I have just caught up with your entire Log.
Wow.
Impressive and inspirational to any that are walking along with you.
Keep up the good work.
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March 26th, 2022
How it’s been going:
One week into Grade 2 and I’m starting to feel like I can play the guitar a little. Stuck 3 & 4 chords give access to a variety of pretty great songs that I love and even just attempting them gives me some motivation to move forward.
What I’ve been Playing:
- Every Rose Has it’s Thorn - before I would just play the intro and the verse but now I’m getting into the chorus and the bridge. Really fun to play and I’m getting the hang of it.
- You Shook Me All Night Long - I’m getting better at changing between the regular C and the rock G, but more times than not while playing the song. I consider this a long term song and will work on it till I get it right.
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Wonderwall - Out of pure curiosity I started to muck around with this song. I was determined to try and get the rhythm and strumming pattern sorted. Luckily Justin’s Beginner song book has the pattern clearly laid out and I was surprised to be actually getting the hang of it. This song inspired me to get a new piece of equipment…more on that later
The Plan:
I feel comfortable enough to move on from Module 8 to module 9 but I told myself 2 weeks for each Grade 2 module at least so I’ll be working on 8 for another week. The songs are really nice to play and I just got a new acoustic guitar to play the more acoustic appropriate songs on! Speaking of:
New Gear/Purchases:
New guitar! I wanted to get a new guitar for the more acoustic appropriate songs and for when I get to the finger picking module. After a lot of online research and some advice from you fine folk I narrowed it down to the Yamaha fs800 or the Fender CC-60s both concert size because I wanted something small. Since the Yamaha’s were the more recommended I went to the Guitar store with that in mind. Fate intervened though, they didn’t have the Yamaha in stock and not only did they have the Fender in the store but it was on sale for $170 down from the $230 I expected to pay.
So without further ado, here it is in all it’s glory:
Surprised how pretty it looked out of the box. It will definitely need some getting used to as I was messing up some stuff that I thought I had down while playing on the electric. I’ll be using this one for my practice all week. 
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Happy NGD 
The guitar looks great, Alex. I look forward to hearing you play it.
That sounds like a good plan. It’s always good to have a couple more practice sessions once you’ve met the prerequisites to progress.
Have fun with your new guitar mate.
Sounds like you are continuing to make good progress, Alexis.
I’d say the only rule we should have is there are no rules. So if you feel comfortable with module 8, can achieve the performance guidelines provided then I’d move on. When moving on to start the new lessons, you can still incorporate technique practice and especially songs that use those techniques in your guitar time.
Speaking of guitars, enjoy the new instrument. Playing the acoustic has quite a different feel to playing the electric (at least in my experience). So likely to take a little bit of playtime to get used to it.
You may also want to check the action to get a sense of how well it is setup. Many times acoustics will benefit from a luthier’s setup, irrespective of what the store may advise, even on instruments costing a few more $100s than you’ve spent.
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I just called around and realized there is a small music shop around the corner from my home that does set ups. I’ll be stopping by tomorrow to drop it off and hopefully it’ll be a bit easier to play after that. I also realized that if I try to play the high E string on the 13 fret I have to press really hard and I can’t hammer it on to the 14th fret like I can with the other strings. Hopefully that will get resolved too.
I’m still going to be keeping up with the 8th module just while I get used to playing with the acoustic. Plus I love the songs I’m learning in this module so there’s no harm in finishing it up this week.
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April 21st, 2022
How it’s been going:
It’s been almost a month since the last time I updated this log so I figured it was time to talk a little bit about my progress. I’ve spent about 2 weeks per grade 2 module so far and am currently working through practicing the Module 10 content.
F chord while tricky didn’t give me as much trouble as I thought it was going to. In fact, I have a much harder time with the mini F for some reason. Now doing changes from the F has def been a much bigger challenge. Another surprise for me was how difficult it would be to transition to alternate picking from all down picks in the C major skill. I’m still in week one of practicing that so I’m sure I’ll get better.
