Still working on the strumming rhythm of lesson 6, fingers still hurt, I imagine nothing new to anyone in the beginning stages.
I was doing my daily patrolling of the RHM website, when I made my way over to the "Ask The Teacher" section (Members Only area) And found quite a few places that had questions I was lining up to ask, that already had the answers I was looking for. Though I still have some questions left for the forums, that FAQ spot did wipe out about %60 of them.
Another thing I got out of that section of the website was a big boost in motivation! That alone is worth more than the price of the DVD itself! LOL
It was nice to see other folks asking the same exact thing I wanted to, and experiencing the same frustrations, and hurdles I am running up against. Lets me know I must be doing something right, if I am having the same issues.
I do have another question today about practice. I myself have been trying to practice 15 minutes at time, 4 times a day. 8am, noon, 4pm, 8pm. Anything more than 15 minutes, and my fingers hurt too much, and it just does no good. I tried to go beyond the 15 minutes at a time, and the pain just makes for blatant mistakes that I did not make minutes earlier, so I am staying with the tortoise theory, and just keep up the pace behind the hare. I will eventually catch him. :-) Also, with a wife and five daughters to deal with, I have to try and squeeze in what I can, when I can.
And of course, like everyone else I imagine, I tried to force the speed on, instead of letting it come naturally, and that was an instantaneous train wreck. Talk about the sloppiest, worst possible practice! LOL But c'mon, I had to at least try it, and it failed, like so many others probably found out themselves.
But I did learn something from that failed experiment, it was something that I also found in the question section.
I noticed that going from E to A, and from D to A was easier because I began to visualize to what and where I was going from E and D. So now I am trying to "get ready" to move to the next chord when I get around to the sixth strum, and have been trying to keep my fingers closer to the fret board, so there is less distance for them to travel, in the hopes of shortening the delay between chords.
I have been titling the body towards me a bit to see the strings, but that is going to have to stop according to one of the answers to the questions. I guess I am going to have to lean out a bit instead.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Practice day
Friday, November 7, 2008
Practice day
Been practicing on lesson 6. The A & E Major Open Chords go alot faster than the D, the same as when I first learned them! LOL. Methinks that D is one of many rebels I will run into over time.
Fingers are still hurting, but I am hoping that is a good thing, and a sign of progress, that eventually one day, it will hurt less, which should make it easier? At least I hope.
Going to the RHM forums again to ask another question. These forums are quite nice to have! I just throw out question after question, and no one has yet to call me bothersome, a n00b, or told me a question was "stupid". So let us hope my luck doesn't run out, and I wear out my welcome!
Going to ask them about finger/hand exercising, devices, methods, etc...
Some time next week, I am going to order "Rock House Wired: Guitar Care + Repair" (DVD)
Seeing as there are no music stores nearby, or anyone one or thing that would be of assistance "shop wise", it might darn well come in handy to be able to at least do a little maintenance and small repairs on my own. It's only $13.00. A small investment compared to having to find someone, somewhere to do it.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
LRAG-BEG - L# 6
Lesson 6 Strumming Rhythms
Now that I have the Major Open Chords E - A - D down, it's time to put them all together in a strumming rhythm.
Got one answer at the RHM forum yesterday, yet it only addressed one part of my whole question, no biggie, at least I have something to work with for now.
No need for me to be at the same level of speed as the instructor, kinda figured that somewhat, but it couldn't hurt to ask. I hope they don't mind "stupid questions" because I am going to ask them whether they like it or not! LOL.
For now, I am just going to work on getting the chords together before getting on the metronome or the backing track. I am sure this will take some time as well, but no hurry, I have nothing else to do besides the family. When I am done with this lesson, I will make a video of my progress to post. Will be nice to actually see progress knowing that I came from ground zero to there.
Still working on the chair issue, got it pretty well narrowed down, should be able to get pretty close to the suggested technique.
The practice day posts do look a little boring, so methinks I might throw in some daily family news just to give it a little life. The wife got a new digital camera right before I got the guitar, so we can throw up a picture every now and then as well.
Why not start with one now? Here is The Rose Garden...
(L to R) Georgia Rose (baby) Scarlett Rose, Savannah Rose, Dixie Rose, Delta Rose.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Practice day
I have the D Major Open Chord down now. So that completes the learning of all three in lesson 5.
Time to work on my speed between the three of them, as well as trying to move between them without having to look as much, before moving on to lesson 6.
I have to go to the RHM forums today to ask a question about speed before moving on to the next lesson, so I will see what answers I get.
My question is: "Do I need to be as fast as the instructor before being able to move on?" That might go either way, but some factors are involved that I wonder are relevant this early in the learning process, such as: Finger strength, Dexterity, Experience. My guess is that I am not expected to keep up with John this early in the game, but to at least get a steady flow of movement. So off I go to ask, and we shall see what they say?
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