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 !