- This topic has 5 replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 59 seconds ago by
.
-
Posts
-
-
Hi Active Melody family!
It’s time for the February, 2026 Site Member Challenge
For this month’s challenge, pick any lesson that I’ve done in the key of D (there are 48 of them) and perform it verbatim or feel free to improvise. Link below.
There’s a good mix of stand-alone compositions, Country Blues, Drop D Blues, Blues with piano, and enough options that surely you can find something that interests you! If it’s a lesson with a backing track, you can play your own thing on top of it if you want, or you can play exactly the way I do – totally up to you!
Just make sure whatever you do is in the key of D!
Here are all the lessons in the key of D
The submission date for this challenge will be Sunday, March 15 – you can start submitting Friday, March 13
**If you need assistance with how to record yourself and post to the forum see this post**
_______________
GROUND RULES FOR PARTICIPATION:
1. Post your Youtube, Vimeo, or Soundcloud links of you playing your chosen lesson anytime between Friday, March 13, through Sunday, March 15, 10:00 pm CST. Please do not submit earlier. I think it is fun to see everyone’s posts at once.
2. Submit individually in the “Active Melody Member Challenge Response Submissions” forum. Title your posts “February 2026 Challenge Response – [Your AM Screen Name]”
3. Please submit only a single video or audio file for this challenge.
4. Have fun and don’t be intimidated by these challenges!!! Use these challenges to help you set goals and complete them by a deadline. You can also use this as an opportunity to chat with your fellow Active Melody members and share tips or tricks on this challenge that you think are useful.
5. It is better to show progress versus perfection with these challenges. So if you are a beginner and can only play the first couple of measures. That is completely ok. If you play two more measures of the next challenge piece than you did the previous one, you are on track to getting better. This is what these challenges are about…you learning guitar and getting better. Remember we are all here to support you no matter what your current playing level is.
I look forward to seeing everyone’s posts! 🙂
-
I completely agree with what’ you said, Brian ! I’ve been following JoLa‘s posts for many years, and not only could I witness her becoming a fantastic musician over all that time, but a true institution. Few people have inspired and motivated me more than she has. Whether 99 or 100 – her achievement is unique.
JoLa, I don’t want to put you under pressure here, but I’m already more excited about your #100 than about my own post. 😀 -
-
Ohhh shucks, Brian! I can’t believe you called me out like that! 😆😅
And yes, it’s hard to believe that I’m about to start working on my 100th challenge submission, who would have thought that ??? My first submission in July 2017 was very spontaneous and without any intention of following up and yet somewhere down the road I got addicted – like many of us here! I feel like I got onto a bus and just keep riding it and it’s hard to get off it because it became my entire guitar learning journey. Almost everything I know about playing this instrument I learned here at Active Melody and I am pretty sure if not for the challenges pushing my limits every month, I would still be noodling something incoherent or would have given up.
Thank YOU, Brian, for creating this platform where you provide us with continuous inspiration and where we can learn from each other. I heard someone say that consistent practice routine is actually more important than motivation and that’s what the challenges give us here. I’m just fortunate to have stumbled upon this wonderful community and found my little corner here 💓💓💓🙏🙏🙏
I want to say, looking forward to another 100 but geeez, that would take more than 8 more years… 😁😁😁😬😬😬
🎸JoLa
-
-
Jola, you’re awesome. Here’s to the next 100! That means Brian has to keep working, too.
Hey Brian, my very clever wife tells me that every time there’s a Friday the 13th in a non-leap year February there will be a second Friday the 13th in March because of the prior 28 day cycle. Funny how I never noticed that before, either.
John
-
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
