Progress log of weeks 1 through 7
Noticeable things I learned or improved on:
-fretboard familiarity
-string picking
-chords and chord switching
-syncing picking with fretting
-developed calluses
Things I plan on improving:
-hammer-ons and pull-offs
-fast tempo playing
Current rank: Guitar player newbie
Tuesday, 29 November 2011
Sunday, 20 November 2011
Week 6: Difficulties of learning
I haven't made much noticeable progress this week, so I'm not going to make a recording. Instead I'm going to touch upon the woes of learning that I'm sure many people experience when they try to tackle something as difficult as learning an instrument.
The most important issue has to do with motivation. Learning guitar can be extremely frustrating at times; I had to put in a lot of practice for progress that seems rather unimpressive. While there are certainly high points in learning the guitar, there are plenty of other things to do with one's time that are effortless and equally satisfying in the short run. I do think it requires a special kind of motivation and dedication to tackle something like learning an instrument. In relation to myself, my reasons for learning the guitar aren't terribly inspiring so my motivation is kind of questionable.
Don't get me wrong, I do want to learn and I intend to get private lessons sometime in the near future. I've taken a course on human behavior and one of the things I was told is getting feedback and encouragement from an instructor can do wonders for one's motivation. Of course, having an instructor will also do wonders for my playing since there's probably a hundred things wrong with my technique and I'm not even aware of it.
Current rank: Guitar newbie
The most important issue has to do with motivation. Learning guitar can be extremely frustrating at times; I had to put in a lot of practice for progress that seems rather unimpressive. While there are certainly high points in learning the guitar, there are plenty of other things to do with one's time that are effortless and equally satisfying in the short run. I do think it requires a special kind of motivation and dedication to tackle something like learning an instrument. In relation to myself, my reasons for learning the guitar aren't terribly inspiring so my motivation is kind of questionable.
Don't get me wrong, I do want to learn and I intend to get private lessons sometime in the near future. I've taken a course on human behavior and one of the things I was told is getting feedback and encouragement from an instructor can do wonders for one's motivation. Of course, having an instructor will also do wonders for my playing since there's probably a hundred things wrong with my technique and I'm not even aware of it.
Current rank: Guitar newbie
Sunday, 13 November 2011
Week 5: Same as the previous week, except better
For this week, I practiced nothing but You Give Love a Bad Name. This is the progress I've made so far:
I can now play each individual section decently except for the solo which I didn't attempt in the video. However when I try to play the whole song in one go, I tend to choke. Regardless I choke much less now than I did a few days ago, so I'll take that as a sign of improvement.
The way I practiced was by playing along with a recording of the song I found on Songster which also shows when to play what by having you follow a tab sheet. I wanted to record the above video with me playing along with the recording on Songster, but I didn't have a loud speaker to play the recording out loud. I'm sure there's a way to record the audio without a loud speaker, but I'm too lazy to find out how.
I've decided that I'll continue to practice this one song until I can play it the whole way through. The solo is giving me some trouble because it uses fast hammer-ons and pull-offs which are proving to be a real pain at the moment. I'm confident I'll have it down by the end of week six though.
Current rank: Guitar newbie
I can now play each individual section decently except for the solo which I didn't attempt in the video. However when I try to play the whole song in one go, I tend to choke. Regardless I choke much less now than I did a few days ago, so I'll take that as a sign of improvement.
The way I practiced was by playing along with a recording of the song I found on Songster which also shows when to play what by having you follow a tab sheet. I wanted to record the above video with me playing along with the recording on Songster, but I didn't have a loud speaker to play the recording out loud. I'm sure there's a way to record the audio without a loud speaker, but I'm too lazy to find out how.
I've decided that I'll continue to practice this one song until I can play it the whole way through. The solo is giving me some trouble because it uses fast hammer-ons and pull-offs which are proving to be a real pain at the moment. I'm confident I'll have it down by the end of week six though.
Current rank: Guitar newbie
Saturday, 5 November 2011
Week 3 and 4: Not impossible
I thought it would be fun to record my progress on tape as a means of assessing improvement.
Hurt
I Love Rock and Roll
You Give Love a Bad Name
Hurt
It took insanely long for me to get recordings that were remotely passable so in reality I am usually even worse then the clumsy performance shown in these clips. Regardless, the fact I am able to somewhat play these portions at all is a huge boost to my morale; this is when I started to think "hey, this isn't impossible, I can do this!" I practice at least half an hour each and every day; it's quite a time investment so it's nice to see my efforts bearing fruit.
This is an important turning point so I am self-promoting myself from wannabe to newbie.
Current rank: Guitar newbie
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