@Socio
Thanks James
Yeah, I have more time and Iām making more time.
The song isnāt my cup of tea but I like the sound of the riff. Or should I say I like the sound of it when Justin plays it. Mine doesnāt sound too goodā¦.Yet! Iām sticking with it to nail the technique.
@Notter
Thanks Mark
My improvisation isnāt anything to write home about. Iāve been practicing the Chet Atkins lesson in @Richard_close2u ās improvisation topic in the tips from the Mods section. Richard gives a very good explanation of how and why it works and sounds good and so Iāve learned about targeting chord tones. Now I need to do this type of thing by myself without following tabs. Itās a work in progress.
Thanks for that. Yes, I am just about back to life pre-op, last box to tick is driving a car which will happen next week.
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Yes, but heāll miss getting chauffeured around 
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October 2022 Update
Module9 is almost done and Iāve been overlapping into module10.
F chord is developing well with omc changes to C into the mid 40ās. Not using it in songs yet, but I intend to. Iāve been practicing Dreams and have it up to a reasonable tempo. Iāll slow it down now and continue with it in m10 and use F and G barre chords in the chorus and also weak finger G in the verses along with the F alternatives.
House of the Rising Sun has progressed well. Had some fun with the various strum styles and flat picking. Itās going on the back burner now though and Iāll look for a song to practice one finger A
Iām dropping the Californication riff. I can play it and also add in the chords. Time now for some party vibes with La Bamba riff.
Iāve continued with Rhythm Maestro and worked through all the one bar rhythm patterns in the first lesson. Iāll work through them again, this time as two bar rhythms. Iāve also started Master Your Major Scales for added interest.
There have only been 2 days this month when I havenāt played guitar. Iām pleased with that as itās usually more!
So off into module10 now and the remaining lessons there.
šø David
All sounds good, David. Wish I had a month with so few non-playing days! Well done and keep at it.
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Nice update, David. It sounds like you are making good steady progress. Itās good to read that youāre getting to spend more time practicing and playing the guitar. Enjoy the party vibes with the La Bamba riff.
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David, James, thank you both for your comments.
Having had little time with guitar through the summer has made me more appreciative of the time I have now. I admit that on some days Iāve had to force myself to pick it up because of tiredness and on those days I canāt be bothered with my practice routine so I just doodle around and play. But when that happens I always feel better for doing it and Iām usually back to the routine next day. After all, Iām not practicing for the sake of practice, Iām practicing to be able to play. So play !! šø
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November 2022 Update
Itās been another good guitar month with an hourās practice most days apart from the odd hiccup or two.
Module 10
F chord is progressing but itās slow. I got omcās up to 60 but they werenāt good changes. I have it in PFC now, changing to it from various other chords - a more apt name would be perfect slow changes! Omcās have got the fingers knowing where to go but now itās a case of nailing it each and every time. Iām playing F and G barre chords in the chorus of Dreams but itās going to take some time to get it good.
One finger A is easy enough and Iāve been using it in my repertoire songs.
Weak G has been trickier, getting 3rd finger to go one way and 4th the other way. Itās not bad now though and Iāve been playing it in songs, even in La Bamba where itās the pushed rhythm chord! That was a challenge but I persevered and it came to. Weak G is supposed to be quicker changing to other chords. Hmmā¦standard G is quicker for me and feels more solid.
Iāve really enjoyed learning La Bamba riff. Slowly building up the tempo then slowing down and building back up again with the double stops. Iāve learned the riff and chord rhythm separately but Iāll put it all together later in consolidation.
Strict alternate picking doesnāt sit naturally with me. Iāve been practicing it and I can do it when I focus on it but when Iām playing I donāt think about pick direction, I focus on what Iām playing and my picking is probably more akin to economy picking and just happens naturally. Iām not going to worry too much whether itās alternate or economy, I have both options. If it sounds good it is good!
My hammer ons were good from the off but Iāve practiced them all month to help with finger independence and dexterity.
Everything else in the module- feeling frets, improvisation, common chord progressions- I started last month and theyāre things that Iāll continue looking at.
So thatās module10 done and Iāll be starting afresh in module11 tomorrow.
šø David
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December 2022
Itās all gone a bit pear shaped this month. The freezing weather earlier in the month put paid to my practice. My hands donāt like the cold and my playing turned to putty. I put the guitar away and only picked it up again these last few days but even now, my fingers donāt want to move so fast so itās not dedicated practice just slow doodling.
