Hey everyone! It’s been about a month since I (re)started to learn the guitar with a fresh approach. And now I would like to give the learning log concept a go, perhaps once a month for the time being.
My current status: I made it to Grade 1, Module 5. I don’t think I’m consistently at 30 changes per minute for all the chord combinations, but it felt right to move on. I also sometimes go back and revisit topics I’m not familiar with and I intend to keep doing that.
Regarding my approach: I don’t have too much time between job and family, but my approach to take at least 5 minutes a day has worked out great. In this month I didn’t practice on two days (when I was away from home and it wasn’t practical to take a guitar with me) and for one day when I was sick and decided it was ok to take a day off. I’ve had a few sessions so far in which I felt I wasn’t doing too well, but the huge upside of this approach is that it’s easy to forget that and try again the next day. I’ve seen quite a bit of progress from one day to another, especially with the trickier things I’ve done this month (like stretching my fingers for the C chord or getting the timing to “Come as you are” right).
And now gear choices. I started with the conscious decision not to think too much about gear and buying it, because I wanted to get good with the very decent gear I have. But then I did go ahead and buy an accoustic guitar, because it felt right to have one around from the start. So I bought this one and it feels great. I like the sound of it, the looks and especially the size. That being said now that I tried to alternate between my guitars I realize how great my Yamaha Pacifica is and how much I enjoy playing it. I want to go forward and practice on it exclusively and use the accoustic occasionally only, perhaps later when I get to play some songs which would sound better on it.
The other gear choice I’ve enjoyed immensely is my Fender Mustang Micro amp. I think this is a big part of why I enjoy picking up the guitar and playing it. I don’t want (and need) to concern myself with amps and their volumes, with pedals, cables and other devices. There might be a time when I’ll get to that, but my practice sessions need to be as quiet as they can right now and this setup is perfect. At some point I hooked up the Fender Micro to a bluetooth speaker via cable and I have to say even that sounds great to me. My Blackstar Fly 3 Mini amp (which has a decent sound for its size) is sitting in a corner catching dust.
Looking back I enjoyed the course immensely so far. I like how I can trust Justin to know which order things should be learned in, I enjoy watching the lessons as much as I enjoy practicing. Playing songs is not yet something I enjoy too much, but with more experience I can see this becoming a bigger part. I bought the print edition of the beginners course and the first songbook and I like having the hard copy around for reference, it also helps keeping my phone or tablet away.
Last but not least I enjoy browsing through the community, seeing what fellow beginners are struggling with and how they go about their routine. And I’ve had a very warm welcome in my intro thread. In terms of having a “guitar player mindset” I’d rather scroll through here and absorb some inspiration than doom scroll on social media.
See you next month!