Just read your whole log, and I’m exhausted, lol. Enjoy your vacation. I’d love a vacation, it’s been years… 
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Glad I could wear you out…LOL.
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Just checking in. Got home from our trip and brought home the crud. Thankfully, it was just a mild head cold and the wife didn’t get it. Felt really good today so I began digging into Module 18. There’s a lot in there but it is right up my alley. Practice should be fun.
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Grade 3 - Module 18
Practice has been…kinda tough. Long, varied and lot’s of new stuff. I haven’t practiced a lot, except for the Blues song, but it’s time. I’m not going to get better with another practice or two. Honestly, I’m eager to finish Grade 3 and go back to learning songs and honing techniques on my own.
Minor pentatonic legato is hard…my fingers don’t stretch like that without effort…but I increased my pace significantly. I messed around with open tunings a bit focusing on tuning by ear. That particular triad is not my strong suit but I’m getting better. Other triads are easier and I practices some of those too. Transcribing open chords was pretty easy. Once you know the common progressions, it’s not hard to identify the chords and pattern. I didn’t always nail it, but I was usually pretty close.
The Blues Lickin’ Riff is a lot of fun, even if I can’t always remember it all without looking or play it at a consistent BPM. I am focusing on getting it right instead of playing it well. Some of it is pretty easy, some of it is tough (like the opening chords) but I plan to add it to my “set list”.
- Minor Pentatonic Legato - Hand strength and flexibility needs work but I improved somewhat.
- Open Tunings - Mostly tried to change tuning by ear with moderate success.
- Triad Chips - This particular fingering is tough for me but I’m improving.
- Transcribing Open Chords - Something I was already doing and I will try to do when learning new songs.
- Blues Lickin’ Riff - Almost committed to memory. I’ll be playing this for a long time. It’s fun!
So like I said I’m on to Module 19. I’m going to try to get through Grade 3 before our summer road trip in about 4 weeks. That’s one module a week. I might be pushing it, but there seems to be a lot of lessons that don’t involve new guitar techniques but rather other knowledge (like song writing, practice advice or production). Besides, I look at the lessons as acquiring tools that I can use later if I need them when learning songs. And to be honest, I’m doing this for fun. I’m not joining a band, going on tour or recording songs.
Anyway, I should be posting regularly for the next month or so. On to Module 19!
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Grade 3 - Module 19
I’m not done (maybe one more practice) but I’ve got some spare time to summarize Module 19 before I move to Module 20. As expected, this module isn’t all new techniques or theory. I reviewed all the lessons save for the Guitar Pro lesson since I don’t use it and don’t plan to anytime soon. Of the lessons that had practice associated, I left a couple out. I didn’t practice singing (Both because I make enough noise with the guitar my wife has to endure and I sing all the time, even with the wife present) nor did I partake in the “what you need” sessions.
As for the rest, I played around with the G chord variations, even practicing the Gm pentatonic with my ring finger anchored. I practice the 4/4 finger style lesson and made minor progress. I found transcribing power chords difficult but I think it was just me. I played along with great songs and improvised over backing tracks, both of which I do all the time for fun anyway.
Not to knock the lessons but I feel like the end of Grade 3 has a lot of stuff thrown in that doesn’t warrant a lot of detail yet but is aimed at specific, more serious students. That’s fine and being exposed to producing, singing, song writing, etc. isn’t a bad thing. These last few lessons just aren’t as focused as before…but there’s enough technique and theory to warrant going through them.
- Singing - Didn’t really practice but I’m not new to singing loud and proud, at least in the car anyway (and according to the wife, I’m not half bad).
- G Chord Explorer - Explored.
- 4/4 Finger Style - Made some progress but the Dm chord isn’t in my repertoire and changing is slow.
- Transcribing Power Chords - Had trouble but I think it was me, just too much stuff in the brain.
As I mentioned before, I enjoy the Lickin’ Riff from last module and kept that in my practice routine. That made the relatively sparse practice more challenging. I’m always working on the “what you need” stuff so leaving it out made sense for these last few lessons so I can keep to my goal of finishing Grade 3 before July 21st. I’ll probably have one more go at Module 19 and then move on to Module 20 this week.
