Into the Danger Zone

Well after my little "level up" last week things seem to have really clicked.

I can pick up some of my old tab sheets and strum them through and they actually sound like they should! (Well mostly).

Cool so wheres the danger ?

I got to this stage  last year and that's where things started to unravel.  I thought I had it cracked, downloaded lots of interesting music and failed to master any of it.  I got frustrated, then demotivated and lost.

Clearly I didn't give up and I'm back now where I was six months ago , a little older, a little wiser and alot more determined.  If anything the fact that I have  rediscovered the skills I 'lost' in just three weeks proves I learned something.

Going forwards I plan to stick with the course.

Simple practice regimes and  only a few  simple songs.

My basic repertoire is -

Strumming
- Knockin On Heavens Door
- Whiskey in the Jar

Picking
- Starwars Theme
- Hes a Pirate (Pirates of the Caribbean)

Learning Challenges
- Black Knight
- Run to the Hills
- Flight of Icarus
- Worlds Falling Down - Ozzy

Progress and Glass Ceilings

I'm feeling quite proud of myself this week.

Blue Monday is apparently the time when most peoples new years resolutions bite the dust.

Not here - I'm still practicing most days and today I feel like I've had a breakthrough.

Learning guitar isn't a linear thing. You can spent quite some time practicing the same pieces before you develop the muscle memory needed to take the next step.  This can be a source of frustration and be very demotivating.

The answer ?  For me this is where Yousician comes in to its own. It throws up little step challenges that keeps you interested and playing. Alongside JustinGuitars' beginners course and a couple of simple tunes to learn I have been able to vary my daily practicing fresh.

Today  two of the practice tunes I have been working on came together - I can play them all through at full tempo.

Now for the next challenge.

Another week still practicing

A good week this week.


I have managed to push my average practice time over 1 hour a day !!

Finger tips toughening up well and after a friend suggested a change of pick type I have improved the "musicality" of some of my exercises.

Music isn't just about playing the right notes its about the feel and intonation you put into them too.

In other news a small recode on my USB pedalboard has worked wonders and it now performs really smoothly without glitches.

On the downside I'm still not really progressing with my chosen song - I still play the broken up parts but I cant seem to get anywhere close to stringing them together recognizably. Keep at it I guess.

Pedalboard Update

Tests are going well on the mockup.

Its a little sensitive so I have turned down the sensitivity a little and found  some slightly cleaner code to use.

Really happy with the developments so far and for less than £30 its a dream.

Some decent connectors on order so hopefully I will be able to build a properly finished casing soon.

Programmable Pedalboard Mk1

What a satisfying day !

I now have a fully working USB Pedalboard !

3 hours squinting at tiny solder joints and it lives !!

Check out the build page from more info.

If only playing the guitar was this easy : }

A Song !!

Well everyone should have a goal!


Of course all the online materials lead you into basic beginner songs but motivationally I think its good to set a personal goal , an achievable reason to play daily.

And thats one of the first hurdles - There is so much good music out there and so many "How To " videos that you can almost have too much choice. Narrowing down the list to one or two challenge pieces takes discipline.

I have found to my cost that skipping from one shiny  riff to the next is counter productive - I can play many intro's and riffs but no complete songs...


I love 80's rock music and back in that era Iron Maiden were my inspiration.

I was (and still am) mad on all things aviation. For ten years I even had my own light aircraft.

There was only really one choice for me

"The Flight of Icarus"

There are more iconic Maiden tracks but this is a relatively simple one and one personal to me.

Good practice for Power Chords and  the classic Maiden Gallop.

An hour of practice and I can make most of the right noises now all I need to do is stitch it all together and build up the tempo.

One Week In !

1 Week in to my new regime and its going well !  I have managed to average 45 minutes a day and my confidence is returning. I am taking the time to be critical of my playing techniques too.

I tend to try and play too fast - More practice with a metronome ??

I tend to be lazy and not use my pinky - Watch it carefully.

Watch your fretting hand position - Low / forward wrist releases your fingers to curve better and actually generates a more relaxed hand.

Welcome

Welcome to my Blog.

It is a record of my attempts to learn the guitar.

It contains my views and opinions of the tools and available material to help the guitarist beginners like me progress.

It will document my progress , trials and successes.