I’ve been alternating my guitar each practice session (Electric and acoustic) in preparation for the finger picking module. It’s been great getting a feeling for the acoustic and finding out that things that I can confidently play on electric don’t sound so good when I attempt on the acoustic. It’s getting better and better so I’m glad I’m doing this instead of touching the acoustic the first time in the fingerpicking module.
What I’ve been Playing:
- La Bamba - Surprised at how fast I got the riff down, the video looked much harder than it actually is. Practicing the C Major scale really helped here. I’m also practicing the rhythm (C, mini F, weak finger G) so I can combine practicing the push rhythm, weak finger G, and my greatest weakness from the last module: the mini F. It’s coming along.
- What’s up - I’m already getting nostalgic for grade 1 and it’s only been a month! Seriously though this is the perfect song for weak finger G since it has change to C. I practice this during repertoire revision so that I get a ton of weak finger G practice.
- Mad World - Another greatest hits from grade 1! This one I practice specifically for the mini A barre chord. It’s great, at first I was doing weak finger G as well but I found it harder to switch to D chord so I’ve just been using regular G.
The Plan:
I’m in module 10 for another week and some change so I’m going to keep going. I’m really excited for the next 3 modules since they are intros to genres that I’m really interested in. Especially excited to get to rock power chords and the rock module. I’m planning on spending more time on that module as there are so many songs I want to try. Particularly want to try playing Smells Like Teen Spirit with my mustang style guitar!
New Gear/Purchases:
Speaking of Smells Like Teen Spirit I know Justin has a Katana patch for the song with all the sounds that I would need to play the song on my Boss Katana. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a way to switch between the different sounds so I can play the song in one go. Fortunately, I’ve remedied that 
:
This thing is awesome! It lets me switch between 4 presets on my Katana! Easy set up too, I just had to buy a different type of chord to plug into my Katana 50 but after that it just worked. I’m still a little under a month out from the rock module but I’m definitely ready to rock!
EDIT: Here’s a video of me playing my acoustic! This is the first time I’ve recording my self playing on the acoustic. https://community.justinguitar.com/t/every-rose-has-its-thorn-shortened/
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Great to hear you cracking on, Alexis, and ready to rock Nirvana
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May 12th, 2022
How it’s been going:
For the past 2 weeks I’ve been on the Finger Style Module in grade 2. For the most part I’ve spent about 2 weeks per grade 2 module but this one almost broke the mold! One of the milestones that I wanted to hit before moving on was getting the Happy Birthday finger style to a point where I could comfortably play it at a party if the need arose. Gotta be honest, it was a real struggle for most of the time. It was a deceptively hard song for me to grasp, but riiiight before I hit the 2 week mark (yesterday) I was able to play it properly. I’m proud of my self for at the very least sticking to it and not letting frustration turn to despair.
Besides that I’ve found the whole finger style module much more enjoyable than I thought. It’s a beautiful style and I’m so glad I purchased my acoustic guitar because I don’t think I could fully appreciate the tone or the style by trying it with just my electric (I know there are electric specific finger style songs but there is just something about an acoustic guitar playing this style).
What I’ve been Playing:
- Happy Birthday - I’ve said enough about this above so here’s the AVOYP: Happy Birthday FingerStyle
- Hallelujah- Such a beautiful song. I’ve struggled with the changes to the full F chords here and the half bar change from F to weak G but I’ve been getting better and better at it.
- House of the Rising Sun - Another beautiful song in finger style. I specifically wanted to choose songs with full F chords switches and since this one has a big D to F switch it fits the bill. Another that’s not perfect but it’s got me pretty comfortable with the F chord.
- If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next - This one is from Justin’s Rock song book. I’m playing this song during my repertoire revision time. It’s a good song and great for me to practice rhythm. Wanted to practice a song with full F chord switches but that involves strumming so I don’t get rusty in this module. I’m attributing me passing 60 changes per minute on the F chord to this song which is a big mile stone for me.
