#5 Reflecting Back Upon it All

My goals? Right, my goals. I should probably talk about those one last time. I had set out to play Streets of Laredo, as well as a variety of chords. As far as I can tell, I accomplished my goals, but that’s not what this project was about. The project is about the experiences and the memories. The project is about finding a passion.

All those nights where my fingers would hurt after playing. Every time I played, the annoyance of having to tune the guitar. The tedious repetition. Sure, the negatives experience I had not been very enjoyable at the time, but looking back I would do it again because it was worth it for all that I gained. For one, from the negative sprang the positive. I got enjoyment and satisfaction from playing chords cleanly after much practice. The rewarding feeling that came along with finishing a new song. That excitement that comes with learning something new. All the positive experience is great, but honestly more important than that is the memories I made. I’ll look back and I’ll remember both the good and the bad. I’ll look back and think of the six weeks when I started the guitar fondly.

I’ve made experiences and created memories to look back upon, but did I find a passion? It’s too early to tell. You may know how I feel about the guitar already. Annoying at times, but rewarding, enjoyable, and very much worth it. So... will I continue on with it?

Yes! For the time being. (Here’s the catch) à I’m not promising I’ll keep it up for more than a couple days. I’ll probably get lazy and stop practicing at some point in time or another, but maybe, just maybe I’ll stick with it. (Who knows?)

                                                                                                  Best Regards,

                                                                                                             Evan

(Vlog) Finally got around to making a vlog!

So I've finally gotten around to creating my vlog. You'll see in the vlog the new song I finished and the minor chords I talked about last week. I'll also talk about some my inspiration and resources, so if that bores you feel free to skip the middle of the video.

The last chords I decided to learn were C# minor, E7, and F7, and I know I didn't mention C# minor and E7 in the vlog. The reason for this is that I had filmed the vlog a couple days ago, and didn't start playing the new chords until after the vlog.

You wouldn't think anything too groundbreaking to come out of a couple new chords right? Well you can't really tell, but it took me much less time to learn these new chords than any of the chords before. To be honest learning these last three chords was one of the most rewarding things I've done with the guitar, because I can really see my progress; I can see how much easier it has become for me to learn new chords.
Oh and one more thing. I thought it would be cool to play all the chords I've learned over the last few weeks so here it is:              Order was F, C, G7, E, G, D, D7, (this is where I puase) A, E minor, D minor, A minor. E7 and C# were left out since you just heard them a second ago.

                                                   (I know, I hesitated before playing A chord)

That's all. I'm going to be posting a reflection blog sometime next week so goodbye until then.

#4 Figured out A chord and played Streets of Laredo!

          Last week I got some advice from an expert, and one thing I noticed was that I didn't stick to the same routine every time I played. I still practice all the same things, just in a specific order. First I practice some major scales, different ones every day, to keep myself familiar with the location of all the notes. After I warm up I play some chords, focusing on transitioning between them efficiently and playing them cleanly. Speaking of chords, I’ve learned a few minor chords to add to the ones I know, but I’ll talk more about that later. Anyways, when I’m sick of playing chords I move onto songs. I’m just about finished with Streets of Laredo. Here’s how it sounds:

          I’ve also started to learn This Old Man from The Standard Guitar Method book and I’ve learned the melody. Tomorrow I’ll add the chords, and see how it goes. Right now this is how it sounds:

                                (You can see our dog, Illu, in the background. Had to retake the                                 video a couple times because he was barking at squirrels.)

          So, I had mentioned learning minor chords earlier, (A minor, E minor, and D minor). Just like with the major chords I’ve been practicing for cleanness and quicker transitions. I’ve also been working on A chord, which has been a challenge for me. Despite practice it just didn’t sound clean. I eventually stumbled upon this website: https://www.justinguitar.com/en/BC-112-A-chord.php and it gave me a new fingering which allowed me to get my fingers closer to the fret. This in turn gave the chord a cleaner sound. Now I’ve gotten C, G, D, A, E, G7, D7, A minor, E minor, and D minor under my belt.

The new fingering I started using.

The old fingering I used to use.

          I’ll let you know how I progress during my last week as I finish up the songs I’m learning, and continue to learn new chords. Talk to you next week!

#3 (Int.) I’ve learned how to transition between chords! (well, a few of them)

Just like the title says, I have become proficient with playing some chords. I know I still take pauses in between each chord, but the amount of time I pause has decreased significantly. Below I’ve got a video of me playing the chords C, G7, E, G, D, D7, and G again.

If you recall from my first post, (if you read it), was that I wanted to play A chord, however I didn’t play it in the video above. That’s because it’s a bar chord, which is a chord where multiple notes with the same finger. There are three strings I need to press down with the same finger in an A chord, and I rarely can press them all down tight enough. Another problem with A is that I sometimes press the string highlighted in yellow by accident. For those reasons I can’t play it consistently and so I left it out of the video.

I’ve also perfected the song Jingle Bells from last week, and I added a chord at the end as well.

Once I had finished up Jingle Bells I moved on to Streets of Laredo, and the chords involved certainly made it harder. I tackled the song by first learning the melody, and then adding in the chords later on. It isn’t very good yet, so I’ll spare you a recording of it. Hopefully I will have mastered the song in a few days.

