Frito's Learning Log

[frito]

As I mentioned a few days back, I can put a check mark next to my goal of performing at an open mic. My first open mic

My sole focus for about 1 1/2 months was playing the songs I intended to play in the open mic set. Other than some finger stretch exercises and occasional scale work, playing the set day after day way my only practice. I now need to review my list and figure out what I want to focus on so that I can improve and build up my repertoire.

While I “completed” grades 1 and 2 there are some areas that are not at the level I would like such as the Blues, finger style and being able to improv the scales. This is where I struggle - trying to figure out what I want to practice and focus on so I can advance to playing the more complicated songs I enjoy and creating more of my own music. Going back to the list I posted earlier in the year and having a general idea where I want my journey to go, I am going to focus on grade 2 consolidation practice areas while revisiting music theory. So I think the areas are going to be:

1. Work on 7th chord practice (the more challenging varieties of E7, A7 and B7
2. Scale work with an attempt to improv to backing tracks
3. Blues - standard and quick change, shuffle
4. Palm muting and percussive strumming (there are many CCR songs I’d like to learn the use this in addition to Blues songs)
5. Continue the finger exercises to improve both speed and finger control/placement
6. Review theory modules and continue memorization of notes on all strings through the 12th fret.
7. Finger style practice
8. Add songs to my repertoire so I can continue going to open mics now that I got the first one out the way. Just need to prioritize the songs that have been on my list for a long time while venturing out to find other songs I want to learn.

Now I need to get the squirrels out of my head and make this happen.

Sorry for the ramble. I’m just trying to write this down as a means to hold myself accountable.

[frito]

Work has been kicking my butt since my last post here. I’m in accounting and our fiscal year end is March 31st. On top of that we implemented a new system which went live on April 1st. On top of that, we are changing our auditors who aer doing a full three year audit on top of our outgoing auditors auditing the current fiscal year end. On top of that… All these things have added up to extraordinarily long hours, some nights working until midnight . Long story short, I have not been able to practice or play as much as I would like. I did learn one song and posted a video of it here..

Thanks to the fact that I have a great boss and a great team that works for me, we were able to escape the week before last for my wife’s “get the heck out of town” for her 60th birthday. We went to the gulf coast of Mississippi and spent her actual birthday in New Orleans for a beignet tour and visiting the French Quarter. Other parts of the trip included lunch at The Shed Barbecue and Blues Joint where we had great ribs and listened to a guy playing steel resonator for a couple hours. He was very enjoyable to listen to and began an itch to get a resonator.

We chose our route for the drive home to follow the Mississippi Blues Trail where we made multiple stops over three days.

First stop was Indianola, MS and the B.B. King Museum. This is a wonderful tribute to the King of the Blues and very educational. I boggles my mind the struggles he and fellow musicians, not to mention many others, had to endure in a segregated society, The hardships they overcame to rise to the top is amazing.

After getting seeing a few other sites such as Club Ebony and grabbing dinner, we made the drive to Clarksdale, MS. That evening we went to Ground Zero Blues Club which is owned by Morgan Freeman. A house band played the first part of the evening which was then followed by an open jam with the hose band. At one point, the band asked each table where they were from. I mistakenly thought we would have be among those who had travelled the farthest until the first table said they came from the Netherlands. The next table came from the UK, then a table from Austria, then… You Europeans sure do love the Blues . At the end of the night, we met Ron from the west coast of the US who was in town for a Blues guitar clinic. He was the last to play that evening and asked if we would take his picture in front of the club.

The next day we toured the Delta Blues Museum. This was another educational day with lots of very cool exhibits. Among many of the cool things is a guitar that Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top had made from the wood of a cabin in which Muddy Waters lived. The museum is also instructional and has a band of its students. We bought a CD of the band which included a very young, maybe 13 - 15 year old, Christone Kingfish Ingram. Oh, and we met a family who came from Germany. And of course, we had to make a stop at the Crossroads.

From there we made the drive to Memphis, TN and a stop at Sun Studio where Elvis, among many others, was discovered. Among the magic that was made in that studio was a few songs from U2’s Rattle & Hum album which included “When Love Comes to Town” with B.B. King. Turns out they left the drum set behind. My wife’s favorite band is U2 so she was on cloud nine when she got to sit at Larry Mullins Jr’s drum set.

We then spent some time at the Blues Hall of Fame for more Blues immersion and education. Such a cool place. As we were leaving, a gentleman asked one of the employees if he could speak about B.B. King. He was from Germany and is working on a story about B.B. King and the Blues. You Europeans sure do love the Blues

This was such an amazing trip. All the music and especially the resonators gave me a bad, bad case of GAS which led me to buying this Gretsch G9200 Boxcar Resonator

.

I don’t know when @JustinGuitar has another guitar camp/clinic planned for North America, but I highly recommend holding one in Clarksdale, MS. It has such a rich history of the Blues and after seeing so many Europeans there and meeting Ron who was there for a guitar clinic, it seems like such a natural place for Justin to have one of his in person clinics. The clinic Ron attended as at Shack Up In

Sorry for the novel, but as you can tell, it was an amazing trip.

