Double whammy !

I am really enjoying playing at the minute.

Something seems to click every time I pick up my guitar.  Granted they are only small things but sooo satisfying.

Last week Yousician threw me a curve ball - Fingerpicking.  Ah I want to play metal I dont want to mess with that rubbish..... Then I thought then I went back and tried.

It takes a little time but once you get the "dance" steps in your fingers it is really quite fun and sounds awesome.  I will be doing more of this.

I'm also working on Steve Steins Fretboard Mastery stage 1 and its going well.  I wasnt really happy with the meandering - I use Hydrogen for an interesting drum beat over a click metronome but YAWN!

Then I discovered a couple of backing tracks in the right key and tempo - Instant music - really happy and really tempts you to do more than just wander up and down scales.

Soo then I get to thinking and researching and today my pedalboard got another upgrade.  Now it will loop too.  I can lay down layers to noodle and play with.  Its going to take a little learning to really get used to the software but another fun musical event.

I'm using Mobius from CircleLabs as the brain of my Looper.  This little app runs on my laptop for now with all the control mapped to my pedalboard.   Happy Christmas to me !!

And Relax

 Following on from my theme of  trying not to play too fast and enjoy the journey I have been watching  back and catching up on JustinGuitars new beginner course.

I came across this video today - Exploring Strumming

It really echos my observations about relax and enjoy = better feel and better sound.

(A)Tension to tone !

 So  a month into my new setup and I'm really having fun.

Making the transition to standing has had side effects I wasn't expecting  its so much more immersive when playing along to tunes. 

I have also progressed through another little glass ceiling. 

I now have 2 or 3 tone patches on my  GT-001 that I am really happy with.  For a while I was a touch disappointed that everything I tried sounded muddy and indistinct. Not any more I finally figured it out and surprise surprise its not the kit - it was my fingers!

I have said in the past that I have a tendency to play a little to fast - well admitting it is the first step in fixing it.  I am consciously playing a lot slower than I used to and critiquing my technique.  This has 2 side effects.

• Muscle memory - This develops fairly quickly at low speeds but is fragile - it can get confused or muddied if you speed up too fast.  Trust your fingers they know what to do but dont force them to play fast.
• Tone - Not forcing your fingers means your hand is far less tense. This means your  playing is cleaner and even allows a half second here or there for a little slide or vibrato - actually even having  that time to think about it really elevates your sound.

Ok so I have to slow down tracks a way to play long but its really (REALLY) encouraging to actually play along to something familiar and its definitely an huge boost to listen to yourself actually sounding musical !!

Still a long way to go but  I am now consciously relaxing and enjoying the journey rather than working on it! 

Christmas Cheer

 Well I'm nicely settled in to my own little space.

Cant quite understand why  I struggled in the past to play standing but I must say I'm really enjoying it now.

My pedalboard has come on in leaps and bounds I'll be updating the project page with the details too.

I've gone back to basics a bit with playing and am working out a few simple songs like 7 Nation Army just to really get into the groove again.

Keep Strumming !

2020 What a year !!

The new year started well enough - A new job closer to home so more free time - well that was the plan.

Then we had a family health scare closely followed by Covid and the lockdowns.  Pretty much normal family life and normal working life ceased and we entered a limbo state of trying to care for our families and ourselves.

Lots of household jobs that had been put off suddenly we had time to do them all.

I now have a dedicated hobby room and permanent Guitar setup and for the last month I have been making the most of it again.

My Pedalboard has been updated with full MIDI capability so it not only controls Youtube  but also switches patches on my GT-001 and even has 2 Expression pedal slots.

Speaker wise I'm running 2 Alesis Active Monitors which sound really nice.

I finally graduated to playing standing up. It took 2 or 3 sessions to get comfy but now I actually find it comfier than sat down.

Next goal - to records myself playing a real song all the way through!  No idea how long it will take but its a goal.

Happy New Year !!

Well the holidays have come and gone.

Friends , Family and far too much food and drink  really made it hard to pick up my guitar.

I did manage a few unplugged sessions and during those 10 - 15 minute periods I stuck to practicing my chords and some slow accurate changes and the odd run through of the Minor Pentatonic shapes.

My 12 Riffs of Christmas is finished and this is where I got to -

1)   The Trooper - Into    pretty slow but recognisable
2)   Crazy Train - Inro     This one is quite good on a good day and my fingers behave.

3)   He's a Pirate  I can play it through from the sheet but not yet from memory
4)   Star Wars Main theme - Again I can play it from sheet but not from memory

5)   I Walk The Line -  Base and Strum - This too is coming along nicely
6)   Common People - Pumping 8ths This one I can play to the record
8)   Bad Moon Rising -  Chord changes ok but so far I cant get the strumming right

9)   Seven Nation Army - Co-ordination test but very fun to play
10) Three Little Birds - Another play-along song. Fun but Reggae rhythm is off still

11) You Give Love a Bad Name - Riff and Rythm   Another recognisable tune - Bending practice !
12) Powerslave - Intro Riff  - Slow - practice for string damping

In all I'm quite chuffed - I have a long way to go with all these but I set out to dust off and learn 12 tunes and I managed them. Now I need to level them all up !!