March Recordings: Simple Man, Wagon Wheel, Knockin' on Heaven's door, Good Riddance, Free falling

Community Recordings Audio-Video Of You Playing
1

Since I am to learn 4-5 songs before moving on to Grade 2, I chose

  1. Knockin on Heaven’s Door
  2. Wagon Wheel
  3. Last Kiss
  4. Simple Man

Thank you for your feedback

UPDATE (2 Months):

Knockin on Heavens door
First song I tried (around week 5 and tested again yesterday to ensure I don’t forget)

Simple Man
Really wanted to play this when I started learning Guitar but it feel too difficult at the time, but now with the ole faithful pattern mostly automated, I feel less intimidated to try this one.

Wagon Wheel
This one’s fun to sing. Too many words, though. I would like to ACTUALLY learn the lyrics so I can make it my goto campfire song

Good Riddance
Actually haven’t practiced this song, it was kinda impromptu. Really straining to sing this one, might give it another try. It’s a good candidate for Module 8 graduation

Free Fallin
Im kinda cheating with this one since I’m not using a proper strumming pattern. I feel I need to relax some more because the fast strum is shaking my whole body and it’s near impossible to sing

My next goal is to stop getting sidetracked by too many familiar song practices and having too much fun, and actually work through the JG modules, learn faster perfect chord changes, actually learn F major chord, FMaj7 and other useful chords that are limiting me from practicing more fun songs.
For song practices, I think I’d like to learn Zombies (All down 8th note strums are hard), and Wish You were Here.

Thank you for your community contributions, and I appreciate the encouragement I’ve received thus far. It’s not typical for me to put myself out there for judgement, but it’s definitely easier with like-minded folks :slight_smile:

10 Likes
2

Hi Aroon

Nice recording and video for your first post! I thought your playing and chord transitions were generally good and you kept a good rhythm, and you have a nice singing voice, a little quiet at times but sounded in tune and as confidence grows no doubt you will sing out a bit more.

If you feel comfortable to move on the grade 2 I would have thought you are ready for that. :grinning_face:

A couple of things I noticed. Your guitar was angled away from you a bit at the bottom, making the fretboard turn upwards, I get it that when you first start out that you want to see where you are placing fingers but it can cause your wrist to bend at the wrist, and if this is too much it will make chord changes and other aspects harder down the line. If you look at Justin’s guidance on this he advise to keep your hand in line with your forearm. Best to try and not get into that habit early on and tuck the bottom the guitar so the fretboard is more vertical.

The other aspect was your thumb is often quite high above the neck, it may be that you have large hands and it is easier for you, but I would take a look again at https://www.justinguitar.com/guitar-lessons/how-to-play-the-d-chord-b1-105 at 5:08 when Justin talks about thumb placement.

Happy playing, and have fun.

1 Like
3

Thank you for your detailed feedback AJSki2fly. This was actually my first time trying “quiet singing”, which I felt was very relaxing. I had no intention of actually posting this when I recorded it :slight_smile:

I will try to hold my guitar more vertical and see if I can manage. My wrist does hurt sometimes, and I certainly feel more comfortable in the “classical” position. However, holding the guitar in the classical position meant that I’d have to crank my neck sideways to look at the fretboard. I suppose it’s about time I stopped looking at the fretboard entirely, and improve my habit.
I will also intentionally pay attention to my thumb position when I practice tonight. Thank you again!

4

I did not mean hold it in the classical position, just tuck the bottom of the guitar into your right hip which will turn it more upright. :grinning_face:

1 Like
5

Nice - well played Aroon.

I’d agreed with Adrian’s comment about keeping the guitar body more vertical - that will also make strumming easier as your arm will move through a vertical plane - right now it’s moving at nearly 45 degrees which will make it hard to relax the arm while strumming.

Great job on both playing and singing though - sounds really good.

1 Like
6

Welcome to the community Aroon.

1 Like
7

Thanks Paul. The fact that you scientifically broke down the rationale behind holding the guitar vertical, and it’s relationship with arm relaxation is actually quite helpful. Another reason for me to fix my form!

