More Scales, More Chords...

Hasn't really been much to report...  Hence the lack of posts.  I continue to work on chords and scales, strengthening fingers, listening to good guitarists, etc...  I did learn about harmonics recently which I found somewhat interesting.  At any rate, I'm still at it.

My Fingers Can't Play The Sound In My Mind... Yet.

I worked the blues scale hard last night.  At first I was still playing a wrong note here and there, but as practice went on I got better and better.  I moved my fingers up and down the fretboard so I could get used to playing it starting on different frets.  About halfway through practice, instead of just playing he notes one after the other, I started giving the scale a blues cadence...  "DUM di-DUM di-DUM di-DUM di-DUM".  After a couple minutes of this something awesome happened.  I started wanting to repeat parts of the scale, or reverse direction.  I then remembered that my guitar teacher said that often in blues music(not just blues guitar) the artist rolls up or down to the next note instead of just going to it(I can't remember what the musical term for that is, but I remember there was a term and a musical notation for it from my trumpet days.)  I started pushing or pulling on a string to bend up to the next note and skipping actually fingering it.  I also figured out that I could do the same thing going down if I skipped a note, but bent the string before strumming the note after that one, and then "un-bending" the note.  (I'm obviously going to have to get the proper terminology for this stuff, but this morning is too busy for me to go look it up on the net just yet.)

I was very happy with the results, but was a little frustrated that my fingers just could not keep up with the sound I was hearing in my head.  That will come with time, I know.  At the same time, when I was getting it right, I started to get so excited about what I was hearing, the I invariably would screw up the next note.  I finally just laughed out loud at my predicament.  I guess this is progress though.  I'm happy with it. =D

The Complete Blues and Pentatonic Scales

So, things went well at the guitar lesson.  My instructor has now given me the complete Blues Scale, as well as the complete Minor Pentatonic Scale.

                           Blues Scale                                 Minor Pentatonic Scale

  I'm really going to practice these scales hard this week.  I received a new Chord(B7) to work on as well, and some homework involving memorization of note positions on the guitar, so I'll have to do that as well, but most of my work will be on these two scales.  I want to be able to move quickly between strings and frets.  I'm really unhappy with how slow I am and how often my finger or pick ends up on the wrong fret/string.  There's no special tool to learn this stuff.  I think you just gotta practice practice practice.

  I found it fascinating to learn more about the origins of Blues and Jazz and how to identify a true Blues song and a hybrid Blues song.  I hope my teacher talks more about this sort of thing. =D

Picking

I was practicing with my son last night, and was trying to get him not to pick so deeply with his pick.  You can hear the pick tap the guard of the guitar when he strums sometimes.  It's that bad.  After we were done, he went upstairs and I kept trying different ways of using the pick, and different picking depths.  I discovered that even I was picking too deeply as I could obtain the same (or better) sound with just the slightest contact with the string.  I did notice there were differences in sound, and perhaps a better guitarist could make use of that, but for me right now I think the best thing is to get used to plucking as shallow as possible.  I found I could strum much quicker with the reduced resistance of a shallow pick.

I put my son to bed after that and when I came down to do "my" practice, oddly enough, I just wasn't feeling it.  I did a few chords but ultimately put the guitar down a few minutes later.  I guess some nights the brain wants to do other things.  Now I have a LOT of work to do tonight to make up for it, but  think I'm better for taking a day off. =D

Changing My Mind On Clapton

I must have listened to the wrong songs when I first tested the waters with Clapton.  I have since found some of his music really good.  It's clear he's a gifted guitarist.  It's also clear that some of his music leaves me flat, but some of it is super.  Now to figure out which is which.  =D

There never seems to be enough time to practice as much as I'd like.  Tonight I need to go over my chords again, and memorize the new chords.  Then some more finger drills and blues scale practice.  I'm hoping to get in 60 minutes of practice tonight.