[frito]

Work has been absolutely nuts for months on end, working until 10 pr 11 at night multiple days every week so the guitars are not getting much attention. While at dinner a month ago or so I learned that they have open mic every Thursday. Towards the end July we were back there for dinner. They had a guy playing guitar, not open mic, and as I was watching him play Can’t You See by the Marshall Tucker Band I thought to myself that I can play that. Sure enough I learned it in a night.

Fast forward to last night, we made plans to meet friends for dinner and decided to go to there so I could play open mic. Of course, it was a rotten day at work that put me in a bad frame of mind. I took my guitar knowing I didn’t have to play if I wasn’t up for it. I decided to power through it and give it a go. It got off to a rough start when my guitar wouldn’t connect to the amp. Thankfully they had multiple mics so I could still use my own guitar. I don’t think it was as good as the one I did back in March due to my frame of mind and a bit of allergies. I did manage three songs. At the end of the day I’m glad I powered through it.

The guy running the open mic told me that a bar a couple blocks up the street has a weekly jam session every Sunday evening and encouraged me to attend so I must not have been too bad (yes, we are our own worst critic).

[DavidP]

Well done, Joe. I think it is true the more you do the better you get. And that for reasons that have nothing to do with your proficiency to play and sing (though obviously improvement there counts). I think the confidence and comfort you nurture as you do more has far more significant impact in the early stages. So keep on keeping on performing live, in the real world and our own VOMs.

[frito]

Thanks David. I keep reminding myself that, while I’ve not had time to go through any more modules or work on skill development in those areas I want to improve such as the Blues, improvisation and theory, I do know more songs than I knew at the beginning of the year and know them well enough to perform in front of others without chord sheets. That alone is a win.

[DavidP]

It most certainly easy, Joe

[SteveL_G99]

Joe, I enjoyed reading about the blues tour that you and your wife did. I wasn’t familiar with some of the stops on the tour, although I know about BB king and Mississippi delta and all the music in Memphis, Tenn. It looks like a trip I’d like to take some day.

[frito]

I highly recommend it if you get the chance Steve. I’m kind of hoping for a 60th birthday present in a couple years that my wife signs me up for that guitar camp Ron was in town for.

[Twin_Six]

Joe, that was truly enjoyable reading & listening. I especially liked your open mic performance. None of the people coming & going or talking in the background threw you off. You looked relaxed even though I can imagine you were a bit nervous. Well done.

I’ve got a friend who plays at our Monday night cruise-ins at the local ice cream stand (last night). He plays a Taylor much like yours amplified through a small speaker on a stand and a mic for singing. He’s got a phenomenal repertoire. A couple of weeks ago over at his house, he let me play that Taylor. It’s one sweet guitar for fingerstyle, and I understand why you fell in love with it.

Speaking of fingerstyle, I remember seeing the video of the guy playing twelve-string fingerstyle but I couldn’t remember where until I revisited your learning log. Though I doubt I’ll ever get enough practice to be able to do that, never say never.

Anyhow, keep up the good work.

[frito]

Thanks Jonathan! I have dabbled with finger style on the 12 string but quickly get frustrated. I’m sure if I practiced with intent and patience I would be able to play it finger style at an OK level. My son in law seems to be able to play it finger style but his playing is at a whole other level than mine.

On a side note, the more I dig around the more I learn of musicians and songs that are played on 12 string guitars. I didn’t know until we toured the Blues Hall of Fame that Leadbelly mainly played a 12 string. Nor did I realize that Led Zepplin’s Gallows Pole is played on a 12 string and is essentially a Leadbelly song that he also played on a 12 string. I do find the closer I listen to a song the more likely I am able to pick out if it’s played on a 12 string.

BTW, I continue to wait patiently to hear your twin six in action.

[Twin_Six]

Yesterday I tried House of the Rising Sun fingerstyle on 12-string, which is part of my standard practice routine on 6-string. It sounded just sort of OK, but I’m sure if I practiced it consistently, perhaps even using finger picks, I might manage to do it pretty well.

As for 12-string players, there’s Leo Kotke, who’s said that playing 12-string fingerstyle is like trying to drive the Monaco Grand Prix in an 18-wheeler. I forget where I read that, but it was probably the Acoustic Guitar Forum.

Recording myself may be an ongoing project. I’m not happy with the sound from my webcam. I’ve just recharged a decommissioned smart phone, but I’m not happy with that sound either, though it might sound better through my Bose speaker system once it’s on the computer, if I can get it there. Recording needs more work with limited time. Everyone else makes it look so easy.

[frito]

I don’t use anything special for my recordings. I just use my iPhone. The open mic recording was on either my daughter’s or son-in-law’s iPhone that they had sitting on the bar.

[dobleA]

Hi Joe, I can sympathize with being too busy to have more guitar time. My overtime is not as bad as yours, but between work, my share of house chores, and setting some time aside for exercise, the guitar is not being played as much as it was before. Nice bluesey trip you had. Good you’re finding enjoyment with participating in OMs. Keep having fun.