ideas-for-flair.txt
===================

Maybe flairs with our favorite classical guitar composer, like they have over at r/classicalmusic


No, no other ideas. I think you have chosen well, though.


Although I am hesitant to distinguish people, it would be nice to have student/hobbyist/professional/teacher indication, allowing people to understand background easily. Credibility is important in many of these discussions, and sometimes these distinguishing things can help.


You could possibly differentiate between "professional guitarist" - "college guitarist" - "guitar hobbyist" ect... but meh its probably fine the way it is. We really dont need elitism in the subreddit. Guitarists are cocky as it is.


If a person is a verifiable instructor they should get something special.


If someone posts a lot with advice for other guitarists on equipment etc or on technique, that could potentially earn them some kind of flair that doesn't stipulate they have to post a video of themselves playing.


Flair options that show an individual's level of skill. Individuals can choose one to help give others an indication of how advanced they are. This may help when people as for suggestions.


I have been on guitar forums that placed a lot of prestige in peoples' "NGD" (new guitar day). Perhaps temporary flair for people who make a NGD post? I know it doesn't add much but it might make that person feel just a little more special for showing off/ discussing their new purchase.


love the flair!  add college grad flair?  add professional guitarist flair (however one would define that?)


A composer flair for people that compose their own.  Student flair for students. Instructor flair for instructors.


If I flair is what I think it is (an icon or writing beside the username) then see below...


I'd suggest a system akin to the one they have at r/musictheory; flairs which denote to some degree what level of playing one is at. If a guitarist post a level 9 piece he'll get a "9" flair if the mods find the piece to be well played. As a European I don't flat out accept the American system, but it can be useful in this setting.


"Performer flair
Luthier flair
Composer flair
Student flair
Professional flair"


Could do artists we're currently studying/learning


I would like to think that there could be more, but I don't have any concrete ideas myself, though there isn't a need for much more.

jam-participation.txt
=====================

"1) Duets/collaboration with other other instrument reddits (e.g. r/violin, r/flute), similar to the Feb 2011 duet jam. This time it would be guitar + violin or guitar + flute, etc.
2) Beginner guitar pieces from r/composer.
3) x-post to r/guitar.
3) Money."


I just got my first classical guitar and start taking lessons tomorrow. I can't say when I'll be ready to post but it is a goal of mine.


Keep suggesting songs that others enjoyed.


"Maybe we can offer something new to uploaders, like a different (more prestigious) flair or more of them. They would have an opportunity to achieve something more through uploading. There could be also a youtube channel dedicated to uploaders. In that case we could say them ""hey, if you upload a video/audio, you might achieve wider audience! Go, do this!"". And that youtube channel could be spread through the reddit or even wider - as a surprise just before a jam.
Last thought would be to add bonus rounds of jams - for example, let's make a jam, where the winner would be the one with most +1 in reddit or with most views in youtube/soundcloud. He wouldn't need some expensive award - the title of ""Jammer of the Month"" would do."


"Instead of just composer of the month, we could have months with a certain technique as the theme -- slurs, tremolo, string muting, arpeggios, scales, rest stroke -- while encouraging people to find and post articles and videos with tips on that technique. This could take some work. It may be challenging to find, for example, a beginner level tremolo piece. However, it might make the jams more interesting.
It might also help to plan the jams a few months in advance. It can be hard to learn and record a piece in a month. If we new what was coming up a few months from now, people could start working on a new piece for a future month's jam, while polishing the current month's piece that they've had a while to work on."


"I'm not sure how voting is really done now but i would suggest opening it up to the community by creating a poll for the userbase to vote on each submission.
This could be too much work though, and really its not all that big of a deal. "


I've commented before, but the range of topic seems exclusionary. There is a strong emphasis, generally motivated by the moderators for playing music that is public domain and free. While I understand the necessity for keeping readers' budgets in consideration, this is not a budget-guitar forum. As a very poor college student eking a  living as a musician, I understand that music is a necessary cost and therefor I do not limit the music I learn by my budget. I've recommended several times items such as living composer jams, or jams centered around south american music, etc., but have been denied multiple times.


