So what songs are you all working on at the moment? Thanks R.

Smoke on the Water… which one is right?!… ). I turned the phone the wrong way… haha, it looks like I’m playing left handed)

So for the last three months, I’ve been candidating for a position as Worship Director, at a church about an hour and a half from us. This past Sunday after a long interview with the leadership board, I was offered the position and I took it! So know I’m getting to know everyone that’s been involved in worship in the past, and I have to put together a schedule, and prepare at least a month worth of services for June. Plus I have a team almost ready to go for an event on June 6 called Jesus in the Park, in the general vicinity of the church where I was hired. And so far I’ve also got a July 4th I need to prepare for (secular/ private party). Normally I have more summer gigs set up by now, but this new church gig is going to take a lot of my time and energy moving forward. I’m still here, I’ve been praying about what to do with this group, and I really want to focus on it and grow it, I’m just so very busy now, with at least four part time jobs now… it’s kind of crazy, one of them being my guitar teaching/ coaching business. This church gig is gonna be part time for now, until the dust settles and we get better established. Currently the church gig, Sundays alone is about 8-10 hours with travel and my family with me, just on that day alone. Plus now, we’re most likely going to sell our house and move closer to the church. Which at this point, is going to take up our whole summer just to figure that out. So with that being said, I still have a lot to do here, but because I have so much on my plate, it’s gonna be minimal for awhile until I can figure all this out. I have been working behind the scenes to get what I do with my current private students/ clients codified in a way that I can package it here and for other places where I congregate with my “tribe.” I have so many content ideas and other things I wanted to launch but now this is taking a lot of what I have left, which frankly at the moment isn’t much… My question for you is, is it worth it to keep this group going. My heart is still in it, and I don’t want to let it go, but I’m praying about I need to focus on moving forward…

Let me be the first to introduce myself: I'm Mel Williams, I've played guitar for over 30 years, and taught guitar for over 20 years, and now also ukulele, and bass guitar. I've played with and/or for some amazing musicians, like Grammy Award winning saxophonist Chad LB (who has played with Chris Botti, and Taylor Swift), and David Russell (Grammy Award winning classical guitarist) studied with Matt Slotkin DMA from Eastman, and Hugh Douglass (studied with Paul Bollenback), among others. I have played on stages big and small from solo, to orchestras, Big Band, and Small Jazz Combos, led a few of them myself, weddings, funerals, parties, Worship events, etc. Even with all that being said, this isn't about me, its about you. Ultimately, how I can help you Unleash Your Inner Guitar Hero, so for me to do that to the best of my ability I need you to do your part... Are you ready? If so, let's go! Everyone has a different reason for joining this community… Maybe it was the courses, bonuses, live trainings, the chance to get 1:1 time with me, or the guest experts (could be you someday) This will allow you to make some life long connections here and allow us to celebrate you, your gifts, your wins, and support you every way we can along the way. If you have not posted your introduction yet... PLEASE TAKE 2 MINUTES TO GET IT DONE :) Go to STEP 2 to do so... IMPORTANT: Let’s help everyone rise up the leaderboard. The more you post, like other people’s posts, comment on posts, and like all their comments… the more we ALL WIN TOGETHER! Thank you for being here... I am truly grateful for YOU! Without further ado... let's get started!!!

Quick question for the guitarists in here — and I genuinely want your input on this 🎸 I’ve been planning on creating more free content on YouTube lately — specifically around the CAGED system, pentatonic scales, and how they connect to real music you actually want to play. Before I go deeper into what I build next, I want to know what would actually help YOU the most right now. Here’s what I’m considering: A) More free YouTube videos — deeper dives into CAGED, pentatonic scales, and how to apply them to real songs across rock, blues, and jazz. B) A free visual Fretboard Map — a printable guide showing how the 5 CAGED positions connect across your entire neck. C) A free lesson built around a song you already know — where I walk through CAGED in a real musical context (think Hendrix, classic rock, blues). D) Something else entirely — tell me what you actually need right now. And one more thing — depending on the response here, I’ve also been thinking about putting together some kind of 5 Day CAGED method challenge around this. Nothing set in stone yet, but if that’s something you’d want to be part of, let me know in the comments too. If there’s enough interest, I want to move on this quickly. Your feedback today genuinely shapes what happens next. Drop your answer below — I read every reply personally.