Great update, Mark
Tbh I’m less interested what songs/techniques folk are working on (although that’s an important function on the logs for personal use). What I love to see is the consolidation of your commitment- the replacing of initial learning instruments with ones you love and create a proper relationship with and the enthusiasm for further learning.
You’re a bit harsh on yourself re OMX. Incorporating new ideas and pushing your boundaries is the whole point of the OMs in my opinion. Flicking the pickup selector or stepping on an airstep/tone pedal at the correct moment adds a whole new level of confusion to the process (a bit like singing along). It comes with practice, and when you think you have it under control then you have to practice again in a live performance setting.
Some folk think the OMs are ‘showcases’ or polished performances. Not at all, they are platforms where we can see what it feels like to play in front of others, share where we are and try out new/different things. They can be very entertaining, but sharing our flaws and vulnerabilities is a sign of strength (and entertaining! )
I completely get where you’re coming from with the learning logs, I don’t want it to be a lesson plan with only what I need to learn, it does make the dear diary updates quite lengthy however
Thanks also for the OM comments, very true and valuable notes to keep on board. Exposing yourself (oo-er…) to those scenarios is the only real way to test yourself and the community OMs are very much part of the learning curve, like an amped up “beginners safe space” !! One day I’ll inflict a preformance on a 3 dimensional live audience and then I’ll no doubt be pining for the community!! I think we should share both good and not so good experiences, even if the not so good bits are more obvious to me only
Hi Mark,
Nice read, you’re doing great …and now I really have to check out openmicX ,…I’m a bit busy with a lot of things that get in the way of playing the guitar (sometimes only 1 hour one day )…but I totally agree with what Brian is saying…although I’ll take an extra critical look at what went wrong with you (what you have learned now )
I would love to watch live on Saturday,…but parties go on here on Saturdays
Greetings,…
Hi Mark, good progress. It is easy to overestimate the ability to quickly master new skills. At first the deception feeling comes but later the how I can do this better approach replaces it. Have fun with your consolidation.
Great update, Marc. Don’t care too much about the OM difficulties, I didn’t see the recording, but I’m sure, you did a good job apart from that. Others can learn from that, so it was good for something.
You’re making great progress as yor log shows. Wish you a lot of fun and success during consolidation!
Enjoyed reading your update Mark, at least some of us have a plan
Frustrating though it is, I agree you should use the open mics to push your boundaries and try not to bother if it goes astray.
It’s like you are learning how to cope with the pressure. When things haven’t gone to plan for me I can look back and realise that yeah, I was only getting that right 80% of the time or whatever, I perform better for the things I’ve had under my belt for ages but it takes so much time for anything to get to the polished state, I’m aiming now to be able to throw something new in and just accept things going wrong.
As for the blues, I didn’t think it was my cup of tea and only really listen as a learning tool but when I started ‘no one knows you’ I found it so much fun to play. ‘Before you accuse me’ is a good shout…
Hi All, just about time for a monthly refresh on what’s been going on, quite amazing that it’s been a month to be honest!!
Embarking on consolidation has been great to focus on just songs on the whole, but I’ve found that I’ve actually been practicing in a very unstructured way. I’m working on 3 songs at the same time for variety but without any kind of boundary, so I’d been picking up the guitar, maybe doing 10 or 15 minutes on one song, 5-10 on the second and 1 or 2 goes on the third but with no consistency in the practice.
This for some reason became almost unfulfilling?! With that in mind and coupling into some great comments / replies to my Relaxing While Playing thread I’ve pulled together a more Justin style practice structure to help me along and bring back some better focus. For anyone interested this is how I’ve got it constructed:
Warm Up - 2 x randomly selected songs from my Campfire & Campfire Plus lists - MUST be played standing up! (~10 mins)
Am Pentatonic scale - alternately picked to metronome, occasionally mixing up by starting the scale in different spots and starting to play without looking / eyes closed (2 mins)
Em Pentatonic scale - as above (2 mins)
Am Pentatonic Improvisation - using Justin’s beginner solo backing track on Guitar Pro, starting with the Beginner Blues Solo and then improvising from there for the rest of the loops (~4 mins)
Song Work #1 (#10 mins)
Percussive Strumming Practice (~2 mins)
C Major scale - as above for the notes / detail (~2 mins)
C Major Improvisation - using Justin’s backing track from the module webpage
Song Work #2 (10 mins)
Song Work #3 (10 mins)
I’ve been using this routine for the last week and found it really good to have a better variety of stuff in dedicated practice which has given me a good kick of encouragement. The consistency in some elements, particularly scale work, even in such a short time of using the routine has been refreshing and good to see / feel / hear(!)
On other matters, I’ve hopped back onto the OM boat and looking forward to a couple of weeks time, obviously one of the slots in practice above is for that song. I’ve not posted any AVOYP in a while, at this point I kind of want to make sure songs are as good as I think they can be so taking a little more time over them.
Expanding a bit of musical creativity I’ve invested in a relatively low end midi controller that I’m intending to mess around with for some backing / drum tracks and just for general messing around.
That’s been about it for the last month, see you all at OM XII
Nice update, Mark. It’s good to read that you’ve recognized the need in your routine for a bit of structured practice to help you along the way.
It was interesting reading your remark about your practice sessions becoming almost unfulfilling, maybe you felt in some way that you weren’t stretching yourself as much practicing new things or things you found challenging like when your working through a grade.
With regards to the scale practice, may I suggest having a look at scale patterns like 3-in-a-line and playing 4ths. They are a good way of getting to know the scales really well. Do you have and use Guitar Pro? If so the GP files for these patterns using the minor pentatonic scale can be found here Minor Pentatonic Pattern | JustinGuitar.com
Thanks James, yes could be that I wasn’t feeling stretched along with a bit of repetitive fatigue, or something like that anyway!
I do have Guitar Pro but only really scratched the surface with it so far, thanks for the link looks interesting and I can see how that will start to help particularly with improvising. At the moment my improvising feels super simplistic, I presume you’ve used those with your blues work? That’s as good a validation as anything to it’s effectiveness, I was super impressed with that AVOYP.
Hi Mark, what I found is that when you play scales up and down you start to develop muscle memory. What I found good about those pattern exercises is that it breaks you away from that pattern of playing the scale up and down. Remember that improvisation is not made up on the spot, its about playing things that you know. So when practicing improvisation and you play a phrase that sounds really good make a note of it, practice it and add it to your collection.
Thanks Radek @RadekSiechowicz - yes 10 mins works well when you know the work is limited to that time, it’s a good 2-3 playthroughs depending on the song but that time also works to break up into say one playthrough and then some focus time on particular tricky sections.
Hi Mark. Yes, I think that some exercises continue to be useful past the lesson they were introduced as a warm up and to keep in good shape skills already learnt. The thing is just to have a plan when sitting to play or practice or a little of both (practice first in that case). The same that when learning the first chords, working regularly on a song a few minutes each time work wells and slightly builds up fluency. I think that I’m practicing around 10 or 15 minutes each of the three songs I am working on, just doing that on alternate days due to time constraints.
)
…and now I really have to check out openmicX ,…I’m a bit busy with a lot of things that get in the way of playing the guitar (sometimes only 1 hour one day 
)…but I totally agree with what Brian is saying…although I’ll take an extra critical look at what went wrong with you 
(what you have learned now 