Broaden the topics once or twice a year: Have "Spanish-style music" one month, "Latin American Music" another time, or divide by time period instead of specifically by composer: Romantic-era month, Composers who are still alive, etc.


"I feel the tone of the subreddit is very advanced, so im a bit afraid of ""getting in"" because i think i will be ranted at.
Im Beginner level and have to make a push to get to intermediate.
But maybe it's just me from the outside, I havn't really gotten into the discussions and Jams. "


No, you do a good job.  Not sure why I've never gotten around to posting a recording


They seem like a fun way to get people to hear you play, but I must say that I don't know much about them. However, the word "jam" might be a LITTLE misleading... to me it implies that these people are just doing exactly that - jamming. AKA improvising, which isn't exactly at the forefront of classical guitar culture.


"More users promoting the jams in r/guitar.
Many of the r/guitar users feel left behind with the jam fiascos they've had the past couple tries. Our jams are easy to participate in and often provide good source material."


If we could make it sort of unspoken rule that people post links to more music by the artists for the jams, giving players more options to play, I think it'd be fantastic.  While it is a great system we have now, I think with suggestions from other players with direct links to something they know can really expand the music we have here.


make the most difficult pieces 'easier' so people feel like they can achieve the highest levels.  I think people's egos get in the way and they don't want to post an 'easy' piece that is difficult for them to play.


The expert and advanced pieces could perhaps be a little more challenging, right now they're on par with intermediate.


"Instead of forcing them to be monthly, allow a ""post Jam follow-up"" on the following months. I'm not sure a month is good enough to perfect some pieces to the point of, ""Look at me play!"" ability.
So just have a section for people who felt they could perfect there pieces after 2+ months. Maybe a contest to have the ""best player of the jam month/""


More advertisement.


The problem with the choice in pieces is that the easiest pieces are too easy but the hardest would take too long to learn well in a month and I think most guitarists have other pieces they would rather spend their scarce spare time on.





ideas-for-college.txt
=====================

Make sure that the advice given to them are of high standards. Not everything that gets upvoted is good advice. The aforementioned flair might be useful in this regard.


More links to contests/workshops/teachers willing to help!


encourage them to post program pieces to get feedback from the community prior to their recitals.


I'm one of them, and all I would like to see are technique discussions and tips about how to progress from beginner to intermediate classical guitar. Might sound boring to some, but I think it's fascinating to learn how people deviate from what they've been taught/what is the standard.


We should have a thread posted around the time for juries where College students like myself can post the music they've been working on over the semester to get critique from the community.


Student moderation. I also don't participate in the jams often because the repertoire I am learning takes months to prepare, and if it doesn't happen to coincide with the jam, then I'm not going to take the time to learn something new. Open up a thread for posting recital videos, allow discussions on these. Streaming video is an easy option, I've streamed a recital on here before, setup up live user concerts online. Encourage them to discuss material they have been learning.


This would apply to the following two categories as well: I think having a Reddit AMA style interview program for professional performers, pedagogues, etc just for this subreddit would be fun and maybe very informative. Imagine if Andrew York or Scott Tennant could do a Q&A every once in a while? This might not be possible but I think it's a good idea. It might stir up some of the lurkers and encourage them to post more, as well.


I'm a college student subscribed to this subreddit. I'm always interested in new song ideas. If anybody has some interesting things to say about classical composition that'd be cool.


"I suppose a few open threads where we look at one song, and focus on the techniques, or maybe focus on a particular technique and how to perfect it.
The occasional thread about technique would mean that I could type in to the search box ""pizzicato"" or ""octave harmonics"", and see what the residents of this particular subreddit say about how to execute that technique. That would be nice.
It's a small point though, all in all this is a very nice little community and doesn't require much tweaking."


More discussion on technique and interpretation


FREE BEER


We can do a separate challenge for them - upload your playing and put your grade nearby for people to listen. Who knows - if this would work, they might try to achieve better grades at school/college... :D Could be even in a form of our monthly jam.


I'm a college student. I don't know how you guys could help me.