The Plan:
I’m starting the Rock Module on Saturday! I’m really excited about this as my interest in the guitar started with Rock. There are so many songs that I love that will open to me with power chords. I may stay on the module longer than my normal 2 weeks for Grade 2 even if I feel comfortable with the content if I’m having a lot of fun with it. But I may not, I expect that I’ll spend a lot of my consolidation time for Grade 2 with rock module content so I may just move on. We’ll see.
New Gear/Purchases:
I couldn’t help my self =) I got a new electric guitar. I made a whole post about it here: New Guitar Day Yay!
My first ever guitar was a cheap Epiphone Les Paul Special when I was a teenager. I believe that was their cheapest Les Paul at the time. There was just something about the shape that I gravitated to. When I decided to pick up guitar again at the end of last year I was skeptical so I bought the cheapest guitar I could find, squier mustang bullet HH. A guitar that I love in it’s own way but not something that inspires me every time I look at. After consulting the boss (my wife) I finally went to the local guitar store and picked up this beauty (I suspect we’ll have good times for years to come):
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Sounds like your making good progress Alex and the new guitar looks great. For the half change on Hallelujah maybe try going from F Barre Chord to G Barre Chord (move barre to third fret). You could do the same with the section going from F > G > E.
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Hi James,
That’s a great idea! I know the concept of Barre chords and know how to make a G Barre chord but I guess I didn’t think about it cause I haven’t gotten there yet in Justin’s course. I just tried it on my guitar and with practice it does seem like a much easier solution than using the weak finger G as I’ve been doing. I assume moving to E would also be easier. Will def add it when I start practicing it in my Repertoire practice.
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Think of it as more barre chord practice. Yes, moving to E will also easier and just keep same fingering for Am (2, 3 & 4) then back to F.
Much to celebrate in this update, Alexis. Keep doing what you are doing. Fabulous looking guitar!
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June 8th, 2022
How it’s been going:
Time really flies by! It’s been about a month since my last update so it’s about time I write out my thoughts. For the past month I’ve went through the Rock and Blues Grade 2 modules. I’m just about finished those, but I really feel like I’ve only just scratched the surface of both of those genres. Rock is near and dear to my heart so I knew I’d love it, but there’s something to playing Blues as well. The improvising and the groove really speak to me.
For the rock module I played a lot of Nirvana and blink 182, getting used to power chords and palm muting. Power chords are tougher than they look, especially regarding string crossing and sliding. I could not really 100% get used to palm muting either. I feel like I lost the mute whenever playing a 5th string power chord for some reason. Something I should def work on during consolidation.
For the Blues Module I thought the hardest thing I’d have to tackle was the B7 chord, and for sure it was difficult, but I’m surprised how hard the chord changes are for me when playing in the key of G. Def one of those things I want to look at if I have time when consolidating.
What I’ve been Playing:
- Smells Like Teen Spirit - Love this song! I’ve only really been practicing the main rhythm, not the other riffs, but I feel like I’m really close to getting it down. My only problem is when crossing between 6th and 5th string Pchords I sometimes fumble the change so still working on it. I’ll work on the other riffs after I get this down.
- In Bloom- I think this is my favorite Nirvana song, so I’ve spent a lot of time working on this. I can play through the whole song (Rhythm only of course: Intro, verses, and chorus), but it’s still sloppy so working on cleaning it up. Want to do a AVoYP at some point.
- Whips and Chains - I’ve only just begun this one. It’s an instrumental song from Troy Stetina’s excellent book on metal rhythm guitar. Seriously anyone who is interested in playing metal should take a look at these books. I found that the books do little in actually teaching how and what to practice but are very good at teaching you technique and gradually giving you harder techniques to master. I’m combining the book with Justin’s effective practice methods to good results.
- If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next - I still play this during my rep revision. I’ve come to terms that it will probably take months (maybe even longer) to truly achieve smooth changes with the F chord, but I continue to have this in my practice to keep working on it.
