Carreta’s learning log

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16-07-2024 - After one year of Justin Guitar I decided to make my own learning log, so not all datas wont be that accurate from 1st year, but because I am running through “rut” I need a place where I can see what all I can do so it motivates PRESENT me and FUTURE me. :slight_smile:

First I am gonna think about stylization, so I am gonna edit this topic in short time. Hope its not too late to start learning log.

17-07-2024 - Yesterday I finally made my own list of daily routine, so I would like to share it with you here. These days are pretty busy and this is really helping me to stay in learning without thinking about what I should do.
-C Major Scale:
Settings: downpicks only from memory, 100 bpm, 2 minutes
Note: Sometimes I pick not correct string or press correct note
-F chord changes:
Settings: C to F, Weak G to F, Am to F, 80 bpm, 2 minutes each
Note: When doing F chord the G string is buzzy 50/50
-A chord mini barré:
Settings: D to A mini barré, 60 bpm, 2 minutes
Note: This chord is not that hard for me, I just need to memory my finger placement, so I dont mute A string, sometimes G string is buzzy
-Hammer-on guitar exercise:
Settings: 5th fret start, 1st to 2nd finger, 2nd to 3rd, 3rd to 4th, 1st to 3rd, 2nd to 4th and 1st to 4th, no metronome
Note: No metronome, because first I need to learn accuracy and correction
-Trying 5 common chord progression in C major scale:
Settings:
1-5-6-4 → C, G, Am, F (80 bpm, Old Faithful Plus, 2 minutes)
6-4-1-5 → Am, F, C, G (80 bpm, Old Faithful Plus, 2 minutes)
Note: This chord progression seems same to me as 1-5-6-4, maybe in future I will understand whats different
1-4-5-4 - > C, F, G, F (80 bpm, Old Faithful Plus, 2 minutes)
1-6-4-5 - > C, Am, F, G (80 bpm, Old Faithful Plus, 2 minutes)
Note: C to Am, this sounds really beautiful to my ears
2-5-1-6 → Dm, G, C, Am (80 bpm, Old Faithful Plus, 2 minutes)
Note: Dm a little hard, because I wasnt using it to this time, only learned in Grade 1, so fingers needs to remember shape better

Together it takes 16 minutes + around 4-5 minutes hammer-ons.
Anyone can please confirm 20 minutes a day is enough?
Believe it or not… I did my 1st Grade with “freestyle” learning and I did not follow any time or routine… any day different things… sometimes 5 minutes, sometimes 2 hours. It depends on mood. :smiley:

30-07-2024 - Who am I to lie to you?
Its been 2 weeks and honestly… I did revision of G2M9, so I got it 100%. Now I am at Module 9 where I am getting to finish. But for example “mini F” is pretty hard for me… I call it gypsy F. :smiley: Hope it wont offend anyone… much more I can do barré F from C, G, Am, Em, Fmaj7 and Fmaj7/C. Also doing barré F from C/G, I love that chord… because you can move that shape 2 frets and its sounds great, dont know name of chord yet.
But about my planned learning schedule… I am not just doing it. Like… I did it 2 days and it does not fulfil me how I imagined… still did not find any exact song to work on, everything seems hard to me… even when I am pretty decent in F changes…
So I am just roaming around… had a little peak in end of Grade 2 and start of Grade 3, I wanted to know… and its pretty “scary” I am exactly where I should be, because I can see there are lot of ways to go and Justin is saying its my decision to choose the path. I am still trying to find myself… best things I like are for example “Indie folk music videos” on YouTube, which I can enjoy all days. But is it really what I wanna play? Is it really what I will be EVER able to play? Big questions here.
So I started to feed myself with different musicians - like Sean Daniel, I like him. Well 2 days ago he made video about basic country strumming pattern and thats what I am working on right now.
My days looks pretty… lined. I go from work home, play some games on PC, eat some spaghetti and then pick up guitar for 2-3 hours just doing anything I want by TV while watching Columbo - I really like this serial. :smiley: Its like I am doing 30 minutes only random changing with barre F and you know what? It rings… its getting faster, I dont have to think about that as much as I used to on the beginning. I think this is helping me too… then I put here some random fingerstyle… mostly Travis picking like… nothing big, just doing it and enjoying that time.
Sometimes I catch myself playing only with fingerstrum or pick these chords - C/G, then 2 frets UP C/G, Em and folky G. Trying to build some backbeat on 8th note all downstrums while doing dynamics… from normal to really loud to really silent and palm muting…
I really know in long term it wont push me that far, but this is how I am doing it right now.
Also bought Digitech Trio+ with looper and SFX3 pedal, I like it. Cant use it that good right now. Got days using it hours… then days not touching it.
Maybe… I am just thinking too far to future and I need to slow down. That is why I am revisiting some modules. Today I am gonna try my first alternate picking on C major scale, or am I not? We will see, heh.
I saw some video where guy is telling we should play WHOLE song with all parts and not only riffs or intro… and that is where I want to get now and maybe with that country pattern.
These days are strange… outside is 27 celsius and I am just living like this in my 27 years. I am pretty satisfied… or… am I?

