The Guitar Story - Just something fun to talk about and get to know Tina.
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Okay....so you got to this page from our About
Us page, so must be interested. Here is where I won my guitar from AmazingGuitarSecrets.com |
| Here is the announcement on AmazingGuitarSecrets.com of my winning | ||
| The Fender Winner: Tina
Mellen-Whittimore! Congrats Tina, you've won an American made, Fender Strat. Tina received 58% of the vote for her contest entry. You can find her winning contest entry here. (Look under the "comments") If you'd like to watch a short video that shows the actual survey results, click here. Here's Tina's picture with her Strat:
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My Winning Entry |
| I won the guitar by posting this blog entry below. Then all I had to do was ask my friends vote for me. Since I run an alumni forum on the internet for my high school, it wasn't hard to get a lot of votes. I can't believe people from all over the world took time to vote. Usually people don't bother to help others but they sure did in this case. I hope someone I knew bought Dan Denley's course from his website when they voted. |
Hello, My name is Tina Mellen-Whittimore. I learned three songs on the guitar when I was sixteen. For the next 26 years I wholeheartedly requested a guitar from anyone who'd ask, "What do you want for your birthday?" Do you think anyone listened? Not-a-one. "Do you play?" "Yeah...three songs...but still!" Dear hubby gets me flowers! Argh! So, one day, I bought myself a present - - this was brought on by insomnia and catching a glimpse of Escoban's late night infomercial about an acoustic for ONLY $99!! Wow! I could afford that one! For the next two years, I struggled. (He forgot to send the video tape). I couldn't find anything on the internet to learn by, except tabs and chords that made no sense to me, had no real instructions, and no songs to go with them. Even though I play Clarinet and Tenor Sax and can read music, I was at a loss in trying to train myself. I'd only remembered two songs from my youth and still don't remember some song I think was named, "Stewball was a racehorse". Playing those two songs for those two whole years almost caused a divorce! Ha Ha...not really! Then I discovered David at guitarnoise.com and was I thrilled! There's not a day that goes by now that I don't drive my husband and kids crazy with new songs and lots of practice - especially while they're trying to watch TV. My sixteen year old daughter now thinks I'm cool enough to go to a friend's house to watch them play in their band downstairs at this kid's house. (He's really good and I got to play their electric!) I didn't do well, of course, but I did run out and buy a Sam's Club electric! (You folks are laughing at me, aren't you?) Well, you'll really get a good tickle from this one. I grabbed the mic from an old 286 computer and hooked it up to mine and recorded my best song, Fields of Gold, that David at guitarnoise.com taught me. And that is why I need "Amazing Guitar Secrets" - and would just die smiling if I got a Fender Strat. When looking through David's music files, I avoid barre chords like the plague. I read that this course teaches how to do those! Listening to my song up there, you can tell that I don't have finger training, speed and accuracy and I think I could really gain all of that through this course. You would think after playing this song for two years that I would sound better than this! And it ain't arthritis folks! I just need someone to help me see what I'm doing wrong, and believe me there's nothing on the internet that has helped me in that area. This course lets you see it in action, learn it and practice it and even ask questions! Being a total Rock and Blues nut, I am thrilled about this course teaching me all the major and minor scales and to clean up my rhythm and to actually play Rock and Blues!! I'm playing my slower learned songs all the way through and I've even been able to play two songs along with the original song versions off CDs without great mistake. Most I've learned are not original renditions, so I can't play along. I'm not satisfied and wish to get out of my rut of having to play someone else's way. I want "original me". This course sounds like it combines all the training I need. Sometimes, it drives me crazy to have the teens come to the house and play bits of songs that "sound" familiar and never finish their songs up. "I love that song! Play the rest!" "That's all I know." If I could improve my skills with bends, hammer ons, pull offs and tapping, and could identify the notes "they" were playing, then "I" could repeat those young mens' songs and show them how it's really supposed to sound! Of course, I'd keep everything secret until I was pretty sure I'd blow them away, and out would come the Fender and "their" song in "my" rendition! Wouldn't that be awesome?? No longer would my daughter's boyfriend remember the best time with "the mom" as singing "Hotel California" together while listening to CDs! I could go down in history (in that young man's mind). ~~but the thought of blowing him away captures my heart!~~ (Hey, she's sweet sixteen! And I'm over-protective!) Enjoy your music everyone! If you win, send us a "before" and "after" sound file or video so we can all smile really big along with you!! Tina By , at May 26, 2006 http://amazingguitarsecrets.com/blog/2006/05/enter-to-win-fender-strat-here-hey.html |
Blog Comments After Winning |
| Oh my goodness!! Have you
ever seen anyone dancing around
the house, turning on lights and
waking the dead up from their
sleep and NOT caring about the
scornful looks received in
return? Welp, my family's awake
now and even with the blankets
stuffed back over their heads, I
could still hear their muffled,
"Really!?!?" Thank you Dan for this amazing gift! I will treasure it, send pictures, and play you all a song! This is unbelievable! The last time I won anything was a pair of Buster Brown shoes in Sierra Vista, Arizona when I was about seven and got to be on the radio. Thanks to all my friends and boss out on the internet for voting! Dad, thanks for having lots of friends! I love you! The man in Iraq - God Bless you and your friends in Iraq who you asked to vote too - come home safe! Buena Bozos you did great! Buena Rules! Sierra Vista raised a lot of giving people to have taken their time to do a couple of click throughs for me and to tell their friends. Thank you to all the other contestants for taking time to vote for one of us four finalists. I can't wait to tell my daughter's boyfriend!! Step one in blowing him away!! Ha Ha!! (gotta read my entry to understand that one). Thank you again for voting! Tina Mellen-Whittimore By Tina Mellen-Whittimore, at August 11, 2006 Hi Tina, I am so happy that you won 'your' guitar, I couldn't wish that on a better transcriptionist! We're rooting for you in Idaho ~ Best wishes ~ Kathy See By Anonymous, at August 14, 2006 Hi everyone! Well, I got my new Fender Strat in the mail today and it's beautiful! Exactly like pictured. And it even sounds good too! Thanks Dan for the great giveaway! I'll get you some pictures soon. Tina By Tina Whittimore, at August 24, 2006 Tina, I'm sooooooo glad you *finally* got it! Hope you like it as much as I do. I picked it out myself. Amazing tone, great pickups and locking tuning keys to boot! Take care, practice hard and send us some pics so we can post them here on the blog! Cheers, Dan Denley By Dan Denley, at September 05, 2006 Thats awsome that you would do that for her The Vicki Brick Dbrick45 wife God Bless You By TheVickBrick, at October 16, 2006 Hello Dan, I emailed you a picture of my new guitar that you sent to me, but I haven't heard back. So I thought I'd post the website URL to the picture for everybody to see who the person was that won the Amazing Guitar Secrets contest. ME!! I'm really enjoying my new Strat! http://webpages.charter.net/buena/Tina-Large.jpg Thanks again! Tina By Tina Whittimore, at January 12, 2007 Hey Tina, Was so impressed by your blog. You sure deserve this guitar. Hopefully you enter some more of your songs online. I really enjoyed your Fields of Gold and many thanks for your tip on the website GuitarNoise.com. I'm learning strawberry fields at the moment! This from slightly older female guitar nut Patricia By Anonymous, at July 05, 2007 Tina!, You ROCK, Darlin'! If I were closer, I'd come over and have you sign my Old Takamine Acoustic! Ernie G By Ernie G, at July 06, 2007 |
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