The Plan:
I’m starting the final Module for Grade 2 on Saturday! What a ride! I’ll spend 2 weeks practicing exactly what that module has, but then it’s off to consolidation land where I’ll create my own practice schedule based on Justin’s. Planning on about 3 full months of consolidating.
The plan is to work on mostly rock and metal songs. I’m toying with the idea of starting a AVoYP series of myself going through the first 15 songs of Justin’s rock song book (which should be doable for me after grade 2). I’d treat each song as a rock study and really dig deep into them, practicing them until I feel comfortable enough playing with a backing track I find online and posting them. I feel like committing myself to posting them would help me stay motivated and make sure I work hard to get them as tight as possible. Plus I love checking off items on a list. 
New Gear/Purchases:
A rather mundane purchase after getting a brand-new guitar last month but I got my self a stool to play on! I’ve been playing on a couch in my office/play room which has not been ideal as I like to keep close to my computer while playing. So I decided what the hell why not. This things is great worth every penny
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Nice update Alex. Glad you’re enjoying rocking out.
You do realise that now you have a drum stool, it’s mandatory to buy a drum kit as well? 
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Thanks for the update, Alexis. Sounds like you are making progress, having fun, and have a clear plan for the next little while.
When I was doing the Beginner Course, I found G7 for the 12BB in G totally beyond me. B7 for key of E was tricky but practice did the trick. I have learned a song this year that makes use of G7 and am now able to play the cord. My finger stretch and strength having improved generally over time to the point where I could play G7. So if you find something to be just too challenging then I think nothing wrong in moving on and coming back to it later if it is not going to prevent you making progress. I did the same with power cords as I was playing acoustic, strumming songs, and had no need.
Look forward to your 15 rock song challenge!
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Hah! Funny drum story:
When I was a teenager, I participated in a program where I went to Japan for a month to learn and immerse myself in the culture. While there I met another kid from the US that was OBSESSED with the drums. He carried drumsticks around everywhere and practiced his technique every chance he could get.
One day I told him of passing interest in the guitar and our group leader heard us discussing music; as it turns out, he played the guitar. The group leader then found and rented a little jam room for 2 hours that had a full drum kit in it. For those 2 hours while the group leader jammed on the guitar this kid taught me the basics of the drums.
Afterwards I was convinced that as soon as I got home, I’d ask my mother to buy me a drum kit. Of course, my mother was less than enthused about the prospect! So, I never bought any drums and I lost contact with that kid a looong time ago. And there you have it, my dreams of becoming a drumming god dashed before they even really began…or are they? If I’ve learned anything from Justin is that it’s never too late…nah I think I’ll stick to guitar for a while.
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I’m glad it’s not just me! It’s good to hear that you were eventually able to break through that plateau. This community has been invaluable in constantly reminding me that I’m not alone in my guitar struggles and more times than not patience and diligent practice will help me break through my own plateaus.
I’m excited to try it! I love all of the songs in the book, and I’ve already been playing 4-5 of the songs with varying degrees of success throughout grade 1 and 2. I expect that if I do end up doing the challenge/study each song will take a month+ to really get them to the point where I could play and post them to a backing track. I’d likely continue doing it past consolidation and into grade 3 as well. Luckily, it looks like past grade 2 Justin’s method really opens up and is less about following a prescribed plan and more about pursuing personal goals and how to approach pretty much anything I want to learn on the guitar.
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Good story! I drummed as a teenager, looking back I have no idea how my parents and the neighbours put up with it. I’ve toyed with the idea of getting an electric one at some stage and the wife is not keen on that even .
Btw - B7 is also hard for me. One of the trickiest open chords so far.
Hi Alexis,
Well, that has now become a nice library 
… nice to see such a well-structured LL, you will look back on it later (and now of course) with great pleasure and pride…
Retroactively wishing you a lot of Happy GuitarandAmpandOtherGear Day`s 
Greetings,Rogier
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That sounds a great idea to keep motivation and interest up.
What drum stool is that you’ve bought? I’ve thought about one as I currently sit on a soft sofa seat which is not good for my posture.
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