I’ve been Struggling for the past two weeks on what to write
Nov-Dec good practice routine helping to focus on xmas songs. My goal was to play xmas songs finger style. ‘Silent night’ and ‘What child is this’. I did sort of learn them silent night I had memorized but greensleeves I couldn’t memorize the whole thing. Did a video Christmas Eve of silent night at like two in the morning after a lot of eggnog’s. Not my best performance hopefully next year. I did start working on ‘Fairytale of New York’ and ‘ happy Xmas’ Which I wouldn’t even look at in the beginning but closer to Christmas I took them on.
I did start playing the Bmin chord after I realized it was in a lot of songs I liked.
Improvements
Strumming- I finally think I got it **
I went from being able to play a
couple of notes with the disappearing
metronome to a couple bars
Spider exercise and pinky work out
**new Strumming SOS course really
really helped me !!! Thank You Justin
Bonus, I am incredibly much better at
playing billiards now with straight arm
movements.
January guitar focus
Bmin Songs
I started a joke , Happy xmas (war over) ,
Fairytale of Ny, Comfortably numb
Friday in love,
Picked finger style strumming
1 bar pattern
2 bar pattern
Practice
5 min — strumming pattern
5 min — one min chord changes
G chord need finger land same
time
5 min — picked finger style (2 bars)
5 min — picked finger style (1 bar)
2 min — spider
2 min — finger gym
2 min — pinky exercise
? — scales (?)
Keep rhythm going. Don’t Stop strumming!!
1 year guitariversary coming up And I’m really hoping to be able to play something decently by then. Not sure what yet but one of the songs that I’ve been messing around with since I started.
All sounding good, Jason, keep putting the time in and you’ll see the benefits, sometimes in the short-term, sometimes takes longer. But you’ll build the foundation following the programme.
Hello Jason, your update has been a very interesting reading. I’m also working on the Strumming SOS Course and working on the movement of the arm, as well as the pick angle. I’m just trying to be consistent and trust the process And…I also mess around with songs Playing whole songs is still a bit challenging, unless it’s a kid easy and short tune…As you I also like practicing both fingerstyle and strumming
I think you’re doing very well with those chord melodies…it just takes time and practice to be able to play confidently. Enjoy your practice sessions!
Coming up on 1 year anniversary. First 4 months mainly playing electric working on technique. I think I was was a little intimidated so I spent more time reading than playing (a lot of music theory, and making my own transcriptions from Justin’s lessons). My 1st Goal was to play “don’t look back in anger “. I realized it was a little above my abilities. I did concentrate on the solo’s and the beginning of “yellow lead better “. I was focusing more on scales major and pentatonic.
I hurt my wrist and couldn’t play for 6 weeks. During that time I started using the ear interval trainer app. Which definitely improved my ability to recognize notes and different intervals.
Past 6 months practicing on acoustic. I purchased a new acoustic and it was a word of difference. (My 1st acoustic was junk). I started working on campfire songs and xmas songs. For 2-3 months mainly xmas so I did have a clear goal.
I have been struggling the past month on which direction to take my playing.
I decided for now to go back to electric. I have a couple pedals I’ve never used and it’s time
Goals reached in 1st year
— I can fumble through about a dozen songs.
None are at the level for me to perform yet, but
It feels like I am getting there.
*Songs *
Hurt
Wish you were here
Handle with care
Heart of gold
Mad world
Runaway train
Learning to Fly
Heroes
Comfortably numb
Friday I’m in love
A couple of xmas songs
— spider, finger gym, pinky exercise (up and
down the neck)
— 60+ chord changes/min
— disappearing metronome @ 60, 80, 100,
120 bpm. I’m able to count the # missed during
practice, instead of the # of strums made in
time
— playing distracted (watch tv reading
subtitles) during strumming practice, finger.
exercises, songs
— Chords A, Amin, Bmin, C , D, E, Emin, F, G
A &D Sus, stuck 3&4
Happy almost guitar anniversary Jason. I remember your don’t look back in anger video since it’s one of the songs I eventually want to learn. You’ve made a lot of progress, really enjoyed your 2 AVOYP. Especially handle with care, your strumming is really consistent with good rhythm.
Hi Jason, congratulations on the coming up 1 year guitar anniversary. You have progressed more than you acknowledge. Keep the enthusiasm and dedication.
So much fun playing with pedals. Just messing around figuring things out. I tried to stay in key. Not sure which one. Bmin ish ? Also playing chords up and down neck, triads, 3rds,
Started playing my electric guitar more using my pedals having a lot of fun doing it. Still working on the looper and how exactly to implement it into practice and getting the timing right
Still practicing finger gym spider pinky work out strumming. And added the 1 and 2 bar picked finger style exercise. Really need to improve the picking out individual notes.
Yesterday I started the grade 2 Strumming SOS course. I plan to follow it very strictly.
1st video for grade 2 strumming
Changed how I hold the guitar again to make my strumming arm at more of an angle. It was very parallel to my guitar.
I wish I was a guitar savant there is just so much I wish I can do.
Even updating my log seems impossible. I don’t know what to right. Other people have awesome logs. I’m just going to stick with making videos and hopefully there will be progress.
Some thoughts
Grade 2 sos course has great lessons that should really change my playing. I feel like every song I play sounds the same. I think I have been adding fills and dynamics to my playing.
My Technique practice has stalled. I am still doing it religiously. But I’m not sensing any improvement. OMC stays the same.
been playing more up and down the neck. Getting away from open chords
Finally playing electric more.
Trying my pedals especially reverb(just got). And looper. Still working on timing
Standing and playing a lot more. This eliminates a lot of the the ‘ am I holding guitar correctly?’ problems.
Plateaus can be frustrating, Jason, but I think are just part of how we learn. Keep on with the practice and enjoy your playing, and in due course I am sure improvements will come.
My own parody song. Yesterday I was thinking I do not know 5 songs I could play. I don’t know why I decided to make a song about how I don’t know any songs. This is what I ended up with. Never thought I would write anything.
Cheers!
I couldn’t make out a lot of the lyrics unfortunately! But dude… your playing has come a long way! You got the rhythm down, nice chord work and playing sounded great!
I think you’re better than you think you are. So many of us look at what we want to play, and our challenging practice sessions, and wish we could be better. And then we watch videos of other people’s performances… not their practice!
Thanks @jkahn
I think this my best performance. Came out a lot better than I thought. I was shocked
I updated video with lyrics. Put in wrong edit before. I always mess something up.
Jason I think same as JK you are far better than you think. Let’s look at positives - you hear the rhythm and you keep it as your arm movement clearly indicates. That is good! You clearly can strum more than one strum per bar, slowly getting there with good old faithful. I think based on that video where you slip up is when you don’t know the lyrics by heart. Try playing the same song without singing and record yourself, check if you can notice even better flow (which was already pretty good considering you are only one year in).
You can also play while standing up, that is very good thing to know so early in your learning journey so good job!
Overall don’t beat yourself up, you are really doing great in my eyes with more practice you will definitely get even better! All the best Jason
Thanks. I’ve been playing standing. I think it’s so much easier and better for me. To keep my strumming consistent. And I’m not so concerned about how I’m holding guitar. It feels more natural and it doesn’t look as stiff as when I’m sitting
**
And…I also mess around with songs 
Playing whole songs is still a bit challenging, unless it’s a kid easy and short tune…As you I also like practicing both fingerstyle and strumming 
or phrasing from somewhere else is just part of the exploration.
with more practice you will definitely get even better! All the best Jason