I am really looking forward to learning on my own again (songs, styles, techniques, etc.) while using the tools I’ve gathered though these beginner courses. But three more to go and I need to remained focused.
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Dan, I read through your entire learning log. It was a very interesting read, especially since you started on the course just a couple of months before me. You’re currently a couple of modules ahead of me, so your detailed evaluations gives me a lot of food for thought as I try to evaluate myself. It sounds like you are learning a lot and having fun with the course. I look forward to hearing some of your posted songs.
The Pacifica is a nice looking electric and well made that I have heard of.
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The Pacifica is nice. I had a Mexican Strat before and the Pacifica is it equal in every way that matters.
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Grade 3 - Module 20
Module 20 was more fun than expected. The chords in the key lesson was very enlightening even if I couldn’t play some of the chords higher up the neck. But knowing how find the most useful chords in a given key means less trips to the interwebs to look it up.
Same with the lifted barre chords. I found it not only easier to play the chords, but easier to slide them up and down the neck without the drag created by my barring index finger. Maybe some day I’ll have the dexterity to reduce the pressure of my index finger ever so slightly independent of my other fingers so as not to lose their relative positions, but today is not that day. 
Transcribing started out rough but I rallied in my last couple of practices. I skipped singing again since I already do it and I’m finding 30 minutes of practice is about my limit. I also didn’t view the lessons on recording/producing or co-writing songs. I’m not headed in that direction in my guitar adventure. I did continue practicing the Lickin’ Riff from a couple of modules back. I can play it from memory (most of the time) and my speed and accuracy are improving.
- Chords in the Key - Very useful, worked out most of the various keys during practices.
- Lifted Barre Trick - Again, very useful. Will use to replace regular barre chords when appropriate.
- Transcribing (Not So Easy) Riffs - Worked through all the provided examples and a few others on my own.
In addition to those and the Lickin’ Riff, I played along to a song every practice (as I almost always do). This whole week was learning the chords for Take it Easy by The Eagles. Not hard but all the long progressions and variations make memorizing tough. And I improvised to a backing track every practice (as I always do).
This Module was unexpectedly fun and useful. I’ve got two more modules to go until the end of Grade 3 and as I stated above, I’m really looking forward to striking out on my own for a while. I won’t lie, my fundamental skills and technique need honing and I’m beginning to find a lot of lessons in Grade 3 really don’t apply to me and my goals. Time to focus on my personal goals and have some fun.
See ya in a week or so.
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Grade 3 - Module 21
Like with Module 20, I really enjoyed this module. I feel like I nailed this module, save the capo transcribing, more so than others in Grade 3. The A shape might be one of the more fun chords to embellish. Vibrato practice was fun and even if I already knew and used most of the techniques, solid practice didn’t hurt. Double strumming took a bit to figure out but I was able to do it well at the end.
As far as transcribing with a capo, I could get the right capo position about 50% of the time and something close other times. I ended up mostly using other songs since I didn’t know most of the list Justin provided (I’m old and set in my ways 
) but still, it was hard.
I continued to work on the Lickin’ Riff from Module 18 and have it committed to memory (finally). I can play it through at a decent pace with the occasional hiccup. I’m getting better. I plan to practice specific parts that give me trouble (some of the chords, transitions, etc.) in the future instead of just the entire piece. One of these days I’ll head to the local Guitar Center, grab a Strat and let rip…LOL 
So here’s this weeks practice:
Exploring the A Shape - Explored!
Introduction to Vibrato Technique - Knew the techniques but execution can always be improved.
Framing: The Double Strumming Technique - A little wonky at first but feels pretty natural and fairly automatic now.
Transcribing: The Capo - Only identified the right capo position about 50% of the time but better than zero!
