2024-04-30
It’s assessment time again, this time for the second year after starting my learning log. As I’ve been lately doing less new skill acquirement and more practice of the already acquired skills I sometimes feel that I’m not achieving too much. It’s definitely a different dynamic and it’s when I look at particular goals that I can find where the progress is being made.
Guitar Pro
After Guitar Pro having been sitting installed but unused for a while, I’m using it now and although I’ve just scratched the surface of what it’s possible with it it’s set to become a very important part of my guitar practice. So far I’ve written a tab for a song and I’m working on two more. Writing the tabs by myself, even just copying someone else’s tab or score, has been very useful for understanding a song’s structure and developing musical awareness. Being able to explore how notes should sound before committing to practice has been very enlightening specially when making twists to the arrangement. Being able to practice segments following the tab at reduced speed has been very helpful to acquire progressive fluency with a song.
Total practice hours
After my eighteenth month assessment I estimate I’ve put 44 more hours of practice. The drop in the number of hours of practice was mainly due to having less time in my hands. For some reason weekends have been busier and weekdays have less free time due to late working hours. In average it was 2 hours per week, sometimes missing a day or two of weekend practice but being able to have some 10 minute weekday practices to compensate.
A Horse With No name
This song hasn’t gotten too much practice recently. I can play and sing more or less fluently the first and second verse with the chorus, using a straight eights strumming, but the third verse has a somewhat different phrasing and is not detailed in the tab I have. It’s kind of third verse is like the other verses so figure it out yourself. I put the original record as a background track in Guitar Pro and I’m going to enter the lyrics to check if what I’ve figured out so far it’s correct.
La Bamba
This song is progressing well. Even without having finished the Guitar Pro tab I’m using it already to practice the song introduction. My singing tend to stray from the accompaniment so I have to practice more on how to keep both synced. The speed I’m playing the introduction is still very far behind the speed I would use to accompany my singing. For now I’m not trying to reach the speed of the record or play the solo.
A song with mixed English and French lyrics
This song is progressing well also. I’m now most of the time playing the introduction decently although at a reduced speed. I’m still working on how to fret some of the accompaniment chords. Air changes has been helpful to train my fingers where they had to go for some chord changes. For the interlude I’m just practicing the first bar of it for now. That’s because the fingering I need to do on the fretboard to make it sound as the tab I entered in Guitar Pro, that is based on a piano score that I twisted to fit within the guitar range, is very challenging for me. That bar has slowly started to sound a bit as it sounds in Guitar Pro. There is a four bar section that moves through a series of Em variations and I’m still finding how to play them so they don’t sound the same. I intend to play this song at the same speed than the record.
Esperanza
For this one I have a Guitar Pro tab made by the YT channel that posted the video I’m following, but I haven’t used it yet. I’m thinking in using it for smoothing the first and second section. Progress has been slow with the third section but I’m finding the way with some notes at the end of it.
Asturias y Habanera
Surprisingly although I haven’t practiced Habanera for a while it looks the practice with some other songs has become a shadow practice for it as it’s in better shape that I had left it. It still need some work with the duration of some notes. With Asturias the current issue is mixing up bars. Now that I can change of pedal note with less hesitance I’ve started to do the change in the wrong bar. This is one of the issues than can happen with classical music that often develop a theme by making subtle progressive changes to it and require extra concentration to stay in track.
Repertoire maintenance
I’ve been doing a better job distributing the available repertoire maintenance time between several songs instead of only two. The spreadsheet I’m using facilitates to look which ones have been less played.
Consolidation
Next post will be specific about my consolidation. Below are my second year goals assessment, six month ahead plan, and repertoire update.
Note: Click the triangle or the three dots to see more under each header.
The goals I had set up for the twenty-four months (since starting my learning log) and my assessment:
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I want to have my repertoire of rhythm guitar (and singing) songs increased to 13 (3 more).
→ Not accomplished: my repertoire of rhythm guitar (and singing) songs has increased only to 11. I am currently working on three more. The latest songs I have been working on have taken me more time to get ready. Being ready means that within reasonable expectations I’m satisfied with how I’m playing them.
I want to have my repertoire of finger style songs increased to 2 (1 more).
→ Partially accomplished: I’m still working on my second song and also on riffs and some short melodies that are not included in the target but equally contribute to developing the same skills. The piece I’m working is considered somewhat difficult and that may be the reason it’s taking me more time to get it ready.