07-08-2024 - Getting pretty comfortable with playing a song Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol
It is three days and I got little routine where I am practicing F chord changes and also moving F chord shape on neck to G and A. I started to learn “Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol”. That strumming part is pretty stretchy, but I like the sound - I am playing this song WHOLE with Dave from GuitarZeroToHero. I am making mistakes, but I find pretty satisfying going through whole song. This one is pretty easy, because its changing only picking and strumming with few chord shapes. Still watching Columbo in TV and passively doing “travis picking like fingerstyle” from Vintage club session with Richard Coles. I am really happy Clubs are back after holidays. :slight_smile:

17-09-2024 - Nothing too special, just being around and picking guitar almost daily for long
I learned Pixies - Where is my mind. Also touched The Animals - House of rising sun with strumming and fingerstyle - got my drunken and blind version on YouTube, pretty good I think. :smiley: I started with spider exercise daily from 02-09-2024. I can see its really helping me in many things… like C major scale or A minor pentatonic which I touched few days ago - its just bitten spider exercise to bone. :smiley: So I was able to do it almost immadiately with alternate picking too…
Today I am fighting with deciding to go for Paul Davids beginner course Learn, Practice and Play, but I watched some YouTube videos and against Justin… he got it pretty messy for really big price. Also had I look on Next Level Playing or Acoustic Adventure, but its too much, because its for intermediate… so today I made new schedule for new learning and I hope I will have will to do it and change it how I want. Here is list:

1.) Technics repeating and warmup:
E min penta, C major scale, A minor penta, spider up and down → downpicks and alternate with metronome

2.) New technics and example where to apply:
Palm mute on power chords - learning on Blink 182 - All the small things

3.) Song repertoire:
Snow Patrol - Chasing Cars
Oasis - Wonderwall
The Animals - House of Rising Sun
Beatles - Let It Be
Anouk - Lost
Eagle Eye Cherry - Save Tonight
Pixies - Where Is My Mind

11.10.2024 - I started Paul Davids acoustic adventure - fingerstyle blues
How I expected… I am not following anything, but I bought Pauls course 21.09.2024 and I am following his fingerstyle blues lesson. I get really really better. Exploring blues chords and doing my first slides. I completed level 1 and now I am working on level 2. I find Pauls tabs really great looking and great to follow too. So let me just follow this Bob Ross of guitar and I will update you… some day. You know I am not that much into it. I think this is right course for me… even when its intermediate, because fingerstyle is reason why I decided to start with guitar at all. :slight_smile:
Also I really enjoyed new John Butler banjo loop… and it really makes me wanna buy and play banjo. I found on Thomanns one for 230 dollars, thats pretty good. But I am trying not to buy it! I dont know how I would practice it in my system right now. :smiley: But I gave little hint to my girlfriend and Christmass is around the corner, so who knows…
And also its good time to start learning We Wish You a Merry Christmass. Last year I learned only chord chapes and I wasnt able to play it, because of fast chord change and strumming pattern. I cant want too compare one year difference side by side.
Stay motivated and stay happy while playing your guitar, it will click one day. :slight_smile:

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Welcome to the world of Learning Logs :slightly_smiling_face:

I think, if you have 20 min and really concentrate on practicing, then it’s surely enough to get back into a regular routine. Then again, the question is of course what is “enough”? What are your short term, mid term and long term goals? Can you reach them by following your current practice routine without running the risk of burning out?