I am not American so I am assuming that college = university. I graduated fairly recently and I have found that whilst I was studying I did not get to practice as much as I would like. Suggesting songs that or not too difficult or time consuming to learn could be helpful.


Access colleges as a resource to increase membership and community. I'm sure a large amount of college guitar students students would be very interested in this subreddit, if it grows.


I'm one!  Hmm...maybe like a monthly technique or skill to go along with the jams?  Just something to focus on


Definitely giving them some flair would be nice.


If they need answers, or even I may find myself in need, I'm sure we'll ask any question we're curious enough in.  From what I've seen, the community never fails.

ideas-for-professionals.txt
===========================

More discussion on interpretation


A place to post their upcoming concerts?


Keep showing them the love and interest others have.  I can't think of a better way to share an interest than to collaborate with it.  The tools are there.


AMAs from them would be cool - I'd love to ask about the nitty gritty of performer life, how to prep for competitions, etc.


As someone who fits into this and the music instructors bracket, I would be happy to participate in a sort of 'ask an expert' type thing. However that may end up being a bit elitist because learners can still give invaluable advice and I wouldn't want them to be denied the opportunity to do so, so maybe a flair (thing beside a username) that shows who is a professional, instructor, college student, beginner etc. would be helpful. I feel silly sometimes having to explain that the advice I give comes from a place of expertise, so it would be nice to have something that says it without users having to spell it out. (I'm not sure if this already happens because I haven't checked in to this subreddit for a while, if you've already got this covered then that's all good).


Promote this subreddit outside of the reddit community so that they can get exposure through their videos or recordings.


they are pretty self-serving already (I kid).


Concert promotion. AMAs, luthier discussions. There could be a stronger attempt to actually connect PEOPLE rather than usernames on the subreddit. Hosting a masterclass via webcam/conference could be a very fun project.


I'm not sure what we can do to serve the professional guitarists, other than to make it a worthwhile place for them to plug their CDs, books, and other materials. It would be awesome if we could encourage the pros to give criticism and advice on the recordings people post, but I'm not sure what's in it for the pros.


In terms of reddit that is hard. The good this about this site is that the playing field (pun not intended) is leveled. The bad thing is that with a level play-field experienced players do not have a say before amateurs because of the voting system, and that may piss off the professionals and the instructors. The suggested flair rating system may introduce just the amount of tilt that is needed to have the more experienced players come forth and be recognized for spending their free time on helping others.


Again, flair.

ideas-for-instructors.txt
=========================

Maybe provide a link on the side-bar for a list of instructors.  Finding quality instructors is really hard for a beginner and that might help.


More discussion on pedagogy


A place to submit their arrangements and or studies/practice techniques.


Give them flair.


Once again, just keep it up.  I'm sure that they'll find whatever they need here if they ask.


Pedagogy discussions hosted by teachers.


1) Free GOOD materials for beginner/intermediate/advanced students.


if they post 20 playing critiques and participate in an ongoing manner, give them teacher flair?


Same as with the pros, it would be great to get constructive feedback on people's recording postings.


Again, flair.


Maybe some way to share teaching resources or ideas that have worked for students.

if-you-were-moderator.txt
=========================

The look of the page has gotten better, but the link on the right seem a little cluttered and unorganized. Moderator led/sparked discussion would be a great way to keep things fresh. Keep tidying things up, it looks more and more professional each time its updated.


As little as possible. I moderate elsewhere and am firmly of the opinion that small, clearly-defined niche groups such as /r/CG require only the lightest of touches. Stifling the free expression of passionate opinion is almost always a good thing, and moderation should be used only for flagrant abuse.


Keep doing what you do.


let the community decide.  downvotes are effective for content that people don't like.  I don't like censoring thought or speech, it's not like our members haven't seen swearing and worse on every other subreddit on this site on a daily basis.


I'd say don't fix what's obviously working just fine.


I would add a few fun little tweeks to the look and feel of the subreddit.