So we all have to conduct an interview with a professional sometime in the next couple weeks, and just a couple days ago I was able to conduct mine. I interviewed Jeff Wolfe, who has played over 200 times live in different bands, and has been playing for 25 years. I’m sure you’re wondering how the interview went, so I’ll get right into it. 

• I first asked him for some tips that he would give a beginner. The first tip I got was to put in enough time on a consistent basis, it’s not like riding a bike and can be unlearned if I don’t practice. Best to set a schedule and stick to it consistently. This way I’ll stick with it. (Of course I have to anyway since I’m doing it for a gifted project).
• Another tip was to pick songs you are somewhat familiar with, that are simple, and that you like to practice. This helps to make the practicing experience more enjoyable, and less frustrating so I don't smash my guitar in half.
  
• The last tip I got was to make sure my fingers and body are in the right position. For acoustic, make sure fingers are arched and guitar is parallel to your body. (I noticed that I haven’t been keeping the guitar parallel with my body.)

So the next question I asked him was what’s the best way to practice. The answer was simple, repetition. Practice it over and over until you get it right. I was also told to start slow, and go slow on chords. Only speed up once you can make chord transitions in a song. I applied this to Streets of Laredo, and even though it's coming slowly its still coming along.

I also asked what the benefits are of learning with a teacher vs. learning on your own. The answer I got was that while learning with a teacher was easier and faster, if you want to develop your own style learning on your own is actually the best way.

The fourth and final question I asked was, what was one thing that you wish someone had taught you when you first started? For the last question it seemed fitting to leave it in his own words. “To practice a more when I was young, and to not give up. I had actually given up when I first started and didn’t try again until a couple years later. If you play consistently for the first six months and you practice and focus, you'll be able to play most of the songs on the radio. I wish someone had told me that so I wouldn't have given up right away.”

That’s all I’ve got for now. I’ll keep you updated with my progress next week.

#2 Learning my first song! (and also chords) (and C scale)

If you read my previous post, you’d know I broke a guitar string, and I’m sure you’ve been wondering if it got fixed. It did. All it took was taking pulling off the bridge pin and the old string, putting on the new string with the bridge pin. Then the new string was stuck through and wound around the capstan until the string was tight. Now you’ve got a brand new string!

I've gathered some knowledge on the guitar over the last week, for starters I’ve learned how to tune the guitar.  I use a tuner, so after I figured out which way to twist the knob to make the string tighter or looser tuning became easy. I would just keep twisting the knob until the tuner lit up green. As far as playing goes, I’ve learned each individual note, and my C chord is literal fire.

On top of that lit C scale, I’ve also tried my hand at playing some chords. I started off with C and G7, since these two were very similar to each other. It shouldn’t be too hard, just press in the right place and strum, right? Well no. What happened to me was that while pressing one string, my finger would accidentally touch another string making the chords sound off. To solve this dilemma of mine I’d looked at this video:

After applying the tips mentioned in the video I started to play chords clearly more often, so I started to learn D, A, and E. Despite my efforts so far, it’s still going to take some practice before I can switch between chords quickly. (right now it takes me a few seconds to set up and play a chord.)

Anyway, while I was having trouble with chords, I had also found an easy version of Jingle Bells without chords. I figured it wouldn’t be too hard so I started to play,

(My brother pops his head in like half way through. Doesn't know how to keep his head out of the shot.)

I’ll continue to improve it, and then move onto a song with chords. (Probably Streets of Laredo, and I have got to find a song to play after that.) Anyway, I’ve got to go eat some dinner now. I’ll let you know more about how I progress with the songs and chords next week.

#1 The beginning. (I've already broken a string)

So I’ve decided to learn the guitar! Believe it or not, I was actually planning to learn guitar anyway, but had just never got around to doing it. When the Genius Project came around I decided to take advantage of the opportunity, and bam! Now I’m learning another instrument. (I already play the piano)

Getting my materials was easy enough. I just had to pick up some old guitar stuff from my grandfather’s house which he had bought but never gotten around to using himself. The stuff I’d gotten from him was a tuner, a guitar, a pick, and a guitar book (in case you were wondering).

Over the next few weeks I plan to do a few things with the guitar. I’ll start by learning some chords and memorizing where to press to play each note. Once I can play the chords one after another without much pausing I’ll try a couple songs. First I’ll learn Jingle Bells and after it begins to sound good are try Streets of Laredo.

I was anxious to get started, so I began learning some basic things about the guitar last weekend. I’d learned that the lines running along the guitar were called frets, and that the best place the press down was right behind the fret. I got this information from The Standard Guitar Method, by Dick Bennett. I also determined which chords I’m going to learn, and how to play them. It’s explained very well in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vzb7OBccXU8  (if you’re interested)

Of course there are going to be setbacks that come with learning something new, and already I’ve hit one. While attempting to tune the guitar, I twisted the knob for the sixth string (e) the wrong way and it snapped off. The good news is I’m getting it fixed on Friday, but I won’t be able to play any chords that require that sixth string just yet. I’ll let you know how the chords are coming along next week.