So, that’s Module 21. I’m a little ahead of schedule to finish Grade 3 prior to my vacation (we moved the start date back 5 days) but that’s not a bad thing. Means I can focus on getting ready to go. I won’t move onto Grade 4 anytime soon but I will discuss my future plans after Module 22. I might also re-read all of this and remember how far I’ve come in the last 18 months. I’m not ready for Carnegie Hall but I have improved a lot, even if I don’t always feel that way.
See you in a week or so!
It’s great to see your grade 3 learning log as I am also studying this grade. Thanks for sharing !
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Grade 3 - Module 22
I’m calling it! Dove into Module 22, practiced hard and I’m moving on. I only gave these last four or five modules about 4 practice sessions each but I got a good taste of the lessons. Honestly, I’m ready to move on to something different. At the same time, I recognize I’m not ready to advance so I will spend considerable time consolidating everything I’ve learned up until this point. I’m even going back to square one in some cases (certain chord changes, for sure).
As for this module, not a lot of new stuff here. Exploring the E chord didn’t have as much variety as other chords but I found a few nice variations. Barre chords are relatively easy for me to finger but I can’t change to them with any speed, so some practice helped. Transcribing Difficult Riffs, like the last module and capos, was hit and miss. I’d get close but couldn’t quite figure it out.
Additionally, I practiced the Lickin’ Riff from Module 18 more and I used 10 minutes of practice to develop and organize resources for a set list. I picked my songs (listed below) gathered lesson videos, song sheets, tabs, and the songs (most of that is electronic but some items are printed or written out) to make practicing easy.
As part of my last practice, I developed a practice routine for myself using Justin’s website resources (so awesome this is all free). I’ll list that below as well. As for Module 22, here goes:
- Exploring the E Shape - Explored!
- Transcribing Difficult Riffs - Hit and Miss. Got a couple, got close on another one or two but very hard.
- Easy Barre Chords (oxymoron, that one) - Practiced F and Bm as well as finger placement and sliding the chord shape.
So, that’s it. I’m a intermediate beginner…or a beginning intermediate…or something.
As for my set list, here it is in no particular order:
- Hey, Hey, What Can I Do - Led Zeppelin
- Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd
- Mary Jane’s Last Dance - Tom Petty
- Let Her Cry - Hootie and the Blowfish
- Fires Don’t Start Themselves - Darius Rucker
- Take it Easy - The Eagles
- Pipeline - The Chantels (or The Ventures)
- Runnin’ Down a Dream - Tom Petty
- Hotel California - The Eagles
- Lickin’ Riff - Justin Sandercoe
Yes, I like Darius Rucker, Tom Petty and The Eagles. Some songs I already know by heart (or some version or arrangement thereof, anyway), some I’m learning, one, Pipeline, I used to know in my former playing days and a couple are brand new to me.
I enjoy playing and listening (and probably singing loudly and playing air guitar) to them and they present various challenges to me. Like Take it Easy has some tough chord changes for me (CDG) and they come at you fast, Hotel California uses barre chords and songs like Hey, Hey, What Can I Do or Wish You Were Here are more complex and require a lot of varied skills.
As for my practice, it’s my practice for now. I will change it as needed to focus on what I need while working on a particular song or swap different techniques or theory in and out.
- 1 Minute Changes - Difficult changes, Barre Chords, etc. that I need for my set list.
- Barre Chords - Work on technique and accuracy.
- Bending Techniques - Hone this these skills so they are more natural and I can use them when I play or improvise.
- Sliding Techniques - See Above
- Vibrato Techniques - See Above
- Set List Revision - Choose one song and learn, revise and refine.
- Play Along - To end the practice, put my revisions to to practical use.
Each is five minutes save the revision which is ten minutes and the 1 minute changes, of course, but I will likely do more than one set of changes and/or chords per practice. Many of these apply directly to my set list and the types of improvising I do. But as I said, this will change as needed and I already have some other stuff lined up.
So, I’m off into the wilds of guitar playing. Grades 1-3 were fun, challenging and totally worthwhile. I learned so much I take for granted now but I know I improved a ton. I will update on my progress now and again. See you soon!
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Hi Dan, congratulations on finishing Beginner Course Grade 3.