Good to see you making progress Nicole and getting into the habit of consistent practice, it really pays dividends. Sounds like time to move on to Grade 2 and get stuck in. As to the Sadurn song, nothing wrong with a simplified version, make it your own, whilst working towards a more original sounding cover. What’s important is to have fun with it and stripping a song back to its basic parts can be just as rewarding and less hard work ! 
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Thank you, Toby 
Yes, the Sadurn song will be an ongoing project with several stages… just thinking about it makes me happy.
Before “officially” graduating to Grade 2. There is the fifth song to be done. Just realized that it won’t be Tom Waits but a bit chansonlike song in German language that I had been getting desperate with before my break. It’s starting to fall into place now after I realized that F Major 7 with a C bass actually sounds fantastic in the song… Maybe I’ll get into to a shape that’s worth publishing in AVOYP… But…
… but come what may … There will be more strike days from 14.2. to 16.2… Thus the absolute deadline is set: Come what may 16.2.24 (and hopefully earlier than that) will be my last day in Grade 1.
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Great update to your log, Nicole. Read it yesterday night and was already to tired (and still am 
) to think about any helpful comments, but hey: Please take my cheerleading like encouragement instead! 
Loved the Sadurn song instantly. Never heard before, but could immediately relate, so thanks for sharing this gem here! It’s a good one to work on as you grow as a guitarist. Even better it already makes you happy. 
Hah, now I’m really curious what that one will be - already looking forward to it. No matter if posted here or as an AVOYP.
It’s great you’ll be entering Grade 2 quite soon, to my feeling you’re ready for this. But also good to stick to the rule of 5 songs on the other hand. By learning songs you can extract so many things that will help you along the way, it is totally rewarding and helps to build a very solid foundation to put more skills on. All the best for your graduation! 
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I had a feeling, you would like the Sadurn song
If I wanted to, I could move on two Grade 2 immediately, I know. I have watched (or at least have listened to) all of the Grade 2 videos once and (to) half of them two or three times. So, I know what will be ahead.
Still, I want the fifth song to be special. A song that I actually want to play. A bit silly, I know. But then…
Hmm… Curious? Ok. I’ll give a few hints. Element of Crime. Their album from 2009. The original features prominent finger picking (I’ll stick to strumming, not gonna go that rabbit down now), occasional violins and something that sounds like a slide guitar in the background. The lyrics quite prominently feature strawberry ice-cream 
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Confession time: I’m not familiar with EoC that much, so I had to google it (thanks for the clues!).
Beautiful song, great choice.
Yes, definitely. And I think there’s also a Banjo involved, maybe even a Mandolin. If you give me 10 to 20 years, I can feature those for the background. 
Now I’m looking forward to that rehearsal even more!
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Glad you like it. I love the lyrics of that song… and, hey, why not simply write lyrics that feature a “word monster” (and ugly colour) such as metallikbraun.
I will take you up on that offer. In 20 years, I will be in my guitar prime and technology will maybe be that much advanced that we can easily play together in holographic forms or something
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you wanna turn into abba ?
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Well… Why not…gotta embrace.the positive opportunities technology will offer at some point
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Hey Nicole, great to read, you kept up with your daily practice and obviously you’re getting out a lot of satisfaction!
Happy to read that you are still working on this one. Can’t wait to hear you playing! I remember, we were talking about it a few months ago and I already asked myself, if you gave it a go.
Great song choice, love that one. It’s such a beautiful and thoughtful tune, I like the mood and the irony combined with the sadness, this everyday situation woven with his thoughts about a lost love. Oddly enough, nobody around me likes the song very much 
. Doesn’t matter, I love it!
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Yes. That one. One of the songs that got me so frustrated late last summer. Changes to Dm were a lottery despite doing fine in those fast chord exercises. Mini-F simply sounded too high for the song, it just didn’t fit… etc.
I never ever meant to revisit this song. Well… Here I am now… and it is not actually sounding that bad anymore
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Had my troubles with Dm too
Great you did! My eperience is, when I get stuck, to put it aside and to come back a few weeks/months later. Very often, things are a lot easier then .
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Hi Nicole!
Nice update on the log… good on you for getting 4 songs down! I liked “Special Powers” & looked it up… 4 chords ~ easy chords in the tab I saw… go for it if you like the song! 
Also, congrats for the consistency of your practice! Keep it up when you move on to Grade 2!!! 
Tod 
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Yes, there is exactly one tab for the song on Ultimate Guitar. It’s perhaps not really played exactly like that, but it sounds fine. As you say, the chords are easy and I particularly like how intriguing “borrowed chord” A sounds great in connection what otherwise seem to be chords in G
Keeping up with practicing is made bit difficult at the moment by the treacherous weather we have here at the moment. Last week we had low plus degrees on some days which means sidewalks looked something like this
Meanwhile we are back at approx -20 C and that what had turned into slush is now a thick layer of ice covered by a more or less thin layer of snow.
Accordingly, when I wanted to get something from the car on Tuesday evening there was a particularly slippery spot… didn’t expect that, slipped backwards and got my left arm caught under the car door.
Well, all good, nothing broken … just a massive, massive black spot and probably a slightly sprained left wrist and some perhaps slightly sprained fingers on the left hand. Nothing worth seeing a doctor for - hey, I’m tough - but a lot of pain. So, no practicing ever since Tuesday morning as the strain I’m experiencing typing at work is enough.
But this evening I will grab my guitar again - no matter what, got a deadlone to keep 
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Hi Nicole,
It’s annoying about your fall and the consequences, which could indeed have ended much worse than … but as far as your snow photos are concerned, for us Dutch people, this is just bragging
Greetings and a speedy return to playing ,keep it easy 
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Hope you weren’t too badly injured Nicole and back to playing soon !
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maybe you should let it heal or you could worsen the sprain
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Here in Albuquerque we tend to keep our snow in the mountains…
So sorry about your fall… slippery sidewalks are so treacherous… wishing you a speedy recovery!!!
Tod
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What? Yes, it looks like snow indeed. Didn’t expect that in New Mexico… don’t remember ever having seen that kind of snow in Breaking Bad or Better Call Saul…
Oh Mac. Yes, that’s the voice of reason talking. But … Of course I played this evening. Just half an hour. I wanted to play (that I would ever say that on a work day evening…). And it was fine. I almost managed a change from A to barre chord Bm in a song. I had fun… … … … until I stopped playing. Then reality hit. And the voice of reason called. Well hindsight is twenty twenty.
No, no. All good. No broken bones. Funny how my first thought had been “Did I break the car door?” 
Bragging?!? 
It’s now around three months that this white stuff has been lying around here. It’s that normal. Yes, I know you don’t get much snow in the Netherlands. But then you have those beautiful tulip fields, which are prettier than a bit of ice and snow 
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sometimes its better to wait a little than having to wait a looooong time because the pain gets worse
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Oh yes we have winter…
Woke up this morning to -7 C & light snow falling in the city. 
The nice thing here is that our high temp today will be about 9.5 C, any snow will melt before sunset… it’s very rare to have snow/ice stay on the ground for any length of time!
Tod
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