What a fabulous update, Michael. No need to apologise for the length (though that coming from me who is (in)famous for length of my posts).
Based on your share, I’d encourage you to start posting on AVOYP sooner rather than later. When you have a riff down from one of the Grade 1 modules, then record and post. Similarly, post a song using the A D E chords when you are ready, don’t wait to make it as thing coupled to completing the grade.
I’d also go to the Club sooner rather than later. Helped me to go and take a look and meet people before I went to make my first performance.
Hi Michael, great update.
You obviously have aspirations and are making it happen. It’s good that your singing teacher is helping you with the songs you’re learning on guitar. Makes sense. Maybe there’s an opportunity further down the line to take your guitar along too and she’ll help you put the two together ?
Guitar club sounds like a good idea too.
You’ve set your stall out well, enjoy your learning.
@BurnsRhythm
Thanks for the encouragement.
I have discussed with the singing teacher and I can take my guitar in, she is very accommodating
The only problem is that I haven’t yet mastered singing and playing at the same time but that is next on my to do list.
Hi Michael, good you are using your management experience to keep your guitar learning project running as smooth as possible. Be sure if you jump ahead in the lessons to get some skills you need now, to go back and continue with the lessons you were at before (I think you are doing it anway). It looks the in person singing lessons are working for you. I think the best is that the singing teacher is including your short term goals as part of the equation.
@dobleA
I think you may know me too well.
Last week started to review all the modules I have done so far, including Module 0.
There is bound to be something I didn’t get the full significance of first time around.
Moved on quite nicely and now consolidating on Module 7 although I need to go back to 6:8 strumming.
I expect to stop on this for a little while as I want to be confident of what I have learnt so far before moving on.
Hoping I will have passed myself at Grade 1 by the end of August beginning of September, so I can get on with Grade 2 after we get back from holiday.
Posted two AVOYP, in at the deep end, guitar only version of Brown Eyed Girl and the Riffs from Grade 1. I think they were well received, and I got some very constructive feedback.
Big news got a new guitar for my birthday last week, electro/acoustic Yamaha FGX830C and just starting to get to grips with it. Quite a bit different from my Classical Guitar, narrower neck and closer strings just getting used to the change.
Chords
Generally happy with the speed and quality changes on all 8 chords, but perhaps a bit of work on Am and Dm as have not used them much.
Strumming
Been working on strumming, see below in connection with songs.
Where the chords change halfway through a bar with other than 4D strums it is quite a challenge for beginner.
Finger Style
I know this is in Grade 2 but have had a little look at this as it interests me, and I did a bit of that many years ago.
MUSIC THEORY
Passed Module 1 and 2 and have moved onto Module 3.
Really enjoying this, I have an inquisitive mind, and it is starting to answer some of the questions I have about what it is all about.
Just about memorised the ‘natural’ on the twelve frets and using the principle that if I know where these are then I can work out the sharps and flats
Using the JG Note Trainer app and it is set at find all six notes, take a little while but can do it with not too many errors, which are generally my finger poised over the iPad and accidentally touching, at least that’s my excuse.
EAR TRAINING
Just made a start on this and I can see this is going to be challenge but I intend to stick at it.
SONGS
Decided on the songs to pass Grade 1 and strumming patterns
Bad Moon Arising – Creedence Clearwater Revival - DDDUDU
Brown Eyed Girl – Van Morrison – DDUUD – Old faithful
Take me Home Country Roads – John Denver – DDUUD
Dance the Night Away – The Mavericks – DUDUDUDU or DDDD – trying to get emphasis on beats 2 and 4 so I can work out where I am in the bar with such repetitive chords.
The Last Time – Rolling Stones - DDDD
I think I have set myself quite a high bar with the various strumming patterns as I intend to sing as well,
Ok with the first two and working on the third at present.
I have memorised the lyrics for all the songs, that was hard work, don’t think it was an age thing as I could never remember poetry at school, complicated scientific formula no problem.
SINGING LESSONS
Going on nicely.
Well I took my guitar into my singing lesson recently and played and sang the first three songs off my list, first two I can do from memory the third I am only partly through learning so had a chord and lyric sheet in front of me.
Feedback was positive, she said that she wasn’t expecting me to play the guitar so well, to be fair she doesn’t play the guitar and I must have done a good job of lowering her expectations, in any event I took it to be a compliment.
As far as the singing went, she said I sang at a lower pitch than I do when not playing the guitar and I could see what she meant. Time to get the old capo out and play around with that and see if that sounds better.
Playing in front of somebody is one of Justin’s requirements to pass Grade 1 and I can see why. It is a completely different dynamic than recording an AVOYP where you can do a few takes and choose the best or stop and start again. It is performance in front of an audience, even if it is only one, therefore it must be done all the way through in one take. OK some of the chord changes were not perfect and the strumming could have been better in places, but you must keep going which I think was the real learning point for me. Interesting I was not nervous about doing it, I think when you get to my age what have you got to lose as Nike say ‘just do it’.
SHOTER TERM GOALS
I suppose it is first to complete Grade 1 which I hope to do by end of August beginning of September
Post up some vocal versions of the five songs
I mentioned the Sunderland Acoustic Guitar Club last time and I have contacted them and when they restart after the summer break, I am going along to their first meeting in September. Will be interesting to see how that goes
Great update Michael, you’re obviously having a blast learning these songs.
I have to say I didn’t do this long consolidation of Grade1 but you are learning to play and sing at the same time and that must be way harder so hats off to you.