I want to be able to play 24 bars of Asturias and Habanera fluently, and having started working on Minuet in G, nowadays attributed to Christian Petzold, but originally attributed to J.S. Bach.
→ Partially accomplished: I’m not playing fluently neither 24 bars of Asturias nor Habanera with the bass notes, but I consider I improved a lot with them. I haven’t started yet with Minuet in G.
I want to continue revisiting exercises of the Hal Leonard method I have that are sight read based.
→ Accomplished: I’ve continued revisiting the Hal Leonard method and practicing some short melodies that require sight reading to play them. I’ve started looping the accompaniment, but I haven’t been able to record neither Ode To Joy nor Blues exercises yet.
I want to be halfway of a combined consolidation of Justin Guitar Beginner Guitar Course [Classic] and Beginner Guitar Course Grades 1 & 2.
→ Partially accomplished: I’m not yet halfway the consolidation plan I have, but as the purpose of the consolidation is strengthening the foundations, that’s being accomplished.
I want to have passed JUSTIN ear training exercise S2.
→ Not accomplished: Still on exercise S2. I haven’t done any ear training exercise recently, but I was getting a higher percentage of recognition on the later ones I did.
I want to continue developing my video edition skills. I want to be able to combine videos.
→ Not accomplished: I’ve continued using ClipChamp, but the videos I was planning to combine haven’t been recorded yet because the musical pieces are not ready yet.
Audio editing will continue on hold for now.
→ As planned I’ve not attempted any audio editing.
I want to get started with GuitarPro and continue creating backing tracks be either with GarageBand or with GuitarPro.
→ Accomplished: I got started with Guitar Pro. I’m not using it yet for creating backing tracks, but I’m using it to create practice tracks. I haven’t done anything new with GarageBand but it’s there if I need it or want to combine both software tools.
Where I want to be in six months (after twenty-four months of starting my learning log)
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I want to have my repertoire of rhythm guitar (and singing) songs increased to 14 (3 more).
I want to have my repertoire of finger style songs increased to 2 (1 more).
I want to be able to play 24 bars of Asturias and Habanera fluently, and having started working on Minuet in G, nowadays attributed to Christian Petzold, but originally attributed to J.S. Bach.
I want to continue revisiting exercises of the Hal Leonard method I have that are sight read based.
I want to be halfway of a combined consolidation of Justin Guitar Beginner Guitar Course [Classic] and Beginner Guitar Course Grades 1 & 2.
I want to have passed JUSTIN ear training exercise S2.
I want to continue developing my video edition skills. I want to be able to combine videos.
Audio editing will continue on hold for now.
I want to be more fluent using GuitarPro and continue creating backing tracks be either with GarageBand or with GuitarPro.
Repertoire update (after twenty-four months of starting my learning log)
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Note: unless noted otherwise links are to the respective AVOYP post.
- Songs that I can play rhythm guitar (and sing) fluently from memory:
- Songs that I can play rhythm guitar (and sing) fluently reading lyrics and chords:
- Songs I am working on how to play rhythm guitar (and sing):
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America’s A Horse With No Name
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Richie Valens’ La Bamba
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A song that combines English and French lyrics
- Songs I am planning to work on how to play rhythm guitar (and sing):
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Elvis Presley’s Can’t Help Falling In Love
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The Beatles’ Love Me Do
- Non classical Instrumental songs or musical pieces that I can play fluently from memory:
- Non classical Instrumental songs or musical pieces that I can play fluently reading some type of musical notation:
- None at this stage right now.
- Non classical Instrumental songs or musical pieces I am working on:
- Esperanza (Hope, traditional Colombian song)
- Non classical Instrumental songs or musical pieces I am planning to work on:
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La guaneña (No translation, traditional Colombian song)
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La cumparsita (No translation, traditional Argentinian song)
- Classical pieces that I can play fluently from memory:
- Classical pieces that I can play fluently reading some type of musical notation:
- None at this stage right now.
- Classical pieces I am working on:
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Isaac Albéniz’s Asturias (first 24 bars of a basic version)
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George Bizet’s Habanera of Carmen (basic version with the bass notes)
- Classical pieces I am planning to work on:
- Christian Petzold’s Minuet in G (Originally attributed to J.S. Bach but nowadays considered to be by Christian Petzold)
- Originals
My assessment:
I’m satisfied with my progress so far. If I can be close to what I had originally intended for the twenty-four month within the next six months it will be still good. It’s just a matter of keep practicing and let things happen. Next assessment to be in October 2024.