I also really love to play around with chord progressions btws. That made me think… If you are now concentrating on chord progressions in C… Maybe there is a song in C, which you like a lot and that you can work on by utilizing Old Faithful for example?

By adding song practice you’d have 30 min of practice time and hopefully something to look forward to (the song you are working on :slightly_smiling_face:)

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@JokuMuu Thanks for reply and opinion. This is just something to “keep me in”, because I had really big “rut” last week and I had to do something about it. I can feel inside me that I wont tolerate the times - like I will do this 2-4x a day or I will add here just some random fingerstyle or random playing.
I really like Old Faithful and at the same time I dont… because when I play it it sounds all the time same. When Justin plays it he can do it everytime differently nice and I dont know how he is doing it… :smiley:

He just have it so connected and crispy… dont know how to describe it, so melodic. It does not sound like mine:

Edit: Cant it be something with speed? I can play this 100-120 bpm and it still does not sound that good. Trying to accent it on beat 2. I think I got really bad habit when I am doing Old Faithful which I know in my head still “talking” D DU UDU and I cant stop brain from thinking about it. Its like… I can think about chords and still in the background there is little voice saying D DU UDU. :smiley: Hope it does not sound too scary.

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No, it doesn’t sound scary. I think l, it has something to do with automatizing things. Most likely your brain is consciously telling you what to pay attention to.

Are you singing when you are playing? Perhaps not even aloud but in your mind? I suppose that could be a way of getting the controlling strumming pattern thoughts a bit more to the back of your mind :slightly_smiling_face:

Hmm… How does Justin do that? I have no better explanation than that he is excellent at guitar and has played and practiced for a long time. It’s a bit like asking how is Messi doing what he is doing. Long, long, long hours of practicing love for what you are doing.

A week in a rut, you say? :slightly_smiling_face: I don’t think that’s anything to worry about at all. I had slipped into a break for weeks and weeks without having any intentions of doing so. But…if you love music, and you love playing guitar, there is always a way back.

I think you are on the right track. Just don’t forget to add something to your routine that you enjoy …don’t make it a chore only :slightly_smiling_face: And I am perfectly with you reg. simple fingerstyle patterns with random chord progressions. That can be a lot of fun.

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It’s more about what you practice than how long you practice for I’d say, and 20 minutes daily is definitely enough to progress. Even if one day you’ve basically got no free time and you practice 1 thing well for 5 minutes then that is time well spent

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Michal,
This is an example of “muscle memory” to me… you play Old Faithful so many times that it has become automatic, which can be a good thing for when you’re working on something besides your strumming pattern. Justin has a lesson in (I think) Grade 1 about how to make up your own patterns… I just don’t remember which one it is.
So, Write Down any pattern you like for 8 bars:
D D DU D
or
DU D DU D
or
D -U — D

then force yourself to follow that pattern while you are reading it. Do the same pattern every day until you feel it’s really ingrained… then repeat with a different one.
While working on this, avoid Old Faithful. Before long, you’ll have several different strumming patterns in your “tool kit” & they’ll all feel good to play!!!

Tod

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Best to reduce the tempo so that your not practicing mistakes and increase the tempo gradually.

Continue to do perfect chord practice.

It’s a marathon not a race. Just remember to practice what you can’t do and not what you can do well. But I’d say that you need some time to have fun learning songs and not just exercises.

Justin’s great at playing with dynamics. That will come with time and experience gained.

This may be due to freestyle learning. It might be best to follow the program and make sure you allow time to have fun on the guitar learning songs.

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Michal, if you like to improve your strumming and you are looking for options how to do that, I would highly recommend Justin’s Strumming courses: https://www.justinguitar.com/store/strumming-sos
Lot’s of helpful lessons and excercises, so much to learn, you definitely won’t get bored!
It’s a matter of practice, practice, practice. Even if you are not a strummer, you can build up a solid rhythm feel. You learn a lot about keeping time, accentuating, dynamics, changing patterns within a song…everything you need to know.

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