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#17
09-03-2023, 01:22 PM
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One month update... that's 30 days learning & practicing how to make sounds with this beautifully handcrafted piece of wood with 6 strings.... I take a look at the progress I've made during my first month by comparing clips from day one through to week four. 
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#18
09-10-2023, 05:39 AM
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A little run through update of the "easy" songs I've been going over (& over & over) to drum these 3 chords into my unmusical brain - Of course, I've still been doing all of my slow daily technical practice (probably up to around 45-60 minutes of total practice per day on average) & often practice these songs at a slower tempo, certainly at first. I also introduced Am & Em chords last week & a couple of new "easy" riff practices to get my fingers working in new ways. As of yesterday I've also introduced the Dm chord, a simplified version of the spider finger exercise to ease me into that & a slightly more difficult strumming pattern to work with (the "old faithful" - missing one downstrum for the first time - D-D-U-x-U-D-U). Of course, with these new minor chords I have a few new practice songs added as well - I have a LOT of different things in my routine now so will see how I get on over the next week & will then look to condense the exercises & songs in the routine so as not to overwhelm myself with a ton of different things every day - maybe split things up into alternating daily exercises &/or pause things I'm more comfortable with & focus more on what I feel needs work. I'll reassess & see. Could be a good few weeks before I'm comfortable enough to progress onto a new chord & such - Will put together a video update of all of this in the next week or two. Thanks for watching!
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#20
09-24-2023, 07:27 AM
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This is after 7 weeks of learning. For the second week in a row I put the main focus on the Am, Dm & Em (I wasn't comfortable enough with them last week to move onto new stuff) so now we have a little run through of the 5 songs I've been practicing once a day to start getting to grips with them. Took me a little while to warm up so there's plenty of mistakes in the first 3 songs in particular but pretty happy with my run through of the last two songs - overall I'm pleased enough after just 7 weeks. Still doing all of my other regular practice of course, playing through these songs is just what I do at the end of my more technical exercises etc. This coming week I look at the C chord for the first time.
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#21
09-24-2023, 08:16 AM
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Good work! After just 7 weeks, that shows commendable discipline! (Sorry if that sonds patronising...)
I'll offer a couple of tips: 1. When changing chords, the important thing is to hold the beat. So give yourself time get the next chord right on the "one" where it belongs. Start moving your fingers early. You can strum open strings on the beat before if you have to! The ear forgives that, but it doesn't forgive even a slight delay that disrupts the steady beat. You will, of course, get faster with your changes he more you practice, but it;s never nevessary to change in a nanosecond.  2. With tempos like the third song, think about double downstrokes. I.e., strumming down on the 8ths (quavers) as well as the quarters. So the song might be 71, but play downstrokes ay 142. It will probably mean a shorter movement arc in the arm, but it should feel more relaxed, less stiff. You should still accent the beats in the main - you could actually miss the strings on the down in between - but this will make it easier to hold the slow tempo when playing without a metronome. I.e., if your downs are at 71 the arm movement can start to feel awkward, and the tendency is to speed up to a more comfortable speed. The double downstroke feels like you put a bounce on the main beat (the accent) then allow the arm to drop back down in between.
__________________
"There is a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in." - Leonard Cohen.
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#22
09-25-2023, 05:37 AM
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Thanks Jon! Not patronising at all... I'm stoked myself haha! When I look back to where I was at just 50 days ago I couldn't be happier.
Great tips there... thanks so much! I did have a dabble a couple of weeks ago with starting to change chords early & strumming open strings before the first beat but for some reason it felt odd to me so I stopped... but then again everything does at first & seeing as you've now suggested it to be a worthwhile thing (at least until more proficient with the change anyway!) then maybe I should just put some more time into that. At the time I figured it was possibly something I should've avoided. Nice point about double downstrokes as well... I'm starting to take a closer look at strumming, patterns, rhythm etc. now as it's (very gradually) becoming a little more comfortable so will take those thoughts on board for sure moving forward. Big appreciation!
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#23
10-01-2023, 01:33 PM
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Well.... I learned the C chord this week. However, with that opening me up to an abundance of new songs I was immediately reminded that I have to work on continuing to polish up not only the chords I've previously learned but also the action of changing between them all - of course, I'm aware certain changes are more commonly used than others so it makes sense to at least prioritise those for now - namely the changes that specifically take place in the songs I'm practicing. So, it took all of 10 seconds into a new song to discover that I'll be putting a ton of work into the changes between Em and D, Em and C, and C and D (just as a main focus - still doing all other standard practice stuff & whatnot) for the next week or two before I reassess. I don't expect to vastly improve these within a matter of weeks but I do want to feel more comfortable with them before introducing yet another chord (.....G!). Thanks for watching!
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#24
10-07-2023, 01:05 PM
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This one isn't for the squeamish... if you don't like looking at calluses forming you may want to give this one a miss... if you're morbidly curious like I am then you may want to give it a watch...  Short 6-7 minute documentary outlining the 54 days it took for my calluses to develop before settling down.
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#25
10-15-2023, 09:09 AM
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10 weeks in... not too much change as I've mainly been going over the same things for the past 2/3 weeks... hopefully just some small improvements with bits & pieces. The polishing of chord changes, technique, strumming, picking, rhythm etc. continues.. onwards & upwards with the G chord next. Thanks for watching!
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#30
10-31-2023, 11:46 AM
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Quote:
 Seriously, going well!
__________________
"There is a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in." - Leonard Cohen.
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