" Find more active, experienced members to organize and participate in more events (I like the Jams alot)
Encourage discussion and again, find active, experienced guitar players that post advice and help members that have questions. Work towards creating more of a resource so that novice guitar players can find accessible advice from experienced guitar players. Maybe use flairs to identify experienced players?  "


Research composers, pieces, themes, ideas, etc. for the monthly jams.


Participate more in discussion in order to try and draw others in.


No memes.


There seems to be a lot of beginners asking about basic technique etc. Maybe you could attach a page with the basics to the side menu, or a link to a thread were people can post advise, or something like FAQ, because these questions are asked pretty often. Then it would be easy to just refer to the mentioned post/sticky, and maybe some people would actually read it before posting questions.


"I'm not sure if this comes under the mods remit, but it would be cool if they could organise an AMA or two with some guitar superstars :)
Second thing, this isn't a rule as such, but it might be useful to have something in the sidebar to politely remind redditors not to assume a users gender. It's a small thing I know, but classical guitar is seen as being so male-dominated and it gets a bit tiring when people say 'he meant this...' or 'thanks dude' and I have to keep correcting them! I know this is a reddit-wide problem but maybe at least on this subreddit it would help bust the myth that all guitarists are men. Not really a rule, just a friendly reminder!
I really appreciate the mods conducting this survey, good job folks."


A video of someone playing a pop song on a classical guitar is not classical guitar music.


I moderate [another subreddit] ive done all the coding for that subreddit and made it look as pretty as it does. If i were a mod here i'd do something similar... this is also me halfway putting in my moderation application.
other then that you guys do a bang up job.


Just try and keep it from turning into r/guitar





subreddit-participation.txt
===========================

Many of the r/guitar users are also fairly new to music in general, or are intermediate players who never really learned a classical style or notation.


"Tap into other online Classical Guitar communities. More events like the Jams. The main issue with participation seems to be the small user base.
Encouragetry to find more active, experienced members to possibly create educational posts/discussions that improve "


1) Money.


I love it.  Discussions are great, I learn all sorts of things, and I'm never bored when I come.  I don't think there's really much to do to increase participation here, all the tools seem there.


"More users promoting the the subreddit in r/guitar.


I think that more high quality discussion would be helpful. Most of what we see is either beginners asking questions or posting of music. Also, posting articles related to classical guitar could be helpful


At this point I'm very happy with what ramses0 has done with the reddit. I think that it's mostly up to marketing and spreading the link to have more guitarists in this forum.


Somehow get people to post more content, whether youtube videos, personal recordings, articles, etc.


"More discussion! Less videos.
There's not much repetoire out there so really most days the last thing I want to see is someone's interpretation of a piece I've heard a hundred times."


Having mods or someone who's a regular participant post open-ended "discussion starter" posts--ask for the community's thoughts on a topic, or post the sheet music of a challenging/ambiguous section of a piece and ask for different solutions.


Do you guys have links to the CG subreddit off of r/music, r/guitar, r/classicalmusic, etc.? If not I would try and get more clickable links out there.


Bringing more fun would be a way to do this. For example, quizes would do.


Although it has gotten better, there has been a strong emphasis on beginner and hobby level guitarists in the past and it feels limiting to the topics/music discussed. Student moderators have been suggested before, and I believe that the incentive of moderation would allow them to help strike up a stronger niche on the forum and set aside time in their busy schedules.


While there are many guitarists on reddit who are quite adamant that they simply don't like the use of notation, even among these guitarists there is intrigue for classical technique, repertoire, and equipment."


Post the sheet music with some of the videos, it'ss hard to find for some songs.


I'd love to see this subreddit become a place where people can get useful advice to improve their playing. There's some, but not a lot of constructive criticism given when people post jam submissions. Mostly just, "Good job, nice playing." I'm not sure how to encourage this, but I'd love to see the better players give specific advice on how to improve a recording, ideally with the submitter posting an improved recording later.


keep the sense of community - i think we have a good one despite everyone being so busy with real life.


"Enlist someone to do monthly video ""lessons"" on classical guitar. (this person should have formal training preferably at the university level and even more preferably they should hold a degree in classical guitar performance.) "