I figured now was a good time for me to make a learning log. I posted in the introduce yourself area in August. At that point, I was in grade 1 module 4. I’ve finished the content of grade one, but am still working on the foundational aspects of it before I consider myself graduated.’ Mostly, that means working on timing and rhythm for me. Luckily, my lovely wife snagged the JustingGuitar black Friday bundle as a surprise gift for me(!!!), so I’ve been layering in the strumming SOS work on top of the grade 1 practice routines.
A couple of things that I want to accomplish in the coming weeks while I have some time off from work:
complete all the ‘how to pass grade 1’ checkpoints from the video at a level I’m happy with, which means
A. tuning guitar with a tuner
B. memorzing the 8 essential chords
C. 30 chord changes in 1 minute
D. Old Faithful strumming pattern (definitely not this yet.)
E. 5 easy songs (I’m thinking love on the weekend, hound dog, stand by me, peaceful easy feeling, old time rock n roll.) (also not this)
Work on PMT Grade 1
3.Upload one song playthrough to YouTube and the community recording subforum for feedback.
Lastly one thing that I want to start doing immediately is using the practice assistant to track and monitor my practicing. Outside of the video on module one, if yall have any tips for the assistant let me know!
Downloaded some of the backing tracks included in the black friday bundle and it definitely highlighted what I was expecting… Not quite ready for that type of thing. A lot of work to do before being able to dabble there. But it was a fun spot check.
back to the regularly scheduled strumming SOS now.
It’s a good idea to write a log regularly, as this helps you to think about structuring and practising. And you often get valuable feedback and support here too.
Good songs for trying out and practising rhythm and different strumming patterns.
You can post your recordings of songs and exercises here in your LL. There are many advanced users who read LLs and will give you individual feedback and valuable tips here too. I’m only in Grade 2 myself and can’t contribute much, but I’ll try to at least encourage you.
Congratulations on starting your LL and good luck in sticking with it.
I was able to get some decent practice in. Some good hard work on chord changes for the songs I’m working towards, I’ve probably spent the most time working on strumming, because it feels the weakest in my skill set so far.
I’ll try to get an upload this upcoming week of the songs practice and get some feedback from the community.
I “passed” pmt grade one, but I’m still reviewing concepts to ensure they are locked in. Just cause it’s “done” doesn’t mean it’s learned!
Another morning, another practice down. Felt like a regression today, but I have to just remind myself progess isn’t linear!
I struggled with keeping consistent strumming during my love on the weekend practice. Like bad. It seemed like my brain, foot and strumming hand were all in different time zones today.
I’m pretty sure I’m over loaded with tapping my foot, counting and strumming…
This is where in the past, I’d get frustrated and not pick up the guitar again for awhile. So the goal is: today after work to grab another 5-10 minutes and just work on keeping my strumming hand moving for the first 3 minutes and then add tapping my foot into the strumming for another 2-3 it’ll help isolate the behaviors and then connect them. After that for another 2-3 I’ll work on the specific strumming pattern Justin listed on the love on the weekend song page and we’ll see how it goes.
Hi Patrick.
You’ll find that once you get the foot tapping going on automatic pilot you won’t have to count in your head anymore. That’ll free up some brain space to concentrate on your strumming.
Woke up a bit late so it cut into my practice time before work . This morning’s practice was completely focused on tapping my foot and strumming in time with the metronome at 60 and 80 bpm. 80 definitely felt more natural 60.
I got a little fidgety and couldn’t sit on my guitar stool any more so I started walking around and strumming and it felt a little easier standing up actually, so later today I’m going to try that again and see if maybe standing is a better fit for me.
Hoping this afternoon to get some more time in for strumming practice, chord changes and work on love on the weekend.
As an aside- I definitely feel like writing a practice log has me feeling more accountable to myself for practicing and practing with a purpose instead of just fiddling about and calling that ‘practice.’ Having an actual goal in mind for each session really helps. It’s probably wicked obvious that would be the case but here we are figuring it out now.
1/8
Didn’t get a chance to go back to practice yesterday evening so this morning I tried picking up where i left off with some strumming practice. Kept time pretty solid with the metronome at 60 - 80 and 100 bpm. Still a bit of overload tapping my foot at the same time. Its frustrating but funny how strumming and foot tapping gets me baffled.
Some work on the chord changes for love on the weekend. Really isolated the finger placement by doing the perfect chord practice from the grade one practice routines. Either today after work or tomorrow will be fast changes and then hopefully perfect fast changes.
1/9
So last night after work, I figured out I can set a metronome and tap on my baby’s back to help burp her AND work on timing a little bit at the same time but seriously it was a nice use of foot tapping and hand movement at the same time to help build that connection in my brain.
as far as practice this morning… The chord changes for love on the weekend are getting better. Hoping that tomorrow after baby goes down for a nap I can get some actual legit practice with the record done so I can feel out where I am. Set up a tripod in the office today so I can actually record playing for feedback too.
1/12 Update
Good morning! Not a lot to update today. Only got about 30 minutes of practice done over the weekend, its a slow burn sometimes. Frustrating that I feel like I don’t have the time to really dig in and practice the way I want to. But, we’ll keep chunking away at it and see how we look in a year.
A lot of work to do before being able to dabble there. But it was a fun spot check.
. This morning’s practice was completely focused on tapping my foot and strumming in time with the metronome at 60 and 80 bpm. 80 definitely felt more natural 60.
but seriously it was a nice use of foot tapping and hand movement at the same time to help build that connection in my brain.