2025-08-05
A short update. Everything that’s currently happening guitar wise for me is happening very slowly, but fortunately still happening. After finding with my three years of starting my learning log assessment a wide gap between achieved versus dreamed related to finger picked pieces, I’ve been trying to put some extra effort with classical and finger picked pieces to narrow the gap.
Finding at least some practice time continue being a challenge. To keep advancing despite the scarce practice time I’ve kept with the strategy of narrowing the practice items to fit the available time. Against all odds eureka moments keep happening, being those moments some notes suddenly sounding better or being able to chain from memory a few more notes of a piece.
I’m now twenty-one months into a combined consolidation of Beginner Guitar Course [Classic] and new Beginner Guitar Course Grades 1 & 2 exploration. Full routine practice has become very sporadic. The only items of it that I’m practicing more often are Happy Birthday Justin Guitar style and Ode to Joy. I’m still finding useful for me to be consolidating rather than exploring more advanced content. Although at this pace it could take me years to complete the consolidation I think that as far as I feel that I’m learning and improving it could still be good for me.
Happy Birthday.
Although I play at least once the complete exercise when I’m practicing it, I’m mostly trying to get fluent with the first three phrases. When doing so my ring finger most of the time gets wrong which string to fret, fretting the fifth string instead of the sixth, kind of going for the C chord grip, but still going for the fifth when that’s the one required. Silly finger.
Ode to Joy (Hal Leonard)
After putting on hold playing this exercise along a looped accompaniment, I watched some videos from Justin Guitar and other sources about how to loop and I’ve been able to use better the loop function of my guitar modeller for what I want it that is using it as a backing track of the Hal Leonard finger picked exercises. The actual finger picking for Ode to Joy is working fine. I expect soon to be able to record a video of my playing.
Esperanza
I’m playing it along the Guitar Pro file I have at 60% of the suggested speed of 150 b.p.m. I still got derailed more often than not, even in the two sections I can play from memory. Good progress memorizing section 3. Only marginal progress memorizing section 4 that is mostly diads and triads.
Habanera
I’m playing it at 80% of the suggested speed of 60 b.p.m., along a Guitar Pro file I created from the PDF supplied by the YT channel. After taking a fresher look to the PDF I noticed that the suggested fingering for fretting the notes in the first string from fifth to first fret involves playing the notes in the first and the second fret with the index finger instead of playing the notes in the fourth and fifth fret with the pinkie as I was doing following other exercise I’ve practiced. Now I’ve been trying the fingering suggested in the YT channel and although that has slowed my progress if at the end I’m able to play it both ways will be worthy. One immediate benefit of playing along the guitar pro file has been that the eight note triplets are now sounding with a better cadence.
Repertoire maintenance
I consider an important part of developing further my finger picking to keep my tiny repertoire current. I can think at least three reasons for that. One is playing just for the joy of playing that despite the occasional stumble here and there, is a different dimension than playing for learning, other one is keeping the fluency with the skills already acquired, and the last one is being ready if the opportunity comes of playing in front of others. I’m currently playing for repertoire maintenance the Pink Panther Theme and the first twenty-four bars of Asturias.
Next update in three months.
Consolidation StatusFor Justin Guitar Beginner Guitar Course Grades 1 and 2:
| Selected Lesson | Module | Status |
|---|---|---|
| A 6:8 Strumming Pattern | 6 | In Progress |
| Dynamic Improvements | 7 | |
| All Down 8th Note Strumming | 8 | Done 2024-09-21 |
| Open E Minor Pentatonic Scale | 8 | In Progress |
| The Stuck 3&4 Chords | 8 | |
| Ups to the All Downs (16ths) | 9 | Done 2025-01-26 |
| C Major Scale | 9 | Done 2024-07-21 |
| 5 Common Chord Progressions | 10 | Done 2023-10-26 |
| Alternate Picking C Major | 10 | Done 2025-01-26 |
| Beginner Hammer-Ons | 10 | In Progress |
| Major Scale Improvisation | 10 | In Progress |
| The Rhythm Push | 10 | Done 2024-05-25 |
| Introduction to Dice Songwriting | 11 | |
| Beginner Sus Chords | 11 | |
| Re-Active Listening | 11 | |
| Shuffle Grooves and Strumming | 13 | |
| Beginner Blues Solo | 13 | In Progress |
| 12 Bar Blues Progressions | 13 | |
| Backbeat Hit | 14 | |
| Essential Slash Chords | 14 |
| Riff: | Status |
|---|---|
| Peter Gunn Theme | Done 2023-04-09 |
| Seven Nation Army | Done 2023-08-24 |
| Sunshine of Your Love | Done 2024-01-20 |
| Come as You Are | Done 2024-09-22 |
| Wish you were here | |
| Californication | |
| La Bamba (Option 1) | |
| La Bamba (Option 2) | |
| Happy Birthday Finger Style | In Progress |
| Enter Sandman | |
| 12 Bar Shuffle |
For The Justin Guitar Easy Guitar Songbook:
| Song | Status |
|---|---|
| Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way | |
| Blowin' Smoke | |
| Boys 'Round Here | |
| Dance the Night Away | |
| Feelin' Alright | |
| Give Peace a Chance | |
| You Never Can Tell | |
| You Sound Good to Me | |
| You Belong to Me [Added 2024-09] |
For the Hal Leonard Guitar Method:
| Exercise | Status |
|---|---|
| Spanish Theme | Done 2023-08-09 |
| World Beat | Done 2023-08-24 |
| Ode To Joy | In Progress |
| Blues | On Hold |
| Rockin’ Robin | |
| Yankee Doodle | |
| Surf Rock | |
| Au Clair De La Lune | |
| Aura Lee | |
| He’s A Jolly Good Fellow |
For the Reader’s Digest The Complete Guitar Course: Learn To Play in 20 Easy-To-Follow Lessons:
| Excercise | Status |
|---|---|
| A Bad Moon Rising | |
| Stand By Me | |
| Michael Row The Boat Ashore | |
| Jingle Bells | |
| Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star | |
| Edelweiss |
Other:
| Excercise | Status |
|---|---|
| Two Bar Strumming Pattern for La Bamba | Done 2024-04-26 |
| Two Bar Strumming Pattern for A Horse With No Name | Done 2024-08-11 |