Alex is starting to finger his notes faster.  It's fun to see him coming along.  Oh, and I finally got the second electric guitar.  We're all set now!  =D

Band Hero, Guitar Hero Helps You Learn Real Guitar

The family has been playing a lot of Band Hero lately.  It's really a fun game.  If you haven't tried it, I highly recommend you find a friend who has it and try it out.  I play guitar most of the time, Alex plays base, Stephanie sings, and Ryan bangs on the drums(the drums aren't actually active in the game when he plays, but a 2 year old doesn't know or care).  It's quite a ruckus! =D  At any rate, it's a fairly well known fact that mastering guitar in these types of game doesn't mean you can play anything on a real guitar.  But wait!  There are hidden benefits!  First off, you're pushing down on buttons with your fingers in a way that would seem to build up strength and dexterity in the fingers on your left hand.  You're also strumming with your right hand(reverse this for lefty mode) and if you plan on getting any sort of speed in game, you're strumming up AND down.  This would seem to have obvious benefits to a beginning guitarist who has yet to build up strength, dexterity, or strumming habits.  (I almost typed "strumming hobbits" just now.  For some reason that struck me as really funny, but I digress.)  Certainly, the game is no compensation for practice with a real guitar, but as an addition to regular practice, I think it's a great idea.  Any of you feel the same?

Finger Strangeness

So.. I've been playing quite a bit this past week.  Well... quite a bit for a beginner.  Probably 45-60 minutes a day.  My fingers feel a little raw.  I'm wondering if I should give them a break for a day or two.  Or maybe I should actually go out and get some witch hazel as was suggested before.  I had intended to do that, but never got around to doing it.  Anyway, my fingers aren't red, or bleeding or anything.  They just feel raw and "fuzzy", if that makes sense.  I can still play, and I really want to practice tonight.  Why?

Because I have something really cool to practice now.  My guitar teacher has given me a Blues Scale to memorize and practice.  It works like this:

He has me play it up and down moving around the fretboard.  He also taught me how to move it up and down different strings.  It's quite a bit of fun.  I'm also trying to focus a lot on four-finger drills because my movements around the fretboard are slow.  Anyway, I really want to practice, so I think I will.  Hopefully the fingers are fine tomorrow.  =D

Chords Memorized, But Not Fast

So I can now play all 6 of my chords on demand in any order, but it still takes me a moment to get the fingering correct.  I assume repetition will fix this.  I think I'm ready to see my instructor again, which is good, since today is my next lesson. =D

So I was thinking, it would be really cool if there was such thing as a practice fretboard I could take to work or wherever.  You know, something that just has the fretboard and strings so I can practice chords without having to lug around a guitar.  I've been told they exist, but for the life of me I can't find one anywhere.  Anybody know where I could find one of these beauties?

G Chord Is Kicking My Butt

I've been working on my chords every day.  Em, not problem.  E, not problem.  Am, no problem.  A, no problem.  G....  *sigh*  I finally was able to play it last night.  My fingers just would not cooperate.  The way my teacher told me to play it is like this:

For some reason my fingers just would do this.  I could get my first two fingers, but then when I put the third down, one or both of my first two fingers would be touching another string, or wouldn't be pushing on their string correctly.  So I'd correct them, and then my third finger would be off.  FINALLY last night I was able to do it.  It took some work.  I think my fingers are just not limber enough for this yet.  I guess I need to work at this more.  My teacher gave me some stretching exercises to do which should help.  I guess I'll go do that.

Anyway, D chord I can do pretty well, though that one gave me some trouble as well, but not nearly as much.  I guess the good news is I've done them all now, so I know I can do it.  I just need to practice it now.


On a different note(haha!), I think I've figured out how to get recordings of me practicing so you guys can actually hear the horrible noise that passes for me playing guitar.  My wife used a USB sound recorder in college to record the nursing lectures.  It saves them in mp3 format and plugs in just like any other USB device.  I can record myself, then grab the mp3s, upload them, and then link to them.  The world will never be the same.... =D

Enjoying a New Band

I stumbled on to Clutch today.  Downloaded one of their later albums.  They're not blues, but you can hear the influence of blues.  Anyway, for some reason I'm really liking their style.  =D

Alex is amazing.  He's playing the little songs the teacher wrote for him almost without help.  This kid is going to be a guitar prodigy if this keeps up.  Must guide young Skywalker towards Blues guitar...  =D

I'm learning my chords... My fingers are figuring this out.  I think I can do this, despite my difficulties during the actual lesson.  Some chords are really hard!  Ah well...