There are things happening over the next couple of months that wonāt leave me much time for guitar, so maybe doodling is the way to go for a while and forget about the course till spring. It should be warmer by then and my hands will have thawed out!
The end of the year is also the end of my first year learning with JG so I have to look at it as a whole rather than dwell on this monthās setback.
Itās been a year of inevitable ups and downs but overall Iām happy with my progress. Iāve worked my way through Grade1 and almost half of Grade2 and my playing has generally improved as the year has gone on. My progress through Grade2 is maybe a bit slow but thereās a lot of new stuff to learn and practice to get it working right. Iām enjoying it though and the more I learn the more I know there is to learn further down the line.
Looking forward - well thereās the next couple of months to get through and then the rest of Grade2. After that thereās consolidation which Iām thinking will be very much song based.
Not much point putting a time frame on it given how life so easily gets in the way but if everything goes reasonably well I would hope to be progressing in Grade3 by this time next year. We shall see.
Happy New Year
šø David
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Hi David, doodling can be also a valuable optionā¦last year I had a whole month without structured practice - how do you say in english? - life got in the way, and even if it was hard to get back on track it proved to be a very productive month with a lot of deeper understanding of things. Hopefully itāll work like that for you too. Iām looking foward to hear more of you in the spring.
All the best. Silvia.
Thanks Sylvia.
Yeah, life sure does get in the way. Everyone in the community will have experienced it at some point or other.
Iām working 12+ hours a day, 7 days a week and it may well be more in a couple of weeks time so Iām not playing much guitar at the moment - but Iām still learning. Is there such a thing as āstructured doodlingā !!
Iāll do a little update next week (end of the month as usual) with what Iāve been doing.
Cheers
šø David
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January 2023 Update
Not much to report this month. I have a lot of life stuff going on at the moment and itās distracting me from guitar. What little I have done is learning to play the melody for a couple of songs and a sus chord riff.
When I started learning to improvise I learned about targeting chord tones and outlining chords and my thinking was that melody must do the same and Iāve found out that it most certainly does! So the melody has taught me a bit more about song structure.
I ditched fingerstyle after only a few attempts, donāt think itās my forte. No problem with the T 1 2 3 2 1 finger picking pattern but it sounds naff playing with the pads of my fingers on electric guitar. Maybe Iāll come back to it some day.
The sus chord riff is for Summer of 69
I can play the notes in time, but it doesnāt quite sound like it should. Think I need to go back to the lesson and see what Iāve missed. Itās a great song for me and will be a developer as thereās lots of technique to learn for it.
Once Iāve got the riff sounding something like, Iāll move into module12 for some rockin power chords.
šø David
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Fingerstyle is tricky for everyone. Maybe there are some naturals out there though. Iād encourage you to consider picking it up again at some stage, there are so many good fingerstyle songs out there across genres.
Good to hear you are still progressing even though your practice time is limited.
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Hello David, I apologize I didnāt get a notification of your reply and Iām reading it now with your update. Itās so good to read that, despite the heavy working commitment youāre still inspired to grab your guitar and learn, and also making the most out of the little time you have! Fingerstyle requires dedication and perseverance, it took me so much in order to get the 6/8 simple pattern smooth without hurting my self and to avoid tension in my wrist, I had to set it as a long term goal.
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Hi David, you can have finger style as an excercise that you can come back once in a while. In my case I thought I had it more or less nailed until I introduced the metronome and got lost counting beats while trying to repeat a pattern. So now I am counting aloud while practicing the patterns. Of course just try to do the best with the time available.
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@jkahn Thanks for your encouragement JK
I didnāt find that simple pattern tricky, in fact I found it quite easy. It was the inconsistent and weak tone I was getting from the pads of my fingers that I didnāt like. (I donāt want long nails). Being strapped for time, I thought why am I bothering with this when I can play it much better with a pick.
I like listening to fingerstyle, itās a nice change from strum strum all the time. So yeah, youāre right, I should come back to it when I have more time.
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@SILVIA No worries Silvia, the technology canāt always keep up!
My motivation to play guitar isnāt great right now but my long term desire to learn and play is as strong as ever. Iāll come back to fingerstyle some day although my dedication to it may not match that of your own. We shall see!
@dobleA Thanks AndrƩs.
I didnāt try fingerstyle with the metronome. Iām usually ok with the metronome. I always have an accent on beat 1 so I usually sort of can āfeelā where Iām at. I count along in my head but rarely out loud. Tapping the foot is a big help and Iāll often tap heavier on the accented 1st beat. Slow it down a bit if you are struggling to stay with it.