1 Like
8

For Grade 1 I think your video is amazing Aroon.

1 Like
9

Right on Aroon. Great Job busting it out, singing and playing. Nice strumming and changes. Well done. You will find grade 2 really fun and it will open a ton more up. Cool song choices also.

:victory_hand:t2::love_you_gesture:t2::sign_of_the_horns:t2:

1 Like
10

Since I shared in my previous post that I am also working on Wagon Wheel as one of my 4 songs for Grade 1 graduation, here’s Wagon Wheel. I tried to hold the guitar a little bit better today with the fretboard more vertical.

Thank you for your supportive and constructive criticism. Just found this community today, and I’m glad I can share and learn here.

6 Likes
11

Good stuff. Kudos to you for tackling that song. It’s harder to sing that it looks as a lot of lyrics are packed into those verses.

12

Good one Aron, your doing well. You look more comfortable holding the guitar and hopefully easier to strum.

Another tip, make sure the strap is also supporting the guitar so it’s taking some of the weight when sitting. This also means it should be in the same position when you stand to play so then it will not feel different.

2 Likes
13

Awesome - you’re doing great man! That’s looking much more natural too.

14

Hey Aroon!
You’re coming along nicely!!! Good job with both songs - especially considering your time spent learning so far! If you want to play Wagon Wheel with Darius, put a capo at the 2nd fret!
Keep going & keep it FUN!!! :star_struck:

Tod

15

Hi Aroon,
Welcome here and I wish you a lot of fun :smiling_face_with_sunglasses:

First video is a big thing :smiling_face_with_sunglasses: :partying_face:… 7 weeks in and playing AND singing ( I like your voice here) :man_bowing:

I can give tips and write down a lot of positive superlatives, but this is really great and so fast in your guitar journey…keep on going what you do ( incl asking feedback :smiling_face_with_sunglasses:)

:clap: :clap: :clap:

Greetings,Rogier

16

Great stuff Aroon, playing and singing together at week 7! Well done.

17

Making progress, I see a lot of potential with a voice that’s stable in higher regions and your strumming going quite steady.

Keep playing and keep internalizing songs.
Practice without looking at the fretboard so you can get more 'into the flow"

cheers!

18

I really enjoyed both songs. Great singing and vocal tone. You are progressing well.

19

Knockin on Heavens door
First song I tried (around week 5 and tested again yesterday to ensure I don’t forget)

Simple Man
Really wanted to play this when I started learning Guitar but it feel too difficult at the time, but now with the ole faithful pattern mostly automated, I feel less intimidated to try this one.

Wagon Wheel
This one’s fun to sing. Too many words, though. I would like to ACTUALLY learn the lyrics so I can make it my goto campfire song

Good Riddance
Actually haven’t practiced this song, it was kinda impromptu. Really straining to sing this one, might give it another try. It’s a good candidate for Module 8 graduation

Free Fallin
Im kinda cheating with this one since I’m not using a proper strumming pattern. I feel I need to relax some more because the fast strum is shaking my whole body and it’s near impossible to sing

My next goal is to stop getting sidetracked by too many familiar song practices and having too much fun, and actually work through the JG modules, learn faster perfect chord changes, actually learn F major chord, FMaj7 and other useful chords that are limiting me from practicing more fun songs.
For song practices, I think I’d like to learn Zombies (All down 8th note strums are hard), and Wish You were Here.

Thank you for your community contributions, and I appreciate the encouragement I’ve received thus far. It’s not typical for me to put myself out there for judgement, but it’s definitely easier with like-minded folks :slight_smile:

1 Like
20

Hi Aroon, you’re progressing really quickly for only 2 months…well done!

Justin suggests half of your guitar time is for practice and half of it for playing and having fun…the fun part is essential :innocent::sweat_smile::grin:

A little thing I noticed is, except for Knockin’ on heaven’s door, you’re not tapping your foot, although your timing is pretty good nevertheless…but nevertheless tapping the foot is a very good habit to establish since the beginning and it’ll serve you well while getting into dynamics later on in the journey. Keep up the good work!

1 Like