Day 1: (1/6/16)
Prior Knowledge:
Previously I knew how to read music on a fairly comfortable level which has made things much easier. I also knew which direction felt comfortable for me to hold the guitar, but I wasn't sure if that meant I was holding it left handed or right handed. Lastly I knew that I really look forward to releasing stress through playing the guitar.
After Class:
The most helpful thing I learned during the first day was the acronym that names each of the chords: Easter Bunnies Get Drunk At Easter. We also went over the basic parts of the guitar and how to tune it. Learning to read chord charts was a bit flipped around with me being left handed, but it really doesn't make it any more difficult if you learn it your own way from the start. Another point is that the stress relief aspect of playing won't be kicking in for a few more months of practice.
Prior Knowledge:
Previously I knew how to read music on a fairly comfortable level which has made things much easier. I also knew which direction felt comfortable for me to hold the guitar, but I wasn't sure if that meant I was holding it left handed or right handed. Lastly I knew that I really look forward to releasing stress through playing the guitar.
After Class:
The most helpful thing I learned during the first day was the acronym that names each of the chords: Easter Bunnies Get Drunk At Easter. We also went over the basic parts of the guitar and how to tune it. Learning to read chord charts was a bit flipped around with me being left handed, but it really doesn't make it any more difficult if you learn it your own way from the start. Another point is that the stress relief aspect of playing won't be kicking in for a few more months of practice.
(1/13/16): Today went much smoother, as a class we started working through the D progression. I caught up with my left handed guitar and I am so glad that I decided to do what was most comfortable and play lefty, even if it meant finding a guitar laying around wouldn't always mean I could pick it up and play. I also learned the G chord today, we were supposed to learn it before, but today was the first day I actually worked through it and felt comfortable playing it.
(1/13/16): Today went much smoother, as a class we started working through the D progression. I caught up with my left handed guitar and I am so glad that I decided to do what was most comfortable and play lefty, even if it meant finding a guitar laying around wouldn't always mean I could pick it up and play. I also learned the G chord today, we were supposed to learn it before, but today was the first day I actually worked through it and felt comfortable playing it.
(1/29/16):
As you can hear in the video, I'm still having trouble getting notes to come out sounding correct. The whole isolating strings thing apparently isn't going so well. I missed the class period after I made this video, which set me back a bit. I feel pretty behind in this class, which makes me really nervous. The natural progression isn't quite clicking with me yet and everyone else seems to have the progressions much better than I do, I really rely on looking at the chord chart in order to play the notes still...
(2/16/16):
Playing all the chords wasn't necessarily difficult, but I know my technique on many of them isn't correct. Also I couldn't do most of that without looking at chord charts for each of them. I have a hard time getting notes to come out full, with my fingers overlapping at times or not having the strength to push down enough. Strumming only 4 or 5 strings is another challenge for me, I have a hard time focusing on which strings I'm strumming along with my fingering for the note. I still really need to work on my natural progression along with chord memorization. We just did proficiency tests on G and A and I did much better than I expected to.
Finger Picking: The Start of Sore Fingers
Having the prior knowledge of reading music from my past experience in band has helped me tremendously. So far, I love finger picking! It's the first time I've felt like I'm learning how to play the guitar
Having the prior knowledge of reading music from my past experience in band has helped me tremendously. So far, I love finger picking! It's the first time I've felt like I'm learning how to play the guitar
Finger Picking: Where I Am Now
After a few weeks of being exposed to finger picking, I've found that I really like it! I love playing familiar songs or hearing songs on the radio and thinking, "I could learn that part!" Fourth and fifth strings still get me, but for some reason I'm good to go when it comes to sixth string. When we went through short songs on the smart board in class together I felt like I was at least average or even a bit above when it came to skill level and keeping up with the pace. Feeling caught up was quite nice, hopefully I can stay that way.. Anyway here are my two videos, both from the packet, enjoy!
After a few weeks of being exposed to finger picking, I've found that I really like it! I love playing familiar songs or hearing songs on the radio and thinking, "I could learn that part!" Fourth and fifth strings still get me, but for some reason I'm good to go when it comes to sixth string. When we went through short songs on the smart board in class together I felt like I was at least average or even a bit above when it came to skill level and keeping up with the pace. Feeling caught up was quite nice, hopefully I can stay that way.. Anyway here are my two videos, both from the packet, enjoy!
Barre Chords:
Barre Chords are executed by holding down your first finger across all six strings. By moving this "barre" up and down the fret boards, the pitch of the note is changed. Each set of chords has different pitches on different fret boards, along with different qualities to match. For example, while playing E barre chords note names begin on F and the root is always on string 6, but with A barre chords, note names begin on A and the root is always on string 5. The quality of a chord refers to what type of note it is, is it an E, Em, E7, or Em7. These qualities change finger positions slightly, usually by taking away one or more fingers. These qualities remain the same for whichever fret you're using.
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