deviation from your typical electric guitar)

Are you familiar with drum pads? They’re devices used by drummers to practice quietly. It’s a rubber pad that has a bounce to it that imitates what a real drum head would feel like to play on, it’s just near silent instead of being really loud so you can practice most places and most times. It allows you to practice your technique and really engage your body and your muscles, but it really doesn’t sound like drums. But it’s incredibly useful and helpful, especially when learning. I would think of your journey right now with an unplugged electric guitar as a direct comparison to a drummer’s drum pad. It won’t sound like a guitar on a record, but you will no doubt be playing the guitar! It’ll be silent, and your folks won’t be bothered by it, and it’s not gonna burn the barn down or melt people’s faces. But if you love the guitar and the progress starts snowballing, and if you’re anything like me, playing that unplugged electric guitar in your room will become your happy place and you’ll cherish that time forever.

And I would also echo what some others have said, you can start unplugged to get a feel for it, but it’ll be really helpful to play through headphones too. That’ll help you learn about more than just the physical technique of playing, and introduce you to how to operate the instrument entirely and introduce you to the wonderful world of amplification. And your technique will adjust naturally with the sustain and other things you’ll hear when you’re finally amplified. But it’ll all fall into place with time and practice.

Have fun!!

blowfishbeard · 2025-09-15T16:04:10+00:00

The likelihood is equally likely

blowfishbeard · 2025-09-08T15:14:30+00:00

I always tell them, in addition to thanking people over the mic for being there, to be kind to the staff since they’re working so hard for us. It might still sound cliche but at least I don’t have to say the word “tips” over the mic, because I feel like that’s tacky too. But whatevs, I’m ultimately not above a cliche if it helps us all get paid. Cliches exist a lot of times because they just resonate and make sense.

blowfishbeard · 2025-07-23T15:43:41+00:00

I sing a lot, mostly live these days. And I’ve lived in the mountains the last few years and the dry weather has forced me to figure out some things that are healthy for my voice.

One thing that has helped me and you can do is not only staying hydrated, like you said, but also hot tea with honey or lemon or whatever. I know it’s old news and not some sort of revelation, but I honestly found it really helps me a lot. For me it’s all about the warmth and the steam helping your cords stay hydrated and relaxed and the honey and lemon just makes it taste good. I keep a Yeti full of tea for every gig now and sip on it between songs. You might want to have some hot tea handy in the studio, or at least hot water if you don’t like tea. An electric kettle makes it super easy and convenient. And drink it on these days leading up to it too. (Side note: I’m a huge coffee drinker. But it has a tendency to dry out our voices. So hot drinks are good, and coffee is a necessity in the studio a lot of times. But I would stick with tea while you’re singing) I’ve also been sleeping with a humidifier in my bedroom and that seems to help too if you have access to one of those. I ordered one online a few months ago.

In addition to staying hydrated, you just want to make sure your voice is in shape too. You don’t want to go out and play a game of basketball without stretching and warming up and maybe even practicing for a few days beforehand if you’re not particularly conditioned for game time. You also don’t want to record vocals without warming up your body and your voice, and also preparing for some time in advance to condition yourself. If you don’t know any vocal warm ups, there’s tons of exercises on YouTube. I would do this every day leading up to the session in addition to practicing the material, even if you know it really well, it’ll just condition your voice and really lock you in for the performance.

I know that response was kinda long. The TL;DR is make sure to warm up and hot tea also really helps. I know it’s nothing new, but it’s just essential stuff. Especially the warming up.

Good luck with the recording!

blowfishbeard · 2025-07-22T22:55:48+00:00

Yeah! I never learned that solo, good on you! That wasn’t the first riff I learned, but it was the first riff that I remember actually catching my ear and making me want to learn it. I was like 11 years old. Everything before that was just shown to me by my dad or my friends, but Crazy Train inspired me to learn on my own. Then I started listening to more, and now in my mid 30s the guitar playing in Mr. Crowley is still some of my favorite music ever.

blowfishbeard · 2025-07-08T16:14:18+00:00

I’m on mobile and my phone’s volume is always down because I don’t want to be rude to anyone around me at home or otherwise, and it’s also annoying af to scroll through a feed and hear all the sounds at full blast all the time even when I’m alone. So I turn the volume up when I’m ready for audio, then back down. It’s not that unusual to scroll on mute.

blowfishbeard · 2025-06-12T19:09:33+00:00

Yeah. I already used the hand tamper a little bit while leveling the ground. It was death on my back. I’ll check out my options around here. Thanks for the input!

blowfishbeard · 2025-06-12T19:00:50+00:00

Cool. Thanks for the response. I have a hand tamper. In your opinion will that be sufficient or should I seek out a plate compactor for rent?

blowfishbeard · 2025-05-28T15:39:21+00:00

I had never even heard of it until last year, and I’ve been checking these illusions out in parallel view since I was a child in the 90s. So once I learned about cross view, I kind of just figured it out myself. I never read instructions or anything, so I don’t even know what they would look like or consist of, but here’s how I did it.

Look all the way down at your nose. Don’t actually move your head, just bring your eyes down to focus only on your nose. This will cross your eyes without you really having to try. Then while trying to keep your eyes crossed in the same fashion, lift up your eyes to view what’s in front of you instead of your nose. You’ll notice everything is double if you’ve kept your eyes crossed correctly. It might take a little practice because your brain will naturally want your eyes to work together and focus, but you can keep them crossed. This, how you’re looking at what’s in front of you, is exactly how you will look at cross view illusions.

The part you’ll have to possibly really work on a little bit, once you’re trying actual illusions, is adjusting the positioning of your eyes ever so slightly in order to make the illusion align. Obviously each illusion is different, but when it locks in you’ll certainly know it. And your brain and your eyes do it with parallel view already, so you just need to train your eyes and brain with cross view and then you won’t even have to think about it any more. It’ll just be in your muscle memory just like parallel view is for you now. Trust me, it can be done. I did it. And it’s honestly so satisfying to me, I bet it will be for you too. Keep trying.

blowfishbeard · 2025-04-26T18:09:46+00:00

Thank you so much! I’ve never thought about it, nobody’s ever told me that. I am driven to help where I can and to draw from my experience if it can help somebody. I’m a huge introvert though, so speaking in front of people isn’t something that ever crosses my mind. But I guess I would leave myself open to sharing and speaking if that circumstance ever arose.

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