Blog Post 8
Recently I learned how to play “Money for Nothing” because it would be a good exercise to practice fingerstyle picking. I was disappointed to find that this song was rather easy, so I decided to up the ante. I decided to try to learn the live recording of “Neon” by John Mayer. This song is intricate and offers unique chord shapes that incorporate the thumb on the neck. This song also features a unique finger style picking pattern which I hoped would serve as a more difficult exercise when compared to “Money for Nothing,” I was right.
I am still struggling greatly with trying to learn this song. I can do the chord formations and the strumming pattern is difficult but achievable. The hardest part about this song is incorporating it all together, the chord formations, the strumming pattern, and the thumbed bass notes all happen simultaneously, which is exactly why this song serves as an excellent practice song.
Blog Post 7
Recently, I have been so busy in school that I have been placing my priorities on the guitar lower on the totem pole. I have significantly reduced my average time played per day this week so that I could prioritize my other schoolwork. Though I have reduced my average time playing, I still did decide to pick up new project to work on.
I decided to try to learn “Money for Nothing” by Dire Straits. The reason I wanted to learn this song is because a lot of the picking is done so with the fingers, in fact, the whole song is finger style picking. I did not have as much fun learning this song because the concept of finger picking was easy for me to grasp and the song posed little to no challenge when it came to chord formation and pattern.
I picked this song up relatively easily and not just play it for fun when I am bored.
Blog Post 6
Today in guitar I woke up and “jammed” for the first time. Some of the session was inaudible and sounded muddy, but this was a huge moment for me because it was the first time, I just played the guitar with no intention of learning something new, I just played for fun. I fiddled with scales and tried to incorporate their sounds melodically into the random movement of power chords. Most of the session I found myself making “stink” faces at the noises coming out of my instrument because of the horrid sounds I was making, but every so often a beautiful lick would emerge from the amateurs strumming. Though I didn’t learn anything new, I got the chance to enjoy my instrument and just play for fun which I enjoyed a lot.
Blog Post 5
This week in guitar I decided to incorporate string bending into my playing. To do this I learned a lick from the free bird guitar solo. At first the string bending was very difficult and made the tips of my fingers hurt. I even played at one point until 3 layers of skin were shaved off the tips of my finger.
After 2 days of practice, I decided to take a break from practice so that my fingers could rest.
On the third day my calluses had developed enough to bend strings with ease, and I decided to learn the same exercise higher on the neck increasing the difficulty. This practice helped my guitar playing a lot because my calluses were able to further develop, and I learned to pay attention to the subtle note changes in string bending which helped my ear.
Blog Post 4
This week I decided, to switch up my guitar playing technique. Up until this point I have been grinding different guitar scales and playing some basic note progressions. This week, I decided I would start learning different chord progressions to improve my playing. To begin learning chords I thought I would pick up the classic song “Hey Joe” by Jimi Hendrix.
This song follows the chord progression of C-G-A-D-E. As I continued to practice, I slowly began to grasp the concept of chords. I learned that different chords not only require the guitarist to strum specific strings, but they also require the guitarist for fret down on the strings together in unison. I still continue to practice daily and hope to grasp the concept of chords soon.
Blog Post 3
Recently, I have been using the guitar as a tool to help to maintain my focus while in school. In the past I would find myself so distracted after ten minutes of work. Since starting guitar, my ability to maintain focus has greatly improved.
Not only has my focus improved greatly, but I have also taken control of my sleep schedule because I am not spending additional time on YouTube. The guitar has allowed me to take control of my life in categories that I previously had trouble maintaining. The guitar has improved my focus on subjects, allowed me to fix my sleep schedule, and most importantly given me a leisurely activity to fill my day with.
Blog Post 2
As a student at a University, sometimes it can be hard to motivate yourself to not stay in bed all day. One activity that helps keep my focus is playing the guitar. I found that playing the guitar helps me refocus when I need too and overall can be very fun if you learn at your own pace.
In the past, I had tried to learn to play the guitar, but teachers always seemed to make the subject matter obnoxiously boring. Anyone who has tried to learn any instrument knows that sometimes the more tedious work of the instrument can be very unmotivating.
It was not until I was in college that I was able to fall in love with the instrument I once knew. I discovered that it was okay to learn at your own pace and that music is all interpretational. This is what allowed me to pick back up the instrument, no more deadlines, no more tedious work, just fun at my own pace.
Another reason I have grown to love the guitar is through its ability to help me refocus. As a student that’s diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder and chooses not to take prescription medicine it can sometimes be hard to make myself focus. Often, I find myself working for about ten minutes before I lose focus and must find some way to get myself back on track.
In the past I used YouTube videos to give my brain a “rest,” but I found that I would more than occasionally fall into the dark rabbit hole that is YouTube. Hours would pass before I resumed my assignment, and normally I would return to my task more tired than I had previously felt. The worst part is that I was completely unaware of how much time I was spending watching videos.
Today, instead of YouTube, I use the guitar. The guitar continues to stimulate my brain, but not in a draining way. I also find that I am not as tired when I resume any task because I don’t lay down to watch videos. It is also easy to set a 15-minute timer rather than just mentally telling yourself, “Okay, I’ll resume my work after 3 YouTube videos.” To put it simply, guitar always leaves me wanting more, but is easy to put down and resume any previous tasks I had already started.
Playing the Guitar in College 