Ain’t No Sunshine - is Am Dm Em. It’s a good song to practice those minor chords.
Great log entry, Michael, interesting to read how you’re progressing. You’re developing your singing skills as well, that’s great and very helpful. For the Am to Dm changes “All your love” is a cool song. It has Am, Dm and Em, but I’m sure, you know that song anyway.
Hi Michael,
Apparently I hadn’t been here yet…and not with a lot of LL , they are often a bit long especially if you fall behind…and I already read way too much…But this was also nice to read and I wish you a lot of fun with your short term goals…i like them
Greetings,Rogier
Great update Michael. It is good that you have identified what you are confident with and what you need to work on.
and If I recall correctly it also includes changing chords half way through a bar which was an area you also identified that you wanted to work on further. Another good one for that is A Girl Like You.
JK @jkahn
Thanks
Yes, you say I need work on Am Dm as they are not really occurring in the songs I am working on. I have been playing along to Chocolate Jesus which has these chords
Yes, not really using little finger, and I know that I am going to need that when I get to grade 2 – might try that for Dm in the near future
David @BurnsRhythm
The longer period for consolidating is I think down to several reasons wanting to sing as well, can play the chords for all songs but also the singing adds an extra layer of complexity. Also have a number of different strumming patterns other than just DDDD and last but not least getting used to my new acoustic guitar I had a classical guitar when I started the lessons.
Will try the song you suggest for Am/Dm
Andrea @Helen0609
Thanks for the song suggestion another one to look at.
The singing is down to some community members who politely suggested that I should sing after I posted in my introduction that there was no way I was going to sing. I am very pleased that they did because it is great addition to just playing the chords.
Thanks for the comments. Yes, changing chords half through a bar is tricky if you are not playing DDDD. I was wondering how best to do this for OF, you mentioned the song ‘A Girl Like You’ that has this change in it and highlighted in another post recently about Justin’s lesson on the song where he explains how to do it. I was not sure whether the first up strum was before or after the change, but it seems it is before which makes sense. Funny how these coincidences occur.
Yes, the change is on the & after beat 2. Another good thing about this song is that in Grade 2 Module 12 you are going to learn the A Minor Pentatonic Scale. So once you have learned that scale you can learn the main riff for this song in the song lesson. The main riff is basically using the C Minor Pentatonic Scale with one extra note.
If asked I would be suggesting the opposite for Dm. Dm can be a tricky chord to get into using index, middle, and ring and have sometimes seen people struggle with the ring finger and choose to use the pinky. My reasoning would be that for certain riffs that make use of a sus4 you’ll need the pinky free to fret the e string.
What use cases did you have in mind where it would be beneficial to be playing Dm with the pinky? One that comes to my mind would be if one is planning to slide up and follow a Dm open chord with a similar shaped barre chord, then it would help to have the index free to slide up and barre?
And in case anybody is wondering, the fingers to use are generally recommendations based on what usually makes chord changes to and from a chord simpler. But being able to play chords with different fingerings is an asset, no hard and fast rights and wrongs.
In the new revamped beginners course Justin teaches using the pinky mainly to get you to start using the pinky earlier in the course. It may be beneficial if you were changing from Dm to E7 with high D.
You are quite right in the latest version of lessons for Dm Justin suggests using your little finger. I just could not get away with it so I went 1 2 3, I did not want to put a roadblock in the way so early in my journey with the F chord on the horizon. I have just started pressing down a numbers of times in each session to develop some callouses on my little finger, hopefully that will help in due course.
David @DavidP
Couple of things
I have started to think of different fingering for some of the chords but not really got that far the first was A chord with fingers 1 2 and 3 in a line ie no anchor finger.
The other the free one minute changer app, don’t know how I hadn’t spotted it before.
I’m not doing Dm shaped barre chords yet so I don’t know about that one
@Socio already gave the root of it - Justin teaches it that way. As I’ve gone further on in the course I’ve been thinking about potential reasons why. Occasionally I reflect back on choices Justin makes in his courses and how they help prepare us for future learnings to make them easier. A good example of that is the grade 1 riffs - finger control, slides, fretting accuracy, etc.
I think pinky control is probably the biggest reason for pinky Dm. Getting the pinky under control has helped me a lot, I think it’s a big challenge and the earlier you start on it the easier using it for more complicated things later is.
I think Dm is one of the first (or THE first?) encounters with using your pinky in a chord. I’d think a lot of people don’t have good pinky control early on, I know I didn’t. Compared to other pinky chords, it’s a pretty easy one. Learning pinky control at this early stage, I think it makes using it for harder chords introduced in Grade 2 like C7, B7, Am7 and even F, easier. I reckon the jump from never using your pinky to a chord like C7 would be super hard. Dm is much easier to get started with.
I think it helps get the pinky under control for chord melodies too. Like Norwegian Wood by the Beatles.
Some changes are faster and easier (IMHO) with pinky Dm. E.g. weak finger G to Dm.
I’ve encountered a couple of songs that revolve around modified Dm shapes that need the pinky version - e.g. Sunny Afternoon by The Kinks, Just Breathe by Pearl Jam. Also one song that needs the ring finger Dm as well - Down in a Hole by Alice in Chains. So far!
There are loads of ways to play guitar, different ways of fretting chords that are all OK as you know. Just might be worth learning both ways to fret a Dm.
, they are often a bit long especially if you fall behind…and I already read way too much…But this was also nice to read and I wish you a lot of fun with your short term goals…i like them 
