Laila's Road Case

[Charles E]

Hi laila. ..just seen you going to stage 5. And I'm here on cusp of stage 4...already. I'm finding songs I like in the song book so that's cool.

But OMG. I thought I had rythm until I tried practicing strumming with a metronome. What a wake up! Now there's something to work on. Did anyone else find it such a shocker?

Sent from my SM-N9005 using JustinGuitar Community mobile app

[Endureth]

To be honest I hope that I can slack off on the daily exercises after a while because they're a bit of a bore, and just play songs instead, but for now it's blindingly obvious that I need a lot of regular practice.

I spent the vast majority of my time whilst learning just playing songs I liked.  I still do that.

I can play the first position of the minor and major scales and the first three positions of the minor pentatonic but that's it.  Granted, I play bass but that doesn't change the theory.

I figure if you learn your favorite songs, then you're pretty much good to go.  You'll have way more fun too.  Techniques you learn in one song are applied to others so that's a bonus.  Less time learning, more time playing.  That's how children do it and it works great.  It's the trap that we fall into as adults that everything be structured.  Let go, have fun.

[Fox Terrier]

Great stuff Laila. I found that recording stuff helped as well. Biggest step I took recently was accidentally joining a band. I've now got a whole list of great songs to learn and some great people around me to help.



Sent from my iPad using JustinGuitar Community mobile app

[Laila]

@Sweed77 Thanks 
@CharlesE Oh yeah, the metronome  I thought I had rhythm too. Actually, I can get into a pretty good steady rhythm just strumming, also adding chord changes, but once I start singing I drift into "performing", and then I invariably speed up going into the chorus and can't figure why that dang metronome is off time...
@endureth Good to hear that. I'll be that girl in the corner who always plays her same favourite songs over and over 
@Fox Terrier Joining a band and playing live must be a blast!

[DavidP]

Laila,

Love the way you've shared this.  Thanks

To be honest I hope that I can slack off on the daily exercises after a while because they're a bit of a bore, and just play songs instead, but for now it's blindingly obvious that I need a lot of regular practice.

I've seen a few responses to this observation.  Thought I'd share my 2cs worth.

I think this is where the discipline kicks in that is driven by a desire to get better.  I start my sessions with practice and reward myself with songs.  And every now and then, totally randomly, I just play songs.

I can see now that my previous strategy of just playing songs got me to a certain level (a pretty poor level) and no further.  So I try and keep the practice just challenging enough to be interesting, to see progress and not become frustrated plus enough time at practise to learn but not feel bogged down. Following the Beginner course stages (as you are) is doing that for me.

I'm in 4 now and working at getting my changes with B7 and C7 up to 50-60.  And every now and then I have a crack at Dock of the Bay and Killing Me Softly to see where I am.  When I'm happy playing those then I can move to stage 5 (as a blues lover keen to get into those triplet shuffle rhythms).

And of course whatever works for you and helps you feel satisfied is fine ...

Cheers

David

[Laila]

@DavidP Yeah, when I had the C7 and B7 changes up over 50 for several days running I figured enough was enough and moved on to stage 5. (Which I'm enjoying less than I thought I would, to be honest. The triplet shuffle is fun and not too difficult, but I'm having trouble applying it to anything I want to play.)

Still, on bad days my C7 and B7 changes are back down to 37-39... Especially if I've taken a day or two off, or if I'm cold. I'm figuring out that I need to be quite warm physically to play successfully.

One trick that helped me speed up B7 is the "baseball bat grip". It steadies my hand so that I place my fingers more consistently correctly. That plus a little twist or pressure moving the little finger down and thumb up seems to help.

[batwoman]

But OMG. I thought I had rythm until I tried practicing strumming with a metronome. What a wake up! Now there's something to work on. Did anyone else find it such a shocker?

