LunaRocket's Learning Log

Well, I haven’t really progressed since my last post. Lots of stuff has been going on. While we really enjoyed the Christmas holiday with the visit of my sister and hubby and pup, my husband’s health was deteriorating, and my older dog Ziggy was also getting sicker.

My husband is improving since someone finally put him on antibiotics, but he underwent all kinds of tests, and everything was turning up negative except for 1 Lyme disease test, hence the antibiotics. We’re still not sure that’s what it is but at least he’s better than he was.

Unfortunately, my Ziggy is no longer with me, and I’ve been pretty depressed. He liked to come into my room and lay there while I practiced guitar. Kaylee, on the other hand leaves.

So being in the mood to practice has been tough. I’m feeling a little better the last 3 days. I’ve decided to break up my routines into 20-minute chunks. A couple of times I even enjoyed myself.

However, my acoustic practice is pretty bad as my fingers just don’t want to press the string hard enough to get nice ringing notes and forget the F barre chord altogether. I’ve decided to order those 11 gauge strings I’ve been muttering about for months and hope that will help.

I hope changing the strings will be easier than on my electric PRS. The hubby and I did that the other day, and it took 2 hours. It didn’t help that the string package did not say which were which, apparently, it’s supposed to be easy to figure out. Fortunately removing the first 2 strings we put on incorrectly, onto their proper tuners didn’t destroy them.

So, I’m spending 20 minutes on my acoustic now, mainly working on finger pressing and note sounds and the other 40 minutes on my electric, on which I have no trouble doing the barre chord shape up and down the neck.

I need to get back to learning new stuff. A year ago, I was on Module 10 of Grade 2 and I’m still in the middle of Module 13. But though I’m not necessarily learning new and wondrously frustrating techniques, I am learning songs, songs, songs.

Also, I’m pretty sure I’ve now had my 2nd year anniversary here with Justin Guitar. To think 2 years ago I knew nothing and now I can play a few songs from memory. It feels really great!

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Rebecca @LunaRocket
Hard read hope things improve for you.
Michael

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And that’s what’ll keep you striving to improve Rebecca.

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And I’ve added an easy “happy” song to my practice, today, “Hey Tonight” by CCR. Always good to have some easy stuff!

PS I did order a set of 11-gauge phosphor bronze D’Addario strings for my acoustic. I figure try the cheaper ones on for size before ordering the coated $20 per set version.

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I have 11s on my acoustic. It did change the sound a little bit, made it a bit brighter, but it still carries a good amount of depth on the lower strings. Definitely easier to use than the original 12s, although mine were really old at the time so you might find less difference.

Sorry to hear about the tough times. I’m glad you’re still getting enjoyment out of the music. :slight_smile:

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Rebecca, I’m sorry to read about the rocky and hard times you were faced with. I know how depressing it feels to lose a beloved 4-pawed companion. Hopefully, there are much better times ahead very soon! :four_leaf_clover:

But it’s great to read you find some relieve and joy in music and playing. It often helps to ease our minds a little. Especially, when we can play some happy songs. :slight_smile:

Good luck with the new strings. Changing them should be easier on the acoustic and - at least for me - 11s are easier to play, especially for barre chords.

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Hi Rebecca ,
Sad to read that things are not going well ( but hopefully the right path has been taken for your husband) and super sad to read that you had to say goodbye to your beloved pet , all the strength with that… :mending_heart:

Hopefully Kaylee will ease the pain , although she still needs to be taught some music acceptance :roll_eyes:

All the best and keep on going with how you learn the songs :smiley: :sunglasses:

Greetings :sunflower:

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Well, I finally finished watching all the Mod 13 lessons, some I repeated more than once like blues improv, (I swear it’s like coloring outside the lines which I am NOT good at!) and the blues shuffle riff, which is hard for me to get the fingering right. But I’ll get there as I really like the sound and feel when I get it right.

I also finally started practicing a Blues song, Sweet Home Chicago because I’ve always liked it, and I can almost play it now, poorly at 60% with the App. Good thing the App has it because I haven’t found any of the blues songs Justin suggested with an actual lesson attached. (Okay, I only looked for 4 or 5 so far, but in reading the discussion thread, others have mentioned that any lessons seem to be geared for intermediate students, at least.) So, I love that I pay for the App every year! Well worth it!

I’m also watching/rewatching the first couple Mod 14 lessons, because I need to get my butt in gear. I’ve been stagnating too long.

I’m really hoping those 11-gauge strings work when they get here, because I have been really pressing those fingertips on the acoustic and they hurt! I don’t know how you guitarists who only play acoustic manage to get through it! I’ve got callouses, but apparently not thick enough for anything but electric! Plus, in pressing so hard, my picking hand is strangling the pick in some sort of bizarre solidarity and that hand aches after practicing acoustic.

Okay, enough moaning, I’ve spent hours on guitar lessons today as well as more than 90 minutes actually practicing, and it felt good. I’m hoping to keep it up as it’s deep winter here now and it’s snowing again and other than TV and walking Kaylee there isn’t much happening here.

Hope everyone is having a good day. :smile:

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Hi LunaRocket - you are on a roll, gal!! Sounds like you’re having loads of fun and moving forward. Isn’t it a wonderful thing - and I just love this community.
I know!!! (About your guitar shop experience) … it’s terrible about the rude people in guitar shops - seems to be a bit of a theme on here, loads of people seem to have horrible experiences with snobby blokes (mainly, sorry guys)…I was so worried and intimidated when I went to buy my Gretsch, that I took my male guitarist friend with me to do that talking - and really hated that I did that, the feminist in me was not best pleased - but it meant that I had a pleasanter experience. In the shop I eventually bought my guitar from, a really nice woman helped me and did the selling, so that was good.

I don’t know why the sales people have to be do snobby and awful - surely they realise that we could just buy online these days - and that we are choosing to support small businesses and maybe be nicer to us?

Perhaps guitar shoppers are really, really annoying and so they can’t help themselves but be rude, who knows! Perhaps we should start a campaign. Be nice to us guitar shop fellas - and we’ll come back with more business!!

Lovely to chat anyway - keep playing - the course gets even better by the way - in case you’ve not got there yet…it absolutely brilliant.

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