Yep, my experience too. I've been having fun with the stuff I've learned and with changing the melody line of songs. I've been mixing fingerpicking and strums, changing chords to more complex ones, using barre chords etc. Just like you Charles, I came to an abrupt halt when I tried my fancy interpretations with the metronome ticking away.

I've gone back to down stums and metronome.

[MarcusHH]

Laila,

don’t bother and avoid to ruminate too much on what you can’t do. Don’t put yourself under pressure – it’s just counterproductive. Expand the things you can do and keep on doing a proper amount of excercises for difficult challenges.

In the end you will improve in all departments and above all you won’t get enervated. It’s all about keeping up a positive attitude – and that will foster your perseverance.
I made a corresponding post a few hours ago (“After 8 months of BC...”).

[Laila]

Brief update to say that I'm headed out for six weeks of no guitar (and way too much time spent in airports)... :-( But looky what I picked up yesterday to take with me B-)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-fqqtDKsxEtckpKUXllUHA5TFk/view?usp=drivesdk

Isn't it the cutest little thing?

It was literally the last one in town, and the guy had to crawl out into the display window to go get it, displacing racks of stuff on his way.

See everyone later, and best of luck in the monthly comp to all contenders!

(In case the photo doesn't show, it's a guitalele.)

Sent fra min C6903 via Tapatalk

[tobyjenner]

Cool. No excuses then when the travelling is over.

Sent from my MID2809 using JustinGuitar Community mobile app

[batwoman]

Isn't it the cutest little thing?

It is, and so is the look on your face Laila. Happy travels. Hope you track Jolene down and give her a piece of your mind 

[Sweed77]

That's pretty cool, didn't know such a thing was even made.  6 weeks without playing would have sucked, nice you have the guitaele to keep you in the groove. 

[Laila]

Back again from 6 weeks travelling, first to the US (Washington DC and Arizona), then to SE Asia (Myanmar). No guitar, but I was very happy to have my little guitalele along! I didn't get to play as much as I had hoped, but still, it was the perfect way to kill time at airports and in the evenings. And it was always good for a conversation piece, from airline staff to random people I met.

It was also small enough to be no trouble to take along, and cheap enough that I was never worried about it. And quiet enough that I could sit and tinker around with it even in a hotel lobby where people were talking, without being intrusive, which is good for overcoming performance anxiety.

Just picked up the guitar again yesterday, and got a positive surprise. My 1-minute changes were exactly where they were 6 weeks ago, and no sore fingers. Nice to be playing something that actually makes some sound again!

I won't be posting much here for a while, it's summer season and lots of outdoor activities coming up. But I'll be getting back to regular practice again, and posting some more tracks as I (hopefully) improve.

See y'all around :-)

[redrhodie]

Back again from 6 weeks travelling, first to the US (Washington DC and Arizona), then to SE Asia (Myanmar). No guitar, but I was very happy to have my little guitalele along! I didn't get to play as much as I had hoped, but still, it was the perfect way to kill time at airports and in the evenings. And it was always good for a conversation piece, from airline staff to random people I met.

It was also small enough to be no trouble to take along, and cheap enough that I was never worried about it. And quiet enough that I could sit and tinker around with it even in a hotel lobby where people were talking, without being intrusive, which is good for overcoming performance anxiety.

Just picked up the guitar again yesterday, and got a positive surprise. My 1-minute changes were exactly where they were 6 weeks ago, and no sore fingers. Nice to be playing something that actually makes some sound again!

I won't be posting much here for a while, it's summer season and lots of outdoor activities coming up. But I'll be getting back to regular practice again, and posting some more tracks as I (hopefully) improve.

See y'all around :-)

Oh, Laila, I wish I knew you were here! I would have loved to finally meet you in person. (Laila and I have been internet friends for a long time).  I guess you weren't that close, though.

Looking forward to hearing new songs from you!

Sent from my BLU LIFE ONE X using Tapatalk

[Laila]

Nice to see you around, and posting lots too, red!